Melvin R. Lane Fund Grants

The mission of the Melvin R. Lane Fund is to promote access to quality health care, safe and affordable housing, and supportive social services for the youth, elderly and disabled people living in Western North Carolina.

This program awards five to seven grants of up to $50,000 per year for three years to help human service organizations improve their operations, become more collaborative, and secure their future for the betterment of Western North Carolina's disadvantaged citizens.

Grantees are required to attend one to two convening sessions each year of their grant and participate in evaluation that may extend beyond their three-year grant.
 

Deadline to Apply

The Letter of Intent is due December 1, 2008. Full applications are due May 22, 2009. See "How to Apply" for details.
 

Eligibility

Nonprofit organizations that are tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code and operating for at least three years are eligible to apply for these grants. Organizations must be located in or serving one or more of these WNC counties: Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, Yancey.

Grantees are required to attend one to two convening sessions each year of their grant.
 

Organizational Development Principles

Organizations that are committed to the following principles are most competitive when applying for a Melvin R. Lane Grant:

• clearly defined mission and goals
• programs and services align with mission
• skilled leadership at the staff and board levels
• ability to develop strategic, innovative projects in a timely fashion
• a track record of past coordination with others, and a commitment to pursuing future partnerships that will increase project success
• sound fiscal management with diverse funding sources
• involvement of the target population, where feasible, in program planning
• a knowledgeable and involved board of directors
• effective evaluation processes
   

Areas of Support

The goal of the Melvin R. Lane grant program is to significantly increase the organizational effectiveness of essential human service nonprofit organizations. Grant applicants are asked to describe how they will accomplish this by.

• strengthening the organization's effectiveness in achieving its mission
• creating a more engaged, effective board of directors
• taking steps to achieve financial and organizational stability and sustainability
• undertaking organizational development/capacity building activities such as planning, training or management assistance
• developing or expanding partnerships to increase the impact of the organization's work
   

Funding Restrictions

The Foundation generally does not make Melvin R. Lane Fund Grants for: operating expenses (except for specific costs that are directly related to the project); capital support (except where modest requests can immediately and significantly increase an organization's capacity and impact); activities taking place before grant decisions are made; sectarian purposes; political purposes; veteran affairs; deficit funding or debt retirement.

Recent Melvin R. Lane Fund Grant Recipients

How to Apply