Paul Vos and Marjorie (Van Den Berg) farmed in the Galesburg and Monroe area until 1986. Helping others was important to their lives and they generously supported numerous charities, both financially and as volunteers, within the Pella area.

Prior to Paul’s death in 2022, he partnered with the Pella Community Foundation to create this program which will continue his and Marjorie’s vision to maintain culture, improve society, and enhance the qualify of life for the people of Pella.

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Purpose for grant making:

• The Board makes grants to support creative and innovative programs, current or emerging charitable opportunities, services not presently offered and occasional capital projects .

• All should enhance the quality of life in the community.

• Grants are not made in support of annual operating budgets or of projects normally included therein.

• Projects funded should not represent significant duplication of initiatives already undertaken by other nonprofit agencies.

• Requests will generally be denied for current budget support, elimination of deficits, reduction of debt or funding of completed projects.

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The application packet must include:

• The background of the applicant organization.

• A copy of the IRS 501(c)(3) Letter of Determination.

• Be sure to include responses to questions about the purpose and description of the proposed project.

• Financial information related to the project.

• Project personnel.

• Grants are made once per year in November

• Applications/proposals due by October 15th.​

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Grant Application Process

• Organizations applying for grants must complete a narrative proposal, using the online Grant Application.

• TIP: Use word processing software to compose and edit the narrative application
  fields. When complete copy and paste each field into the on-line form.

• To be eligible for a Vos Donor Advised Grant, organizations must be:
  ◦ A nonprofit, legally tax-exempt organization.
  ◦ Serve a charitable purpose by maintaining culture, improving society, and/or
  enhancing the qualify of life for people.

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Review Process

• If the applicant organization is not well known, or if aspects of the proposal submitted are not clear, a representative may follow up with a personal site visit and/or further questions.

• The completed proposals are thoroughly reviewed by the Donor who makes recommendations to the full board for funding.

• Applicants are then notified of the outcome and if successful a grant agreement form must be signed and returned before funding is made.