UWCO Program Investment Process Letter of Intent Frequently Asked Questions – Updated October 24, 2008
What is UWCO’s program investment process? Through the program investment process, UWCO provides financial support to high quality programs that address specific UWCO-defined strategies and performance measures and contribute to the achievement of nine community results. The program investment process is one way that UWCO works to achieve community impact. The program investment process includes two parts: Letter of Intent and Full Proposal. What is the purpose of the Letter of Intent (LOI)? The LOI is the first step for UWCO to identify programs that have potential to assist in achieving the nine community results. Each program that is seeking UWCO program investment must submit a LOI. In the review of LOIs, UWCO staff and volunteers will select programs to move forward to the full proposal phase of the program investment process. What is the funding cycle for the program investment process? UWCO’s multi-year funding cycle will begin on January 1, 2010 and end on December 31, 2012. What types of programs will be funded? Organizations that meet eligibility requirements may submit LOIs for programs that address a UWCO-identified community result, implement a UWCO-identified strategy, and track a UWCO-identified performance measure. LOIs may be submitted by single organizations or collaborations involving two or more organizations. The lead organization in a collaboration must meet UWCO eligibility requirements for the program investment process. What are the eligibility requirements for UWCO program funding? UWCO has identified specific eligibility requirements for program funding. Organizations that apply for UWCO funding must: • Support UWCO’s mission, values and strategic direction
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Offers programs that support and directly respond to UWCO community results, strategies and performance measures; Have a current, complete PowerPhilanthropy portrait established with the Columbus Foundation; Qualify as an exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; Verify three years of organizational history through written documentation of 501(c)(3) status for a minimum of three years; Have proof of liability insurance; Have certification of compliance with all applicable licensing, accreditation and other applicable legal requirements; Have current certification of Patriot Act compliance and completion of verification form; and Complete the UWCO Statement of Non-Discrimination for each program for which funding is requested.
What is a UWCO member agency? Beginning in January 2010, UWCO will consider successful program investment applicants to be member agencies. The benefits and responsibilities of membership are explained in detail in the document UWCO Agency Membership and Program Investment Requirements and Benefits on the UWCO website. How many LOIs may my organization or collaboration submit? There is no limit to the number of LOIs an organization or collaboration may submit. LOIs may be submitted for currently operating programs or for concepts for new programs. May I speak with UWCO staff to discuss how my organization might contribute to one or more of the community results? Yes, UWCO staff members are available to answer questions and provide assistance at orientation sessions, during call-in hours and at meetings focused on specific community results. The dates and times for orientations sessions, call-in hours and community results meetings are posted on the UWCO website. In addition, agency staff may submit questions through email on the website. What are priority considerations? Priority considerations are factors which UWCO volunteer committees have identified as important in the LOI review process. The priority considerations may be a target population, a specific geography or some characteristic that reviewers will be looking for as they review LOIs. Programs that address priority considerations will receive additional points in the LOI review and rating process.
What is the format for submitting a LOI? UWCO has created a LOI submission format that is available through the UWCO website, LiveUnitedCentralOhio.org. All LOIs must be submitted online using the UWCO-developed format. When is the LOI due? LOIs are due by 5:00 PM on Monday, December 1, 2008. Late submissions will not be accepted. Who will review the LOIs? UWCO staff teams will assess the LOIs using a consistent set of criteria. Recommendations from the staff teams will be shared with volunteer committees for input and approval. UWCO Impact Councils will make final decisions about the programs that move forward to the full proposal phase. What criteria will be used to review the LOIs? All LOIs will be reviewed using criteria in the following five categories: • Contribution to Community Result • Program Strength • Organizational Capacity • Collaboration/Integration • Current UWCO-funded program The specific criteria in each category are included in the LOI Process and Instructions document on the UWCO website. What are the minimum and maximum amounts to be awarded for programs approved for funding? Minimum and maximum amounts of funding for individual programs have not been established. However, in consideration of UWCO’s reporting requirements and the expectations for member agencies, LOIs requesting less than $35,000 are discouraged. What is the total amount available for program investment? The total amount available for program investment for each community result will be determined by January 2009. For the 2008-09 funding year, UWCO is investing $24+ million in human service programs.
