For 2025 Impact100 Sonoma is proud to offer Impetus Grants as well as one Encore Grant to be paid in early 2026 to one Impetus Grant recipient. (Additional details appear below). Both of these grants will offer funding to strengthen and sustain an organization’s core mission.
IMPETUS GRANTS:
Impetus Grants have proven to be well-liked by Sonoma Valley’s nonprofit organizations. The ability to distribute grants broadly and the wide range of acceptable funding uses have made Impetus Grants a good fit for Sonoma Valley’s nonprofit needs.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS:
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Impetus Grants applications may be for an amount up to $25,000
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Applicants should be realistic about their grant request amount in relation to their overall size and operational capacity. See Proposal Expectations and FAQs for more information.
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Application through our Grant Portal makes submission simple.
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A one-year budget (found within the application) must be submitted.
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Impetus Grant funds may be spent over the course of two years, thus recipients are ineligible to apply again until after the grant term is over. See Eligibility Timetable, below.
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Grant recipients will be required to submit a grant report at the end of their grant term and before applying for another grant from Impact100 Sonoma.
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The number of Impetus Grants to be distributed in 2025 will depend upon the size of the 2025 membership and grant pool, which will be announced in January, 2025.
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Our Grant Awards Celebration will be held on April 26, 2025.
THE ENCORE GRANT:
What can you do with more? More support, more time, more planning! Through discussions with area nonprofits, we have learned how much they value multi-year funding. We listened, and since 2024, we have offered one Encore Grant each year. While Impetus Grants are simply meant to strengthen and sustain an organization’s core mission, the Encore Grant is intended to encourage more complex planning and proposals, building on what an Impetus Grant would provide. In 2025 we will select one Impetus Grant recipient to also receive an Encore Grant in early 2026, in the same amount as the organization's Impetus Grant.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS:
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Together, an Impetus Grant received in 2025 and the Encore Grant received in 2026 will constitute a multi-year grant for one grant recipient. Application for the Encore Grant occurs in tandem with an Impetus Grant application. That is, all applicants submit an Impetus Grant proposal; if they elect to also apply for the Encore Grant, they will answer supplemental questions within the same online application and complete an additional proposal budget for the second year of funding. -
Applicants are not required to apply for both grants; an Encore Grant proposal is intended to be related to and build upon the intended purpose and impact of the Impetus Grant.
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Combined funds from the recipient’s Impetus Grant and Encore Grant may be spent over three years, thus the Encore Grant recipient will be required to “sit out” of the application process for two years.
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Encore Grant reports will be due at the end of this grant term and before applying for another grant from Impact100 Sonoma. See the Eligibility Timetable in Eligibility Requirements below.
Recipients of 2024 Impetus Grants are not eligible to apply for an Encore Grant this year. However, they will have the opportunity to apply for a grant in 2026. The recipient of the Encore Grant is not eligible to apply for the Impetus Grant or the Encore Grant in 2026. BONUS: Encore Partner Membership An additional benefit for the Encore Grant recipient will be an “Encore Partner Membership” in Impact100 Sonoma. The nonprofit will have the option of selecting one woman from among its staff, board, or volunteers to become a fully paid, full-voting member of Impact100 Sonoma (or two such women who will have a shared membership and shared voting rights.) This sponsored membership will be for two years.
Eligibility Requirements
Please review the following eligibility requirements to be sure that both your organization and your proposal meet the criteria for either an Impetus Grant or the Encore Grant from Impact100 Sonoma. Consult the FAQs.
Organizations eligible to apply for any Impact100 Sonoma grant must:
- NOT have received an Impetus Grant in 2024 (These organizations, however, are eligible to apply as part of a collaborative application, but not as the lead agency)
- Be tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (either them or their fiscal sponsor)
- Be located in and serve residents of Sonoma Valley (the geographic area from Schellville to Kenwood), or if located outside of Sonoma Valley, assure that grant funds will be used to serve residents of Sonoma Valley
- Have been in operation for a minimum of 2 years
- Possess at least 2 full years (24 months) of independently prepared, audited, or reviewed financial statements
- Not be a faith-based organization (They are eligible to apply only if the faith-based organization is part of a collaborative grant application and is not the lead agency or the fiscal agent or sponsor)
Note: Recipients of an Impetus Grant in 2025 will be required to "sit out" for one year before applying for another grant from Impact100 Sonoma. The recipient of the Encore Grant in 2025 will be required to "sit out" for two years before applying for another grant from Impact100 Sonoma.
See Eligibility Timetable here for the application/sit-out year limitations for the 2024 and 2025 grant recipients, and when they will present to Impact100 Sonoma members at its annual Grant Recipients Update Meeting.
