Community Link ABQ

Grants Policy

1. Grants must serve the mission and vision statements of Community Link ABQ.  Any proposed fund-raising that would expand the scope of work of the organization must be brought before the grants committee who will make recommendations to the Executive Director and Board of Directors for their approval.

2. All proposals will be written with the knowledge and approval of the Executive Director.  It is expected that the Grants Director or Chief Operations Officer will consult closely with the Executive Director and the Chief Financial Officer while a grant proposal is in preparation.

3. The status of all proposed grant submissions, all completed proposals, and all projects in preparation information will be posted on the CLABQ.ORG website in the password protected Internal Resources section.  The Development Director shall be responsible for keeping this report current.

4. Grants under $10,000 can be developed and submitted by individual Action Centers to the Grants Director for review & processing.  This must be done no later than 10 workdays before the grant submission deadline.  The approval/reviews/coordination outlined in this policy apply to these submissions.
   
5. All grant proposals of any size must be reviewed by the Grants Director.  This is to assure that there are no unusual provisions or requirements that might create a hardship or unrealistic expectation on the part of Community Link ABQ.  Action Center directors, volunteers or employees must submit electronically a complete copy of the request for proposals or instructions for submitting a grant request, plus a completed proposal, including both the narrative and the project budget.  Copies of form documents such as an IRS form 990 or a charter need not be included.

6. Any grants over $10,000.00 and any grants of any size with unusual features or requirements for Community Link ABQ must be reviewed by the Grants Committee in detail.  The committee will decide, by a vote, whether to approve, deny, or refer the grant to the Executive Director.
   
7. If documents are required of the Board or the treasurer, such as tax forms, letters of approval, etc., such documents must be requested as early as possible in the request process, preferably at least one month before the submission deadline.

8. Grant writers should expect a 4-6 week lag time between submitting a proposal for approval to a funding agency and the time such approval is granted.

9. The Executive Director of Community Link ABQ is the final approving authority on grant submissions.
   
10. A copy of the proposal and all correspondence with agencies will be kept on file, and the progress of the proposal will be tracked.

11. Any grant written for a partnership or coalition where Community Link is the Prime Grantee must be sanctioned by the Board of Directors.  These grants will have an administration cost on behalf of Community Link ABQ, the parent organization, where allowable.
    
12. The Grants Director will provide the Chief Financial Officer with full copies of every proposal submitted at the time of submission.

13. The Executive Director shall be the primary grants manager.  With the support staff and volunteers, he/she shall ensure compliance with the provisions of each grant, and must authorize in a written note, memo, or email, any diversion from spending on any line item in any grant.  The Chief Financial Officer may not issue any funds from a grant that are:

a. Not in line with the designated expense;

b. Do not have written authorization from the Executive Director, signed and dated, allowing a deviation from the original line item.