Help Center

• Google Chrome is the recommended browser for Submittable.
• Get started as a submitter.
• We recommend adding collaborators to your application to help complete the application and future progress reports. Check out these articles on how to invite collaborators and what to do when you receive a request from Submittable.
• While Submittable does auto-save your document, we highly recommend you fill out the application preview and paste your answers into Submittable.
• If you can’t find your submission, get help here.

Preview the application to learn more about the information required. We recommend using the document below to record your answers and then copying and pasting them into Submittable. While Submittable will automatically save your answers, and you can return to your application until the deadline, sometimes it’s helpful to have all your answers documented outside of the Cloud. Please note that this document does not include all the branching questions. Please review the application closely before submitting.

After you apply, 

• You will receive an email confirmation that your application has been received.
• Your application will be reviewed by NTCA staff to determine your eligibility.
• The application will be shared with the Chairs/Vice Chairs of the TOT Advisory, Zone 1 and TBID Advisory committees and Placer County Executive Staff for review and routing to the appropriate recommending committees.
• If your application is rejected, you will be contacted by NTCA by the end of September 2025.
• If your application has been recommended to move forward, you’ll hear from NTCA at the end of September about next steps, including applicant presentations. 
• Between September 23 and October 12, 2025, committee members will review applications. 
• Applicant presentations are scheduled for October 15 and 16, 2025. 
• Committee members will score your application using the scoring criteria. 
• Your application will also be scored by NTCA staff for match requirements using the match scoring matrix. 
• Final committee recommendations will be made between November 18 and 20, 2025. 
• TBID-recommended funding for projects/programs will go to the NTCA Board for final approval on December 3, 2025. 
• TOT-recommended funding for projects/programs will be presented to the Placer County Board of Supervisors for final approval in February 2026.  

• All TOT-TBID Dollars at Work communications will take place through the Submittable platform.   
• Please check your email junk folder if you do not believe that you are receiving timely responses from the platform.
• Learn more about what happens when your application has advanced to committee approval by watching this video (coming soon).   

• Applicants will be asked to make a 10-minute presentation on either October 15 or 16, 2025.
• You will be sent a PowerPoint template through Submittable and will be asked to upload it to Submittable in advance of your presentation.
• We highly recommend that you present for approximately 7-8 minutes and leave 2-3 minutes for questions from committee members.

• TBID-funded projects require NTCA Board approval.
• TOT-funded projects require Placer County Board of Supervisors’ approval.

No, NTCA staff, Placer County staff, and Chairs and Vice Chairs of the committees will provide recommendations on appropriate funding streams.

NTCA prefers to make disbursements on a reimbursement basis. Grantees are required to submit quarterly progress reports for reimbursement processing.

Yes. If partial funding is recommended, applicants will be notified and given options to adjust their proposal.

Grant recipients are required to submit quarterly progress reports and a final report. Learn more about reporting.

Yes. Applicants may submit multiple requests throughout the year. However, approval of one request does not guarantee future funding.

Objectives

1. Definition:
   • Objectives are specific, quantifiable goals that measure project/program progress within the grant period.
   • They articulate key milestones or components of the project/program implementation.
2. Examples:
   • Winter Trail-Grooming Project
     • Groom 2.2 miles of the North Tahoe Trail from Dollar Hill to Cedar Flat twice weekly for the winter season of 2024-2025 when the snowfall is greater than 4 inches, commencing when the snowpack is 12 inches deep and ceasing when the snowpack melts to less than 12 inches deep.
     • To capture trail-use metrics and qualitative community feedback, a monthly community survey will be conducted at three separate trailheads on Saturday mornings throughout the peak winter season.
   • Workforce Housing Advocacy and Direct Assistance in North Lake Tahoe Program
     • Provide $50,000 in direct payments to landlords and utility companies and other housing-related costs in fiscal year 2025 to ensure that families accepted into the Housing Stability Program stay housed in Eastern Placer County.
3. Characteristics:
   • Specific: Clear parameters about what objectives will accomplish and who they will impact.
   • Measurable: Quantifiable criteria to determine achievement.
   • Achievable: Can realistically be completed during the grant period as determined by organizational capacity, permitting, and funds.
   • Relevant: Directly signal project/program advancement or completion.
   • Time-bound: Constrained by a specific timeline or deadline within the grant period.
4. Role:
   • Objectives provide a clear focus and define success criteria for the project/program.
   • They guide the selection and prioritization of tasks and activities to ensure project/program completion.
   • They are assigned to specific team members or stakeholders responsible for their completion.