Applicants are asked to adhere to the following guidelines when applying (whether for an Impetus Grant or for the Encore Grant) with a fiscal agent, a fiscal sponsor, collaborator or partner:
- A fiscal agent or sponsor may be used by a nonprofit when applying for an Impetus/Encore Grant if the nonprofit is too small to have 501(c)(3) status or if it is in the process of applying for 501(c)(3) status, but has not yet received it.
- The nonprofit must have been in operation for a minimum of two years before it is eligible to apply for a grant, even when it uses a fiscal agent or sponsor.
- The application must include the financial information and financial documents for the nonprofit itself. Certain financial documents will also be required from the fiscal agent or sponsor. See Application Process and FAQs for more information.
- If a nonprofit is acting as a fiscal agent or sponsor for another organization applying for an Impetus Grant, that nonprofit is eligible to apply for its own Impetus Grant within the same grant cycle (if otherwise eligible).
- Proposals submitted by applicants as a collaborative [1] effort must complete the Collaborator and Partner Agreement Form, signed by each agency.
- Applicants noting the existence of project partners[2] must also complete the Collaborator and Partner Agreement Form, signed by each partner.
- [1] Collaboration: Two or more nonprofits share resources and have joint responsibility for managing and carrying out the proposal. In such a case, one participating nonprofit needs to be identified as the lead agency, and is responsible for the financial management of Impact100 Sonoma grant funds.
- [2] Partnership: For example, to carry out the proposal the applicant relies on the clients or other resources from other organizations.
Proposal Expectations
Our Impetus Grants and the Encore Grant are intended to assist with an organization’s long-term success and stability. In evaluating proposals, we will focus on how funding from Impact100 can help an organization develop and execute on its core mission, and how, in turn, that will improve the strength of our community.
APPLICANTS MAY:
Propose the use of Impact100 Sonoma grant funds for the following purposes:
- Capacity building or infrastructure support
Funds can be used to improve the organization’s ability to deliver on its activities and strengthen its management systems, operations, or infrastructure, including staff development, technology improvements, planning, restructuring or consulting.
- Programmatic or project needs
Funds can be used for costs associated with a particular program or project, for planning, expanding, or iterating a program, including expenses such as supplies, materials, or salaries.
- Capital expenditures
Funds can be used for specified building, furnishing, or equipment expenses necessary to maintain or upgrade the organization's facilities.
- Specific operating expense items
Funds can be used for any specifically identified item(s) in the budget. Note that such grants are restricted grants, limited to the specified items.
Grants will not be provided and may not be used for:
- Capital campaigns, fund drives, annual appeals, fundraising events
- Endowments
- Individuals or private foundations
- Activities that are religious or political in nature
- Debt reduction or operational deficits
APPLICANTS SHOULD:
- Explain how their proposal will benefit the Sonoma Valley community.
- Describe how they provide services and programs related to their core mission.
- Use grant funds to address a problem, overcome a roadblock, or strengthen their organization.
- Demonstrate financial stability.
- Request a realistic grant amount as demonstrated by a sound and justifiable budget in relation to their organization's size, expected funding sources and overall financial position.
- Have a specific plan detailing how they will implement their proposal.
- Explain how they will measure the impact of fulfilling their proposal.
- Be aligned with Impact100 Sonoma values and our organizational equity commitment, here.
COMPLETE INSTRUCTIONS for applying for a grant can be found here. QUESTIONS? Please visit our FAQs. WATCH a recording of our Grants Workshop and Q & A here, and view the slide deck here.
For further questions regarding grant guidelines or the application process, please contact: GRANTS OVERSIGHT: During the grant review process, contacts will be: GRANTS CHAIRS:
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Our Values Inform Our Grantmaking
COMMUNITY When our members work together to accomplish our collective grantmaking, we make our community stronger. We embrace a trust-based philosophy that enables Impact100 Sonoma to give grants that encourage nonprofits - which are important change makers - to decide how funds can best serve our community going forward.
EQUITY We review grant applications through an equity lens to promote proposals that serve marginalized individuals or groups, eliminate disparities, and foster inclusion within our community. We seek and encourage diverse perspectives and voices in our grantmaking process.
RESPONSIBLE STEWARDSHIP Our member volunteers collaborate in a thoughtful and robust grantmaking process to ensure that member donations are invested responsibly in a sustainable nonprofit community.
ENGAGEMENT As lifelong learners who approach our education with curiosity and humility, we strive to inform our members about Sonoma Valley needs, empowering women to become engaged by volunteering their time, expertise, and other resources to benefit our nonprofit community.
Values and Equity Commitment
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