A philosophy of educated decisions supported by expertise is utilized. A blend of flexibility and fairness is required to encourage openness with applicants and forthright evaluation of grants. Our commitment to innovation to solve problems is balanced by the sustainable needs of "best of class" programs with proven effectiveness. Sensitivity to the applicants frames all policy and decision-making.

Community health assessments and our history as successor to the Carlisle Hospital are used to set focus areas and evaluate progress and outcomes. We also utilize Healthy People 2020, which is a statement of national health objectives, that is designed to identify the most significant preventable threats to health and establish national goals to reduce these threats. (www.healthypeople.gov)

•  Endowment or "bricks and mortar" drives
•  Annual fund drives or loans
•  Advertising in yearbooks or programs
•  Lobbying or political causes
•  Individual scholarships, internships or awards
•  Retroactive expenses or projects
•  "Athons" or other similar sponsorships
•  More than 25% of an agency's budget
•  Athletic or alumni activities
•  "Flow through" grants to affiliates of national organizations
•  Religious activities
•  Individual medical bills

Does the proposal:

• Address one or more of our priority focus areas for funding or, in
the case of "Healthy People" grants, meet an urgent and critical health
care need in the CAHWF region?
• Serve a sufficient number of persons in our defined geographic region?
• Support its case with valid and varied data ( i.e., a documented need)?
• Show thoughtful planning, budgeting and ability to deliver the service?
• Have a cost per person that is reasonable given the expected outcomes?
• Have plans for financial sustainability in future years?
• Demonstrate an understanding of outcome measures and evaluation?
• Avoid duplication of services (unless justified) and include collaboration?

GENERAL

FUNDING

BUDGETING

REPORTING AND EVALUATION

HEALTHY PEOPLE GRANTS

Once a year, the foundation accepts applications for health related needs that fall outside of our five focus areas.

CONFIDENTIALITY POLICY

Carlisle Area Health & Wellness Foundation Board members, staff and volunteers shall perform assigned duties in a manner which guards the privacy of both the people served by applicants and their employees. They shall hold in confidence all personal or sensitive information obtained in the course of performing their duties, whether that information is obtained through written records or interaction with any person. They are to refrain from discussing or revealing sensitive information to anyone, including co-workers and family.

While all Board deliberations are confidential, the outcomes are not, with the exception of identified personnel matters and other internal administrative matters. As ambassadors of CAHWF, all those associated with the Foundation should be well informed and able to discuss CAHWF's mission, activities and decisions with the general public.

The public is encouraged to access CAHWF information readily available through our website, printed information disseminated to the public and publicly available regulatory filings.

VOTING PROCEDURE

After discussion on the proposed grants, all votes will be by signed ballot. This is to encourage an open process while diminishing the appearance of public pressure by other volunteers, Board or staff when final decisions are made.

All committee members sign and abide by Board approved Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality Statements.

TERRITORY BY TOWNSHIPS AND BOROUGHS		TERRITORY BY ZIP CODE

• Open/rolling submission process.
• Simple mini-grant application is required.
• Award decisions are made within 30 days.
• Open to public schools and 501(c)3 charities.
• Maximum awards of $2000 per agency or school building, per year.

Level I Grants: $2000 to $25,000 (New or Renewal)

• Open/rolling submission process.
• Applicants proposing new programs are required to complete a letter of inquiry.
• Award decisions are made within 90 days after full application is received.
• Open to 501(c)3 public charities.
  

Level II Grants: Over $25,000 (New or Renewal)

• All level II applications must be submitted by March 1.
• To be eligible for the March 1 deadline, new level II letters of inquiry should be submitted by December 15.
• A site visit and/or board presentation may be requested.
• Award decisions are made by June 30.
• Open to 501(c)3 public charities.

Healthy People Grants

• Considers projects that fall beyond CAHWF’s five focus areas.
• Proposals are accepted once a year, on December 1.
• Total amount of funds set aside annually is $50,000.
• Award decisions are made by March 31.
• Open to 501(c)3 public charities.
• Grants are highly selective, with the need for agencies to demonstrate urgent and critical health care needs.

• Initiatives are proactive and coordinated by CAHWF.
• Projects must originate from CAHWF studies and/or be fostered by one of CAHWF's collaborations.
• Projects must align with one of CAHWF's focus areas or strategic goals.
• Initiatives are accepted by invitation only.

