Overview & Instructions

WHY UNITED WAY  |  GRANT CRITERIA & ELIGIBILITY  |  GRANT TIMELINE & AWARDS  |  INSTRUCTIONS & APPLY

DEADLINE TO APPLY: APRIL 3, 2023, BY 11:59 P.M.

In 2014, United Way of Southeast Louisiana embarked on a journey to renew our approach to creating lasting change. The journey began with a carefully orchestrated listening process, including community conversations across our seven-parish service area. Participants discussed their aspirations and the challenges they face. Some of the barriers that emerged included low wages, limited education, inadequate health care, and unaffordable housing. 

Through research and engagement, it became clear that poverty is the fundamental issue in the region.

We introduced our Blueprint for Prosperity – our plan to eradicate poverty informed by community voices and validated by external research – to present a compelling path toward a stronger, prosperous, and more equitable Southeast Louisiana for us all. As a part of the Blueprint, we also introduced our programmatic grants – designed to support distinct programs or projects – in alignment with our new prosperity outcomes framework (see below). 

Today, our grant-making is rooted in addressing the complex interplay of symptoms and drivers of poverty in the region and supports the vision of equitable communities where all individuals are healthy, educated, and economically stable.

In 2022, we hosted another series of community conversations to listen to residents and refine the most pressing issues in our communities and pathways to maximize local impact. Once again, we were able to identify the emerging barriers to prosperity for households across each of our seven parishes. 

As a result, we’re relaunching our three-year programmatic grant process  – rooted in equity, community voice, and data – further evolving our grant-making framework to clarify and drill down our Blueprint investments and focusing our grant-making efforts on the challenges that are most pressing to each community.

WHY UNITED WAY

While many efforts exist to support the health and vibrancy of communities across the region, the organizations often lack the funding and collaboration to drive coordination and collective impact.

United Way creates space for organizations to create greater change collectively than could be accomplished alone. Through strategic financial investment and targeted planning, we create collaborative spaces for you to work together more effectively and develop comprehensive solutions that meet the needs of residents.

A United Way grant will maximize your impact, helping existing resources go further to meet the needs of residents. You will better support the needs of those in the region and generate holistic impact by participating in shared learning, information sharing, and referrals. Register and apply here.

GRANT CRITERIA & ELIGIBILITY

UWSELA seeks grant requests across five priority areas aligned with our Blueprint’s prosperity outcomes that we believe will produce long-term change to sustain our mission of to end poverty. In particular, we will consider proposals that focus on one or more of our four outcomes and five priority areas and align with our guiding principles. Note preference will be given to organizations addressing the priority areas in each parish. DEADLINE TO APPLY: APRIL 3, 2023, BY 11:59 P.M.

PROSPERITY OUTCOMES

Data, community conversations, and partner convenings conducted in 2014 and 2015 resulted in four interrelated outcomes that describe the region United Way and residents we want to see.

• Stability Today: Families have the skills, resources, & opportunities to access basic needs.
   
• Prosperity Tomorrow: All families have the social, emotional, and financial assets to create a better future.
   
• Personal Wellness: People of all ages enjoy a high quality of life and well-being.
   
• Vibrant Communities: All communities are safe, equitable, and thriving.

PRIORITY AREAS

Additional community conversations held in 2022 drilled down into the four prosperity outcomes, resulting in five priority areas for each parish. Once again, we will give priority to those programs that address these areas for each parish. Review the parish-specific focuses here.  

• Youth Development: Investing in organizations with a primary focus on serving youth, including both academic and recreational programming, to support the learning, well-being, and prosperity of our next generation.
   
• Mental Health: Investing in organizations that provide direct counseling and substance abuse treatment to expand the capacity of local providers supporting those facing mental health challenges and to create a more supportive and healthy community.
   
• Financial Empowerment: Supporting workforce development programs, community-level economic development initiatives, and emergency assistance programs to provide all residents pathways to attaining the skills, opportunities, & supports that undergird economic stability for communities and families.
   
• Access to Resources: Investing in personnel and community-facing platforms to ensure residents are aware of and able to access existing local supports & resources.
   
• Coordinating & Convening: Supporting efforts to drive coordination between community-serving organizations with the goal of enhancing accountability, information-sharing, and referrals across the ecosystem, resulting in holistic services and solutions for residents.  

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

The following six guiding principles represent the core values of our work and, by extension, the work we want to see from and with our partners:

1. Connectivity: We coordinate our efforts to create pathways of prosperity that are trusted, culturally appropriate, accessible, and without bias.
    
