March
The Kickstart Evening is generally held in mid to late March. We invite all donors and any interested parties to come along and hear about what Impact100 WA is, what our Grant Recipients have been up to and how we are going about making a positive difference in our community.
The Grant Round opens in late March which is when we make the application documents available and start fielding enquiries.
April
The Workshop for Potential Applicants in early April is designed to step the not-for-profit organisations through our forms and processes. They are kept to a level of detail that provides us with sufficient information while also being accessible to all size of organisation, even those who don’t have dedicated grant application writers.
Ongoing
The Info Events include things like coffee mornings or evening drinks where a donor will invite friends to join them for a presentation about Impact100 WA. They also feature corporate ‘Lunch and Learns’ where we can introduce our work to a group of fellow workers. These can all take place throughout the year.
May
Once the Grant Round Closes with all completed applications due at the end of May, the Financials Review Committee get the first look at the them. They check the legal situation of each applying organisation and that they are in a sound financial position to carry out the proposed project.
June
Throughout June the applications get reviewed within their Focus Area in a preliminary round that picks the best from each area. All donors are invited to join these groups as they discuss the merits of the applications. It’s a great way to get an understanding of what we look for and what makes a worthwhile project.
After this, the long-listed ones are presented at the Initial Assessment Evening for discussion and voting. Again, all donors are invited to be part of this evening, with input from everyone being considered before a vote takes place to pick the ten or so that move forward.
June is also the time when we encourage past and potential donors to renew their commitment and make their donation for the year. There is the advantage of catching the tax deduction if it’s done before EOFY.
July
Full Application forms (which request more detail to enable a thorough due diligence) are sent to the short-listed not-for-profits and their deadline for completion is the end of July.
August
This is Site Visit season. This is a truly inspiring part of the process, where we go to meet the people involved in the organisations and see first-hand how they operate. Any interested donors are welcome to attend.
We also hold our annual Generous Australians – a session where we invite a local, well-known philanthropist to talk about their work, their motivations, their backgrounds etc and then open the floor to the audience for some questions. This event is open to the general public as a way to increase understanding of philanthropy generally as well as possibly finding new donors to come on board.
September
In September we gather together our expertise and our newly acquired knowledge and share it at the Final Assessment Evening. Donors discuss the merits and shortcomings of the short-listed applications before voting for the five finalists who will make presentations at the Grant Awards Dinner.
October
This is the time where we round up all the last-minute donors. Anyone who Donates before (or even on the night of) the big dinner is entitled to vote to decide who gets our transformational grant(s).
The Annual Grant Awards Dinner in late October is the highlight of our year. The five finalists mingle with our donors and their guests and make short but impassioned presentations to try and win as much support as possible. Donors have an almost impossible task in trying to decide between them because they are all so worthwhile. The votes are counted and winners announced on the night and the room is tingling with anticipation.
The distribution of grant funds commences in November but takes place according to the requirements of each individual proposed project.
November
And that is it in a nutshell – what a ride!
It’s fun, it’s informative and, ultimately, it’s transformational.