IGNITE GRANTS PILOT
Sometimes it just takes a spark to IGNITE impact. We are pleased to announce Ignite Grants, our pilot program to empower smaller non-profits in our community.
Since our founding in 2015, Impact 100 Jersey Coast has funded 35 high-impact grants equaling $2.88 million in grants to transformative programs for underserved populations. While we are tremendously proud of the work we have done – and will continue to do – with these large community partners, we also realize there are organizations in our community doing truly impactful and innovative work that are not eligible for our grants under our current criteria.
Our $366,000 funding pool for 2024 enables us to fund three Core Grants of $100,000 and up to five Mission Awards of $10,000 to each of the runner up finalists, but also to allocate $16,000 to the Ignite pilot: a streamlined grant process specifically tailored to provide unrestricted grants ranging from $2,000 to $8,000 to organizations with annual operating budgets of less than $100,000.
Please see our eligibility guidelines and requirements below to determine whether both your organization meets the criteria for an Ignite Grant.
Ignite Grant Eligibility Requirements
Organizations eligible for an Impact 100 Jersey Coast grant must:
- Be classified as a “public charity” with tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
- Serve Monmouth County, NJ (headquarters can be located outside of Monmouth County but the impact of the funding must benefit those in need in Monmouth County).
- Be in operation as a 501(c)(3) for one full financial year before applying for the grant.
- Have an annual organizational operating budget of less than $100,000 in the current and immediately prior fiscal year.
Timeline & Key Dates
Ignite Grant Funding Priorities & Criteria
Our funding priories are:
- Target underserved populations.
- Address an unmet need in our area.
- Will have a high impact on the beneficiaries.
Organizations eligible for an Impact 100 Jersey Coast grant must:
- Be classified as a “public charity” with tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
- Serve Monmouth County, NJ (headquarters can be located outside of Monmouth County but the proposed project must be located in and benefit Monmouth County).
- Be in operation as a 501(c)(3) for one full financial year prior to applying for the grant.
- Have an annual organizational operating budget of less than $100,000 in the current and immediately prior fiscal year.
We do not provide funding for:
- Debt reduction or operational deficits
- Endowment funding
- Interim or bridge funding
- Partisan, legislative, or political activity
- Projects of individual churches, synagogues, or other bodies of worship. These projects will not be funded unless a separate tax-exempt entity exists for receiving Impact funds that is not under the umbrella of the church, synagogue, or other body of worship
- Faith-based projects/programs which require participation in activities of a particular faith, denomination, or religion in order to benefit from the project or program
- Capital improvements or renovations to property for the grant project where the organization does not own or have at least a five-year lease
Ignite Grant FAQs
We are always exploring ways to enhance our grantmaking and broaden the reach of our funding. Every year we revisit our funding distribution taking into account our membership number and listening carefully to input/feedback from our stakeholders. In 2024, our funding pool provided us with an opportunity to not only provide three $100k grants and five $10,000 mission awards, but also to pilot a process to benefit nonprofits that are not eligible for our core $100k grant process. There have been many community and member stakeholders involved in creating this Ignite grant and we believe it helps us further align with Doing Good Better and the tenets of Trust Based Philanthropy.
Ignite Grants are available for Monmouth County 501(c)3 organizations that have been in operation for one full financial year and can show good standing of their status and have an annual operating budget of less than $100,000.
We have purposely created a streamlined application process for this grant. There will not be a separate eligibility submission and applicants will only have to complete a one-page application. The review and evaluation will still be done by a Grant Review Committee (GRC) made up of volunteer members, but there will be no site visits or live or video appeals required of the applicants. In place of a site visit, the GRC may request a 30 minute call from semi-finalists to review any follow up questions with an assigned Impact volunteer.
Our Impact 100 Jersey Coast funding priorities are consistent for both the $100k core grants and for our Ignite grants: to fund organizations and/or programs that target underserved populations, address an unmet need in our area, and have a high impact on the beneficiaries.
We will have one dedicated Grant Review Committee made up of Impact members for this pilot.
Yes! Please use this form to send us the contact details of organizations that may qualify and be interested in applying for our Ignite grants. We will happily include that organization in our communications regarding the Ignite grant process and RFP.
Ignite grant questions can be emailed to ignite@impact100jc.org. We will also offer virtual “office hours” dates/times are TBD.
Our intention is to conduct an analysis of the pilot to see how it went. This will include metrics such as the size of the applicant pool, how it was received by our stakeholders and, most importantly, whether it was impactful for the communities we serve.