Establishing Micro-grant Programs

Posted :September 21, 2018

Updated :September 21, 2018

Investing in Community Resources: Establishing Micro-grant Programs

Learn how micro-grants can engage citizens in creative community betterment efforts and generate accomplishments citizens can take pride in.

WHAT IS A MICRO-GRANTS PROGRAM?
WHY MIGHT YOU WANT TO ESTABLISH A MICRO-GRANTS PROGRAM?
WHEN SHOULD YOU ESTABLISH A MICRO-GRANTS PROGRAM?
HOW DO YOU ESTABLISH A MICRO-GRANTS PROGRAM?

WHAT IS A MICRO-GRANTS PROGRAM?

Micro-grants are small, one-time-only, cash awards given to community groups and others for short-term community projects. The micro-grants projects are designed and implemented by the community groups themselves, not by the sponsoring organizations. They are bottom-up, not top-down. They are usually awarded on a competitive basis - the sponsoring organizations decide which proposal best meet its guidelines, and are most deserving of the limited mini-grant money available.

Many coalitions and other organizations are using micro-grants to stimulate community action and increase the sponsoring organization's visibility while broadening the audience for the organization's work. Micro-grants are potentially powerful as well as cost-effective interventions. When used correctly, they can engage citizens in creative community betterment efforts, and generate real accomplishments citizens can take pride in.

WHY ESTABLISH MICRO-GRANTS PROGRAMS?

Micro-grants may seem like a good idea to you and your organization. But since they do involve using some of your limited resources, maybe you need a little more motivation as to what micro-grants can actually do for your community!

There are some benefits of a successful micro-grant program:

They inspire creative and innovative thinking
They are an excellent way to reach "hard to reach" or "yet to be reached" people because they are awarded to groups (like parent-teacher associations, scouts, neighborhood organizations) that have access to many more citizens than traditional health and human service organizations
Many grass-roots groups are not eligible for traditional grant funding. For example, they may not have federal tax-exempt status (a common grant requirement), or, they may not have another organization to act as a fiscal conduit for them. Thus, micro-grants give them a chance to get hold of resources that would otherwise go only to bigger fish.
The small amounts of money (the usual range being $400-$2000 per micro-grant) tend to discourage large agencies from applying while encouraging smaller, innovative groups who might not otherwise respond
Micro-grant money tends to buy products, not staff. In-kind contributions of staff time increase with micro-grant use. And having to make money go a long way forces people to bring other resources into play, thus increasing the amount of matching and volunteers projects receive.
They can bring new partners into your efforts
They can build political and community support

WHEN SHOULD YOU ESTABLISH A MICRO-GRANTS PROGRAM?

If your organization has some money available to spend as it wishes, then you may want to consider establishing a micro-grant program. So when is the best time to do this?

When:

You want to utilize some program funds to get grassroots groups more involved
You know that citizens already have many good grassroots ideas
You are aware of possible matching resources in the community
You want to create closer ties between traditional service organizations and grassroots groups
You are looking for ways to get the most bang for your buck

HOW DO YOU ESTABLISH MICRO-GRANTS PROGRAMS?

MAKE THE DECISION

The first step is to decide that you want to do it! This most likely means you will need to review your organization's budget. Then ask yourselves: "Of our overall available funds, are we able to, and do we want to, allocate some of the money for micro-grants?"

If the answer is "Yes" to both of these questions, then you will want to ask: "How much do we want to allocate?" A recommended amount to start with is $5000.

These decisions will set the course for the rest of your micro-grant program. The next steps will lay the rest of the groundwork.

ESTABLISH YOUR PURPOSE

You and your group should now decide what your goals are for the program. What are you providing the micro-grants for? Whom do you want to reach? What outcomes do you desire?

DEVELOP MICRO-GRANTS COMMITTEES

In practice, you will probably want two search committees:

A planning (or steering) committee - You will need a group to set up the guidelines, publicize the program, receive the applications, monitor micro-grant activities and oversee the whole process.
A review committee - you will also want a group to review the actual micro-grant applications. This may be composed of community members, or a mixed group of people from your agency and from the community to ensure fairness and an impartial review. You certainly want to avoid a stacked deck or even the appearance of one.