321 South Plymouth Court, Suite 700

Chicago, Illinois 60604-3997

(312) 554-2041 (phone)  (312) 554-2054 (fax)

2014-15Grant Application Letter of Inquiry

(Due Date: July 28, 2014, at 5:00 p.m.)

Instructions

Mission and History

The Sun-Times Judge Marovitz Lawyers Lend-A-Hand to Youth Program (Lawyers Lend-A-Hand to Youth) channels the legal community’s resources to promote best practice mentoring and tutoring programs in disadvantaged communities that foster consistent, long-term bonds between adults and youth.

The various means by which we accomplish our mission include:

  • Awarding annual grants to exemplary mentoring/tutoring programs
  • Recognizing outstanding youth mentoring programs through the Thomas A. Demetrio Award of Excellence and other named grants
  • Providing professional development and other capacity building technical assistance to our grantee mentoring programs throughout the year including:
  • Group training and professional development on best practices in the mentor/tutor community (recent sessions have focused on evaluation and screening/monitoring volunteers)
  • One-on-one coaching through the Peer Skill Share program with our philanthropic partner the Pierce Family Foundation
  • Limited legal counseling on employment and nonprofit issues as a part of SmithAmundsen's Frontline service
  • Recruiting volunteers from the legal community to serve as mentors/tutors and board members in area programs
  • Raising the legal community's awareness of the importance of mentoring disadvantaged youth
  • Expanding cultural, educational, and athletic opportunities for young people through our Tickets-for-Kids program

In 2014, Lend-A-Hand awarded grants to fourteen programs serving youth across the Chicago area. Since its founding in 1995 by former Chicago Bar Association President Thomas A. Demetrio, Lawyers Lend-A-Hand to Youth has awarded over $1.5 million in grants and positively affected the lives of tens of thousands of youth.

Grant Application Process and Criteria

Process and Timing. The grant application is divided into two parts. A Letter of Inquiry (LOI) (see below) must be submitted by Monday, July 28, 2014, at 5:00 p.m. Lend-A-Hand will determine based upon this LOI whom to invite to complete the full grant application. Eligible applicants will be notified in August, and the full grant application will be due in September. Grant disbursements are again anticipated to occur in January.

LOI Criteria. As stated above, Lend-A-Hand currently funds 14 mentoring/tutoring programs. The number of programs funded during the 2014-2015 cycle will be similar with the goal of providing higher quality support to our grantee partners and ensuring that we are able to continue our support of mentoring programs long into the future.

In making determinations regarding the LOI, Lend-A-Hand will look closely at a program’s capacity or its ability to provide its described services. Our goal, however, will be to find programs that we can help to grow and eventually thrive without our support. We will, therefore, look very closely at:

  • The number of years that a program has been in existence;
  • The number of years the program has already received funding from Lend-A-Hand;
  • The budget for the program; and
  • For prior grantees, whether they have participated in professional development and other programs offered by Lend-A-Hand.

Amounts. For the 2014-2015 cycle, $5,000 will be the minimum grant amount awarded. This determination also reflects our desire to provide a level of meaningful support to each grantee partner.

It is our hope that the above information will help past and potential grantees to accurately plan for the future. As an organization, we strive to be trustworthy, forward thinking, and resourceful in serving our constituents, in decision-making, and in communicating our message.

Other Grant Requirements and Criteria

Lawyers Lend-A-Hand to Youth's grant requirements reflect our commitment topromoting best practice mentoring and tutoring programs in disadvantaged communities that foster consistent, long-term bonds between adults and youth. They also reflect our belief in the potential for all youth to succeed. To be eligible for a grant, a program must meet the following core requirements:

  • The program must be operated by a 501(c)(3) organization or have an appropriate fiscal agency agreement with a qualified 501(c)(3) entity.

  • The program must primarily serve young people from disadvantaged communities in either Chicago or the suburbs.
  • The program must have a goal or objective to provide one-on-one, long-term mentoring between an adult mentor and a young person. Long-term is defined as at least one school or calendar year.
  • To ensure that one-on-one mentoring is an actual and stated goal, a minimum of fifty percent (50%) of the program’s match-ups must be one-on-one with a plan in place to reach a one hundred percent (100%) one-on-one matched rate.
  • For tutoring programs, there must be consistency and longevity in the relationships between the tutor and the young person (i.e., tutors are not constantly changing), and there must be a mentoring component to the tutoring relationship that goes beyond assisting with schoolwork.

Lend-A-Hand seeks to fund programs that also meet the following additionalcriteria:

  • The program targets teens, notjust younger children.
  • The program recruits a diverse pool of mentors/tutors that includes:
  • Lawyers and other members of the legal profession; and
  • Adults from inside and outside of the community served.
  • The program promotes relationships that increase the young person’s self-esteem and improves his/her options for long-term success.
  • The program collaborates with local leaders and other organizations in the community served.
  • The program is efficiently administered and strives for improvement.
  • The program is sustainable and has plans for leadership succession.

Named Grants

In addition to our general grants, Lawyers Lend-A-Hand will award the followed named grant award:

  • The Thomas A. Demetrio Award of Excellence – an award funded annually by the law firm of Corboy & Demetrio, P.C. and given to the most exemplary established mentoring or tutoring program.

There is no separate application to be eligible for the above-named grant award. Programs that submit grant proposals for general grants will be considered for the Demetrio Award.

Proposal Submission and Grant Reports

The 2014-2015 grant application has been divided into two parts. The LOI must be submitted by Monday, July 28, 2014, at 5:00 p.m. Lend-A-Hand will determine based upon this LOI whom to invite to complete the full grant application. Eligible applicants will be notified in August, and the full grant application will be due in September. Grant disbursements are again anticipated to occur in January.

You may download the LOI and its instructions from our website, Your final LOI and all attachments must be submitted onlineand two (2) printed copies must be received at the Lawyers Lend-A-Hand to Youth office by Monday, July 28, 2014, at 5:00 p.m. Late or incomplete proposals may not be considered. Proposals should be submitted to:

Lawyers Lend-A-Hand to Youth

321 South Plymouth Court

Suite 700

Chicago, IL 60604

Please also allow yourself time to enter your application through our online system.

All materials submitted to Lawyers Lend-A-Hand to Youth become the property of Lawyers Lend-A-Hand to Youth and will not be returned. Information contained in the proposals submitted may be shared with third parties and outside organizations as part of Lawyers Lend-A-Hand to Youth’s evaluation process. Lawyers Lend-A-Hand to Youth reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, in whole or in part, at any time in its sole discretion.

All grant recipients will be required to submit a yearly report stating how the funds were used. Thereportfrom last year’s grant recipients is due on Tuesday, September 2, 2014. Last year’s grant recipients who are invited to participate in the full grant application for 2014-2015 can and will have that invitation revoked due to failure to submit their previous year’s report on time.

Applicants understand that grant funds are to be used solely to support mentoring and tutoring programs, which may include general operating costs. Lawyers Lend-A-Hand to Youth expressly reserves the right to recover misused or misappropriated grant funds. All programs through their authorized agents will be required to sign an agreement stating that they understand the above obligations prior to receiving their grant checks.

A copy of an internal checklist used by Lend-A-Hand is available on our website, and you may want to consult that list to ensure that you are submitting all the required components of your grant application LOI. If you have questions, please contact Genita C. Robinson at or 312.554.2041.

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