TIDES
WHAT'S POSSIBLE
TIDES FOUNDATION
DEATH PENALTY MOBILIZATION FUND FOR STATE STRATEGIES
Request for Proposals
Fall 2016
General Information:
The Death Penalty Mobilization Fund (DP MF) is a collaborative of Tides Foundation 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. 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 $7 million in grants.
Death Penalty Mobilization Fund — State Strategies Grants:
The upcoming DPMF State Strategies grants, in coordination with funding from the Themis funder collaborative,
will provide resources to state-based policy and advocacy organizations working to end the death penalty in the US.
Grants can be used for organizational and/or staff capacity, campaign development or implementation, and public
education. Priority will be given to states where a grant will make a significant contribution towards securing a
concrete victory or strategic outcome.
DPMF State Strategies Fall 2016 Funding Cycle:
This year, the Death Penalty Mobilization Fund will continue to focus on strategic pieces of work that have been
identified as priority areas by the 8* Amendment Project, a national directive campaign dedicated to ending the
death penalty. We will continue to use the RFP process, 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 J uly 2016.
Proposals are due by 5pm PDT on Monday, August 22, 2016. Funding decisions will be announced by the end
of October 2016.
DPMF State Strategies and Themis 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 DP MF 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 DP MF State Strategies applications will be used to
determine funding from Tides Foundation, Themis 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.
Application Deadline:
Please submit all application materials to deathpenalty@ tides.org by 5pm PDT on Monday, August 22, 2016.
Application Checklist:
(1) A completed Cover Sheet, using the template provided. If you are requesting general operating
support, please indicate as such in the Project Information section. The start date should be
January 1, 2017.
(2) Proposal Narrative (Please see below for all questions that must be addressed for your request)
(3) Staff and Board information (name & affiliation)
(4) Finances:
i. Most recent, completed full year organizational financial statement (expenses, revenue and
balance sheet).
ii. Organization's 2016 operating budget and actuals YTD for the current year including revenue
listing all major sources of income.
iii. If your request is for a specific project, provide the project budget using the DPMF 2016 Project
Budget Template.
(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.
Proposal Narrative:
Please address each of the following questions and requests for documents in your proposal. Extensive
background is not necessary; we are most concerned with your understanding of the strategic
opportunity to advance the national campaign that triggered this RFP and your ability and capacity to
achieve its outcome. To ensure this end, we strongly advise that you consult with a member of The 8"
Amendment Project staff as you develop your proposal. We request that you limit the narrative portion of your
proposal to no more than eight pages, with no less than 1 inch margins, and 12-point font.
SUMMARY PARAGRAPH
a) Please start your narrative with an executive summary paragraph (150 words or fewer) that describes the
goal to be addressed and how this funding will be used to achieve that outcome.
ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND
b) In one paragraph describe your organization's history, including how, when and why it was founded, and any
important changes in the trajectory of the organization's mission, priorities, partnership, etc. (For example, if
your organization has recently conducted a strategic evaluation, please briefly share the findings and any
proposed changes that will be implemented.)
c) Inone paragraph, describe your organization's mission and values.
PROPOSAL
d) Provide a description of the work for which your organization seeks funding from Tides’ DPMF and describe
its ability to carry out this work. Include if applicable any new capacities you hope funding from Tides will
help your organization establish.
e) How does the proposed work relate to local opportunities (political, social, etc.) to advance the end of capital
punishment as well as the national campaign? How does the work you are proposing create future
opportunities to advance abolition?
f) How do you propose to accomplish those goals and objectives? Note opportunities and constraints,
including the political context that you face.
g) What three to five benchmarks do you propose to evaluate the progress of the work during the course of this
grant? Please also include some indication of the timing of these benchmarks
h) How does your work advance the strategy of The 8 Amendment Project? How will your work to be
coordinated with the national campaign and 8AP staff? What other national, state and local organizations,
constituencies, elected officials and/or others will you work with? How will you coordinate with them?
i) Whatare your plans for fundraising beyond this request? What steps are you taking to develop and expand
funding partnerships?
