Wil and Rachel Blechman Grant

Wil and Rachel Blechman Grant is sponsored by Florida Kiwanis Foundation Inc. This grant program focuses on enhancing the development of children aged 0–5 years in Florida. It supports initiatives including professional development and training scholarships for early educators, educational seminars, and resources for early childhood programs in low-income areas.

1. Grants are awarded to a Florida Kiwanis club or division by use of the official application form that is provided by division trustees. A club or division may be eligible for an award of a grant only once in a five year period.

2. Grants are awarded by the Board of Trustees of the Foundation at their regular meetings, normally in two cycles each year (mid-year in the Winter and during the Florida District Convention in late summer). Deadlines for receipt of applications by the Florida Kiwanis Foundation are December 15th for the Winter Cycle and June 15th for the Summer Cycle.

All applications are reviewed by the Grants Committee in advance, with recommendations for action by the full Board at its meeting. 3. Grant application forms may be downloaded from the Foundation website (loridakiwanisfoundation.

org) or secured from division trustees, who should review the completed application with the club or division contact person to ensure that the application conforms to these guidelines.

After securing endorsement of the application from the division lieutenant governor, the contact person provides the completed application to the division trustee, who in turn endorses and submits the application to the Chairman of the Grants Committee for action by the Board of Trustees. 4.

Grants should be used to assist a Florida Kiwanis Club or Division with a project that contributes to the achievement of the Objects of Kiwanis International, specifically, a project that enhances the lives of young children and youth in their community, in accordance with the mission of the Florida Kiwanis Foundation. 5.

Grants should be made for capital and equipment items, defined as items that are relatively permanent that will be in place and in use for three to ten years. Grants normally are not awarded for items that are expendable after a one-time use, included, but not limited to, administrative supplies. 6.

Grants normally are made in amounts not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) because of limited Foundation resources. The amount of the grants should not be more that the combined money and in-kind contributions made by the club or division or more than one-half of the total budget of the project. 7.

Grants are intended to supplement funds and other resources to be secured by the applying club or division, which is expected to provide matching funds or in-kind contributions to complete the project. 8.

The support provided by the club or division should be substantial, in the judgment of the Board of Trustees, in relation to the capabilities of the club or division and to the total budget of the project, so as to commit them to the project. All funds and inkind contributions must be included in the total budget for the project. 9.

Grants should be made to initiate a project, including a major change, addition, or renovation to a project. Funds to sustain the functioning of a project on an on-going basis must be provided by a club or division. 10.

Preference in awarding grants is given by the Board of Trustees to projects that involve substantial participation of the club or division’s members in the formation, development, construction, repair, or refurbishment of the project. Members of Kiwanis and its sponsored your organizations should be visible in their communities as they carry out their projects. 11.

These Guidelines assist the Board of Trustees and its Grant Committee to make informed decisions about the best use of Foundation funds to support clubs and divisions with worthy projects. Each grant application is considered on its individual merits, in the best judgment of the Foundation officers and trustees, in the best interests of the applying club or division, and principally within the mission of the Florida Kiwanis Foundation.

12. An important consideration for the Board of Trustees in the award of club/division grants is the extent to which applying clubs/divisions and their individual members have a recent record of support of the Foundation giving programs, especially those programs that assist in funding the club/division grants.

Accordingly, preference in awarding club/division grants will be given to those clubs/divisions and their individual members who have a strong record of making the Annual Support Contribution, Caring Corner support gifts, Sustaining Memberships, Memorial Gifts, and Ralph Davis Fellow recognition