Overview of Professional Development Request for Proposal (RFP) - 2024
Background
The Medina Foundation defines professional development as activities that improve or enhance the skills, talents, and capacity of individuals who work in the nonprofit sector. We know that strengthening individuals within an organization strengthens the overall health of an organization. Knowing professional development is something that is valued, but often challenging to pay for, we want to support personal and professional growth for our nonprofit partners who are doing the important work that we so admire. Please read the full overview below for instructions on how to apply for the Professional Development RFP.
Note that this RFP is by invitation only, so please don’t forward outside of your organization.
What We Will Fund
We want to fund the professional development you most need and what is of most value to your organization. This could be an opportunity for any staff member(s), board member(s) or your organization as a whole to strengthen any part of your work (fundraising, board development, marketing, communications, leadership, and succession planning are just some examples). We don’t want to be prescriptive. As a member of the Statewide Capacity Collaborative, we know from the Washington State Leadership Scan that it is important for funders to support flexible approaches to leadership development, and we are expanding this to include overall professional development.
We will consider requests for conferences (registration fees as well as travel/lodging expenses), seminars, memberships, convenings, coaches, consultants, trainings, sabbaticals, and classes. Feel free to contact us if there is something you are considering that isn’t on this list—we are open to creative approaches and helping your organization with what is most needed. Knowing that professional development takes planning and these grants won’t be awarded until May 2024, Medina will consider opportunities that may be scheduled as late as December 2025.
Competitive Process
This is a competitive process, and we are sorry in advance that we won’t be able to fund every worthy request. We have $100,000 in available funding for this RFP, and we can consider one request from your organization, up to a maximum of $5,000. These professional development grants are an additional opportunity for you to apply for—you are still welcome to approach us for other grants that you were planning to submit this year.
What We Will Be Looking For
Because this is a competitive process and we expect to only be able to fund a fraction of the requests, applications that rank the highest will:
Deadline/Timeline
All requests are due by 5pm on Friday, March 29, 2024. We are unable to accept any late proposals. Decisions will be made by mid-May, and you will receive notification whether you received funding or not.
Instructions/How to Apply:
All requests must be made through our e-grant system as described above. No paper applications will be accepted.
Because this RFP is only going to grantees with a recent history of funding from the Medina Foundation, this is not an extensive application process. There will not be any site visits. If you are awarded funding, Medina will request a brief report after your professional development concludes (by the end of 2025, at the latest).
Beyond some basic information, you will see three main questions in the application:
Additional Questions
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or would like any additional information about this opportunity. If you are a King County-based organization, contact Aana Lauckhart at [email protected]. For organizations outside of King County, contact Jessica Case at [email protected]. For application assistance or help with the e-grant system, contact Alexia Casiano at [email protected] or (206) 652-8783.
The Medina Foundation defines professional development as activities that improve or enhance the skills, talents, and capacity of individuals who work in the nonprofit sector. We know that strengthening individuals within an organization strengthens the overall health of an organization. Knowing professional development is something that is valued, but often challenging to pay for, we want to support personal and professional growth for our nonprofit partners who are doing the important work that we so admire. Please read the full overview below for instructions on how to apply for the Professional Development RFP.
Note that this RFP is by invitation only, so please don’t forward outside of your organization.
What We Will Fund
We want to fund the professional development you most need and what is of most value to your organization. This could be an opportunity for any staff member(s), board member(s) or your organization as a whole to strengthen any part of your work (fundraising, board development, marketing, communications, leadership, and succession planning are just some examples). We don’t want to be prescriptive. As a member of the Statewide Capacity Collaborative, we know from the Washington State Leadership Scan that it is important for funders to support flexible approaches to leadership development, and we are expanding this to include overall professional development.
We will consider requests for conferences (registration fees as well as travel/lodging expenses), seminars, memberships, convenings, coaches, consultants, trainings, sabbaticals, and classes. Feel free to contact us if there is something you are considering that isn’t on this list—we are open to creative approaches and helping your organization with what is most needed. Knowing that professional development takes planning and these grants won’t be awarded until May 2024, Medina will consider opportunities that may be scheduled as late as December 2025.
Competitive Process
This is a competitive process, and we are sorry in advance that we won’t be able to fund every worthy request. We have $100,000 in available funding for this RFP, and we can consider one request from your organization, up to a maximum of $5,000. These professional development grants are an additional opportunity for you to apply for—you are still welcome to approach us for other grants that you were planning to submit this year.
What We Will Be Looking For
Because this is a competitive process and we expect to only be able to fund a fraction of the requests, applications that rank the highest will:
- Be specific about the opportunity and the cost
- Clearly articulate who will be participating in the opportunity and how the professional development will benefit the participant(s)
- Show how the opportunity will have a positive effect on the organization as a whole and what benefit(s) will be achieved
- Demonstrate that there is organizational buy-in for this opportunity from the staff and board
- Explain how the opportunity connects to the greater mission, vision and/or long-term plan of the organization
Deadline/Timeline
All requests are due by 5pm on Friday, March 29, 2024. We are unable to accept any late proposals. Decisions will be made by mid-May, and you will receive notification whether you received funding or not.
Instructions/How to Apply:
- Log in to the e-grant system here.
- Click “Apply” from the menu at the top of the applicant dashboard.
- Enter access code 125689 in the box at the top right of the screen to access the (brief) RFP application. Do not use the regular application process for this RFP.
All requests must be made through our e-grant system as described above. No paper applications will be accepted.
Because this RFP is only going to grantees with a recent history of funding from the Medina Foundation, this is not an extensive application process. There will not be any site visits. If you are awarded funding, Medina will request a brief report after your professional development concludes (by the end of 2025, at the latest).
Beyond some basic information, you will see three main questions in the application:
- What professional development are you requesting funding for? Who will participate and what are the anticipated benefits?
- Knowing that this is a competitive process, how would you make the best case for your request?
- Will the amount you are requesting cover the full cost? If not, how will you pay for the remaining amount?
Additional Questions
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or would like any additional information about this opportunity. If you are a King County-based organization, contact Aana Lauckhart at [email protected]. For organizations outside of King County, contact Jessica Case at [email protected]. For application assistance or help with the e-grant system, contact Alexia Casiano at [email protected] or (206) 652-8783.