How to Apply for Project Funding
I.Application Procedure Chart
II. Step-by-step application procedure：
1. Please carefully read the Brief Introduction to China Social Entrepreneur Foundation and pay special attention to 12345 Development Strategy before application. If your project falls within our areas of interest, and meets our criterion, you can apply for project funding. Please take note of our website updates in grant-making priorities.
2. We do not accept applications:
1) from individual people with a personal bank account;
2) for projects that exceed three years;\
3) for resources or facilities for construction & renovation;
4) to sponsor one-off seminar, forum or other forms of conferences;
5) religious organizations or bodies;
6) organizations that are interested parties of the staff, members of the Board, supervisors and sponsors of the Foundation or of their lineal relatives;
7) organizations that disagree with ideas of the Foundation and its project management requirements;
8) that are not committed to cooperate with the Foundation’s due diligence investigation
9) organizations that fail to meet the Foundation’s other requirements for funding
3. Please refer to Application Procedure Chart at the beginning of this document to get an holistic view about how to apply.
4. When to apply: Jan. 1st to April 30th or July 1st to Oct. 31st. Applications sent in at other times of the year will not be accepted.
Applications are reviewed from May 1st to June 30th in the first half of the year, and from Nov. 1st to Dec. 31st in the second half.
Qualified projects will be identified according to YouChange’s reviewing process, before the deadline (June 30th and Dec. 31st).
We will not reply any application during the review process. The application period would only be adjusted under extreme circumstances.
5. Who can apply?
a. registered non-profitable organizations, research institutes and relevant affiliations officially in government agencies managing civil affairs or SAIC;
b. unregistered associations, community pro bono groups with trustees;
c. non-religious organization;
d. institutions without any stakeholders working for or directly related to any member from YouChange staff, Board of Directors, Board of supervisors and sponsors;
e. other institutes that match YouChange’s criteria.
6. If you want to apply for a grant from YouChange, you need to fill Project Application Form to begin with. A copy of Certificate of Business Registration with your official seal is required in your first application. Please send your document to apply@youcheng.org or 6 Xinyuan Nanlu, Capital Mansion Suite 1805, Beijing, P.R.China Post Code:100004. Visitors will not be received in the primary stage of selection.
7. YouChange will review your applications according to procedure (for further information, please refer to our website). If you receive our confirmation for candidacy and Proposals for the Projects (in detail), please continue on the next step. If you fail to pass the primary selection, you will not receive any reply.
8. As soon as you get the confirmation, please contact the project official designated by YouChange, fill and submit Proposals for the Projects (in detail) in due time.
9. The project officer will inform you of the feedback from YouChange policy-making committee, and finalize Proposals for the Projects (in detail) which both parties agree upon.
10. The project officer will construct a legally binding agreement based on Proposals for the Projects (in detail) and specific implementation plans.
11. Once the agreement is signed into effect by both parties, the project will be formally launched.
Frequently Asked Questions about requests for Project Funds from the
China Social Entrepreneur Foundation
1. Q: Who can apply for the funds?
A: Non-profit organizations, research institutions and relevant affiliated organizations that have been officially registered at government agencies managing civil affairs or industry and commerce can apply for the funds.
We will not accept applications from the following:
1） from individual people with a personal bank account;
2) religious organizations or bodies;
3) organizations that are interested parties of staff, members of the Board,
Supervisors and sponsors of the Foundation or their lineal relatives;
4) organizations that disagree with the ideas of the Foundation and its project requirements;
5) applicants who are not committed to cooperate with the Foundation’s due diligent investigation;
6) organizations that fail to meet the Foundation’s other requirements for funding.
2 Q: What kind of application are expected to fail?
A: The application is expected to fail, if:
1) the project period exceeds three years (excluding three years);
2) the project is simply about material provision or hardware construction and transformation;
3) the ideas of the Foundation and its management requirements are not accepted;
4) it is a one-time symposium, forum, or other kinds of meetings;
5) it fails to meet the Foundation’s other requirements of funding
3 Q: When to apply?
A: The Foundation is open to applications twice a year, i.e. from January 1 to April 30 and from July 1 to October 31. No applications will be accepted beyond that period. When the annual fund budget is finished, the Foundation will keep you informed through our website. If your project is not urgent, you may apply for the coming year’s funds.
