TD Bank 'Housing for Everyone' Grant Competition

TD Charitable Foundation 2011 Housing for Everyone Grant Competition Overview

The TD Charitable Foundation's 2011 Housing for Everyone grant competition focuses on "Building for the Future".
Applications must focus on any one of three areas and should highlight the ways in which funding will provide the opportunity in the future to expand the availability of and/or access to safe affordable housing. The areas of focus are:
· Energy Efficiency; which may include weatherization initiatives, HVAC improvements, or implementation of alternative or renewable energy sources;
· Capacity Building; which may include the expansion of programmatic efforts or staff development for the organization that provides affordable housing services for low- to moderate- income individuals or in low- to moderate- income communities; additionally, infrastructure investment on the part of the non profit to expand and improve its service efforts will be considered;
· New Unit Creation where organizations focus their efforts on the creation of new affordable housing units that benefit low- to moderate- income individuals or communities. To be eligible for a grant in this year's competition, the applicant must be primarily engaged in the development and or management of affordable housing.
A total of 25 grants representing $2.5 million will be awarded to applications that meet the eligibility criteria. Twenty-five grants of $100,000 will be awarded to the best applications received companywide. Funds will be allocated by TD Bank, N.A. metro market area. See the grant breakout by TD Bank, N.A. metro market area.
Applications (complete with all required attachments) will be accepted until 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, September 2, 2011.
Notification of awards will be made by late October 2011.
Find out how to apply for the 2011 Housing for Everyone Grant Competition.
Contact Us
Please direct any questions regarding this competition to CharitableGiving@TDBanknorth.com. Include "Housing for Everyone" in the subject line.

Eligibility Criteria
The TD Charitable Foundation makes available annually through its themed Housing for Everyone grant competition dedicated funds to support affordable housing. For 2011, the Housing for Everyone grant competition focuses on "Building for the Future".
Applications must focus on any one of three areas and should highlight the ways in which funding will provide the opportunity in the future to expand the availability of and/or access to safe affordable housing. The areas of focus are:

Energy Efficiency; which may include weatherization initiatives, HVAC improvements, or implementation of alternative or renewable energy sources;
Capacity Building; which may include the expansion of programmatic efforts or staff development for the organization that provides affordable housing services for low- to moderate- income individuals or in low- to moderate- income communities; additionally, infrastructure investment on the part of the non profit to expand and improve its service efforts will be considered;
New Unit Creation where organizations focus their efforts on the creation of new affordable housing units that benefit low- to moderate- income individuals or communities. To be eligible for a grant in this year's competition, the applicant must be primarily engaged in the development and or management of affordable housing.
The Foundation is interested in receiving applications from organizations that meet the following criteria:

Applicant organization must be tax-exempt under IRS Code 501(c)(3) or must be a state/local government entity. Private foundations are not eligible to apply.
Housing units or properties to be improved must be located in a TD Bank, N.A. metro market area.
Applicant organization must have a history of developing, maintaining and/or providing affordable housing for low- and moderate-income families or individuals (income may not exceed 80% of the area median income).
Applicant organization must be able to show the impact they have made to affordable housing efforts in their community.
Applicant organization must show fiscal responsibility and ongoing viability.
All housing units or properties to be improved must be for and occupied by low- and moderate- income families or individuals (income may not exceed 80% of the area median income). Improvements to market rate units will not be considered.
Applicant organization seeking funds for the creation of new units must break ground for those units sometime during the period from the receipt of the funds (October 2011) through December 2012.
Applicant organization must be current on all outstanding debt obligations, utility payments and taxes. There can be no unsatisfied judgments/liens on the property for which the applicant is liable.
Applicant organization must be able to quantify the impact of their proposed affordable housing project.
Applicant organization must not have any pending legal actions against it.
Application Process
Applications will be accepted until 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, September 2, 2011. In fairness to all applicants, late or incomplete applications will not be considered.
Eligible organizations must apply using the online TD Charitable Foundation Grant Competition Application. Paper applications will not be accepted.

The online grant application process begins with the submission of the organization's Tax Identification Number (TIN) followed by the completion of an eligibility quiz. If your organization and project are eligible to apply for a competition grant, you will be able to access the TD Charitable Foundation Grant Competition Application.

Technical assistance during the online application process is available via the "Contact Us" link found at the top of each application page.

The grant competition application consists of the following seven sections:

Acceptance of Grant Conditions, should your organization be chosen for funding
General Organization Information
(e.g., name, address, phone number, website address, etc.)
Contact Information
(e.g., top executive information and request contact information if different)
Additional Organization Information
(e.g., year founded, mission, organization type, staff and volunteer information, etc.)
Organization Financial Information
Request Information
(e.g., project title, project summary, project budget, etc.)
Required documents
In order for your funding request to be considered, seven (7) required documents (listed below) must be attached to the online grant application. All documents must be in either PDF format or Word format. Excel files will not be accepted.
A detailed project proposal (four pages maximum; 10 point font minimum)
The following items, in this order, should be included in the detailed project proposal:
A physical description of the housing units or properties to be improved including but not limited to age, location, breakdown according to the number of bedrooms, square footage of the units and population served
A description of how the proposed additions to programming or staff development efforts will directly benefit the low- to moderate- income housing services your organization provides to the community.
A description of how a capacity building grant will positively impact your organization's ability to provide services in the future.
A description of how the efforts to implement an energy efficient initiative as outlined in your proposal creates cost savings for your organization. A description of how these savings will be utilized to provide incremental affordable housing services or programs or other benefits to the community should be included.
Applicants seeking funds to create new units should include a 24-month timeline from the time of the award to the creation of those units that must include a date to break ground some time between October 2011 and December 2012. The location and ownership of the new units should be included in the application.
A description of your organization's capacity to manage the project and the resources required to accomplish the project's goals, including key roles and responsibilities
A list of other funding sources your organization has secured that will support your project (include any reserves and in-kind donations)
A description of measurement tools your organization will use to determine the success of your project (include any anticipated savings per unit)
Pictures of the properties: one of the front of the primary building and at least one related to the anticipated improvements
A detailed project budget (sources and uses); Must include line items for categories such as reserves and in-kind donations
A letter from an executive of your organization certifying that there are no pending legal actions, attachments or unsatisfied judgments/liens against your organization and/or any subject property; Must be on letterhead of your organization and manually signed by the person certifying
A list of your organization's board members, board position, employer and job title
Your organization's current operating budget; Must be for fiscal year 2011; Must include income and expenses
Last available audited financial statement including notes/comments; not to pre-date January 1, 2009
A copy of the 501(c)(3) federal tax exemption letter of determination and, if applicable, evidence of your organization's authority to operate under the 501(c)(3) of another organization; or, if applicable, a letter on official letterhead providing the nine-digit tax identification number of the applying government entity and signed by the senior officer
Review Process
All complete applications will be reviewed by a panel of judges representing TD Bank, N.A. metro markets areas. Applicants will be notified of the Foundation's decisions by late October 2011.
Read our frequently asked questions about the 2011 Housing for Everyone Grant Competition.

Contact Us
Please direct any questions regarding this competition to CharitableGiving@TDBanknorth.com. Include "Housing for Everyone" in the subject line.