OUTREACH PROGRAM MISSION STATEMENT & GUIDELINES

Mission-Statement:
ADC's “Airports Do Care” Outreach Program seeks to positively impact specific quality of life issues within the communities served by the regional aviation industry. This will be accomplished through funding grants to grassroots initiatives focused on assisting local youth and promoting education, leadership training, and principle-centered values. This program is sponsored through resources made available by the regional aviation industry and is intended to reflect the industry's commitment to be a good neighbor in the communities surrounding our New York metropolitan-area airports (EWR, JFK, LGA, TEB).

ADC's community initiatives will be concentrated in three major areas:

youth wellness (including education, sports programming, and cultural arts or performing arts curricula);

leadership development (with programs that focus on developing positive character, strong leadership skills, and/or healthy self-esteem); and

youth education (which would include educational programs that promote the understanding of diverse cultures and ethnic groups within our area's neighborhoods).

Funding or Grant Qualifications: Organizations seeking support from the ADC's “Airports Do Care Outreach” Program must:

Send a written request with a brief description of the organization; an indication of competence in the interest area of the proposal; and an outline of the project for which it needs assistance. This proposal should explain who will benefit and how the program will function to reach its goals.
Fulfill the goals of the ADC Community Outreach Mission Statement within one or more of its three primary focus areas
Confirm that their program benefits will be realized in one or more of the local neighborhoods surrounding the metropolitan NYC airports (EWR, JFK, LGA, or TEB)

Other Funding or Award Criteria:

In order to maximize the effectiveness of ADC's community relations program, it will generally favor the support of local requests that already have partial funding approved from other sources. This will allow ADC to leverage its limited resources to the best interests of the community
ADC will also look favorably upon requests that are endorsed by local community leaders or elected officials

ADC will generally be inclined to support not-for-profit IRS-certified 501 (c) (3) organizations, but will also consider requests from other community-based organizations (i.e., Community Boards, or town/village associations) that fulfill ADC's mission focus and the other funding qualifications. Additionally, ADC will be receptive to neighborhood organizations with an aviation focus.

Restrictions - The ADC “Airports Do Care Outreach” program will not fund:

Discretionary or emergency requests
Scholarship programs for individuals
Research projects
Capital or endowment campaigns
State agencies
Religious programs
Established Social Service programs (Federal, State, or local)

Level of Support:

Small grants – the ADC Community Outreach Fund will utilize most of its resources to fund appropriate local projects at levels of $2,000 or less.

Large grants – the ADC Community Outreach Program may fund a very small number of special neighborhood projects at levels of $2,100-$7,500. **All grant requests will need to fit within our general guidelines and must provide direct benefits to our area neighborhoods.

Deadlines: All requests for ADC Community Outreach funding must be received at least 30 days before the funds are actually needed.

Approval Process: All qualified funding requests will be reviewed by the ADC Board of Directors and must receive a majority vote of its board members in order to be approved. This approval process usually occurs once during each calendar-year quarter (at minimum). Organizations receiving funding approval will receive notification by mail and by telephone from the Director of ADC.

Allocation of Funds: In order to distribute the fund resources in an equitable manner, the ADC Board of Directors will attempt to allocate one-third of its community outreach fund to the New Jersey communities surrounding both Newark Liberty International and Teterboro Airports, and two-thirds of its community-based funding to the New York communities surrounding LaGuardia and Kennedy Airports. No more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the ADC Community Outreach Fund's annual budget will be allocated during each calendar-year quarter.

Please submit applications to:
Aviation Development Council
World Plaza Building
141-07 20th Avenue
Suite 404
Whitestone, NY 11357
Attn: Caring for our Communities Funding