FAQs

Questions received through grants@rizema.org

These FAQ reflect questions received through Thursday, June 13 at noon. This is our final update to the FAQ. If you have questions that are not answered here, please contact us at grants@rizema.org. We will monitor that inbox until 7pm on Friday, June 14.

Our OUD program annual budget is under $5 million per year. However, the entire organization budget is over $5 million.  Is our program still eligible to apply for this funding?

Are we eligible if our organization is larger than 5 million? Would it be acceptable to apply for a program or set of programs that have a $5 million or under budget?

Our organization has an overall operating budget in excess of $5 million. However, the organization houses many smaller programs with individual, solely grant-funded budgets. Is a subsidiary program with a budget of <$5 million, that is housed under a larger organization with a budget >$5 million, eligible to apply?

The answer to these questions is no, they would not be eligible to apply. The primary purpose of the CORE grant opportunity is to support capacity building for organizations with a total annual operating budget of under $5 million for the entire organization, not for a specific program.

One of the CORE grant program’s guiding principles is this “unique public-private partnership will allow small, community-based organizations to apply for settlement funds.”

Are school districts allowed to apply for the Community-led Opioid Response Efforts (CORE) Grant Program?

No, school districts would not be eligible as their budgets are greater than $5m.

Our 501(c)(3) status and our central office is in Colorado; … we have begun our expansion across twelve states nationwide, including Massachusetts. I was curious if we still qualify for the grant.

Unfortunately, no, your organization would not be eligible. Grant funds are intended for organizations based in Massachusetts.

We recently formed a company… a few of us are Boston based. We are in the first year so we have limited data required (i.e. annual report and P/L). Does this exclude us from an application?

Limited financial data or being newly formed would not exclude you from applying as long as your organization meets the eligibility criteria:

• Have a total annual operating budget of under $5 million.
• Have nonprofit tax status (501c3) or have a fiscal agent with such status.
• Are in good standing and current on state and federal reporting requirements.
• Deliver prevention, harm reduction, treatment, recovery, trauma, and family supports for those with opioid use disorder.
• Are based and work in Massachusetts.

We are a chapter of a national organization. Our chapter is registered as a 501c3 in Massachusetts, are we eligible to apply?

Yes, organizations, including chapters of national organizations, who are registered as a non-profit in Massachusetts and meet all of the other criteria (see below) are eligible to apply.

If we use a fiscal sponsor, should we submit our organization’s annual operating budget or our fiscal sponsor’s operating budget on the application?

You should submit your own organization’s annual operating budget.

Will the Mosaic Grant Application Questions in Round One be similar to the Application Questions in Round Two and Round Three?

The application questions for the next rounds of funding have not yet been determined. Although since the grant program will change, we expect that at least some of the application questions will also change.

Are municipalities eligible to apply in the current grant round?

Municipalities have budgets that exceed $5m, so no, they are not eligible for this round. Please check back in early fall for our next round of grant funding that will specifically target work in municipalities.

Are federally-qualified community health centers eligible for this round?

Federally qualified community health centers are eligible for this round if they meet the following criteria:

•  Have a total annual operating budget of under $5 million.
•  Have nonprofit tax status (501c3) or have a fiscal agent with such status.
•  Are in good standing and current on state and federal reporting requirements.
•  Deliver prevention, harm reduction, treatment, recovery, trauma, and family support for those with opioid use disorder.
•  Are based and work in Massachusetts.

Will municipalities be eligible to apply for the second round of FY25 funding that will focus on matching municipal settlement funds – or would they be eligible for other future rounds?

When do you expect the application guidance for the second round of FY25 funding to be released?

Will the eligibility of municipalities and/or the grant amount they might receive for the second round depend on the size of the city/town’s budget?

Please check back in early fall for information on our next round of Mosaic grant funding that will specifically target work in municipalities. The launch date and specific criteria have not yet been confirmed for that round. Please check our website – rizema.org –  beginning in September 2024 for more information on application timing and eligibility criteria.

We are aware that this grant round is for organizations with a total annual budget of $5M or less. Will correctional facilities be eligible to apply perhaps in another round when the budget guidelines are for organizations over $5M?

Eligibility requirements are not yet set for the next rounds of funding. Please check our website rizema.org in September 2024 during our second grant round and again in the spring of 2025 for our third grant round for the eligibility requirements.

If there are additional or missing materials needed or questions that need to be answered, do those have to be in before the deadline?

RIZE will reach out with any questions or needs during the application review process – which is between June 17 and July 30.

If we have a fiscal sponsor, do you require a verification letter?

No, not as part of the application. If you are awarded a grant, we will ask for any further documentation we need.

Can a municipality be a fiscal sponsor for a local nonprofit who would like to apply?

Yes, as long as it’s clear that the funds would be flowing to the nonprofit organization and the municipality is acting only as the fiscal sponsor. Please also check back on our website in September for information on our next Mosaic grant round that will be to support municipal work specifically.

Can you speak to the difference between the annual operating budget and a profit and loss statement?