2. Equity: We strive to lift up all people and to eliminate systemic barriers to prosperity.
    
3. Lived Experience: We amplify the voices of those we are serving and allow their needs and aspirations to guide our work.
    
4. Long-Term Commitment: We commit to continuing our work until the cycle of poverty is broken, communities are thriving, and people are living prosperously.
    
5. Shared Responsibility: We believe success requires the unique contributions of the entire community, including individuals, families, schools, nonprofits, the faith-based community, funders, governments, and the private sector.
    
6. Systems Change: We embrace our work as holistic and dynamic, impacting people, place, practice, and policy.

    

ORLEANS PARISH PROGRAMS: ALIGNMENT WITH THE YOUTH MASTER PLAN

All youth-serving organizations in Orleans Parish must align with the Youth Master Plan.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Additionally, applicants must also have the following for funding eligibility:

• All participating organizations must operate within Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, or Washington parishes.
   
• 501c(3) status. Only agencies applying for 501c(3) status are allowed to use a fiscal agent.  For-profits are not funded through this process.
  • Note: For-profits and agencies organized primarily for religious, fraternal, governmental, political, or to redirect funds are not eligible for funding.
     
• 2022 or 2021 audited financials, review, or compilation with footnotes (or submit fiscal agent’s)
   
• 2021 or 2022 IRS 990 or IRS 990N (or fiscal agent’s)  
   
• Volunteer board roster that includes race/ethnicity, age, gender, place of employment, and contact information

GRANT TIMELINE & AWARDS

TIMELINE

If you have questions about submitting your materials, please contact Grants@UnitedWaySELA.org on or before March 28.

DEADLINE

Grant submissions must be submitted electronically by April 3, 2023, by 11:59 p.m. CST. Incomplete submissions will not be accepted. Extensions will not be granted and late proposals will not be accepted. Notification of grant award will be sent in June 2023. 

AWARDS

• The 2023 grants process includes a three-year funding commitment based on funding availability and programmatic performance.
   
• The funding cycle takes places annually from July 1 – June 30, beginning in July 2023 and concluding in June 2026.
   
• Program grants must support a distinct program or project. Grantees have the flexibility to direct these funds in ways that best support the program or project. However, funds cannot be used to support capital projects.
   
• Grant awards are up to $75,000 for the twelve-month funding period. 
   
• Funding requested should be no more than 50% of the program budget. Other revenue sources must be identified.

Note that this is a competitive process. If a decision is not made in your favor, you may contact Grants@UnitedWaySELA.org for more information. However, there is no appeals process, and all decisions are final.

INSTRUCTIONS & APPLY

APPLICANT TRAINING: Need help with filling out the application? UWSELA will host trainings for your organization. A recording will be made for each location and shared on this website.
 

NORTHSHORE TRAINING
March 16
1:00PM - 3:00PM
>> VIEW THE RECORDING <<
 

SOUTHSHORE TRAINING
March 17
1:00PM - 3:00PM 
>> VIEW THE RECORDING <<
 

IMPORTANT: Before preparing your application, please read the following instructions carefully and provide all requested information.

We strongly encourage applicants to review the Blueprint for Prosperity framework.

Organizations must provide the information below in order to be eligible for funding:

• 501c(3) status. Only agencies applying for 501c(3) status are allowed to use a fiscal agent.  For-profits are not funded through this process.
  • Note: For-profits and agencies organized primarily for religious, fraternal, governmental, political, or to redirect funds are not eligible for funding.
     
• 2022 or 2021 audited financials, review, or compilation with footnotes (or submit fiscal agent’s)
   
• 2021 or 2022 IRS 990 or IRS 990N (or fiscal agent’s)  
   

APPLY

Submit your application and required documentation online by 11:59 p.m. CST Monday, April 3, 2022. NO LATE or incomplete applications will be accepted.

• All applicants must register through our grant portal, FLUXX, before applying. 
  Review the registration process steps.
   
• Applicants will receive a registration confirmation email from FLUXX with login instructions within two business hours (9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.).
   
• Once credentials are received, applicants may log into the portal to start the application process.
   
• DEADLINE TO APPLY: APRIL 3, 2023, BY 11:59 P.M.

• Volunteer board roster that includes race/ethnicity, age, gender, place of employment, and contact information

   

CONTACT

Please direct general questions about the framework or the process to Grants@UnitedWaySELA.org.