Frequently Asked Questions

Maddox works with the Center for Nonprofit Management to offer capacity building services (strategic planning, development plan, program evaluation…).  Services are offered on a sliding fee scale.  You can call CNM directly or ask a Maddox staff member to connect you.

CNM will work with you to identify the best approach and a skilled consultant (you can ask for more than one consultant to interview for the right organizational match).   CNM will then write a proposal to Maddox to access our match funding.

Maddox uses the term Core Mission Support (CMS) to instead of Operating Grants.  Nonprofit partners are invited to submit a CMS application if the organization has met the following criteria:

• has total mission match with Maddox
• received Maddox funding for at least three years
• has a strong outcomes track record
• does not have a deficit.

If you think your organization would like to submit a CMS application instead of a program application, please contact the Maddox staff to talk further.  If your organization is to be considered for CMS, we will need to send you an alternative link to reach the CMS application.  CMS applications focus on organizational strategic goals and not just programmatic outcomes.

If you or your organization require the application translated, please contact Maddox staff.

Maddox makes a few grants out-of-cycle each year from its Opportunity Fund.  Opportunity Fund grants allow the foundation to be more nimble and responsive to emerging needs.  Grants out of the Opportunity Fund might be used to support:

• Local funder collaborations or for public-private partnerships
• Local nonprofit collaborations
• Leverage opportunities when matching funds are available
• One-time emergency funding of current nonprofit partners
• Unique consultations to faciliate significant shifts
• Incubation and innovation grants for new initiatives or concepts

Please contact Maddox staff with any questions.

Grants will be announced in May. Funds are generally available on July 1.

All grantees should:

1. Update Grant Outcomes (if the request was not funded in full)
2. Submit  budget revisions  (if the request was not funded in full)
3. Sign Grant Contract describing the purpose and conditions of the grant.

The updates, revisions and contract are due by July 15. Funds will not be disbursed until this information is received and accepted by the Maddox Fund.

All previous grantees must also return a final reports before funds will be disbursed.

The Maddox Fund seeks to be transparent regarding our giving patterns.   The Grant Directory on the website allows visitors to search and sort for past nonprofit partners, as well as grant amounts.

On the Transparency page, visitors have access to our 990-PFs and audits.

The Maddox Fund will support administrative overhead (i.e., executive director salary, accounting, tax preparation, etc.) limited to no more than 15% of the total of the direct program expense.  The budget form includes a formula for calculating the limit of 15%.

Total Direct Program Expense X .15% = Allowable Indirect Cost Maddox will approve.

If an organization’s indirect cost is less than 15%, the formula can be adjusted to reflect the lower percentage.

If an organization’s indirect cost is more than 15%, the maximum that can be allocated to the Maddox Fund is 15% of the total direct program expense in the “Request to Maddox  Fund” column in the budget.

The Maddox Fund will primarily fund one-year grants, but it will consider multi-year awards on a case-by-case basis.  The grants made by the MaddoxFund are not, as a rule, intended to be a permanent source of funding.

During the term of a multi-year grant, the grantee will be asked to provide annual reports (program and financial).

The Maddox Fund anticipates granting $2-2.5 million dollars each year. Because of limited funds, many requests will not be funded.

The Maddox  Fund seeks to maintain the highest ethical standards. The hotline, operated by a third-party consultant, allows nonprofit partners and community stakeholders to alert the Maddox Fund of any ethical violations or concerns.  A chain of command is followed to ensure persons named in the complaint are not included in the notification or investigation process.

Within our three areas of interest, the Maddox Fund will not consider:

• Organizations incorporated for less than 1 year
• 501(c)(3) organizations that are government or government affiliates, supporting organizations or private foundations
• Endowments
• Debt reduction
• Depreciation
• Capital campaigns
• Organizations not operating programs within the 41 counties of Middle Tennessee
• Direct to scholarships to individuals
• Organizations primarily engaged in lobbying or electoral politics
• Congregations or religious organizations for projects that primarily benefit their own members or for evangelical purposes. Exceptions are made for programs that:

1) receive broad community support,

2) keep separate financial statements,

3) primarily benefit persons outside their congregational members,

4)  do not proselytize.

Announcements about applications deadlines, grants and nonprofit partner activities will come out on Facebook and Twitter.  Please follow us to remain current on the Maddox  Fund.

Twitter:  maddoxfundTN

Facebook: maddoxfund

Instagram:  maddoxfund

The Maddox Fund staff wants to be accessible to community members and looks forward to sharing Dan and Margaret’s story with you.

Phone–Appointments are not necessary for phone conversations.  Just pick up the phone and call us at 615-385-1006.  It is our staff’s job to be accessible to you.

