TIDES FOUNDATION THE ADVOCACY FUND
PO Box 29903 PO Box 29229
San Francisco, CA 94129 San Francisco, CA 94129
deathpenalty@tides.org deathpenalty@tides
2014 DEATH PENALTY MOBILIZATION FUND STATE STRATEGIES
Request for Proposals for Fall 2014 Funding
General Information:
The Death Penalty Mobilization Fund (DPMF) is a collaborative of Tides Foundation and The Advocacy Fund
that supports strategic collaborations of local, regional or national nonprofits [501(c)(3)'s and 501(c)(4)'s]
working to abolish the death penalty at the state and/or federal levels.
Background Information:
DPMF was initiated in 2000 by a Tides advisor and is sustained through the support of individual and institutional
partners. To date, the DPMF has awarded over $6 million in grants.
Death Penalty Mobilization Fund - State Strategies Grants:
The upcoming State Strategies segment of the DPMF, in coordination with Themis Fund will provide grants to
state-based activist organizations working on death penalty abolition or reform efforts in the US. Grants can be
used for organizational and/or staff capacity, campaign development or implementation, public education, and
direct and grassroots lobbying. Priority will be given to states where a grant will make a significant contribution
towards securing a concrete victory or strategic outcome. (See note below regarding the coordination between
the DPMF State Strategies and the Themis processes.)
DPMF State Strategies Fall 2014 Funding Cycle:
With the changing landscape in the field and the evolution of the Death Penalty Abolition Campaign, funders of
the Death Penalty Mobilization fund will focus their resources on strategic pieces of work that have been
identified as priority areas. As a result, we have streamlined the RFP process this year, eliminating the step of
the LOI and inviting only those organizations who fit the strategic priorities to apply. Those organizations that
have been selected to submit a proposal will be notified in early July, 2014. Proposals are due by 5pm PDT on
Friday, August 1, 2014. Funding decisions will be announced in October.
DPMF State Strategies and FADP Application Process:
DPMF and Themis are committed to streamlining the funding process for all state-based organizations. Because of
this, ALL state-based campaigns that seek funding from Themis should submit a DPMF State Strategies application
and NOT an additional one to Themis. Our hope is that this will simplify the process for the campaigns, and
maximize flexibility and coordination for participating foundations. The DPMF State Strategies applications will be
used to determine funding from Tides Foundation and The Advocacy Fund and other Themis funding sources.
Therefore, the amount requested, as well as submitted budget information, should reflect the full amount
you are requesting from DPMF and Themis combined. Please request the level of funding appropriate to your
organization's current needs. Actual grant amounts will be determined in consideration of a full spectrum of
needs and opportunities within the field as well as funds available.
Applying for Funding from Tides Foundation and The Advocacy Fund:
Your organization or collaborative is welcome to apply for funding from both Tides Foundation and The Advocacy Fund
depending on your funding needs. If your organization/collaborative is applying for funding from both Tides Foundation
and The Advocacy Fund for one project, you must submit separate cover sheets and project budgets, although all other
application materials can be the same for each proposed project, including the narrative describing both 501(c)(3) and
501(c)(4) activities.
Proposal Narrative:
Please submit a narrative that includes answers to the following questions. Feel free to use the narrative submitted
in the LOI process as the basis for your proposal, as some questions are repeated here. Please keep the narrative
to a maximum of 6 pages using a standard typeface no smaller than 12 points and no less than 0.5” margins.
a. Goal: What policy goal is your campaign or organization trying to achieve and by when?
b. Program & Activities: Describe your campaign or program. What is your strategy for achieving your goal or
building the capacity of your organization to achieve the goal in the future? What are your specific
activities? Include a timeline of your activities/outcomes. Describe any ways that the work proposed will
address racial justice and engage the participation and voices of communities of color.
c. External Assessment: What is the external political landscape in your state? Include both political openings
that make your goal more winnable and political roadblocks that could impede your effort.
d. Internal Assessment: Briefly describe your organization/coalition. How is your group well-positioned to take
advantage of the opportunities and overcome the roadblocks identified in question “c”? What are your
challenges to doing so?
e. Evaluation: What will success mean to you and how do you plan to evaluate that?
f. Fundraising: What is the status of your fundraising activities? What are your fundraising goals and what is
your plan for achieving them?
Application Process and Deadline:
¢ Please send one email with all attachments to deathpenalty@tides.org no later than 5pm PDT on
Friday, August 1, 2014.
* —Acomplete proposal submission will include:
(1) acompleted Cover Sheet Template ((please use the Tides Foundation and/or The Advocacy Fund
cover sheet as needed, and please resubmit even if no information has changed since you
submitted your LOI),
(2) Proposal Narrative (see questions above),
(3) Brief Bios of key individuals in the organization or campaign. Please identify each person's role
(please resubmit even if no information has changed since you submitted your LOI).
(4) Finances:
a. Most recent, completed full year organizational financial statement (expenses, revenue and
balance sheet).
b. Organization's operating budget and actuals YTD for the current year including revenue listing
all major sources of income. Please update the budget template that you submitted with your
LOI to include your YTD numbers.
c. Committed Grants template. (Please resubmit even if no information has changed since you
submitted your LOI).
d. If the grant request is for a specific project, please submit a current project budget. If the grant
request includes grassroots and/or direct lobbying expenditures, please note in the provided
budget template. (please use the Tides Foundation and/or The Advocacy Fund cover sheet as
needed)
e. most recent financial statements, preferably audited.
f. Projected operating budget for the next fiscal year if available.
(5) A copy of your IRS 501(c)(3)/(c)(4) letter. If you do not have 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) status, please
include a copy of your fiscal sponsor's letter.
Please note:
¢ All of the template documents were attached to your email invitation to submit a proposal. If you need that
email resent to you, please contact Tides/TAF at deathpenalty@tides.org.
* Please name each document with your organization's name in the following manner:
“orgname_date_document name.pdf". (Examples: Tides_20140801_Bios.pdf,
Tides_20140801_Narrative.pdf, Tides_20140801_a_finances.pdf, Tides_20140801_b_finances.pdf)
* If possible, we prefer you submit all documents, including your financial materials, in Adobe PDF format.
We will also accept Word and Excel documents if necessary. Please use a standard typeface no smaller
than 12-point with no less than 0.5” margins.
* Please send ONE email to deathpenalty@tides.org with the attachments labeled following the format above.
RESTRICTIONS ON GRANTMAKING
+ DPMF does not support the production of videos or films.
+ DPMF does not support the writing and publication of books and other publications but may consider
strategic distribution of publications.
+ DPMF does not support capital defense/legal representation (unless activities include a systemic change
component.)
+ DPMF does not support dissertations, postgraduate work or research.
+ DPMF will not provide support to individuals. In particular, journalistic and academic projects are not
supported.
Questions:
Please contact Tides/TAF at deathpenalty@tides.org with any questions regarding the proposal submission
process. For more substantive programmatic questions, please contact Pat Clark at pclark@proteusfund.org_
noting “DPMF question” in the subject line.
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