Wells Fargo is committed to investing philanthropic dollars into rural communities throughout Alaska, California, Oregon and Washington. The Rural Investment for Sustainable Economies (RISE) is a grant to support rural nonprofits focused on job creation and workforce, economic and community development (excluding housing initiatives) within a competitive application process. Eligible applicants include nonprofit 501c3s, government and tribal entities. Examples of qualifying organizations and programs include:
Individual job seekers and the self employed
· Help spur job creation and provide individuals the resources they need to obtain employment and become self- sufficient. i.e., career counseling, job training or retraining, self-employment technical assistance.
Small business owners
· Provide job creation through local small business development. i.e., business and farming technical assistance, access to capital program training for business expansion, microloan programs.
Infrastructure Development
· Community Development projects, infrastructure, capacity building, and initiatives not related to housing development i.e., strategic or leadership development, innovative community infrastructure solutions that lead to job creation.
Important Grant Details:
· Minimum grant awards will be $25,000 and maximum awards will be $75,000.
· 2013 RISE grant awardees receiving $50,000 or more are not eligible to apply for the 2014 program, although they are eligible again in 2015, if the program is offered).
· RISE Letter of Intent (LOI) applications must be received by June 30, 2014 in order to be considered for funding.
· Organizations that received a RISE grant award in 2013 must provide their updated “Activities and Outcomes” worksheet along with the current LOI form in order to be considered for a 2014 RISE award. Please submit along with the LOI byJune 30th, 2014.
· Those qualifying applicants that best fit the RISE priorities will be contacted by July 15th, 2014. If selected, applicant will be invited to submit a formal proposal and must be prepared to complete their online application by August 8, 2014.
· Awardees will be notified by September, 2014.
- Organizations do not need to be domiciled in a rural area however, 75% or more of the grant must benefit programs directly serving rural communities. For the purposes of this grant application, “rural” is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau’s definition: http://www.census.gov/population/censusdata/urdef.txt
