Napa Valley CanDo’s Give!Guide 2025 Application

Requirements, Guidelines and Application

Submission deadline – 11:59 on Monday, June 30, 2025

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

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ORGANIZATION MUST BE:

SUBMIT THE APPLICATION ONTIME:

Application submission period opens June 1 and closes 11:59 June 30. Any applications submitted after the deadline will not be accepted, no exceptions. Application submission is done online, and once received (both part A & B) a confirmation receipt will be sent via email to the address provided.

ATTEND MANDATORY MEETINGS:

Failure to attend BOTH meetings may disqualify an NPO from participating in the Give!Guide.

Orientation Meeting – May 29. All applicants must attend at least one, or both meetings:

• Newbies   10:30 – 12:00. For NPOs new to the Give!Guide, returning, or has new personnel.
• Veterans    1:00 – 2:00.  For NPOs who have been in the Give!Guide recently. 

Count Down Meeting – October 2. (Time TBA) For all accepted applicants. 

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about eligibility – GiveGuide@NVCanDo.org

SELECTION PROCESS

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Selection Committee: 
All applications are read and evaluated by the Give!Guide selection committee. 

Each year, the goal of the Give!Guide is to include a cross section of nonprofit organizations by selecting a mix of:

1. Organization sizes (small to large)
2. Diverse focus areas (characterized by the 7 Give!Guide categories)
3. Representation of as many Napa County localities as possible
4. Organizations that are new to the G!G as well as ‘veteran’ participants.

Priority consideration may be granted to achieve this balance. 

Returning nonprofits: Please note that a history of missed deadlines, and/or a lack of participation in prior year Give!Guide campaigns may impact your application score for this selection process.

APPLICATION GUIDELINES

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The Give!Guide Application consists of two parts:

Part A – ORGANIZATION PROFILE

Information in this section provides us with some of the information required to determine eligibility. It also provides us with much of the information we need to understand your goals for, and commitment to this year’s Give!Guide campaign, as well as how your NPO fits within the larger group of all G!G participants.

To complete the Organization Profile, you will need the following information:

• Legal name of your organization as listed with the IRS (to verify go to: http://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/)
• Organization’s 501(c)(3) Number
• Federal Tax ID Number (EIN)
• State of CA Charities and Fundraisers ID Number (to verify go to: https://oag.ca.gov/charities)
• Organization’s mailing address and complete contact information for the:

 a) 2 representatives who will liaise with the Give!Guide team
 b) 1 board member who will support the Give!Guide campaign

• Mission statement
• Mailing list size
• Annual budget
• Chamber of Commerce membership (if applicable)
• Number of paid staff and volunteers
• Matching and/or Supporting Partner information (if any). Please note, you are strongly encouraged to have matching or supporting partner(s). NPOs in previous Give!Guide editions consistently report that these partners make a substantial difference in their campaign’s success.

Part B – SCORED QUESTIONS

Questions 1-4 require thoughtful responses that are ready for the public eye. Consider what you do, who does the work and how it’s done, and why it matters. Try to communicate as clearly, directly, and appropriately as possible. Your responses will appear on your Profile Page on the Give!Guide website, and therefore must be DONOR READY (word-perfect responses intended for public viewing) upon submission.

TIP: We suggest you complete these questions at your leisure, offline – copy and paste the application questions into a word doc. Then take your time, collect well-crafted prose from your organization to complete your answers at your convenience. Once finished, simply cut and paste your answers into the online application form.

Note: If an answer has a word count limit, any copy beyond that limit will not be accepted. Be sure to follow the word count requirement before you paste in your answers!

Before you submit your application online, be sure you save a copy for your records!

Need help writing your Scored Questions?
Pop onto last year’s CanDo’s Napa Valley Give!Guide and look at several NPO’s profiles for inspiration, writing styles, and formatting examples. How-to pointers will also be covered in the Orientation meeting.

IF SELECTED

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The following are required for inclusion into the Give!Guide:

1. PARTICIPATION FEE & AUTHORIZATION LETTER:

If selected, a one-time non-refundable participation fee is required by October 1, 2025. The amount is determined by the size of your annual budget and ranges from $400 – $600. See table below.

Fees are payable by check to Napa Valley CanDo. Please mail your check with the signed Authorization Letter to P. O. Box 855, Napa, CA 94559.

If your budget is in this range…	Your participation fee is this amount…
$1-$150,000	$400
$150,001-$750,000	$500
$750,001 and above	$600

The Give!Guide is produced by a volunteer committee of Napa Valley CanDo. The committee carefully manages a budget that includes advertising and promotion of the G!G, maintaining the website, purchasing promotional materials (e.g. lawn signs, banners, rack cards, etc), hosting the kick-off party, and occasionally outsourcing specialty jobs whenever our volunteer crew requires outside knowledge or service from a specialist. Participation fees are used for any/all of these purposes.

2. WORDING FOR WEBSITE

Your responses to the scored questions – your words – matter. The information you provide is the primary way your organization will connect with donors and the public during the Give!Guide campaign. Your DONOR READY text will be your NPO’s Profile Page on the Give!Guide website. Your responses must be clear, concise, and compelling in your application submission.

3. LOGOS and IMAGES

A picture can say a thousand words! Each NPO’s unique image will be front and center on the Give!Guide website. The image will be what potential donors see first when they view your Profile Page, and what we use in our social media promotions. The specifications for uploading the logo and image files will be provided to NPOs after the selection process and must be submitted by August 22, 2025.

4. ENGAGED PARTNER

Agree to be an active, engaged partner in this collaboration to increase awareness and support for the selected Napa County NPOs. Agree to honor all deadlines and requirements, including providing tax donation letters to every donor, ideally within a week of receipt, and no later than January 31, 2026 as required by the IRS.

QUESTIONS? Please contact us at GiveGuide@NVCanDo.org, or call Nancy Fireman (707) 226.7458.

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Application Form