Important: Temporary Changes to the Community Grant Program

Community Grant applications are typically reviewed twice annually, in May and November; however, the COVID-19 pandemic upended those plans. Many of our operations were shuttered to protect our employees and customers, and we furloughed many hundreds of our own people. Most have returned to work, but others will not. We are worried for them and their families; they have always been, and will remain, our primary concern.

Additionally, Holman makes all charitable gifts entirely from our operating profits. In the first half of 2020, the economic turmoil wrought by the pandemic made our short-term economic future, and thus our charitable resources, unclear. Accordingly, Holman leadership canceled the May review of Community Grant applications. 

Although the future course of the health crisis is unknown, it now appears that Holman businesses will be strong enough to resume limited charitable giving. Accordingly, we are planning to review Community Grant applications as usual in November 2020, with an application deadline of October 31.

Grant applications that were received before April 30 in anticipation of the canceled May review will also be considered in November. These submissions may be updated if the applicants feel that the six-month delay in review, the progress of the health crisis, or any other reason has made their original request less compelling. Changes to these applications must be completed by Monday, October 5. Please contact the Community Affairs team at <Community@HolmanEnterprises.com> if you would like to make modifications to your original request.

General Guidelines

• Holman Enterprises, Inc. provides single-year financial support of $10,000 or more, or multi-year commitments of $15,000 or more, through its Community Grant program. Holman awards grants exclusively to organizations that provide opportunities to low-income people in the counties in which it is in business, specifically:
  Holman grants help local, low-income communities access basic human needs — such as food, housing, education, and health care — and also help those communities realize their essential humanity through spiritual growth, emotional strength, artistic expression, and positive values.
• The benefits of the grant should be detailed, quantifiable and included as part of the grant narrative; organizations may apply for full or partial funding of a particular program or capital campaign. Grants are typically not made for general operating efforts or to create endowments.
• Only one grant can be awarded to a non-profit organization per calendar year.
• Our businesses now exist side by side with literally hundreds of schools. Accordingly, the number of charitable requests from schools has grown so rapidly that there are more than we can handle fairly and consistently. As a result, we will no longer award grants to school organizations unless they have a direct connection to a Holman employee.
• Holman can award grants by ACH electronic transfer, reducing the time required to deposit funds. If you prefer this method, please click the “Download ACH Document” link in the right sidebar, complete the form, scan it, and attach it — along with a scanned, voided check — to your application where instructed.
• At the end of the grant period, the recipient must submit an online final report. No further funding is available until the applicable final report is completed.

Eligibility Requirements

• Holman Automotive Group, Inc. awards grants only to charitable, non-profit organizations as defined by section 501(c)(3) of the IRS tax code.
• Holman does not award grants to any organization that discriminates on the basis of race, national or ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation, family status, disability, or other characteristic protected by law.

Please Upload the Following Supporting Documents Your Application:

1. A grant narrative, of approximately three pages, that includes:
   • A brief background of your organization and a history of its programs
   • A detailed description of the program or capital campaign for which your organization seeks funding, including the objectives
   • A description of the need of the program, including the populations that will be served, and identification of any gaps in existing services or programs that would be met through funding this proposal
   • A list of counties in your state(s) whose residents are targeted by this program, including an estimated percentage of funding directed to each county if there is more than one
   • A timetable of the program
   • A detailed budget for the program
   • The other funding sources of your organization that will support this program (please list the top five contributors)
   • A description of measurement tools you will use to determine the success of the program
2. The last available audited financial statement, or a copy of a filed income tax form if the organization does not have an audit performed
3. The 501(c)(3) federal tax exemption letter of determination; or, if applicable, evidence of your organization’s authority to operate under the 501(c)(3) of another organization; or, a letter on official letterhead providing the nine-digit tax identification number of the applying government entity or public school and signed by the senior officer
4. A Form W-9 with your most recent taxpayer identification number

Grant Review Process

• Please be sure you have included all requested information and supporting documents. Incomplete applications cannot be considered for grant funding.
• Applicants must submit the application form online. You will be able to upload your supporting documents with your application.
• If you have specific questions about the application or the application process in general, or are having any problems submitting the application form, please email the Holman Community Affairs team at community@holmanenterprises.com.
• The Holman Grants Committee meets twice yearly — May and November — to consider grant application requests. Application deadlines are October 31 for the fall review, and April 30 for the spring review. A notification email is sent to all applicants no later than two weeks following the Grants Committee meeting.

Grant Final Report

• Within twelve months of the final receipt of Community Grant funds of $10,000 or more, an organization must submit a final report to describe the results of the grant project. No new requests for funding can be considered until a final report has been submitted for all prior grants totaling $10,000 or greater.
• Final reports are completed and submitted online, and are accessed by clicking on the blue button in the right sidebar labeled “BEGIN YOUR FINAL REPORT NOW”.

Impact Grants

• In addition to its standard Community Grants, once annually Holman will make a select number of Impact Grants: $300,000 commitments paid in $100,000 increments over three years. This is an invitation-only process. Applicants will be asked to demonstrate how these gifts will be transformative for both their organizations and the people whom they serve.
• In 2020, the deadline for applying for Impact Grants will be October 31. Applicants will be notified of award decisions in late November, 2020, and Holman will distribute the first installment of funds in January, 2021.
• The Impact Grant program uses the standard Community Grant application form. Except for the size of the award, it mirrors the Community Grant program, specifically:
  1. The mission, i.e., providing resources to low-income communities
  2. The eligibility requirements
  3. The Grant Final Report filing requirement at the end of the grant period

Ensuring Your Application is Successfully Submitted

1. Before attempting to submit a completed application, we encourage you to save your work by clicking the box at the end of the form labeled “Save my progress and resume later”. You will be prompted to enter your email address; a specific link that enables you to re-access your application will be sent there. Next, click on “Save form and resume later”; the message “Your progress has been saved” will appear, along with the link sent to your email inbox. Copy this link for the next step. These steps automatically save to the database all work you have completed.
2. Paste the copied link to your browser, or click the link you receive in your email. This will return you to your application.
3. Be sure you have answered all required questions and uploaded all necessary documents; these are marked with red asterisks. You will be alerted if more information is needed, or if you need to adjust the format of your responses.
4. After you click on the “Continue” button on the bottom of the application, you will be taken to a page that states: “You have completed the Holman Community Grant application, but your form has not yet been submitted. Please click the ‘submit’ button below to review your responses.”
5. After clicking on this button, you will be taken to a page that allows you to inspect your answers to be sure they are what you intended. If they are, click on the “Submit” button at the bottom of that page.
6. You will be taken to a page that says: “Success! Your submission has been saved!” Unless you get this message, you have not successfully submitted your application.