Grant Guidelines Requirements
POLICIES:
Recipients of this grant will be announced May the first of each year and it may be up to 10% of the total improvement cost to the maximum of $3,000. Only receipts or quotes that are to be paid for by the club are eligible for the grant program. Other funding that the club may receive such as additional grants and/or individual monetary contributions do not qualify for reimbursement for this AMA program. Any grant funds exceeding 10% of the final total cost of the project must be returned to AMA.
The project is expected to be completed within 12 months of receipt of the grant. A progress report will be submitted to AMA Headquarters no later than the project’s six-month mark. If a project cannot be completed within the 12-month timeframe, a written explanation must be submitted to AMA Headquarters indicating the project’s status and anticipated final completion date. If the completion date exceeds 18 months of the receipt of the grant, AMA reserves the right to request the entire amount of the grant be returned. Within 30 days of the completion of the project, a report must be submitted to AMA Headquarters that includes before and after photos of the project.
Project costs can only include amounts spent since the previous year’s application cutoff date (March 1st), or projected work for the current cycle. If an application included amounts for work already completed, provide documentation to show that work was completed between the previous and current year’s cutoff date. Grants will not be eligible for expenditures incurred more than one cycle back.
• The grant must be for improvements to AMA flying sites and not related to maintenance of the facilities, or operating costs.
• No club may receive a second grant within a three year period.
• The receipts or estimates must equal the amount requested of the grant.
PROCEDURES:
Applications must be submitted by March 1. Applications must be submitted on-line by a club officer with all pertinent supporting documents. Your District Vice President will receive a copy of the application and will verify the application so it can go through the scoring process.
A review is performed by the AMA District Vice Presidents and AMA Staff. Any application that is found to not meet all of the submission requirements will be returned to the club president and district vice president informing them of the problem. There may be correctable problems that would allow resubmitting the application.
The applications are presented to the grant committee by AMA so that each complete application is available individually for evaluation and scoring. A spreadsheet will be used to record the members scoring of each application and then the spreadsheet is sent to AMA for averaging and ranking from the whole committee.
The grants will be given to recipient clubs on May 1st with notification sent by email to the club president and district vice president. Email will be sent to all applicants not receiving a grant encouraging them to try again next year.
Any AMA funds exceeding 10% of the final total cost of the project must be returned to AMA.
Guidelines for Project Evaluation
Please consider the following when completing the application:
EVALUATION FORM:
• Project Description
• Club History
• Club Financials
• Leader Club
Each area is scored 0 to 25 and the final score is (0 to 100)
Only Applications scoring 20 points or more will be funded.
Reason for applying for the grant: The club should articulate reasons for requesting a grant and why the club is deserving of consideration.
Financial planning: Project costs should be supported by legible, dated receipts if the project has been completed or by written estimates from recognized sources if the work is to take place in the future. Revenue projections must equal the cost of the project and indicate the source of all project funds. The grant amount may be part of the total revenue amount.
Member participation: Applicant should indicate what club members are doing to assist in the completion of the project. Some projects are more conducive to the use of member labor than others. If the project were to involve connecting to the city gas main, this might not be a good place for member involvement. But construction of a new storage facility where materials are purchased and the labor is provided by club members would probably be favorably received. The same storage facility contracted to a builder because members choose not to perform any of the work might not receive the same consideration. If a project is not conducive to member participation, this should be indicated.
The committee will not provide reports to clubs that are not selected for a grant. Some grant requests are denied because the application is incomplete or not timely, but most are denied because other requests were considered more worthy. AMA wants value for money it invests in its clubs. Requests that are considered non-responsive for any reason are subject to a ranking that is last among all requests.
Committee members will not weigh all areas of a request the same as other committee members. For example, one member may think financial planning is the most important, while another considers it of minor importance. Committee members are asked to rank all requests and then the AMA staff will average the rankings.
Approved Items for Improvement and Development
Authorized Items
GeoTex Runways Install/repair
Asphalt/Concrete/Gravel runway install/repair
Grass Seed for runway install/repair
Equipment Rental for runway/driveway/fence install/repair including fuel expenses which are always added into equipment rental.
Installing drain tiles whether DIY via renting or hiring a service. Trenching equipment and drain tile or hose to move water from around the runway and parking area
Gravel/Concrete/Asphalt for driveway install/repair
Automated External Defibrillator
Materials for buildings (see 9)
Purchase of a used shipping container, delivery on site (package deal), club members painting, venting and sealing the roof.
Purchase mower
Land Purchase (needs a limit or cap)
Fence Materials/Safety Fence/Boundaries
Rolling the field with multi-ton roller by an experienced heavy equipment operator.
Flag pole for a wind sock
Non Authorized items
Fuel for mowing the field because it is an operational expense. However, if a club member can borrow heavy equipment and the operator for free, it usually is reasonable to pay for the fuel that is used.
Rental equipment oil change, cost of new batteries or damage.
relocate porta-jon
operational expenses (e.g., lawn mowing services, additional required insurance beyond AMA insurance that the landowner or local government requires.)
Mower Repair
property rental