When the Arizona Council of Grandmothers made application to board of The Circle Way for a grant to assist their circle facilitator training day, they included the following elements:
1. OUR STORY
Who is the Arizona Council of Grandmothers?
Whom do we serve? How long have we been gathering?
What is the purpose of our annual Council?
2. THE IMPORTANCE OF USING CIRCLE IN OUR GATHERING
What form of circle do we use?
How did the use of circle evolve in the Arizona Council?
What is its importance?
3. OUR “ASK”
What was driving us to ask for this grant?
What was the budget for the activity for which we were seeking support?
How much of this were we asking The Circle Way to cover?
What other sources of grants and/or funding did we have?
4. OUR TIMELINE
When would we like to know if the grant will be funded?
When do we need payment if the grant is approved?
5. A FEW DOCUMENTS
As an informal organization (without many formal documents), we provided a W9 to show our tax identification number.
6. CONTACT INFORMATION
Who is the person The Circle Way can contact if additional information is needed and to notify if the grant is approved or not.
As the board of The Circle Way went through its discernment process, additional questions were asked and relayed by the board’s Grants and Scholarship Committee to our grandmother contact. Had the board not known the applicants, they would request a list of references as additional documentation to verify the application. The Grandmothers were thrilled and grateful when they learned they had received a grant.