Baptist Community Ministries awards Transom Grants twice a year to programs in three focus areas: health, education and public safety. Our goals are as follows:
- Health: A healthy community provides its citizens an environment that creates a state of positive physical, mental, spiritual, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
- Education: A healthy community provides learning opportunities for all of its residents to develop the cognitive, vocational, social, and emotional skills necessary to be successful in college, work, and life.
- Public Safety: A healthy community provides for a balanced approach to crime prevention and management, including effective interventions and behavioral controls working in cooperation with efficient, effective and coordinated justice system agencies.
In the color bar above, you’ll find some examples of Transom Grants that were awarded over the past couple years. Generally, 20 or fewer Transom Grants are approved for funding each year. If your organization seeks funding and your program aligns with BCM’s Mission and Core Values, please see the details and requirements outlined in the text below, and we encourage you to submit an application.
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Grant Award
- All requests must be at least $50,000 per year to be considered.
- There is no maximum award amount.
- Grants can be awarded for 1, 2 or 3 years in duration.
- Grants can be used for Planning, Existing Programming or Start Up.
- Grants must be submitted in one of the BCM Focus Areas (Health, Education, and Public Safety.)
Eligibility
- The organization and its programmatic work must impact Orleans, Jefferson, St. Tammany, St. Bernard or Plaquemines Parish.
- The organization must be classified as one of the following: Tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organizations (excluding churches and 509(a) private foundations); Governmental entities (Section 170(c)(1)); and State colleges and universities (Section 511(a)(2)(B)).
- Churches are ineligible for funding. However, churches with programs that hold a separate and valid 501(c)(3) status are eligible.
- Capital projects for an organization, such as construction or purchases of major equipment, or general operating support, often referred to as an unrestricted grant, are ineligible for funding.
- Fiscal agents/sponsors are ineligible for funding.
- National single disease focused organizations are ineligible for funding.
- National single service issue organizations are ineligible for funding.
- Audit Requirement: All BCM grantees are required to submit an audit during each year of funding. No exceptions are made for this requirement.
Application Process
Baptist Community Ministries accepts grant applications twice each year during our fall and spring application windows. BCM utilizes a two-part process to review applications – Letter of Intent (LOI) and Full Proposal. Only LOI applicants that are invited to submit full applications can apply for funding. Applicants should anticipate the application process to take approximately four to six months from the initial submission of the letter of intent to the receipt of funding.
STEP ONE: LETTER OF INTENT (LOI)
LOI’s are submitted using BCM’s online application portal.
STEP TWO: FULL APPLICATION (If invited)
Only organizations that are invited to do so are allowed to submit a full transom grant application. Guidelines can be found by clicking the link below.
Application Review
BCM staff assess LOIs and make recommendations to the BCM Grants Committee. The BCM Grants Committee selects the final pool of applicants and invites successful applicants to submit a full proposal.
Full applications to BCM are assessed and scored by BCM staff in consultation with independent expert reviewers in the program areas. Proposals are evaluated on their Alignment with BCM’s Mission and Strategy, Project Design, Applicant Capacity, Project Context and Sustainability. Final funding recommendations are made by BCM staff to the Grants Committee for their review. The Grants Committee forwards their recommendations to the BCM Board of Trustees for final funding approval. Please note that any full proposals received from organizations that were not invited to apply will not be considered.
Upcoming Dates
Fall 2023 Cycle
July 24 – August 7, 2023: LOI submissions accepted
August 7, 2023: LOI deadline at 5:00 PM
September 12, 2023: Notifications of full application invitations sent
October 2, 2023: Full application deadline at 5:00 PM
November 16, 2023 – November 18, 2023: Grant decision notifications sent
Transom Grant Cycle Update
As part of our deep commitment and ongoing effort to serve the Greater New Orleans community, Baptist Community Ministries will engage in a series of community-level conversations to better understand current challenges and opportunities that impact the quality of life of our partners, neighbors, and friends. This effort will launch early 2024 and will include a broad cross section of community leaders, organizations, and other stakeholders. In order to provide sufficient time and to support thorough community learning and exploration, Baptist Community Ministries’ next Transom Grant Program will launch July 2024.
Apply Online
The LOI window is closed.
Contact
If you have any issues accessing the application link, please contact one of the team members below:
Patricia Patterson
ppatterson@bcm.org
Leslie McPherson
lmcpherson@bcm.org