Frequently Asked Questions

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Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can you give me some tips for how to write a good application?
2. How much money will you give out in each round?
3. When will I hear from ZeroDivide with a final decision on my proposal?
4. If I already have a ZeroDivide grant (either current or former), can I apply?
5. If I belong to a large, multi-million dollar non-profit organization or a small, grass roots organization, can I apply?
6. Will you still fund collaborations?
7. If our organization provides technical assistance to other nonprofits, does that fit within your guidelines?
8. Are you only funding organizations with pre-existing high technology capacity?
9. I have a great idea but my organization is based outside of California – does this preclude me from applying?
10. Do I have to be a 501c3 in order to apply?
11. Do I need to have a business plan in order to apply?
12. Are we required to have a revenue-generation component as part of our enterprise?
13. What is the difference between a Pipeline Investment and a Big Bet Investment?
14. Do we have to be an immigration or health care organization in order to apply for an E-democracy grant?
15. What do you mean by community enterprise?
16. Are you still funding 1-year projects?
17. Are policy projects or campaigns still funded under the new model?
18. What don’t you fund?
19. Should I budget for the maximum amount of $75,000?
20. Do I have to address all three technologies--wireless access, social media, and mobile applications--in one proposed project?
21. Do I have to address both program areas of e-democracy and community asset building in my proposed LOI?

Questions and Answers:

1. Can you give me some tips for how to write a good application?

A: We will be evaluating Pipeline projects with an eye toward their potential to become future Big Bet investments. The more clearly you describe the current stage of your enterprise and how and when it can progress to later stages of growth or impact, the better we can evaluate its potential.

First and foremost, your enterprise idea must fit within our funding guidelines. This is the most critical component, and has nothing to do with how great your idea or proposal is, or how well you document your need. If you do not meet our guidelines, we cannot fund you.

Beyond that, your application should have the following elements:

• Relevance: Your enterprise should be something that is documented as a need in your community by your constituency, and thus directly serves the targeted underserved population.
• Impact: You should be able to document tangible benefits to building the capacity of your organization to achieve its mission through technology integration. Your enterprise should measure and document how you create, enhance or mobilize assets in the community to change existing conditions that prevent the population from fully participating in society.
• Timeliness: Technology is continually evolving and changing. Similarly, the needs of underserved populations in California are constantly shifting. The best enterprises are those which demonstrate why this project is important and meaningful at this point in time, and why your organization is uniquely qualified to provide that service right now.
• Honesty: We want to know that you have thought through all of the parameters of your enterprise, and what you believe to be the greatest challenges and strengths of what you are trying to do. Letters of Intent (LOI) which demonstrate an understanding of the complexity of working with underserved communities are far more meaningful to us than applications which simply make grand promises.
• Completeness: Please be sure that your LOI has all of the necessary elements as enumerated in the LOI guidelines. Incomplete LOIs will not be considered.
• Brevity: We recognize that the most important use of your time is to spend it working with your clients. Therefore, we tried to make this application process as user-friendly as possible. Don’t feel the need to deluge us with long essays or stacks of supporting documents. Just tell us what you want to do, and why you think we should fund it! In that spirit, we strongly discourage “boiler plate” generic proposals. They are a waste of both your time and ours.

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2. How much money will you give out in each round?

A: There are no “rounds” of funding as in our past cycles. ZeroDivide’s investments will depend on the number and types of proposals submitted at any time during the year. Remember that organizations may apply for up to $75K.

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3. When will I hear from ZeroDivide with a final decision on my proposal?

A: In general, you will receive a decision regarding your LOI within 6 weeks of submission. If you are invited to submit a full proposal, there will be approximately 30 days to submit the full proposal. 

Please note, however, that submitting your full proposal does not guarantee funding nor a decision according to this timeline. ZeroDivide may, at their discretion, delay action on any particular proposal to allow for additional analysis. You will be informed of the progress of your application at all times.

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4. If I already have a ZeroDivide grant (either current or former), can I apply?

A: Absolutely. Due to the level of engagement expected in our current model of investment if you are current ZD investment you should contact your Community Investment Officer regarding future funding.

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5. If I belong to a large, multi-million dollar non-profit organization, or a small, grass roots organization, can I apply?

A: Yes. The key elements for a successful application are your enterprise's relevance to the needs of your target population, and the ability to leverage ZeroDivide's resources. We are less concerned with the overall budget of your organization as we are with the unique capacity of ZeroDivide to meet the need which you are seeking to address. For example, we would not be interested in being one of 50 equal funders in a huge project, but we would be very interested in funding a discrete enterprise within a large organization which clearly met all of our investment criteria. A corollary statement is also true: just because an organization is small and underfinanced does not guarantee or eliminate our potential investment. Once again, relevance and leverage are the key points to consider.

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6. Will you still fund collaborations?

A: Yes, although untested collaborations are unlikely to allow for timely execution of an enterprise. Once again, the critical element is still the outcome which you seek to achieve. We will fund collaboratives if you are able to demonstrate why your enterprise will be more successful if conducted by a partnership of agencies rather than a single entity. Simply creating a collaboration will not help your application, and - if managing the collaboration serves more to draw resources and time away from direct client services than to aiding clients - it can adversely affect your eligibility for funding.

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7. If our organization provides technical assistance to other nonprofits, does that fit within your guidelines?

