Our Strategic Direction 

In December we shared that the Community Foundation launched a new online Scholarship Portal, with access to more than $1 million in available scholarships. We’ve had great feedback from students and those who evaluate the applications that the portal is easy to use.

And now, the final phase of our database and portals improvements launched in March – a new online Grant Portal for our nonprofits to apply for grants more easily! And early reviews show this portal also has positive reviews for ease.

In October we rolled out the Fund Advisor Portal to help fund advisors easily manage their fund activity, make grant recommendations, view past donations, and more. The Fund Advisor Portal supports many fund advisers with charitable funds in the Community Foundation, Women’s Fund for the Fox Valley Region, Appleton Education Foundation, other supporting organizations, and our geographic affiliate partners. Earlier last year the Team completed the database transfer to the new software. It’s been an amazing journey!   

What’s next?

We have made it through implementation part of our IT journey. We have wonderful technology tools and now we look forward to an integration path of continuous improvement with these new technology tools as we work more with the software and updates are made by our vendor.

You can count on your Community Foundation, our supporting organizations, and geographic affiliate partners to continue to provide outstanding service with our new and improved technology platform.  

Latest News: New Grant Portal Is Open!

As you may know, we’ve been updating our information technology platform, including our databases and grant, scholarship and fund advisor web portals. We’re excited to share that as of today, the last piece of the upgrade is complete – with the launch of a new Grant Portal!  

Before you jump ahead to sign up for the new Grant Portal, please take time to review the important details of this message.

Applications   

Beginning March 2 – The following grant opportunities are now accepting applications in the new Grant Portal. It is still important to review the grant guidelines for each of these opportunities prior to applying.

• Appleton Education Foundation
• Community Vision Fund
• Fox Cares Foundation
• Jewelers Mutual
• Robert & Patricia Endries Family Foundation
• SECURA Insurance Companies Charitable Fund
• Sikora Family Memorial Fund
• Water-Right Charitable Fund

Other grant opportunities will open in the new Grant Portal in the future based on their grant cycle deadlines.

Please note – The Prospera Foundation grant cycle is already underway in our old Grant Portal with an application deadline of March 31 . Therefore, the application will remain open in the old Grant Portal until March 31. The new Grant Portal will be used for the following Prospera Foundation application deadline of June 30.

Progress and Final Reports  

As we shared in our December 2022 technology update, we are no longer accepting progress or final reports in the old Grant Portal. Any outstanding progress or final reports were granted a deadline extension so they can be submitted in the new Grant Portal. If you had an outstanding report for a grant your organization previously received, you should have received an email on February 28 from [email protected] informing you that an account was created for you and you should not complete an additional registration, rather you should follow the instructions in that email to reset your password.

Next Steps 

1. 1. 1. Start from our Grant Portal landing page to review the Grant Portal guide, tutorials, new features, FAQs and register for the portal.

1. 1. 2. Unless you are applying to The Prospera Foundation (Mar. 31 deadline noted above), or you want to download copies of previously submitted grants or reports, you can stop using the old Grant Portal. (Note: you have until May 31 to save any information you want from the old Grant Portal.) The Community Foundation will not be transferring copies of applications or reports your organization submitted in the old Grant Portal to the new Grant Portal (unless your grant is still active and you have outstanding progress or final reports.)

1. 1. 3. If you plan on applying for grants in the portal, please add the [email protected] email to your safe sender list as system notifications, such as application submission confirmations and report reminders, will come from this email.

If you have any questions, please contact the staff member who’s connected to the specific grant program you are interested in.

We are excited to launch this new tool to better support our nonprofit partners and we hope you will appreciate its new features. The work you do is critical to the communities we serve – thank you!

Hello Friends, 

As we’ve been sharing since the summer, we’ve been updating our information technology platform, including our databases and grant, scholarship and fund advisor web portals. We’re excited to share more today about the implementation of the last piece of the upgrade – a new grant portal!

We’re preparing to transition more than 20 different online applications with various deadlines from our current grant portal to the new one. During the transition, we ask for your patience as well as your attention to the details contained in these updates so you know how to plan your grant seeking.