J) | Why do you think you can succeed or make substantial progress?
Please note:
e All ofthe template documents were attached to your email invitation to submit a proposal. If you need that
email resent to you, please contact Tides at deathpenalty@ tides.org.
«Please name each document with your organization's name in the following manner:
“OrgName_date_document name.pdf’. (Examples: OrgName_20150727_Bios.pdf,
OrgName_20160822_Narrative.pdf, OrgName_20160822_a_finances.pdf)
e 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.
e Please send ONE email to deathpenalty@ tides.org with the attachments labeled following the format above.
RESTRICTIONS ON GRANTS
e DPMF grants CANNOT be used for lobbying activities
e¢ DPMF does not support the production of videos or films
e 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.)
e¢ DPMF will not provide support to individuals. In particular, journalistic and academic projects are not
supported.
Questions:
Please contact Tides at deathpenalty@ tides.org with any questions regarding the proposal submission process. For
more substantive programmatic questions, please contact Edward Wang at ewang@ tides.org noting “DPMF
question” in the subject line.
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TIDES
WHATS POSSIBLE
TIDES DPMF FALL 2016
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total grantmaking amount for 2016? The total grantmaking amount from the Tides DPMF —
State Strategies will be about $495,000 distributed in Fall 2016.
Is this process the same as last year? Yes. We will continue the RFP only process this year, 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 mid J une.
How is the Tides Death Penalty Mobilization State Strategies Fund different from Themis Fund? The
Tides Death Penalty Mobilization State Strategies Fund provides grants to state-based policy and advocacy
organizations working to abolish the death penalty abolition in the US. The DPMF is a donor advised fund at
Tides Foundation. The Themis Fund (formerly The Funders for Alternatives to the Death Penalty-FADP) is a
collaborative of foundations working to abolish the death penalty in the United States. The following funders
comprise this group: The Atlantic Philanthropies, Butler Family Fund, Fund for Nonviolence, Open Society
Foundations, and The Abolition Fund at Proteus Fund, The Tides Foundation, Vogal: The Call for Change,
Wallace Global Fund.
How should documents for the grant process be named? Please name each document with your
organization's name in the following manner: “orgname_date_proposal.pdf" and “orgname_date_bud.pdf”
(for example, Tides_20150727_rpf.pdf).
Who will be reviewing proposals? The proposals will be reviewed advisors who are representatives from
the abolition movement community and Tides. Advisors will have input but will not make the final grant
recommendations.
How is the organizational budget different from the project budget? We only have one budget. The
organizational budget should show the budget for the entire organization — including income and expenses
broken out in line items — for a complete fiscal year. The project budget should include only items related to
the proposed grant funded project, and include any additional funding that might have been secured to help
fund the proposed project. If you only have one budget then just submit the project budget. If we need
further budget documents, we will ask you ata later date.
Does the fund make grants for operating expenses? Yes, fund grants may be used for operating
expenses.
How much should | ask for if I’m applying to DPMF and Themis Fund? 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 the amount of funds
available.
Can | request funding for lobbying expenses? No. Different from previous years, all DPMF funding can
only be used for non-lobbying activities. Helpful information on what activities are considered lobbying is
available from the Alliance for Justice’s Bolder Advocacy. For a free version of ‘The Connection’, a
publication that details the rules governing lobbying, click here:
http://bolderadvocacy.org/wpcontent/uploads/2012/05/What is lobbying.pdf.
Is there an appeal process? The decision of the reviewers is final and there is no appeal process.
Is there multi-year funding available through the DPMF? At this time, DPMF anticipates primarily
providing single year funding in order to spread the available funds the farthest possible.
Where should questions be directed? Please contact Tides DPMF at deathpenalty@ tides.org for
questions regarding the overall grant process. Contact Edward Wang ewang@ tides.org for programmatic
questions.
