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1. What is AmpliFund?

AmpliFund is an external grant management software program that centralizes the grant process into one portal and program. All City of Everett Community Development grants are managed through this program. 

2. What is the difference between AmpliFund and the AmpliFund ZenDesk?

AmpliFund is the grant management system that supports the applicant portal and award. The AmpliFund ZenDesk is a separate website that provides user guides, FAQs, instructional videos, help desk support, and more to help you use and get the most out of your AmpliFund account.

3. How do I register to be an applicant on AmpliFund?

For organizations registering in AmpliFund for the first time, create an applicant portal account by going to the City’s Grant Opportunities webpage at and clicking the 2024 Funding Opportunity link for the source of funds for which you are applying. 

This will launch AmpliFund where you can click “Register” to create an account.  

If your organization already has an account, please do not create an additional account. Instead provide login credentials and you will be directed back to the ‘Apply’ screen. 

Create one AmpliFund applicant portal account for the entire organization.  

The first user to register automatically becomes the Organization Administrator and can add other staff as needed to become users in the organization’s portal account. 

Your Designated Official who has legal authority to commit the organization to submit the application should also be established as an Organization Administrator for your account. 

It is strongly encouraged for each user to also register for an AmpliFund ZenDesk account which provides user guides, FAQs, instructional videos, help desk support and more. This is a separate registration. 

4. Is the Applicant Portal different from the Applicant AmpliFund Award Account?

Yes; the Applicant Portal is for open opportunities and applications only. Select information, such as the Performance Plan and Budget, will transfer from your application to your Award Account.

5. How do I translate the AmpliFund website into my spoken language?

You can use the built-in functionality of browsers like Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. For more details, see these links.

 https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/use-microsoft-translator-in-microsoft-edge-browser-4ad1c6cb-01a4-4227-be9d-a81e127fcb0b

 https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/173424?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform=Desktop 

6. The opportunity details mention application scoring. What does this mean?

• Funding recommendations are made by the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC), which reviews annual applications and provides recommendations to City Council.
• City staff will first review your application for completeness and organizational capacity. Incomplete applications will not move forward in the review process. 
• Following staff review, CAC Members will review and score Federal (CDBG and HOME) applications based on Need and Impact. 
• Five questions will be scored based on addressing Community Need and Community Engagement. Scores are provided on a scale. Highest possible score available is 25 points. 
• An example of a scoring rubric is below: 
  1. 0 - No funding recommended.
  2. 1 - If application receives funding, I would recommend it at a significantly reduced amount.
  3. 3 - Would recommend funding at reduced ask, cannot elevate for strong funding recommendation.
  4. 5 - Strongly recommend funding at full ask.
• Following reviews and scores from Committee members, a public hearing will be held for funding discussions and recommendations. Formal adoption on funding awards will occur during City Council action through resolution.

Please note that only Federal applications are scored by the CAC. Human Needs and AHTF applications are reviewed by the CAC, but not scored by the committee.

7. Why can’t I create my own budget categories?

AmpliFund budget categories are ‘master’ categories that carry across fund sources. Staff have provided a thorough list of categories submitted for the City’s funding sources. If you require a budget category that is otherwise not listed, please reach out to staff to discuss.

8. What is the "Authorization to Request Funds" in the required Attachments?

Board authorization to apply for the funding source is a requirement for City of Everett federal (CDBG and HOME) and state (AHTF 2060) applications. Supporting documentation for this attachment requirement may be a copy of Board meeting minutes giving such approval or a letter on agency letterhead from the Board's Executive authority stating approval. 

For questions, please reach out to Community Development staff at communitygrants@everettwa.gov. 

9. What is the "Designation of Authorized Official" in the Attachments?

The "Designation of Authorized Official" (DAO) is a standard document for federal (CDBG and HOME) and state (AHTF 2060) applications that declares authorization of signature for the organization. This may or may not be applicable to your organization based on your organization's Bylaws and/or Articles of Incorporation. 

The DAO is typically provided when the Executive Director and/or their designee, who hold the common powers to sign on behalf of the organization, are either unavailable or otherwise need someone else to sign on behalf of the organization. A letter from the organization's executive authority (typically the Board of Directors) on letterhead attesting the authorization is acceptable for this document. 

10. The budget asks for a ‘match’. What does this mean?

In order to capture information for the entire program budget (not just the portion requested by City funds), AmpliFund asks for your organization's ‘match’ to the grant award dollars. Match can include funding from other sources such as federal or state funding, other city or county funding, private donations or foundations, in-kind match etc. Staff and the Citizens Advisory Committee will use this information to look at the entirety of the program budget and evaluate award risk and leverage of City funds.

Match threshold requirements differ based on the funding opportunity. In the application for CDBG Public Services and AHTF 2060, the match is listed at 0%. This indicates the match threshold is 0% for performance metrics, however your budget will track the matching/in-kind funds you will be using to support implementation of the program and related services. 

CDBG Non-Public Services and HOME funds require a 100% match.

Definitions:

Award Requested is the grant-funded amount being requested from the City of Everett

Total Award Budget is the sum of the award requested and any match contributions

11. My application is complete but I am having trouble submitting it.

An issue in AmpliFund is preventing the Project Information page from being Marked as Complete when using the Safari web browser. Please try again using Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Microsoft Edge/Internet Explorer (version 11+). If the problem persists please reach out to the AmpliFund ZenDesk at support@amplifund.zendesk.com. 

12. What happens if I notice a mistake on my application after it has been submitted?

Please contact staff as soon as possible. Based on the situation, staff may re-open the funding opportunity for corrections to applications during the application process. Failure to timely submit corrections may result in an incomplete application that is unable to move forward for Committee review and possible award.