An annual operating budget is usually created as a planning document at the beginning of the year, and you work with it for the rest of the year. It should include everything that you plan for in a year – income and expenses. A profit and loss document is usually based on what’s already happened in a year that’s already past. It is a statement of past activity.

In our operating budget, should we include the possible grant funds that we would receive from this grant if awarded and how we would use them?

Please submit your budget as it is now, do not include projected funds from this grant.

If we don’t have an EIN but we use a fiscal sponsor whose EIN should we put in the application?

Please enter the EIN of the fiscal sponsor.

We do more than we account for in our budget because we want to meet the budget each year. Should we be counting things that we don’t normally include in our budget?

If you have a budget that your organization works from and that you create each year the same way, please submit that budget. There is no need to add or subtract anything.

If we are a local chapter of a larger organization, do you want the budget of the larger organization or of the local chapter?

Please submit the operating budget for the local chapter. The local chapter must also meet the eligibility criteria outlined below.

Will there be another round of funding for small organizations just like this round?

There will be two more rounds of funding, but each will have different criteria. The second round will launch in the fall and will be focused on work in municipalities. The focus of the third round has not been confirmed. RIZE will post information about those rounds at rizema.org as soon as the information is available.

Will we receive feedback on our application if we are not awarded a grant?

We love to give feedback and will let you know in our declination letter whether or not we are able to provide it for this round. It will depend on the number applications we receive. Please see our website for links to additional resources outside of RIZE that can give feedback on your grant writing and more.

We are in the process of getting our first financial audit but it’s not ready yet. We have letter of explanation from our account for 2023, could we submit that instead of the audit?

Yes, upload that in addition to your annual operating budget.

Do we need to submit our form PC?

No, you don’t have to submit a form PC.

Proposal Guidelines

What are the goals of the CORE grant program?

The primary goal of the CORE grant program is to help community-based organizations deepen their impact and build a strong and sustainable infrastructure to meet the needs of the populations they serve. The grants will provide general operating support to strengthen and build organizations so that they can maintain their essential work into the future.

Who is eligible to apply for these funds?

Organizations are eligible to apply if they:

• Have a total annual operating budget of under $5 million.
• Have nonprofit tax status (501c3) or have a fiscal agent with such status.
• Are in good standing and current on state and federal reporting requirements.
• Deliver prevention, harm reduction, treatment, recovery, trauma, and family supports for those with opioid use disorder.
• Are based and work in Massachusetts.

Who is not eligible to apply for these funds?

We do not accept applications from religious institutions, for-profit institutions, or individuals and families. We cannot consider grant requests for fundraising events, athletic-related events, political advocacy, and related activities, or endowment funds.

Organizations with an annual operating budget of over $5,000,000 are not eligible to apply.

My program budget is under $5,000,000, but my organization’s operating budget is over that amount. Can we apply?

One of the grant program’s guiding principles is this “unique public-private partnership will allow small, community-based organizations and municipalities to apply for settlement funds.”  The program’s eligibility criteria reflect this principle. Therefore, only organizations with a total annual operating budget of under $5 million for the entire organization, not for a specific program, can apply.

While you may not be eligible for this specific funding opportunity, additional funding rounds will be available in the fall of 2024 and spring of 2025. Information about the criteria for those rounds will be released soon.

I have a current grant from RIZE or have received a grant from RIZE in the past. Am I eligible for this grant opportunity?

Yes.

Our organization delivers OUD services, but we also work on other issues. Can we apply?

Yes, as long as you meet all of the criteria in the application guidelines.  Please note the total budget of your organization will be considered, not just the portion dedicated to OUD services.

What are the grant selection criteria?

RIZE seeks to fund nonprofit organizations that work with diverse communities and populations that are historically underserved and have experienced a higher rate of opioid-related overdose deaths and that center the voices of those most affected by the opioid epidemic in their communities.

Organizations must also meet the eligibility criteria which are:

• Have a total annual operating budget of under $5 million.
• Have nonprofit tax status (501c3) or have a fiscal agent with such status.
• Deliver prevention, treatment, harm reduction, recovery and /or trauma and family supports and services related to opioid use disorder.
• Are in good standing and current on state and federal reporting requirements.
• Are based and work in Massachusetts

What activities are expected of grantees?

In addition to the activities you outline in your proposal, grantees are expected to participate in virtual or in-person meetings, technical assistance offerings, and convenings to network, share ideas, and learn from each other.  Grantees will help determine the topics of the training and technical assistance.

Grantees are also expected to participate in the evaluation conducted by the Institute of Community Health. RIZE and the evaluators are committed to a participatory evaluation process that you help design and is not burdensome.

Finally, we will ask grantees to prepare annual progress reports and share learning and impact data.

Application

What is a fiscal agent?

If your organization does not have a non-profit tax status from the Internal Revenue Service, you can still apply for a grant from RIZE using a fiscal agent. A fiscal agent is an organization that agrees to accept and manage grant funds on your behalf.

