BAYWIRES

BAYWIRES by DEFAULT (via every.org)

This is a new project being incubated at Hacker Dojo. This page is currently the working document for an active fund raising campaign. Additional volunteers are requested to help with the planning, documentation and implementation. Further information below is best practices collected from ARDC which runs a grant program that could be an additional funding resource. The current focus is on raising the first $10,000-30,000 via every.org. Once that campaign is fully underway the next step will be developing a grant proposal for the next ARDC round closing June 1st 2024.

If you would like to contribute in anyway or have questions send an email to [email protected]

Website

Fundraising Proposal

Mission/Objective

Clear mission/objective. Be clear about what you intend to accomplish and why. It should be clear how success will be measured, what the impact of the project will be, and why the project is needed.

Budget

Your project’s budget should be appropriate for the results you want to achieve. For example, we don’t want projects to choose cheap equipment just to save money if that equipment is more likely to fail, but we don’t want to see unusually expensive equipment without explanation for why it is needed. Similarly, use volunteer labor when appropriate, and hire professionals if you don’t have adequate experience on your volunteer team.

Your budget proposal is a best guess at what you will need to carry out the project. It’s okay if the price of coax changes or if you decide to buy a different piece of equipment later on. For now, be as specific as you can be. Group small things together like “building supplies: screws, paint, tape, etc. – $200.” Avoid grouping major expenses like “New Ham Shack $30,000.” Separate out any costs for materials, labor, and any other fees that might be included, such as permitting.

You can submit your budget in any format, though spreadsheets are preferred. Your budget may include:

Personnel. This includes salaries and benefits for individuals working on the project (unless everyone is a volunteer). Include an estimate of how much time you expect these individuals will work on this project. Supplies and equipment. List the supplies and equipment that you will need for the project. Don’t forget about shipping costs, taxes, and any fees. It’s okay to round up slightly to give yourself room for these costs. Be specific about any radio equipment or big-ticket items that you want to buy. Travel. Include any travel costs that are directly related to the project. Marketing. Include costs for marketing materials that are directly related to the project. For example, include the cost of printing flyers or purchasing social media ads to advertise a class. Other costs. List other costs that are directly related to your project, such as costs for building permits, if needed. Indirect costs/contingency. You may include up to 20% for indirect costs, such as phone, internet, rent, accountants, software, bank fees, human resources, lawyers, small supplies, contingency for unexpected project costs, and anything else that can be hard to itemize. You can use these funds for any additional overhead costs. If your organization’s indirect cost rate is more than 20%, we ask that you cost-share any indirect amount over 20% to allow us to maximize the funds we can distribute to others. Other funds that are available for this project. Tell us about funds from other donors who are supporting this project and any money already set aside for this project. It’s okay if ARDC is the only funder, but it can be a bonus to know if other funders or people in your community are willing to invest in your project, especially if it’s a big one. Your budget should not include:

Funds for lobbying. Advocacy work is okay, but trying to specifically influence elected officials to vote in a particular way is something we cannot legally fund. See the National Council of Nonprofits’ Advocacy vs. Lobbying for more details. If it’s your first time creating a grant budget, Writing a Budget for a Grant Proposal has many good tips on what to include (and what not to include) in your budget.

Project Design

Successful projects must have a clear design plan that outlines the steps you will take to accomplish your goals. The work schedule should be reasonable, and enough detail should be provided to show our reviewers that your team knows how to do the work and that your plan is viable. Lack of detail in the project plan is the most common reason applications are rejected.

Education projects

When applying for education projects, please keep the following in mind: Staff involvement. University and K-12 projects should have a teacher, professor, advisor, or other staff person involved, even if the project is primarily being carried out by students. This is to ensure that the program continues even after students graduate.

Research and development (R&D) projects

ARDC looks for R&D projects that: Avoid unnecessary jargon. Introduce the goals of the project in a way that avoids jargon or undefined acronyms. At the same time, provide enough detail for peer experts in your field to be able to assess your work. Have a clear impact. Successful proposals will clearly communicate the intended benefit of the work in terms of intellectual contribution to the field, as well as broader impact of results. Share results. Results (including technology developed) and documentation must be openly available for others to learn from. Developed software and data sets should/must be open sourced. We prefer strong plans for sharing results with the public and other researchers. Assess risk. R&D proposals should include an assessment of risks to the project and summarize the steps you will take to mitigate the risk. We understand that some projects are higher risk, but may have much higher reward or educational benefits. Advance the art. You should summarize in your proposal how your project will build upon existing work. Research-focused projects: A literature review or citations may be appropriate to demonstrate the current state of your field and identify open questions. Provide published examples that describe the tools you will be using and demonstrate their viability. Your proposal should include a clear hypothesis or objective. Development-focused projects: You should summarize in your proposal what similar work has been done and any projects that have been built already. Show how your project is building on those current solutions or existing products to solve a key problem.

Sustainability

When appropriate, tell us how the project’s outcomes will be maintained and continue to have an impact beyond the lifetime of the grant. Community support. Your project should have community support. This can be in the form of financial support, donated equipment, or volunteer time. If a project supports or becomes part of school, city, county, or state infrastructure, it is important that those applications include letters of support from those organizations.

Reach and impact

Big projects should reach many people and have a correspondingly big impact. At the same time, smaller projects that have a big impact on a smaller group of people, especially in underserved areas, are also looked on favorably.

Geographic area

Preference will be given to projects that will serve areas not currently receiving ARDC grants, such as projects outside the U.S., and projects serving low-income areas.

Service to under-represented communities

Projects that serve under-represented communities in amateur radio or technical fields, such as youth, women, BIPOC, and countries outside of the United States, are encouraged.