Purpose: The Rome Area Heritage Foundation (RAHF) grant program was established to provide funds to organizations that work to help identify and preserve historic sites and artifacts in the Rome-Floyd County area.

Nature of Requests: The RAHF grant program is intended to fund requests that further the goals of the RAHF. To be eligible, applicants must represent a historic district or neighborhood, a publicly owned facility; a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preserving the historic fabric of Rome and Floyd County or a historic church or cemetery. Grants will be awarded to support planned projects or to enhance existing projects. Programs supported by the RAHF grant program include:
• Signage
• Interior or Building or Facade Restoration
• Cemetery Restoration
• Historical Documentaries
• Research to document the history of a building or artifact
• Master Plan for restoration
• Scholarship to a qualifying Rome/Floyd County student to study preservation
• Activities and Programs that support Historic Preservation

Timeline of Submissions: Requests may be submitted at any time during the year; consideration may be postponed until such time as grant funds are available. Given funds availability, the Committee will review requests for grants no less often than quarterly. The submitter(s) of the request will be notified as to when their request will be considered, but it is up to the submitter(s) to alert the Committee as to time-sensitivity of the request. For example, if the request is for an item needed in October but funds will not typically be disbursed until the following April, it is up to the submitter to request special consideration outside of the typical grant period. In the past, some awards have been made as an annual donation over a period of time.

Size of Requests: This grant program is intended for use for larger-scale requests and would require consideration and prioritization by the Committee. Grants can range from $500 to $1500 for a project or program expense. Grant requests above $1500 will require Grant Committee approval and Board of Directors’ approval. The actual amount of funds to be awarded will be determined solely by the Grants Committee.

Process of Submission: The request submitter(s) shall complete the attached “Rome Area Heritage Foundation Grant Application” and submit as specified. The Committee and Board expect that requests be thoroughly vetted as to full cost and that appropriate documentation be attached to the submission.

Review of Request: To ensure fair and adequate review of all submissions, the following guidelines will be adhered to by the Grant Program Committee:

Timeline of Reviews: Given funds availability, the Committee will review requests for grants no less often than quarterly. Advance notice of no less than 2 weeks will be given before any review is performed, in an effort to ensure all proposed grants have been received and adequate consideration can be given to all competing priorities.

Prioritization of Requests: Given the diverse nature of anticipated requests, various factors will be contemplated by the Committee when providing recommendations to the Board. Those factors include but are not limited to the following:
• Relevance of grant to the mission of the Rome Area Heritage Foundation
• Cost
• Timeline for implementation
• Number of impacted parties to benefit
• Severity of need
• Previously accepted requests by requestor

Recommendation of Committee: The Committee will review all grant requests and will have the authority to approve/deny requests up to $1500. For grant requests of more than $1500, the committee will require Board approval. The Committee will also provide the Board a listing of the requests that do not receive funding attention at the current time, and corresponding reason(s). When the fundraising goal for the project is met, the committee will release funds to the requestor.

Approval/Rejection: The President or his/her designee shall notify all requesters of whether their submission was approved, denied, or tabled for later consideration. If a project is not approved on the first submission, but shows an ongoing need, it may be resubmitted for the next budget year.
 
Ineligible expenses include entertainment, meals and travel. Applications not adhering to the prescribed format and word limitation will not be considered.