Capacity Building: Enhances the skills of boards, staff or volunteers by training or other organizational development activities.
Capital: Offers amounts not to exceed $50,000/agency for program-related equipment with a limit for the Foundation of $500,000/year.
Core or Operating Support: Assists with the general purpose of an organization, including personnel and administration.
Demonstrations: Tests a specific initiative or new endeavor, not a general purpose.
Emergency: Aids a unique crisis situation.
Emerging: Addresses a new issue having a documented impact relating to the focus areas.
Program: Maintains or expands an existing program, not a new one.
Technical Assistance: Provides consulting for programmatic, financial or electronic needs.

Beginning July 1, 2012, the Carlisle Area Health & Wellness Foundation will accept all applications online. This electronic system will include all stages of the application process: letters of inquiry, full applications and grant reports.

We recommend reading all of the helpful tips below before applying for the first time.  There is a different application process for new versus renewing applications.

APPLICATIONS FOR NEW PROJECTS
After registering, New Applicants for Level 1 and Level 2 grants are automatically directed to the Letter of Inquiry (LOI) Form first. This is a required step before completing an application.  This is not necessary for renewal applicants, Mini Grants and Healthy People Grants, which have their own selection options.

1. On CAHWF website select the APPLY NOW link.
2. Select Create a New Account.  Create a USER ID (usually your email address) and password. We do not have access to passwords, so make sure you keep a record of it. 
3. Register your organization in the CAHWF grants management system by filling out all of the requested information.        
4. Review your contact information and select "Apply."
5. Select the appropriate grant application process and proceed.

APPLICATIONS FOR RENEWING PROJECTS

1. Log in to your “home” page. (Please do not create a new account for your organization. If you need help to log in, contact aashway@cahwf.org. )  Review your organization's information and make any necessary changes. 
2. To start a new renewal application, select APPLY in the upper left portion of the page.
3. Select the application process most appropriate to your organization and level of funding.

Electronic Application Filing Tips

1. Save your draft application frequently to avoid losing your work.  We recommend using the “save as draft” feature at the bottom of the page as you work.  Your application will not save successfully if you have errors such as exceeding the character limit in a text area.  The errors will be displayed in red and should be corrected before proceeding to the next question.
2. A copy of the application may be downloaded to your computer. This allows you to answer the questions at your leisure, and then copy/paste your answers into the application when you are ready.  Note that general formatting will not transfer into the electronic version.
3. There is no spell check.
4. Once your application has been submitted, it is no longer available for editing.
5. The character limits are sufficient for the information that we need to evaluate your application. Whether you type directly into the text box, cut and paste or upload, please adhere to these limits.
6. There are sections of the application where you need to upload files.
   • Only Word, Excel and PDF files can be uploaded.
   • Only ONE file can be uploaded per question.
   • Multiple documents can be combined into one file and then uploaded.
   • We suggest that you convert files into PDF format before uploading so that all formatting is retained. If you do not have the Acrobat Adobe program that does this, you can download the free Go PDF program from the Internet. The fax-to-file feature on the grant management site will also convert your documents to a PDF file.
7. FAX-TO-FILE: This feature provides a quick and easy way to combine and upload multiple documents and to convert them to a PDF file. 
   • Select the Fax-to-File feature in the application.
   • Read the instructions.
   • Select “Request a Fax #” and a toll-free number will appear on the page.
   • Load all of the documents that you want to be consolidated into one file in your fax machine.
   • Dial the toll-free number and send.
   • Repeat this process for each file group that you wish to create.
   • Select “Finished Faxing” when you are done and review your list of files.
   • Save each file to your computer and then upload them to the appropriate question.
8. Excel uploads: Single Excel spreadsheets may be uploaded, but Excel work books (multitab spreadsheets) should not be uploaded.

Common Problems

1. Documents are not uploading or are taking a long time. After saving your work, log off of the system and then log back in. Sometimes there is a delay, or there appears to be a delay, with document uploads. Usually, once you have logged back in, everything will be there.
2. Formatting in documents is lost after uploading (numerical lists, bullet points, etc.) Convert documents to PDF format before uploading and formatting will be retained.

Downloadable Forms
Here are the links to required forms. There are also links to these documents in the actual applications.

• Program Logic Model
  
• Program Budget
  
• Budget Definitions
• Organization Budget
• Beneficiary Statistics
• Other Funders
• Mini Grant Final Report Form

Here are two files that may be useful when beginning the application process:

• Application Tutorial - Written
• Application Tutorial - Video