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Clean Air-Cool Planet is the leading nonprofit organization dedicated solely to finding and promoting solutions to global warming.
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Q: My organization is very informal. We’re not an IRS-recognized tax exempt organization, and we don’t have a bank account. Can we apply? A: Yes! The Community Catalyst Fund was developed with small community organizations in mind. You don’t need to be a tax-exempt non-profit or a corporation. If you have no bank account, you will need to identify a “fiscal agent” – that is, another organization that does have a bank account and agrees to accept funds on your behalf and then distribute them back to you. (We regret that the Community Catalyst Fund cannot write grant checks to individuals.)
Q: My project serves multiple towns, with a total population of well over 25,000. Does that mean we’re ineligible for a grant? A: Not necessarily – although a community size restriction applies to our main pool of funds, we also have the ability to make grants to communities of any size in Westchester County, New York (through a generous grant from the Westchester Community Foundation). Even where the main funding pool is concerned, please note that as long as one of the towns that will benefit from your project has a population of fewer than 25,000 full-time residents, you are eligible. If additional communities, even large communities, benefit from the project, that’s icing on the cake!
Q: What do you mean when you say that applicants must have an annual budget of less than $150,000? A: That’s another way of saying that it must cost your organization less than $150,000 to carry out ALL of your programs over the course of one year.
Q: But I work for a town, and our programs include police, fire, schools, the library – it adds up to more than $150,000, but very little of that is for climate and environment projects. Can we apply if the climate/environment part of our budget is less than $150,000? A: Unfortunately, the town itself would not be eligible to apply – the $150,000 cap must be applied to all programs, not just a subset of climate- and environment-related projects. However, many towns have a citizen-led local energy committee or a municipal staff-led green task force. It would be perfectly appropriate to apply under the auspices of one of these groups, assuming they come in under the budget limit.
Q: My group has already gotten a Community Catalyst Fund grant – can I apply for another? A: Yes, as long as you are fully reported on your existing grant and at least 6 months has elapsed since your last application.
Q: What are your deadlines for applying? A: The Community Catalyst Fund operates on what is called a “rolling schedule” – applications are accepted and reviewed on an on-going basis. Proposal review sessions are held every three weeks, so under most circumstances you will receive a decision within one month.
Q: Can I save my application and come back to it later? A: As long as cookies are enabled on your computer, you can. However, we strongly recommend reviewing the application questions, and then composing your answers in a word processing program before copying-and-pasting back into the application form. This allows you to spell check your application and to save it for future reference.
Q: Will I be able to download or print a copy of my completed application form? A: Unfortunately we don’t currently have a mechanism in place to do this – another good reason to compose and save your application in a word processing document.
Q: Where do I access my saved application in progress? A: There is a link directly under the link you clicked to initiate the application process that reads “NOTE: If you have a SAVED APPLICATION, retrieve it here.” Use this link to access your saved application.
Q: When will I find out whether my application was successful? A: We review Community Catalyst Fund applications every three weeks, so under normal circumstances you will hear back within about a month. If your application is successful, you will receive a letter, your check, and a grant agreement form to sign and send back to us. Applicants that we decline to fund will also be notified with a letter. If you haven’t heard back on your grant within 6-8 weeks, feel free to email asayut@cleanair-coolplanet.org.
Q: I got the grant! Now what? A: Congratulations! Sign and return your grant agreement, either through the mail or as a scanned document to asayut@cleanair-coolplanet.org. The grant agreement outlines your reporting requirements, so it is important to keep a copy for yourself as well. Deposit your check and start spending your grant – and remember to keep good records so you can submit a report to us on your project.
Q: What are the reporting requirements on my Community Catalyst Fund grant? A: These are outlined in your grant agreement and in your grant letter. We require a short report, suitable to be published as a blog on Clean Air-Cool Planet’s blog site, coolplanet.org, along with a basic financial account of how you spent your grant. (Click here for a report form in PDF or Word format.) Both the narrative report and the financial report can be submitted to asayut@cleanair-coolplanet.org. Unless you contact us to request an extension, reports are due within 90 days of receiving your check.
Q: Ninety days? I need more time! A: No problem! Ninety days is just the default grant term, since our grants are on the smaller side and are often intended for immediate use. If your project will take place over a longer timeframe, you can contact asayut@cleanair-coolplanet.org to let us know that you will need an extension on your report deadline and advise us of when you do plan to submit your report. We are happy to grant extensions, although we do need to have a report date on file for everyone – so at the time that you request your extension, please be prepared to let us know when you can commit to submitting a report.
Q: What format should I follow in my report? A: Download our report form here in PDF or Word format, but feel free to diverge from the form in order to share something you’re particularly excited about. We publish grant reports on Clean Air-Cool Planet’s blog site, coolplanet.org, so we ask for reports that are informal in tone, relatively short (250-500 words, or a few paragraphs, in length), and assume little to no prior knowledge of your organization or its work. Consider including information like why you decided to carry out your project within your community; what you did; how it worked out; and what you learned. Photos are highly encouraged, as long as we have clearance to post these and use them in publicity materials. You can also include web links in your report – this can help you provide some basic background on your organization without having to devote a lot of space to it in the blog itself.
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