A: Yes. ZeroDivide has a strong commitment to funding both content as well as technological capacity and the support of organizations as they seek to develop that capacity. We will fund nonprofits which are developing new applications of mobile, wireless and social media technologies to benefit targeted underserved populations. What we look for in such proposals are:

• A technical assistance organization's unique expertise/skill/capacity to serve a target population (i.e. specialized technical skills, cultural and linguistic competency, long track record of trust and support within the target community, etc.).
• A clear delineation of why the particular medium of technology and technical assistance chosen will lead to positive, quantifiable outcomes for the target population.
• The potential for your technical assistance expertise, service or product to scale in scope, either through greater impact, market or social issue area, over time.

In other words, just being good at technical assistance is not enough to get you a grant. You also need to show why you have a unique capacity to provide assistance that others do not possess.

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8. Are you only funding organizations with pre-existing high technology capacity?

A: No. Our primary focus is on relevance, impact, and outcomes, and a clear knowledge and experience of the market you are focusing on. What matters to us is that an organization have a well articulated vision of what it wants to achieve, and how information and communications technologies are an integral part of achieving those goals. However, given the technologies we are seeking to invest in, your organization should have a recent working capacity or viable plan to deploy one of those technologies in a well-defined market. Our funding will include support for building additional technology capacity, as needed and appropriate.

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9. I have a great idea but my organization is based outside of California – does this preclude me from applying?

A: Yes. Unfortunately, ZeroDivide must fund primarily in California and furthermore, our primary interest is strengthening organizations and not necessarily individual projects.

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10. Do I have to be a 501c3 in order to apply?

A: Currently, yes. Our new guidelines encourage the exploration of non-traditional sources of income but grant recipients must still be classified as 501c3 organizations. Nonprofits that do not have 501c3 status, but have a fiscal agent are considered on a case-by-case basis.

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11. Do I need to have a business plan in order to apply?

A: No. We acknowledge that many organizations may have great ideas but not the in-house capacity to develop a business plan. However, it is important to demonstrate that the organization has sufficient strategies and tactics in order to be successful and more importantly, a solid infrastructure in which to implement the proposed project. Business planning, however, may be a part of your proposed project.

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12. Are we required to have a revenue-generation component as part of  our enterprise?

A: Yes, in the case of community asset enterprises.  We are specifically looking for community enterprises that seek to market and sell a technology-based product, service or application to increase economic assets in a community.  In the case of the E-Democracy enterprises, a revenue-generating component is not required, however some sustainability strategy is required.

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13. What is the difference between a Pipeline Investment and a Big Bet Investment?

A: Readiness. Pipeline Investments are reserved for organizations which want to test out a new or emerging technology application or market. Big Bet Investments are reserved for organizations which want to build upon a successful pipeline demonstration, and/or are solicited proposals.

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14. Do we have to be an immigration or health care organization in order to apply for an E-democracy grant?

A: No. After an intensive needs analysis which included constituent input, focus groups, and site visits held in 2006, it became clear to ZeroDivide that these two issues were highly relevant and prominent across underserved communities in the current period. We want to demonstrate that organizations dedicated to these issues, as well as those whose audience or constituency are impacted by these social issues can be encouraged to become a part of the civic engagement in these movements.

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15. What do you mean by “community enterprise”?

A: We view a community enterprise as a social enterprise that focuses on enhancing or mobilizing community based assets for social change. A community enterprise is a type of social enterprise that is created and operated by the communities it serves. It often begins with a nonprofit organization that is already using technology to achieve its social mission.

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16. Are you still funding 1-year projects?

A: Pipeline Investments are for 6-18 month timeframes. Applicants will be highly encouraged to select an appropriate timeline for their project. Due to the level of engagement under this new model, it will be important for organizations to be able to accurately assess the scope of their project. In addition, the quickly changing landscape of technology means that successful organizations will demonstrate their ability to anticipate and incorporate changes in technology tools.

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17. Are policy projects or campaigns still funded under the new model?

A: Yes, policy impact continues to be a critical part of our overall vision and mission. We will invest in policy work, but like any other projects or ventures funded under these guidelines, organizations must show how they fulfill the e-democracy or community asset building program goals outlined in the guidelines.

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18. What don’t you fund?

A: We will not support the following:

• Infrastructure only requests
• Projects or Ventures that do not incorporate one of the focused technologies identified by ZeroDivide
• Projects or Ventures that do not have potential for self-sustainability
• Cash requests for individual scholarships, fellowships or grants
• Endowments
• Individuals
• Organizations that reside outside of California
• Organizations with operating deficits

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19. Should I budget for the maximum amount of $75,000?

A. ZeroDivide is only interested in funding the real and true cost of an enterprise. Truthfully, proposals that come in at $75,000 will be scrutinized even more, simply because our experience has informed us that organizations typically apply for the maximum published amount.

Two things occur when this happens:

1. organizations overestimate their true cost and have difficulty spending the money, and/or

2. organizations underestimate their true cost and cannot complete the project.

To be fair to you, our recommendation is that you carefully think about all the aspects of your project that require support, prioritize what you need, and budget for those items. ZeroDivide is available for consultation to help you develop the true cost of your proposed project.

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20. Do I have to address all three technologies--wireless access, social media, and mobile applications--in one proposed project?

A. No.  We are seeking innovative, transformational, and entrepreneurial enterprises that address any one or any combination of these three technologies.  LOIs will not get extra "points," for example, just because they address all three.  You should focus on the best application of any of these technologies for your proposed project that makes the most sense for the outcomes you hope to achieve.

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21. Do I have to address both program areas of e-democracy and community asset building in my proposed LOI?

A. No.  You may choose which program area best describes your proposed enterprise, and in some cases, that may be both.  We are looking for how you describe your enterprise relative to the goals and objectives of each program area.  LOIs that address both program areas will not be favored over LOIs that address one program area.

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