Email–Feel free to email the Maddox staff; our intent is to make timely responses to all inquiries.

kaki@maddoxfund.org  or joseph@maddoxfund.org

Site Visits–The Maddox staff will visit programs during  the pre and post-application deadline.  Maddox Board members will visit funded programs.

The application can be found here.

All applications must be submitted through the online system no later than January 15, 4:30 p.m. CST.

Documents and Attachments

All documents must be available to the Maddox Fund no later than  January 15 by 4:30 p.m. CST.

Current, up-to-date GivingMatters.com profiles are encouraged to apply.  If you are not on GivingMatters.com, please call the Maddox office to make alternative arrangements for documents.

Required Document:

1. Budget (The required form is provided on the Maddox Fund website.  Please upload to the online grant system with the application.)

Additional documents and information must be available on the GivingMatters.com Web site:

1. Up-to-date Board of Directors list
2. IRS Form 990 (most recent submitted to the IRS)
3. Audit with management letter (if the organization has an audit)
4. IRS Determination letter
5. If you do not have an audit, we would like you to attend an internal controls workshop and provide us a copy of your Fiscal Policy including internal controls.

Outcomes are limited to 50 words each in the online application.  The Maddox Fund  requests a minimum of 1 outcome and a maximum of 5 outcomes.

Each outcome needs to be specific and measurable and should point toward program success.  Below are some examples of well written outcome statements.

Example One

• 80% of 25 Pre-K Children (or 20 children) entering kindergarten who are at-risk for academic failure will have the early literacy skills needed to be successful in school as measured by Get Ready to Read.
• 80% of 25 Pre-K Children (or 20 children) will recognize 18 or more uppercase alphabet letters as measured by Phonological Awareness Literacy Screenings.
• 85% of 25 Pre-K Children (or 21 children) will demonstrate improved rhyming and alliteration skills as measured by Phonological Awareness Literacy Screenings.
• 85% of 25 Pre-K Children (or 21 children) will show vocabulary growth as measured by Get it, Got it, Good.
• 3 of 4 Pre-K teachers will improve classroom literacy and language environment and instruction as measured by Early Literacy and Language Classroom Observation tool.

Example Two

• Recruit 100 new volunteers interested in wildlife habitat conservation, increasing our current volunteer pool by 50%.
• Identify a minimum of 6 river cleanup sites and engage at least 75 volunteers in cleanup, increasing our current cleanup days by 50% and volunteer participation by 75%.
  Post educational signs at each cleanup site to encourage river users to dispose of trash and chemicals appropriately.
• Monitor at least 3 of the river cleanup sites over the next year with at least 30 volunteers to measure the effectiveness of community education initiatives.  Effective community education will be measured by (give measurement tool here).
• Evaluate how the conservation effort supports hunting and fishing (give measurement tool here).

Example Three

• Organize 2 teen and youth events in each of our three geographic clusters serving a minimum of 32 teen and youth participants with enrichment activities.
• 80% of parents/guardians will report improved satisfaction with services to teen and youth as measured by an anonymous survey.
• 95% of 32 youth and teen participants (or 30 youth) will report improved social interactions following the enrichment activities as measured by a post-activity evaluation.
• 80% of 32 youth (or 25 youth) will show growth as measured by The Search Institute’s 40 developmental assets that all young people need.

Example Four

• 90% of students who participate for the duration of the summer and school year program will graduate from high school as measured by report cards and diplomas.
• 85% of students who participate for the duration of the summer and school year program will attend college or another form of post-secondary education as measured by acceptance letters and staff follow-up.
• 80%, or 80 of 100, students participating in our summer program will have 5 or fewer absences during the summer.
• 60%, or 60 of 100, students participating in our school-year program will show at least an 80% score in each of the four core academic courses at school as measured by (give measurement tool here).
• 85%, or 85 of 100, students will visit at least 2 colleges during the course of the school-year program.

The outcomes for the Dan and Margaret Maddox Fund should mirror the outcomes you collect for other reports and funders to minimize your administrative and program burden.

For more information on outcomes, visit the websites below:

• whatworks.org
• managementhelp.org
• npcm.com 

It’s not required to have a GivingMatters profile for your organization, but it can be helpful.

If you have one, make sure the following are up-to-date:

• 990 for most recent fiscal year (if not complete, explain in the comments section)
• Audit for most recent fiscal year (if an audit, review or compilation is available)
• Board of Directors, attendance, financial support, etc.
• Management with biographical information
• IRS Letter

For assistance updating your GivingMatters.com profile, contactKathryn Bennett  KBennett@cfmt.org. She can be reached  at The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee by calling 615-321-4939 or via email at givingmatters@cfmt.org.