Wachovia NEXT Awards for Opportunity Finance

Application Materials

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Application Guidelines

The following is a complete list of the materials you will need to submit an application for the 2008 Wachovia NEXT Awards. CARS™ Rated organizations will have a significantly easier time completing the application because their current CARS™ Rating and CARS™ report will cover much of the required information.

Details on the information required for each of the items listed below may be found in the Application Guidelines section that follows.

2008 Application Checklist

All items except number 1. Organizational Information, must be uploaded. The Organizational Information section is an online questionnaire.

Items 1-4: Required for all applicants.
1. Organizational Information	Online questionnaire
2. Wachovia Next Awards Statement	Word document; Max. 2,500 words
3. Current Business or Strategic Plan	PDF format preferred; No max. length
4. Latest Interim Financial Statements	PDF format preferred; No max. length
Items 5-12: Required for all applicants without a CARS™ Rating. For each item, CARS™ Rated applicants will need to submit an update only if material changes have occurred since their last CARS™ report or they have additional information to report on that topic.
5. A) Financial Strength and Performance Statement and B) Impact and Policy Statement	Word document; Combined max. 5,000 words
6. Three Years of Audited Financial Statements	PDF format preferred; No max. length
7. Corporate Entity Chart	PDF format preferred; No max. length
8. Mission Statement(s)	PDF format preferred; No max. length
9. Organizational Chart	PDF format preferred; No max. length
10. Key Staff	PDF format preferred; No max. length
11. Board of Directors	PDF format preferred; No max. length
12. IRS Tax-Exempt Determination Letter(s) or CDFI Fund proof of certification	PDF format preferred; No max. length
Item 13: All applicants are invited to provide additional information that would be helpful in evaluating their organization and its qualifications for the 2008 Wachovia NEXT Awards.
13. Additional Information	Word document; Max. 800 words

Application Guidelines

The following are complete guidelines for submitting the materials and information required to apply for a 2008 Wachovia NEXT Award. As noted above, only online applications will be accepted.

1. Organizational Information

The application will prompt applicants to enter the legal name and headquarters address of the entity seeking to receive an award. Email addresses and phone numbers will be requested for a lead Contact Person, the Executive Director (or Equivalent) and the Chief Financial Officer or Controller.

Applicants also will need to specify:

the organizational structure of the institution seeking this award
(e.g., loan fund, bank, credit union, venture fund).
the organization’s Tax Status (e.g., 501(c)(3)., other non-profit, for-profit).
the total number of full-time equivalent personnel on staff.
the year in which the applicant organization was established.
the year in which the organization began to make investments or provide financing as a means of accomplishing a community development mission.

Applicants also will need to complete a summary financial information table with figures taken from the organization’s three most recent audits: total capital dedicated to lending/investing; total loans/investments originated; net write-offs, delinquency % > 30 days (loan fund/banks); delinquency % > 90 days (loan fund/banks); delinquency % > 2 months (credit unions); delinquency % > 12 months (credit unions). Please see Glossary of Financial Terms for more information.

Finally, applicants will need to certify that they are currently in compliance with all financial covenants, reporting requirements, and performance obligations stipulated by private, public, and philanthropic providers of capital and grants.

2. Wachovia NEXT Awards Statement

A statement (maximum 2,500 words) which addresses the following questions:

Vision:

What is your organization’s bold, long-term vision?
How will this vision translate into valuable benefits for the populations, markets, and communities directly served by your organization? What are its wider implications?
What potential internal and external challenges must your organization overcome in order to achieve this vision?

Use of Funds:

How does your organization intend to deploy the grant funds that would be made available by these awards over the next five years?
How does your organization intend to deploy the loan funds that would be made available by these awards over the next five years?
What are the sources of funds that would be used to repay the debt portion of the award? If you are using the awards loan proceeds for something other than lending/investing capital, please be very specific (using numbers and projected revenue/income) about the sources to repay the debt.

Note: Potential uses of grant and loan funds may include but are not limited to one or more of the following: staff salaries, facilities, technology improvements, loan loss reserves, lending/investing capital, purchases of other assets; start or expansion of business lines, etc.

