WMD Grants Committee Policies
Approved by Executive Committee,
September 2006

I. Committee Membership:

A. Grants committee members may be self-nominated or nominated by another member. Nominations may be made by contacting the current Grants Committee Coordinator by e-mail not later than May 1 of the year. Contact information for the coordinator is found on the website. Verbal nominations will not be accepted.

B. The maximum number of grants committee members shall be 15. Committee membership is on a first-come, first-served basis. Grants committee members must be members in good standing, i.e. must have paid their dues for the current year.


II. Committee Service:

A. Grants committee members must commit to attending several meetings, reading numerous grant proposals and evaluating them, conducting site visits to two or more agencies and writing summaries of the visits, and performing other duties as necessary.

B. The term of service on the grants committee is 2 consecutive years. Members wishing to serve additional terms must “sit out” at least one year and then may nominate themselves by contacting the current Grants Committee Coordinator, found on the website. The only exception is the committee coordinator, who can serve a third year in order to coordinate the committee.

C. Grants committee members are responsible for attending the annual grants awards event in November and introducing grantees at that event.

D. The Grants Committee Coordinator will be selected in January by the previous coordinator in consultation with the executive committee. It should be someone who has already served at least one year on the grants committee. If the individual has already served two years, she must be willing to extend service for a third year in order to coordinate the committee.


III. Grants Procedures

A. In order to be invited to submit a grant proposal, an agency must be a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Nominations must be submitted by e-mail to the Grants Committee Coordinator between January and the first meeting of the Grants Committee, which is generally held mid-June of each year. Only WMD members in good standing may nominate an organization.

B. No entity will be automatically invited to submit a proposal. Both new nominees and past grantees must be nominated via e-mail by the June deadline in order to be considered in any funding year.

C. Organizations may receive funding for two consecutive years. They then must “sit out” at least one year before being considered again. The organization must again be nominated by a WMD member after the interim (“sit out”) year.

D. The grants committee as a whole will determine the maximum size of grants in any given year, depending on the amount of money available for grants.

E. Proposals that most clearly align with the mission of WMD in the opinion of the grants committee members will receive highest priority for funding.


IV. Conflict of Interest Policy

A. A conflict of interest exists when a committee member herself or an immediate family member (spouse, mother, father, sibling, child) holds a position with the agency submitting a proposal. Positions on the board, staff, as a major donor, a beneficiary of services from the agency, or as someone who does business with the agency are all considered conflicts of interest.

B. Grants committee members who have a conflict of interest are expected to identify themselves when a proposal is discussed, to refrain from scoring the proposal, and to leave the room when a vote is taken to approve or disapprove the proposal.