We’ll begin accepting applications in the new grant portal in phases during the next few months. Further instructions on how to navigate to and register for the new grant portal will come at a later time. For now, we’re sharing key dates for your planning purposes.

February

Feb. 1 – The Community Vision Fund, Fox Cares Foundation, and SECURA Insurance Companies Charitable Fund will be CLOSED in the current grant portal for the month of February, and will re-open in the new grant portal March 2.  This means that no applications will be accepted for these two grant programs from
Feb. 1 – March 1.

• If you have already started an application for either of these funds in the current grant portal, or intend to start an application, and would like it to be considered prior to Feb. 1, you must submit it in the current grant portal by Jan. 31. Any applications created but not submitted prior to Feb. 1 will not transfer to the new grant portal and your information will not be saved. If your request is not urgent, please plan to wait to start an application after Mar. 2 in the new portal. 

Feb. 13 – Appleton Education Foundation applications will open in the new grant portal. This includes general grants, mini grants and professional development grants. Applicants wishing to submit for the Feb. 10 deadline should complete their application in the current grant portal.

March

March 2 – The following Community Foundation grant programs will open applications in the new grant portal:

     Community Vision Fund  
     Robert & Patricia Endries Family Foundation 
     Fox Cares Foundation 
     Jewelers Mutual 
     SECURA Insurance Companies Charitable Fund 
     Sikora Family Memorial Fund 
     Water Right Charitable Fund 
     Waupaca Area Community Foundation  

March 31 – The Prospera Foundation grant cycle is already underway in our current grant portal with an application deadline of April 1. Therefore, the application will remain open in the current grant portal until the deadline. The new grant portal will be used for the following application deadline of June 30.

Progress and Final Reports

As we shared in our December 2022 technology update, we are no longer accepting progress or final reports in the current grant portal. Any outstanding progress or final reports have been granted a deadline extension so they can be submitted in the new portal. If you have an outstanding report, you’ll receive an email in March with instructions and the extended deadline.

We’re excited to bring the new grant portal online and thank you in advance for your patience and understanding throughout the implementation and launch phases.        

If you have any questions, please contact the staff member who’s connected to the specific grant program. We’ll share more details about the new grant portal as we get closer to launch. 

As we’ve been sharing since the summer, we’ve been updating our information technology platform, including our databases and grant, scholarship and fund advisor web portals. This easy-to-navigate, user-friendly technology platform is a significant upgrade for the Community Foundation and our supporting organization partners, the Women’s Fund for the Fox Valley Region, Appleton Education Foundation and our geographic affiliates in Brillion, Chilton, Clintonville, Shawano and Waupaca.   

Our next phase of improvements is focused on the implementation of a new grant application web portal during the first quarter of 2023.  

As we’re beginning this upgrade, some parts of our current grant application portal will be unavailable.  

• • As of Dec. 21, 2022 (Dec. 23, 2022, for Appleton Education Foundation grantees): Any outstanding progress or final reports have been granted a deadline extension (dates yet to be determined) while we upgrade our grant portal.
     
  • You may continue to submit new applications in the current grant portal, but please do not submit any reports in the portal.
     
  • More details will be communicated in the first quarter of 2023 about the revised, extended deadlines and how to submit your report in our new grant portal.  In the meantime, reach out to your staff contact with any reporting questions.  

We’re planning for a transition to the new portal in phases beginning in February. We’ll communicate more details as we’re able to confirm them throughout the first quarter of next year. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to your staff contact anytime.  

We’re excited to bring the new grant application portal online and thank you in advance for your patience and understanding throughout the implementation and launch phases.          

In October we shared that the Community Foundation launched a new online Fund Advisor Portal to help fund advisors with the Foundation, Women’s Fund for the Fox Valley Region, Appleton Education Foundation and our geographic affiliate partners easily manage their fund activity, make grant recommendations, view past donations, and more.

We have MORE exciting news! For 2023, more than $1 million in available scholarships are posted on our website and can now be completed in our new online Scholarship Portal. Go here to get started.   

Students can create accounts, sign in, and apply for scholarships for the Community Foundation, Women’s Fund for the Fox Valley Region and Appleton Education Foundation. This new platform is easier to navigate, which means applications are easier to fill out.  Applicants are encouraged to review our updated Frequently Asked Questions section or email [email protected]. 