How do the proposed use of funds relate to the achievement of one or more charitable purposes?
How would a Wachovia NEXT Award propel the organization forward on its next trajectory of growth and significantly enhance its ability to achieve its vision?
Describe your organization’s readiness to act on your vision and strategy in a short period of time if awarded a Wachovia NEXT Award.

Leadership:

How does your organization demonstrate its management capacity and commitment to mission to fulfill its strategy and achieve its vision?
How does the leadership of the organization demonstrate the ability to successfully adapt to market and organizational changes?
How does the management team demonstrate its breadth and depth to match the ambition of its goals and strategies?
What are the most difficult challenges your organization will need to overcome and how will your leadership meet these challenges?

Innovation:

What role does innovation play in your organization, the accomplishment of its mission, and its long-term success?
How is your organization likely to be most innovative in future years?
What impact is this innovation likely to have on your organization’s target market, the wider Opportunity Finance Industry or other potential beneficiaries?
How would this award significantly enhance your organization’s ability to sustain or expand its capacity for innovation over the next 10+ years?

3. Current Business or Strategic Plan

A copy of the applicant’s current business plan and/or strategic plan. This document should have been created or updated within the last five years.

4. Latest Interim Financial Statements

Please provide interim financial statements for your most recently completed quarter or month.

5A. Financial Strength and Performance Statement

The combined word limit for 5A) Financial Strength and Performance Statement, and 5B) Policy and Impact statement is 5,000 words. Provide a financial self-assessment that addresses the following questions. (Or identify the pages of your business plan or strategic plan that address these questions.)

How does your current capital structure support your activities and manage investor risk?
How do you see your capital structure changing over the next three to five years?
Describe portfolio performance and trends over the past three years.
Describe growth in loan originations during the past three years.
How do you manage the risk inherent in your lending activities?
Describe the appropriateness of your management, board and staff’s skills and experience relative to your organization’s size, complexity and risk profile.
Explain turnovers in any key position within the last three years.
Describe operating results (for non-profits, focus on changes in unrestricted net assets) during the last three years?
How do your ensure the reliability of revenue needed to support your financing activities?
How do you ensure adequate operating and loan fund liquidity?

CARS™ Rated Applicants: This document is required only if material changes have occurred since your last CARS™ report. Please indicate changes and updates from the CARS™ report

5B. Impact and Policy Statement

Impact: Provide an impact performance self-assessment that addresses the following questions. (Or identify the pages of your business plan or strategic plan that address these questions.)

How does your organization’s mission align with its strategies, products and the information you track and analyze to assess your impact performance?
What information does your organization track and analyze to assess its impact performance?
Describe the volume of impact your organization has had in its market. Compare this volume to the overall need in your market: does your organization have significant market share?
What key output data does your organization track for internal purposes and how does your organization use that data to a) determine how well it is meeting its mission, and/or b) increase its own effectiveness?
How does your organization ensure that it is using available financing resources effectively, including off-balance sheet resources if applicable? Provide your organization’s deployment rates for the three most recent fiscal years.

Policy: Describe your organization’s role in influencing policies beyond those that might increase its own access to resources. Specifically, describe your organization’s participation and results in efforts to change government policy, civic life, private sector business activity, or other areas that have resulted in structural and/or systemic changes that have benefited disadvantaged people or communities.

CARS™ Rated Applicants: This document is required only if material changes have occurred since your last CARS™ report or you have additional information regarding policy work that was not covered in your CARS™ analysis. Please indicate changes and updates from the CARS™ report. Please note that CARS™ Policy Performance analysis only examines changes in government policy. If your organization has engaged in efforts to influence civic life, private sector business practice or other activities that led to policy and system changes benefiting disadvantaged or underserved communities and people, please submit a statement that describes them.

6. Three Years of Audited Financial Statements

Audited financial statements for the three most recently completed fiscal years.

CARS™ Rated Applicants: This item is not required unless your organization has not yet submitted audited financial statements for any of its three most recently completed fiscal years.

7. Corporate Identity Chart

A current corporate entity chart that clearly shows all related corporate entities, their tax status, and their relationship to the applicant organization.