2005 VERB Request for Proposals

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This "request for proposals" (RFP) is for participation in the project entitled "Values, Empowerment, Resources, and Betterment" (VERB). Please read the attached VERB project summary before completing this application, to see if this project is right for your organization.

This RFP is for organizations that can be described by all of the following statements:

1. The organization must be located in one of the following locations:

   • North Carolina
   • Northern California¹
   • Wisconsin
   • Metropolitan Washington, DC (incl. southern Maryland, northern Virginia, and the District of Columbia)

2. The organization must be either a "faith-based organization" (FBO) such as a temple or church, or a "community-based organization" such as a mutual assistance association (MAA).

3. The organization should be primarily managed by, and for, people whose families are from Cambodia, Laos and/or Vietnam.

4. The organization must have provided services to Southeast Asian American communities for at least three years.

5. The organization must provide services to low-income communities.

6. The organization must be interested in receiving technical assistance (personalized help to strengthen the organization) from the VERB project. Also, the organization must set aside time for such activities. Evening and weekend hours are allowable.

7. The organization must agree to submit brief financial and activity reports to VERB staff on a quarterly basis.

In addition, if the organization is a faith-based organization such as a temple or church, it must be interested in developing new social service programs or improving the social services it currently provides to community members.

If your organization does not meet ALL of the conditions listed above, please do not submit an application.

The maximum amount of funding available through this grant is $20,000 for each organization for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2005. Fiscal year 2005 is the third and final year of the three-year VERB project.

Before filling out this online form, you will likely want to have some information prepared. In addition to your contact information and some information on your organization, you will be asked to answer a series of "Yes and No" questions. You will also be asked to answer two questions about your project in less than two pages and to provide some budget figures for your project. You can also download printable PDF version (above right sidebar) and submit it by mail or fax.

Please provide the following documents:

• Documentation of your organization has nonprofit (or 501[c][3]) status, if applicable.
• If your organization does not have nonprofit status, please send a letter from an organization that has agreed to be your organization's fiscal agent² for the project. Please also send documentation of your fiscal agent's nonprofit status.
• Your organization's most recent financial audit
• Brief organizational description
• Your organization's most recent budget
• The names and contact information for three people who know your organization well

This supporting documentation can be sent to the following address by mail, fax, or e-mail. It must be received by November 12, 2004:

Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC)
Attn: VERB Project
1628 16th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009-3099
E-mail: searac@searac.org
Fax: (202) 667-6449

VERB staff will notify applicants of decisions by December 3, 2004.

If you have questions please call SEARAC at 1-800-600-9188.

¹For the purposes of this project, "northern California" includes the following counties: Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Marin, Mendocino, Modoc, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tuolumne, Yolo, and Yuba. Applications from organizations in other California counties will not be considered for this project.

²A fiscal agent organization is an organization that will help your organization with the reporting and financial responsibilities associated with this project. In addition, all VERB payments will be sent to the fiscal agent and the fiscal agent will be responsible for disbursing funds to your organization. Your organization's fiscal agent will be ultimately responsible for making sure that all of your organization's VERB activities, including the way your organization spends its VERB sub-award, adhere to the regulations of the project.