When will my organization be notified about the results of the LOI review process? UWCO will provide written notification to all organizations that have submitted LOIs in mid-March 2009. If my program is asked to submit a full proposal, how will I get information about next steps? Organizations with programs that move forward to the full proposal phase will be invited to attend orientation sessions in mid-late March 2009. Materials about the full proposal process will be posted on the UWCO website in March 2009. Is there a process for appealing decisions about LOIs? No, all decisions about LOIs will be made by UWCO Impact Councils and will be final. If funded, will we be required to fill out Patriot Act compliance documentation for each program funded? Yes If the LOI reviewers have questions, how will they contact us? Via phone or email During the training it was suggested that we type our LOI application in Word, check the word count, and then copy and paste it into the online application. How can we get a copy of the LOI Online Application Questions in Word format? Request a copy of “LOI Online Application Questions” via the website “Ask a question” and it will be emailed directly to you. If we separate a previously funded program into two separate LOI requests, how should we reflect this in the 2009 budget? Include the appropriate expenses that are related to the program activities in the LOI being submitted. For example, if 2/3 of the expenses related to what will become Program 1 and 1/3 relate to what will become Program 2 then allocate expenses and revenue in that manner. Can we submit more than one LOI application for any given strategy? Yes, you may submit as many LOI applications for strategies as you wish. However, be aware that when submitting multiple LOI applications for each strategy you will be “competing against yourself.” There are definitely clear reasons why two LOI
applications may be submitted for one strategy and could both be successful, such as the activities of a program may be very different even though both programs can collect the same performance measure information to track impact. In the Instructions I downloaded the question “What community need or condition does the program address?” says 50 words or less yet in the online application it says 100 words – which is correct? Always trust the online application. That was a clerical error that has since been fixed in the instructions. If our organization is a new 501(c)3 (less than three year history) but was doing business under the umbrella of another 501(c)3 for the last several years are we eligible to apply? Very likely yes. Please speak to UWCO staff during call in hours to confirm. If we receive funds through this investment process are you required to become a member agency and adhere to the responsibilities outlined in the Agency Membership and Program Investment Requirements document on the website? Yes How long must our organization have been a 501(c)3? A minimum of three years by May 1, 2009. If we are not a UWCO agency but intend to collaborate with a UWCO agency, will we still receive the 5 pts in the selection criteria? The points will be awarded only for programs currently funded by UWCO.
Technical Issues I have started a couple LOI’s and now when I go back into the site – my password will not work and I’ve tried it 3 times – help! Please contact Kelly McLennan at Kelly.mclennan@uwcentralohio.org and allow time for your password to be reset – of which then you should receive an email similar to the following, to reset: ExampleSubject: New password to resume your form. This is your new password: d75f36 To resume your form go to: <website link supplied here>
I'm a MAC user and I'm trying to access your web site without success, what should I do? Go to Mozilla.com and get the free Firefox browser download -- most MAC users have success accessing our Letter of Intent information at LiveUnitedCentralOhio.org using this internet tool. Once you install, you'll need to reboot your system before trying again. I'm trying to register for a Letter of Intent Orientation and I'm unable to locate the "submit" button to send you my choice of orientation session -- am I doing something wrong? Some systems have been sensitive to this registration screen. If you are MAC user, follow the instructions for downloading Mozilla's free Firefox browser and reboot. If you are still unable to submit your choice, contact our web site troubleshooter at kelly.mclennan@uwcentralohio.org.
I'm trying to register more than one person to attend one of the orientation sessions, however the web site only allows me to register one person, how do I bypass this message and complete my registration? Each organization is allowed to register a total of three people for all orientation sessions. If you are only able to register one person, please contact our web site troubleshooter at kelly.mclennan@uwcentralohio.org to assist you and complete the registrations for your organization.
Last edited: October 24, 2008