Congratulations! You’ve been awarded your North Central Michigan Community Foundation Grant. Now what?
Below are some easy bullet points for using your grant money and keeping track of your deadlines.
GRANT CONTACTS:
Youth Advisory Council Grants &
Community Impact Grants
Contact: Kara Bauer LeMonds
Phone: 989-354-6881
1. Set a calendar timer ONE MONTH before your grant expires. This is usually ONE YEAR from the grant award date. Remember your receipts must be dated after the date of board approval stated on your award letter.
2. If you are unable to use your funds by the time of your reminder, send an email requesting a 6 month extension. This extension is 6 months from your EXPIRATION DATE (not the date you request it). Here is a sample of a simple email to send.
Dear Kara,
I am writing to request a six month extension of my grant “NAME OF GRANT”, Grant # “2018XXXX” for $XXXX. My grant expiration date is XX/XX/XXXX.
Thank you,
Name of Contact on the Grant
3. Sign and send your Grant Agreement ASAP. We cannot pay any invoices without this document. It’s best to just get it signed right away and sent back to us so it’s on file and you don’t have to track down the powers-that-be to get your payment processed.
4. To utilize your grant money , you can submit your receipts and invoices for reimbursement one of three ways:
- Scan and Email to kbauerlemonds@cfnem.org;
- Mail to: Kara Bauer Lemonds, Program Officer, 101 N. Ripley, Suite F, Alpena, MI 49707
- Fax Attn: Kara LeMonds at 989-356-3319.
5. When submitting your receipts or invoices it is very helpful to include as much of the following as possible:
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The Grant Number
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The Project Name
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Organization Name
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Whether your grant is a Youth Advisory Council Grant or Community Impact Grant.
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Is this invoice for reimbursement to your organization, or do you need us to pay a bill for you?
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Name of company/school/individual getting paid and exact address we should send it to.
IMPORTANT: Remember, you can only submit receipts or invoices dated AFTER the date of grant approval.
You are also able to submit an invoice from your vendor and we can pay them directly for you. This works well if you are buying bulk equipment, instruments, uniforms, etc. Just make sure you send the invoice from the vendor and let us know this is a payment to them (as opposed to a reimbursement to you).
6. We also have available an Excel spreadsheet template for you to keep track of your grant deadlines and payment info. This will come in handy especially if you have multiple grants you are tracking. If this is something you could use, just request one from us, and we will email it to you.
Feel free to reach out to us with any questions or concerns at all. We at the Community Foundation are always here to help! We appreciate all you do for our community!