To find a fiscal agent, look for a 501(c)(3) organization or another eligible organization with a similar mission to yours. Once you’ve identified a potential fiscal agent, you should establish a formal relationship and written agreement.  Be aware that most fiscal agents charge fees, usually a percentage of the funds they manage, to cover their administrative costs. 

What is a mission statement?

A nonprofit organization’s mission statement is a brief statement that clarifies the essence of its existence. It tells a person who knows nothing about your organization what it does. In one to three sentences, it names the problem your organization works to solve and the population you aim to help. It is usually approved by the nonprofit’s board of directors.

What additional detail should we provide on the populations we serve (question 3)?

Briefly tell us their story and bring them to life.  For example, if you serve youth, are they out of school or in school?  Are they unhoused?  Are they school-aged or young adults?

What is general operating support?

General operating support is intended to strengthen and build organizations so that they can maintain their essential work into the future. Unlike program-specific grants, general operating grants can help organizations sustain their operations without worrying about covering basic costs. This funding can be particularly significant for organizations that need a steady revenue stream and rely on grants and donations.  The hope is that by stabilizing operations, the organization will be able to strengthen its capacity.

What does it mean to strengthen organizational capacity?

Building organizational capacity means building a strong and sustainable organizational infrastructure to meet the needs of the populations they serve.  Examples include, but are not limited to, improving financial management, building the board of directors, partnering with other organizations in the community, and strengthening staff and volunteers.

How much funding can I request?

The three-year grants will range from $50,000 to $150,000 annually, depending on the organization’s budget.

• Organizations with budgets of $250,000 or less may request up to $50,000 per year or 30% of their annual operating budget, whichever is less, for three years.

• Organizations with budgets between $250,000 and $1 million may request up to $100,000 per year or 30% of their annual operating budget, whichever is less, for three years.

• Organizations with budgets ranging from $1 to $5 million may request up to $150,000 per year for three years.

What is the thinking behind the funding amounts?

We established certain parameters to ensure a fair and efficient award process. This tiered approach was developed after careful consideration of various factors, including best practices and equity considerations such as the amount of money available for this round, the high volume of applications we expect, and our goal of funding as many organizations as possible.  Additionally, we want to ensure that communities that have been historically marginalized and have a high rate of fatal overdoses receive an equitable share of the funds.

We believe that our commitment to providing three years of unrestricted, general operating support will help organizations on the front lines of the overdose crisis achieve stability, serve more people, and save more lives. We will carefully evaluate this process and funding amounts before launching future rounds and make any necessary improvements.

How will the payments work?

All awarded grantees will receive their first-year payment in full in August 2024. To ensure everything is going smoothly and to share your progress with us, we’ll ask you to send a progress report before the payments for years two and three. This report should include a summary of the activities you’ve undertaken with the grant, an evaluation of the achievements you’ve made, and a detailed financial report on how you’ve utilized the funds. Report templates and technical assistance will be available.

How can funds be used?

The expenditure of these funds should align with achieving the organizational goals you state in question 7 of the application.  These goals are how you plan to build your capacity.  This means you can spend the funds to address urgent and emerging issues, invest in organizational infrastructure, or meet different operational needs.

Funded activities and organizations should utilize a public health framework and focus on prevention, harm reduction, treatment, recovery, trauma, and family supports.

What can funds NOT be used for?

Funds cannot be used for:

• Fundraising pursuits
• Capital campaigns, endowments or annual appeals
• Clinical or drug trials
• Support for individuals or the promulgation of religious beliefs
• Lobbying or legislative activity

The Timeline

What is the introductory webinar about and how do I register?

The webinar was a virtual session held on May 21. A recording of the session is available at rizema.org. The webinar was an opportunity to meet with RIZE staff who reviewed the grant guidelines and application and answered questions. Additional questions can be addressed at the upcoming virtual ‘office hours‘ sessions and/or by submitting an email to grants@rizema.org.

What are “office hours”?

When you sit down and start writing a grant application, more questions usually come to mind. Office hours are an opportunity to meet with staff and address these questions.  There may also be a “topic,” typically addressing an issue or question that has arisen frequently like how to write a mission statement or goals.  Office hours will be held via zoom on May 28, June 4 and June 13. Register to attend at rizema.org.

When and how will we be notified of funding decisions?

All applicants will be notified of decisions on July 30 via phone or email.

Proposal Review

How will proposals be reviewed?

All proposals will undergo a fair, equitable, and timely review process.

• RIZE staff will ensure applicants meet eligibility requirements.
• Review teams will read and score assigned proposals against a rubric.
• Review teams will be comprised of three reviewers each and will include people with lived experience/family members, subject expertise, and/or understanding of equity and inclusion.
• RIZE will work to ensure that there is an equitable distribution of funds based on geography, population served, opioid overdose rates, and types of services.

How many grants will be awarded?

The number of grants awarded will be based on the number of applicants and the size of the grant requests.

Will feedback be provided on our application if we want it?

While we would love to provide personalized feedback on individual grant proposals, due to the high volume of applications we expect to receive and our commitment to a fair and impartial review process, we cannot.