This upgrade is part of our investment in updating our information technology, including our databases and web portals, such as the Fund Advisor and Scholarship portals.

What’s Next:

In the first quarter of 2023, the next phase of improvements will include the February launch of a new online grant application portal for nonprofits to more easily apply for grants.

You can count on your Community Foundation and our supporting organization and geographic affiliate partners to continue to provide outstanding service with an improved technology platform.

Thank you for your support.

Read More

As we shared over the summer, we are investing in and updating our information technology, including our databases and web portals. That includes an easy-to- navigate, user-friendly technology platform for the Community Foundation and our supporting organization partners, the Women’s Fund for the Fox Valley Region, Appleton Education Foundation and our geographic affiliates in Brillion, Chilton, Clintonville, Shawano and Waupaca.

Exciting news: We have launched our new online Fund Advisor Portal!

Today we are sending all our fund advisors an email alerting them to update their login credentials so they can access the new portal to manage their fund activity, make grant recommendations, view past gifts, and more.

What’s Next:

• The new Scholarship portal will be launched before the end of this year.
• During the first half of 2023, the next phase of improvements will include the launch of a new grant application portal.  

You can count on your Community Foundation and our supporting organization partners and geographic affiliates to continue to provide outstanding service with an improved technology platform.

Thank you for your support.

We promised to update you on our progress:

On September 2 we will begin Phase One of the technology improvements, including: financial and relationship databases, a scholarship application web portal, and a fund advisor web portal (currently known as Donor Services Online).

From September 2 through mid-October, some of our services will be unavailable for periods of time.

How this transition will impact our fund advisors:

• • • If you have a grant recommendation, please submit this no later 4 p.m. Thursday, September 1 for payment ahead of the transition! Send your recommendations by email to your Donor Services representative for processing.
    • After September 2, online grant recommendations will be disabled; you can send recommendations directly to me via email or mail. Grant recommendations will be accepted; however, grant payments will be sent by October 14.
    • Contributions received in person or by mail from September 9 through September 16 will be held while our system is unavailable, and deposited by September 22.
    • If you need assistance navigating a charitable contribution or grant, please reach out to your Donor Services representative.

How this transition will impact our agency fund advisors:

• • • If you need a fund distribution, please submit your request no later 4 p.m. Thursday, September 1 for payment ahead of the transition! Reply directly to this email and we will work to get your distribution processed.
    • After September 2, fund distribution requests will be accepted by contacting Kelly Randerson directly. However, distributions will not be sent until early October.
    • Grant recommendations from all funds in the Community Foundation will be accepted; however, grant payments will be sent by October 14.
    • Contributions received in person or by mail from September 9 through September 16 will be held while our system is unavailable and deposited by September 22.

How this transition may affect our nonprofit parters:

• • • Grant payments to nonprofit organizations will be made through September 8, and then will pause as we transition to our new databases.
    • You can expect any grants awarded during the pause to be distributed to you by October 14. 
    • During the first half of 2023, Phase Two of the improvements will include the launch of a new grant application web portal.

Thank you for your patience during our Phase One technology upgrade. You can count on your Community Foundation to continue to provide outstanding service with an improved technology platform.

Thank you for your support.

We are excited to announce that we have begun the process of upgrading to an easy to navigate, user-friendly technology platform for the Community Foundation and our supporting organization partners the Women’s Fund for the Fox Valley Region and Appleton Education Foundation. The new database system is designed specifically for community foundations like ours. It will have long-lasting benefits for fund advisors, nonprofit organizations, scholarship applicants, volunteers, and staff.

• Later this year we will launch Phase One of the technology improvements, including: financial and relationship databases, a scholarship application web portal and a fund advisor web portal (currently known as Donor Services Online). 
  
  
• During the first half of 2023, Phase Two of the improvements will include the launch of a new grant application web portal.

This work is just starting and will continue well into 2023. We will communicate our progress regularly.  

You can count on your Community Foundation and our supporting organization partners to continue to provide outstanding service with an improved technology platform.