Resources for Grantees

UPDATE 4/3/20. During the statewide shelter-in-place orders, the Conservancy is only processing electronic invoices.  Please see the instructions below and contact your Project Manager with any questions regarding invoicing or other processes.

Here’s an overview of typical terms of a grant from the Coastal Conservancy.

Sample Resolution

Grant recipients are required to have their governing board adopt a resolution providing authority for the organization to enter into the Conservancy’s grant agreement. These sample resolutions can be used by grantees as a draft in developing their resolution:

• Sample resolution passed before a Conservancy grant has been made
• Sample resolution after a Conservancy grant has been approved

Work Program

For most projects other than acquisitions, the grantee will be required to prepare a Work Program, including budget and schedule that must be approved by the Conservancy before the Conservancy will approve the disbursement of any funds to the grantee. The documents  linked below provide a guide for developing work programs. Note that complicated project budgets should be prepared and presented in Excel (or another spreadsheet program) rather than in a Word document.

• Work Program Template
• Budget Template

Overhead and Budget Policies

• Budget Guidelines for Nonprofit Organizations
• Budget Guidelines for Agencies and Universities

Acquisition Checklist

If your organization receives a grant from the State Coastal Conservancy for acquisition of property (either in fee or an easement), you will need to submit a number of documents for review and approval by the Conservancy before State funds can be submitted to escrow. The Acquisition Grant Checklist identifies the documents that Conservancy will typically need to review.

• Acquisition Grant Checklist

Community Engagement

Community Engagement increases the long-term success of most projects.  The Coastal Conservancy compiled Tips for Meaningful Community Engagement to assist grantees reaching out to their communities to solicit their input and engagement.

• Tips for Meaningful Community Engagement

Acknowledgement Plans

As part of a grant agreement with the State Coastal Conservancy, we require that grantees publicly acknowledge the Conservancy’s funding for their project and/or program.  Prior to beginning the project, grantees must submit a plan to their project manager for acknowledgment of Conservancy support and, in the case of capital projects, the installation of signs at the project site.

• Guidance for Signage and Acknowledgement
• Logo Guidance
• Logo Files
• Guidance and Logos for State Propositions

Invoicing (updated 4/3/2020)

During the current COVID-19 related shelter-in-place orders, the Conservancy is only processing electronic invoices.  Here are the instructions:

1. Prepare a single PDF file with:

• • The Request For Disbursement (RFD) form. (See RFD instructions and below for more information.)
  • Backup documentation
  • Progress report

All combined into one file, in that order.

Note: please sign and date the bottom of the RFD form.  You can sign electronically, scan a signed paper copy of the invoice, or type your name and date in.

2. Email the invoice and the PDF of the combined documents from Step 1 to invoices@scc.ca.gov.  In your email, please include your project name and your Conservancy Project Manager’s name!

3. We are signing invoices using Docusign.  The approved invoice will be sent to you by your Project Manager in an email requesting a digital signature. You do not need any software to sign, just internet connection. It is very simple. Please keep an eye out for that email and respond quickly.

4. Please also mail a paper copy of your entire invoice with an original signature, and all back-up documentation and the progress report, to the Coastal Conservancy at 1515 Clay St., Suite 1000, Oakland, CA 94612. Do not send with UPS or any service that requires signature for delivery (we are not there). This copy is for our long term archive. If producing a paper invoice is a significant burden right now, please talk to your Project Manager.

The single PDF that accompanies the invoice must include the following:

• Completed Request For Disbursement (RFD) Form  Please download and fill out this PDF and submit it. See RFD instructions for more information (Note: the form and instructions have not been updated to reflect electronic submission options in place in 2020.  Please contact your Project Manager with questions.). Please also refer to the COSTS AND DISBURSEMENTS section of your grant agreement for additional information on what costs are eligible for reimbursement.
• Backup documentation of all charges on the RFD.
• Progress report on work completed during the period covered by the RFD and broken down by task.