Overview
The
Letter of Intent for Major Projects is a screening process by which the Alberta
Ecotrust Grant Review Committee determines which proposals to invite for a full
Major Project Application. It is
intended to reduce the overall amount of work that applicants undertake to
apply for an Ecotrust Grant.
Please submit your Letter of Intent via email to grants@albertaecotrust.com in Microsoft Word format no later than February 15th if you are applying in the spring or August 15th if you are applying in the fall.
Please consider the following when completing your Letter of Intent:
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We have recently revised and shortened this form, so
be sure to review it thoroughly before filling it out and submitting it. If you have any comments or suggestions
about how to improve this form or the application process in general, please
contact us.
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Requests should not exceed $30,000.
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Requests should not exceed 75% of the total project
budget (including in-kind contributions).
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Check your application for spelling and grammatical
errors.
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Those organizations invited to submit a full
application will have approximately 4 weeks to complete and submit the full
application to the Foundation.
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Supplementary materials, including letters of
support, will not be considered.
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This document is password protected, and fields have
limited characters. We do this to
encourage applicants to reduce the workload and hone their "case for support,"
and to reduce the time required by our volunteer Grant Review members to review
and rate proposals.
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It is
strongly suggested that you contact the Grant Program staff to
discuss your proposal, prior to submitting your Letter of Intent. We also recommend reviewing our website
where there is additional information on eligibility and what we fund.
Guidelines for Major Project Letter of Intent Application
The following questions correspond to the questions on the application form for major project letter of intent. These questions are here to help you while filling out the application form.
C1 - Please indicate which of the following environmental priorities your project will address - please choose the primary priority, and select only one.
C2 - Indicate which of the following strategies best describes how your project will address the priority identified above. Please choose the primary strategy.
Please choose only one. We recognize that several strategies may be employed but please choose the one that BEST represents your tactic in addressing the issue.
C3 - Provide the project location and geographic scope.
This is the area that the project is to be carried out, not necessarily the same as your office location. (ie. Castle Crown area, North West Alberta, etc)
C4 - Provide a brief summary of your proposed project and how it relates to your organization's mission or mandate. Successful recipients may have this summary made available to the public. (max 200 words)
Consider this your "elevator pitch." It should be brief but compelling, and tell the story of the issue/problem, how you plan to address it, and why your organization is best-suited to do so.
C5 - What is the impact or outcome you hope to achieve with your intended audience, community or your organization? (max 100 words)
Who is the recipient of your program or service? Why does the issue need to be addressed? Why are these services needed? What do you hope to achieve? How will this project lead to an improvement in the environment?
C6 - Outline the key activities and/or products for the project (bullet form).
Please BRIEFLY list some of the primary activities, events or milestones of the project. Be realistic about your goals and timelines and what can be achieved within one year. Try to quantify your goals (ie. 20 presentations to 50 people each, 1000 cubic meters of water saved, etc)
C7 - Please state why your organization is qualified to undertake this project. (max 50 words)
Why is your organization best-suited to address this problem/issue? What are your credentials or past successes in this field?
C8 - Please list the other organizations that are also currently working on this issue, and how and with whom you intend to collaborate. (max 200 words)
There are often several organizations working on similar issues. Knowing who's doing what helps reduce redundancy. Will you be working with other agencies on aspects of this project? Please check around to see who else is working on this issue in this region.
C9 - Please summarize why your project/proposal is important and should be funded by Alberta Ecotrust Foundation. Consider highlighting environmental urgency, critical timing issues, or current financial need of your organization. (max 100 words)
This is a chance to explain why your organization needs support for this project. Are you timing your project with governmental processes or timelines? How critical is Ecotrust funding to your organization? Is this an environmental issue that is time-limited? Consider this a space to share anything relevant and compelling with our review committee.
