Fund Guidelines

ELIGIBILITY

GRANTS shall only be awarded to exempt organizations qualified under IRS Code 501(c)(3) or governmental entities and must be used for charitable, scientific, literary or educational purposes in accordance with IRS 501(c)(3) guidelines.

Grants shall not be given to individuals.

APPLICANTS may only submit one application per fiscal year.  The Fund fiscal year is from September 1st to August 31st.

APPLICATION PROCESS

The Green Bikini Fund (GBF) accepts applications at any time.  If a grant is awarded, the applicant will be notified of the award by mail.

  • Applications should be submitted via email to info@g-b-f.org and should be contained in ONE PDF file only.
  • Only grant applications using our Grant Application Form will be accepted.  
  • Please include a cover page for each exhibit.

APPROVAL PROCESS

Applicants whose proposals have been approved will receive a Grant Agreement to be signed by an authorized official and returned to the Funds office.

APPLICATION FORM INSTRUCTIONS

Legal Name of Organization:  This is the legal name as it EXACTLY appears on your Articles of Incorporation.

Assumed Name / Doing Business As:  You may apply under your Assumed Name or Doing Business As Name; however, we must have appropriate documentation that the name is being used legally.  In order to use the Assumed Name you must include either your d/b/a Certificate or Assumed Name Certificate for evidence.  If you fail to include the certificate, we cannot use your assumed name.  Note: This is for legal name changes only.  Do not refer to names you call yourselves or acronyms. 

Mailing Address:  Is the address to which all correspondence is to be sent.  It is not necessary to give both a mailing and physical address.

Federal Tax ID Number:  This is your 9 digit number used to file your income tax return.

Telephone and Fax Numbers:  Please include the area code with telephone and fax numbers.

Contact Information:  Name and telephone number (with extension) of the person to be contacted at the organization.  The contact person should have an official position with the organization and not be an independent contractor or grant writer.

Contact Person Address:  This is the address where correspondence is sent directly to the preparer of the grant application.  For example: The University Foundation may be the organization to which the grant funds are made payable, but the contact person will have an address at the university campus for which the funds are being requested.  The address must be consistent with the organization – do not list a personal residence.

Organizational Mission:  Fill in the text box with a brief mission statement of the organization.

Brief Description of Organization:  Describe your organization.

Geographic Area Served:  Describe the geographic area that is served.

Previous Grants Received:  List the most recent grant amounts and their dates that you have received from us.

Proposal Request:  If the project has a specific name you may reference it here.  Or, you may simply indicate the funds will be used for “General Operating Funds” “Capital Campaign” or “Scholarship Assistance”.

Amount of Funds:  This is the amount of funds you are requesting for the project.  Do not leave this field blank.  Grants may be awarded for amounts different from what is requested.

Description of Project:  In the space provided, please give a description of the project for which funds are being requested, how funds will be utilized and the anticipated impact.

Sign and Date:  The appropriate authorized person must execute the Grant Application Form.

EXHIBIT A – IRS Determination Letter:  A copy of the latest determination letter issued by the Internal Revenue Service regarding the organization’s current tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) or Section 170(c).  If you fall under a group ruling, you will need to send the (i) IRS letter granting group status, and (ii) documentation proving that your organization qualifies under the group.  For example: Catholic Entities will send in the group letter issued to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and then photocopy the cover page of “The Official Catholic Directory for the current year as well as photocopy the page where the organization is listed.  (Please highlight or mark place on the page).

EXHIBIT B – Tax Return and Financial Statements:  Submit your most recent Tax Return AND Financial Statements, audited if available.  Please send unbound copies.  If you are unable to send any financial information, you will need to provide a list showing the $ amount of any gifts or grants received in the last 5 years as well as provide a list showing the $ amount of any revenue in the last 5 years (describe the type of revenue).  This will require additional analysis to be performed and will extend the grant review process.

EXHIBIT C – Corporate Documents:  Please include the most recent following documents:

C-1      Certificate of Incorporation OR Certificate of Formation for Non-Profit Corp

C-2      Articles of Incorporation OR Articles of Formation

C-3      Bylaws

C-4     List of Board of Directors to include addresses and phone numbers

EXHIBIT D – Donor Requests:  Attach a separate sheet of paper listing all other funding sources.  List the name of the organization, the amount of funds requested, and the status of each request.  Indicate whether the funding request is pending (P), declined (D), or approved (A).

EXHIBIT E – Relationships:  Attach a separate sheet of paper listing each Board Member or Management Staff that has ANY relationship/acquaintance with any of the Green Bikini Fund’s Board Members.  Please provide a detail explanation of the relationship whether it is social, business or familial.

NOT ALL PROJECTS CAN BE FUNDED

The Board of Directors is responsible for the final approval of each grant.  Since the Fund receives funding requests far in excess of its ability to fund, only a small portion of requests can be approved.  A decision not to fund a proposal does not reflect on the merits of the applicant or the value of the proposal.

NO COMMEMORATIVE ITEMS

The Fund desires that all resources of any Grantee be dedicated to accomplishing its philanthropic purposes.  Accordingly, Grantees agree not to recognize the Fund, its board members or staff with any commemorative items.  Any form of public announcement should be pre-approved by the Green Bikini Fund.  When writing to the Green Bikini Fund regarding a grant received, please reference the grant number.