CSL Grant Applications
The Children’s Support League (CSL) is a philanthropic organization dedicated to supporting non-profit organizations serving children. Every year, CSL provides a limited number of grants to a variety of programs that benefit children. Click here to see a list of last year’s grant recipients.
Our grant application is by invitation only. CSL accepts unsolicited requests for a grant application throughout the year from non-profit 501(c) (3) organizations, and, in October of each year, the Grants Committee invites selected agencies to apply.
Grant Selection Guidelines
Our grant decisions are guided by our mission: To improve the lives of children in our community. CSL's goals are to keep children safe, support their families, enhance their intellectual, emotional and physical well-being, and enrich their lives. CSL’s main fundraising event, The Heart of the Home Tour, takes place in April. Our net proceeds from that event will be the determining factor in the number of grants and the size of grants CSL is able to make. We distribute the funds through a competitive process to a variety of non-profit agencies that benefit disadvantaged children, newborn to age 18, in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties.
CSL is interested in creative approaches to solving problems related to the children in our community. We pay close attention to an agency’s self-sufficiency, potential access to other sources of funding, size of population served, relative importance of the social need that the program addresses and impact on children served. CSL strives to distribute its resources to a wide cross section of programs that address different social needs and that serve children of different age groups and in different geographical areas.
Our grant awards typically range in size from $3,000 to $10,000. We award program grants to agencies where a grant of this size will have a significant impact.
We look for proposals that are clear, concise and well substantiated.
We do not fund programs that promote political or religious views and interests.
CSL does not promise ongoing support to programs previously funded. Applications from organizations receiving previous support from CSL will be judged as new requests and evaluated in relation to other submitted applications.
Current Funding Period
July 2012 to June 2013
Requests for Grant Applications
CSL welcomes inquiries from non-profit organizations serving children in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. E-mail your Request for Proposal to grants@wehelpkids.org by October 15.
Please provide the following information in your one-page request:
1. A description of your agency.
2. A description of your proposed project, including the number of
children to be served, the children’s age group, and the priority
needs of the children served in your program.
3. The annual operating budget for your proposed project
and for your agency.
4. The grant amount to be requested.
5. The contact person’s name, address, telephone
and email.
Although Grant applicants from the last two funding cycles do not need to resubmit a Request for Proposal, prior funding does not guarantee an invitation for the current funding cycle. All other agencies are asked to email a Request for Grant Application.
CSL will conduct a preliminary screening of prospective organizations and invite selected agencies who best fit our priorities to apply. CSL will only review applications that are submitted from agencies that have received an invitation.
Grant Applications
Agencies that have been invited to apply must complete a Grant Application and submit the designated supporting documents. Click on the forms below to download the necessary documents:
Grant Application Instructions for funding
Grant Application Form
Certification
Progress Report for grant received July of previous year
End-of-the-Year Report
Deadlines
Agencies who wish to request a grant application must e-mail a Request for Grant Application by October 15 for the current funding period. Requests for Grant Application received after the due date will be considered for the subsequent funding cycle.
If your agency has been invited to apply, CSL must receive your Grant Application by mail on or before January 15.
Timing of Awards
Grant applicants will be notified of CSL decision by late June, and awards will be mailed to grant recipients by early July.
Contacting the Grants Committee
If you have any questions about CSL's grant application process, the best way to reach the Grants Committee is by e-mail at grants@wehelpkids.org. You may also leave a voice mail message in CSL’s general mail box at (510) 338-4521. A Committee member will respond to you as promptly as possible.
The Grants Committee will do its utmost to respond to your comments and questions in a timely fashion. Please note, however, that the Grants Committee is inactive during July through mid-September. Also, the members of the Grants Committee change each year. Consequently, there may be a slight delay in responding to your correspondence during our summer hiatus and before the new Grants Committee is formed.