Deadline: Unspecified
Applications are open for the Cisco Global Impact Cash Grant Program 2024. Cisco welcomes applications for Global Impact Cash Grants from social impact partners around the world who share their vision and offer an innovative approach to a critical social challenge.
They identify, incubate, and develop innovative early-stage solutions with the highest potential for impact. Global Impact Cash Grants go to nonprofit organizations (NPOs) and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that address a significant social problem. They are looking for programs that fit within their investment areas, focus on the underserved, and use technology to improve the reach and efficiency of services.
Grant
- The maximum request amount for first-time grant recipients is US$75,000.
Eligibility
- Organizations within the United States must be recognized by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as tax exempt under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) and classified by the IRS as a public charity.
- Organizations from outside the United States must provide information and documents to determine whether the organization is the equivalent of a U.S. public charity.
- Organizations to be funded must serve an audience greater than 65 percent economically underserved relative to the average standards of the target geography.
- Organizations and programs must focus on at least one of Cisco’s social investment areas: crisis response, education, economic empowerment, and/or climate impact and regeneration.
- For education, crisis response, and economic empowerment proposals, they will also consider proposals that address environmental sustainability within the context of that investment area. For example, they would consider funding an economic empowerment program that specifically focuses on creating green jobs.
- An organization’s overhead is not to exceed 25 percent. (Organizations are occasionally exempt from this requirement; however, they must be exceptionally aligned with Cisco’s values and criteria, and they must clearly explain and justify their overhead costs. Exemptions to the requirement on overhead expenses are determined on a case-by-case basis.) Cisco Foundation does not tend to make grants to colleges and universities. In the case that such a grant may be made, Cisco Foundation does not support additional institutional overhead rates for colleges and universities.
Application
Step 1: Determination of eligibility
- Before spending time on a submission, they urge you to use the following resources to determine if your program is a strong fit with Cisco’s mission, strategic approach, and objectives for grant support. Only optimally aligned programs can be considered for funding.
- Cisco welcomes you to get in touch with them to share your concept. They offer one pathway for for-profit climate investments and a second pathway for all NPO/NGO grant proposals.
Choose the most appropriate pathway for your concept:
- For climate impact and regeneration for-profit investing, please complete the climate impact investing inquiry form.
- For climate, education, crisis response, and economic empowerment nonprofit grant proposals, take the eligibility quiz.
Step 2: Submission of Letter of Inquiry (LOI)
- They will invite eligible organizations to register and complete the online LOI. This form requests detailed information about your organization, the program you expect to fund, population served, and your budget. Your answers will determine whether you will be invited to complete a full proposal. Before you complete the form, they recommend that you review their investment areas and policies.
- Submission of an LOI does not guarantee that your organization will be invited to submit a full proposal. The forms are reviewed wholly within the discretion of Cisco and the Cisco Foundation. Review may take up to one business quarter (3 months).
Step 3: Invitation to submit full proposal (where applicable)
- If a Cisco grant administrator determines that your organization’s program is aligned with Cisco’s mission, strategic approach, and objectives for grant support, they will invite you to submit a full proposal. If they need further information, a grant administrator will contact you. You can expect to receive their decision on your proposal within one business quarter.
For more information, visit Cisco Global Impact Cash Grant.
