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APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

1. CFC Certifications
2. Attachment A - Schedule of services by year and state and/or foreign country
3. Attachment B - IRS determination Letter
4. Attachment C - Audited financial statements
5. Attachment D - IRS Form 900
6. Applicant Information Form

1. CFC CERTIFICATIONS

The certifications are a set of declarative statements to be signed by an authorized representative of your organization. The other elements of the application, as described below, are attachments designed to support the statements in the certifications.
NOTE: Please review them carefully, sign them, and return them to us in hard copy (no faxes or email). This is the one element of the CFC application that must come to us with original signatures.

DOWNLOAD CERTIFICATIONS

2. ATTACHMENT A: DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES

The CFC requires that applicants demonstrate that their programs or services reach individuals (or other organizations) in at least 15 states or another country. The government recently published new guidance that explains how to do this, and we invite you to read it.

In addition to the government’s guidance, here is our advice:

1. Label this part of your application, “Attachment A – Description of Programs and Services in 15 States and/or Another Country.”

2. The government requires that you describe your organization’s work in the United States or overseas during 2004, 2005, and 2006. If you have not been active for all three years, you can still qualify. Contact us and we will advise you.

3. We recommend that you begin Attachment A with an Introduction – a page describing your organization’s mission and the general scope of your multi-state and/or foreign services. Assume that the government reviewer knows nothing about you and provide the context within which the specific entries in the state-by-state or country listing will make sense.

Include enough information to convey the range and substance of your work without getting long-winded. You may briefly mention your members, publications, amicus curiae briefs, and other non-qualifying details that aren’t suitable for the state-by-state or country listing if these activities help create a picture of a substantial national or international presence.

4. Follow your introduction with a listing of your programs and services. The government prefers that you organize this information by state and country because it makes it easier for their reviewers to find and count the fifteen states or one other country required. But if it is clearly more sensible to organize this part of your application by year, that is acceptable. Just make sure to HIGHLIGHT and NUMBER each new state and country (taking care not to count the same state or country twice if it appears in more than one year).

If your organization has offices in multiple states or countries, we recommend you describe their location and work, by state or country. Include information about the people served.

If your organization provides financial assistance to people or other organizations in multiple states or countries, we recommend you describe this, including the nature and amount of the financial assistance, and the persons or groups benefiting. Financial assistance can be grants, scholarships, fellowships, below market loans, or some other financial transfer.

If your organization’s staff or volunteer leadership spends time in other states or countries providing a service on behalf of your group, tell us who went where, when, and who was served.

If your organization lends items of unusual value (eg, a museum lends parts of its collections) to other organizations in other states or countries, tell us what traveled, when it traveled, where it went, and who benefited.

5. List all states in which you provide programs and services, even if the number goes over fifteen – in case the government reviewer rejects one or more of your states. Try to include more than one qualifying example for each state so you will have some back-up should the government reviewer reject any specific activity. The government suggests you use a table or schedule. Here is an example:

6. However you choose to describe your organization’s work, keep in mind that the goal is to provide enough detail so that the reviewer can be comfortable that you have indeed been active in 15 states or another country during 2004-06. It is difficult to advise in the abstract exactly how much information and detail any applicant should offer. One of the reasons we ask you to submit material ahead of our deadline is to allow us time to advise if we believe more information is needed or if the information should be formatted in a different way.

As always, please feel free to call with any questions.

Please click here for OPM guidance on Attachment A

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3. ATTACHMENT B: 501c3 TAX EXEMPTION LETTER

Provide the entire letter through the signature page.

The name on the IRS letter is the one under which you will be listed in the CFC Directory. You can also be listed under a legal DBA ("Doing Business As") if you provide documentation from your state of incorporation (municipal documents are not sufficient).

If you are a young organization, check to see whether your IRS letter is an "Advance Ruling" letter. An Advance Ruling authorizes the charity to accept tax-exempt contributions for a test period of several years. When that period ends, the organization must submit Form 8734 to the IRS, after which the IRS makes a permanent determination of the organization's public charity status.

An Advance Ruling letter is acceptable for the CFC unless it expires before January 1, 2007. If your letter expires before that date, you can still apply if you can present proof that you have applied to the IRS for permanent 501(c)(3) status (using form 8734).

4. ATTACHMENT C: AUDIT

Please submit your audit for the same period covered by your Form 990. The audit cover letter must state that the audit was done according to "generally accepted auditing standards" (known as GAAS) and that your books are kept according to "generally accepted accounting principles" (known as GAAP). Generally accepted accounting principles means essentially that you keep your books on the accrual method.

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5. ATTACHMENT D: IRS FORM 990

Please provide a copy of your most recent IRS tax return - your form 990. Make sure that:

If you file Form 990EZ or you are not required by the IRS to file at all, then you must provide a "pro forma" page 1 and Part V of the Form 990. This allows the CFC to determine your administrative/fundraising ratio in the same way as is done for organizations that file the 990. Applications that fail to provide full information for Part V (including compensation information) will be denied.

Form 990PF and comparable forms are not acceptable.

6. APPLICANT INFORMATION FORM

Please download this form.

This form summarizes the information that will appear in the CFC Directory and tells us how to reach the person preparing your application. Some advice:

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