4 Q: How to apply?
A: You can find the document How to Apply for Project Fund on www.youcheng.org or request it from the Foundation.
5 Q:What’s the amount of fund for each project?
A: 1. The maximum amount for any individual project in 2009 is 100, 000 RMB yuan.
2. The amount for projects of other kinds will be based and decided upon according to needs. The Foundation holds itself accountable to donors and encourages non-profit organizations to practice economy, so there will be a thorough review and examination of the budget.
6 Q: What’s the period of each project?
A: It depends on the need of the project. But for the benefit of the Foundation in managing project implementation, any individual project should not exceed three years.
7 Q: Are there any geographical priorities for the projects?
A: The Foundation is open to the whole country in 2009 and has no geographical priorities yet. The applicants should understand the strategic framework of funding by the Foundation (please refer to the Brief Introduction to China Social Entrepreneur Foundation and 12345 Development Strategy). The Foundation will develop international cooperative projects and update information on a regular basis.
8 Q: What are the key processes for fund approval?
A: 1. The Foundation, on regular terms accepts Project Application Forms that conforms to its annual funding plan and undertakes a preliminarily evaluation of project proposals according to relevant procedures;
2. Applicants of projects that go through the preliminary evaluation should submit a detailed Project Proposal;
3. The two parties agree the detail outlined in the proposal and sign the agreement;
4. In line with the agreement, the Foundation allocate funds, supervise and support project implementation;
5. Summary, evaluation, and follow-up review development will be done.
9 Q: How long will it take from submitting the China Social Entrepreneur Foundation Project Application Form to receiving the evaluation result?
A The Foundation will examine and approve projects from May 1 to June 30 and from November 1 to December 31. It will examine the projects in light of the Project Examination and Approval Chart in making a decision. The timing for applications may be adjusted under special circumstances.
10 Q: What should be done if major changes occur during the process of project?
A: If major changes to the agreement occur, the applicants should submit written notice to the project officer and provide explanations. The officer then submits his/her suggestion on whether or not to accept the changes to the Project Management Department. Only those changes approved after examination by the Project Decision Making Committee will take effect. Such major changes include:
1. change of person in charge of the project;
2. financial change that exceeds 10% of the project budget;
3. organizational or structural changes of the applicants, including merger, dissolution or change of person in charge;
4. major changes to the proposal caused by force majeure;
5. other major changes that can affect the project’s goal or affect the project implementation plan;
11 Q: Will the Foundation keep project application materials, project implementation records and other information confidential?
A: The Foundation commits that all the project materials it has will not be shared publicly but only be used by the two parties, unless there is a written authorization by the other party.
12 Q: Can a project apply again for the fund some time later after being turned down?
A: In principle, it can. But for better chances of success, the applicants shall pay attention to the funding plan released by the Foundation. Simple repetition is not desirable.
13 Q: Can one organization apply for or implement more than one YouChange projects at the same time?
A: In principle, it can. But in application evaluation, the Foundation will take into consideration whether this organization has the capacity to implement different projects simultaneously.
14 Q: Can the project implementation team members come from different organizations?
A: Yes. But the agreement must be signed by the leading unit or organization, which should also provide its account number to receive the funds. They themselves will decide on the relationship after negotiation between team members and the leading organization. But relevant documents including agreement on the cooperation with other organizations should be reported to the Foundation and put on file.
15 Q: Is there an agent managing the application of YouChange fund?
A: Not yet. All the application will be processed by the Foundation. We are grateful for all reports on suspicious activities in applications.
16 Q: Is there any charge for the application?
A: China Social Entrepreneur Foundation will not charge any fee for the application. We are grateful for all reports on suspicious activities in applications.
