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Sons of Italy Foundation Grant Priorities, Guidelines & Procedures
PLEASE NOTE: The Sons of Italy Foundation (SIF) will continue its ongoing support of several principal charities, notably our three nationally selected charities, the Cooley's Anemia Foundation (CAF), the Alzheimer's Association and Coaches Vs. Cancer, of the American Cancer Society. Additional causes include the University of Minnesota Immigration History Research Center, the Garibaldi Meucci Museum, and other disaster relief funds that affected our people; as well as bestowing annual scholarships to our Italian American students nationwide. The SIF Trustees also pledged substantial support for the World Trade Center Memorial Museum, while considering several other major requests for sustenance at a recent board meeting. Accordingly, the SIF will not be receiving or approving additional grants until the matter is revisted at its next meeting in July 2008.
SIF Current Grant-Making Priorities
What the SIF Does Not Fund
Review and Award Procedures
Funding Level
How to Apply for a Grant
SIF Current
Grant-Making Priorities
Cultural Preservation and Advancement
- Organizations and institutions that preserve, nurture,
and promote Italian and Italian American culture.
- Projects that increase the understanding and appreciation
of Italian Americans and other ethnic and minority
groups and their contributions to American society
and culture.
Education
- Scholarships, research funds, and program support
to organizations working directly in Italian American
studies, Italian archeology, language, literature,
science and architecture, as well as international
education
- Initiatives that promote the study of Italian language,
literature, history and society in American high schools,
colleges and universities
- Projects that enhance the understanding of international
affairs
Special Project Grants
- The Foundation occasionally provides limited grants
that are not directly related to the previously stated
priority areas, but which are national or international
in scope
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What
the SIF Does Not Fund
- Individuals (except through the SIF's
annual scholarship competition)
- Government agencies and foreign countries
- Political and election campaigns
- Advertising campaigns, membership campaigns, propaganda
or lobbying to influence legislation
- The advancement of religious groups and denominations
- Research or other activities designed for the financial
benefit of the applicant or individuals employed by
the applicant
- More than one project from any organization in
one calendar year
- Endowments
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Review
and Award Procedures
- The Sons of Italy Foundation accepts grant applications
on an ongoing basis. For consideration by the committee,
complete application packets must arrive by mail by
the deadline specified above.
- Those meeting the criteria are subject to further
review by the SIF's Grant Review Committee, which
is appointed by the foundation's Board of Trustees.
The committee recommends selected applications to
the full Board of Trustees for consideration and approval.
The Board meets twice per year by trust agreement,
generally in the spring (May) and fall (October/November).
- Applicants are strongly encouraged to send at least
six copies of the application and supplementary materials
for the committee.
- Personal and telephone contact by applicants with
program officers while an application is under consideration
is discouraged. Questions specifically dealing with
the application process or exact deadlines should
be directed to the SIF PRIOR to submitting an application.
- Grant recipients will be informed in a letter from
the SIF approximately one month after review, and
are expected to comply with all the conditions set
forth in the formal notice of grant award. These conditions
will include the need for timely program reports and
detailed explanations of expenditures of grant proceeds.
Funds not expended by the grantee in accordance with
its grant proposal must be promptly returned to the
Foundation.
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Funding
Level
The Sons of Italy Foundation funds as many proposals as
are feasible within budgetary guidelines. Grant sizes
generally range from $1,000 to $15,000, but can exceed
these amounts. Grants outside this range, if any, are
usually from funds provided by a donor and specified for
a particular program or project or are a result of SIF-sponsored
fund-raising activities for specific organizations or
projects.
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How to Apply
for a Grant
Please call the SIF at 202/547-2900 or e-mail sif@osia.org
to request an application. (Please do not forget to include
your mailing address in your email.) Complete the grant
application and mail with any supporting materials by
the appropriate deadline to:
Sons of Italy Foundation
Grants
219 E St., NE
Washington, DC 20002
Information Required on Application Form:
- Brief history of the organization and a description
of its goals, objectives, past accomplishments and
current projects
- Amount requested and a budget detailing how the
grant funds will be utilized. Also, indicate if an
amount less that that requested will be acceptable
and, if so, name the alternative sources from which
the balance of the funds needed may be derived.
- Detailed listing of other contributors to the project
- Description of the problem, how it will be met
by the proposal and if the organization will be competing
or cooperating with other organizations
- Plans for monitoring and evaluation
- Plans to secure continuing operating funds if the
project is of an ongoing nature
- Biographies of key project personnel
- Complete financial statements (audited if available)
for the organization's past two year fiscal years,
or portion thereof if the organization has been in
existence less than two years, including separate
disclosure of total salaries, fund-raising costs,
and other administrative expenses
- Federal tax returns, upon request
- Current operating statements for the organization
and current budget information for the organization
or projects as applicable
- Salaries of those involved with the project or
program
- If the request is for project funding, total cost
of the project and timetable for its completion
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For
more information, contact:
Sons of Italy Foundation Grants
219 E St. NE
Washington, DC 20002
202/547-2900
sif@osia.org
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