Capital Grant Guidelines & Criteria
Capital Grant Requests:
Capital costs are defined as those expenditures associated with the construction of any building or edifice, including costs related to preliminary studies, overhead, planning and design costs, architectural fees, engineering fees and any other so-called “soft cost” including development, fundraising and other initial costs of a capital campaign. Capital requests can also cover the cost of large depreciable equipment.
Capital Grant Request Criteria:
- Requests may only be submitted by any single organization one time in four years.
- Capital Requests are submitted as a separate application with questions specific to capital requests, including a Project Budget; applicants may also apply for project or program funds during the same grant cycle. Applicants are encouraged to download a copy of the Capital Grant Application Questions prior to beginning their online application. Once you have completed all of the requirements found in this document, visit our Grants Portal to begin your application.
- Requests may only be submitted after applicants can document having raised 75% of their capital budget (can be documented through written commitments). Grant funds will be released after 75% of the total budget is received by the Applicant or as determined by the Grants Committee.
- Applicants must have a successful track record of receiving and reporting on Community Grants.
- Governments are not eligible to apply; however, other taxing districts (schools, libraries, etc.) may be eligible.
- Capital Grants are awarded to a maximum of $100,000; however, the grant request should be a minority component of the overall project budget.
- Grant funds, if not disbursed in one year, may be held in reserve for future years.
- Prior to applying, applicants are strongly encouraged to review planning resources found on the Gates Family Foundation’s website. Applicants are also invited to visit DonorSearch which provides additional capital campaign planning tools.
- Capital Project Outcomes: Upon completion of a capital project funding by a Telluride Foundation Capital Grant, recipients are required to complete a Progress report which details the status of these Capital Project Outcomes. The required Progress Report can be accessed on the Telluride Foundation’s Grants Portal.
- Potential applicants should review the Readiness Assessment criteria below.
Capital Campaign Readiness Assessment
Prior to your submission, applicants are required to complete a Capital Campaign Readiness Assessment and meet with the Foundation staff (contact april@telluridefoundation.org to schedule a meeting) to discuss. The readiness assessment details that you have met the following criteria which the Telluride Foundation considers to be critical for launching a successful capital campaign:
- Completion of a needs assessment demonstrating the linkage between the capital project and expanded programming.
- A strong balance sheet, a reserve, and a history of annual net revenues.
- Management with experience raising individual donations.
- Stable and experienced management and Board; and
- A Board willing to contribute a considerable percentage towards the initiation of the capital project.
- Foundation staff will meet with organizations early in the capital campaign process to review the criteria, discuss timing and potential for a Foundation grant and provide advice as to the readiness of the organization. Please contact April Montgomery at april@telluridefoundation.org if you are contemplating a Capital Campaign grant request.
Organizations that can demonstrate their readiness based on these criteria should share this fact with potential funders as it proves that you have taken the time to determine your organization’s readiness to embark on a capital campaign.