How to Build S.M.A.R.T. objectives (Video)

Please note that objectives are referred to as “goals” in the video.

Tasks

1. Definition:
   • Tasks are specific actions or activities that are sequentially executed to complete the project/program’s objectives.
   • They are individual steps or assignments required to implement the project/program plan.
2. Examples:
   • Winter Trail-Grooming Project
     • Hire three part-time groomers available for work on weekday mornings.
     • Rent a storage facility for grooming equipment adjacent to Dollar Creek Trailhead.
     • Weekly maintenance of grooming equipment.
   • Workforce Housing Advocacy and Direct Assistance in North Lake Tahoe Program
     • Conduct a housing needs assessment in Kings Beach
     • Leverage $12,000 from Southwest Gas Utility Assistance Partnership for utility payments.
     • Translate housing resource navigation materials into Spanish.
3. Characteristics:
   • Actionable: Tasks are clearly defined actions that can be executed.
   • Sequential: As discrete actions, tasks should be listed in chronological order of implementation.
4. Role:
   • Tasks are the building blocks of project/program objectives and provide a roadmap for project/program execution.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

1. Definition:
   • KPIs are metrics that demonstrate how effectively a project’s/program’s objectives are being met (see above to learn more about objectives).
   • They are quantifiable measurements used to track and evaluate project/program progress and success. KPIs are regularly tracked using data collection tools, software systems, surveys, or direct observation.
2. Examples:
   • Winter Trail-Grooming Project
     • Total number of winter North Tahoe Trail users on weekend mornings, broken down by activity type. 
     • Percent Increase in trash volume collected in the winter of 2024-2025 (compared to the winter of 2023-2024).
   • Workforce Housing Advocacy and Direct Assistance in North Lake Tahoe Program:
     • Percentage increase of housing retention rates during fiscal year 2025. 
     • Number of affordable units developed or preserved in Eastern Placer County during the grant period.
     •  Completion rates of housing stability action plan in the first quarter of 2025.
     • Total funds paid to landlords on behalf of tenants during fiscal year 2025.
3. Characteristics:
   • Quantitative: KPIs are numerical data that can be objectively measured.
   • Short-term: KPIs assess project/program progress within the grant period.
   • Specific: KPIs directly measure objectives outlined in the project/program scope of work.
4. Role:
   • KPIs provide concrete evidence of progress towards project/program objectives.
   • They empower data-driven decision-making and strategic adjustments rooted in real-world performance metrics.
5. Resource:
   • This YouTube video describes how to develop effective KPIs. 

Outcomes:

1. Definition:
   • Outcomes are the enduring impacts, benefits, or results that occur as a direct consequence of project/program completion.
   • While KPIs measure progress and successes during project/program implementation, outcomes focus on long-term benefits during and after project/program completion.
   • Outcomes are assessed through evaluations, surveys, case studies, and other qualitative and quantitative methods.
2. Examples:
   • Winter Trail-Grooming Project
     • Increased community awareness of the winter trail system and support for winter trail grooming on the North Tahoe Trail during the peak winter season (as determined by monthly survey responses).
     • Increased usage rates on the North Tahoe Trail of self-identified adaptive users throughout the winter season (as determined by monthly survey responses).
     • Decreased emergency response time for rescue operations compared to the previous winter season. 
   • Workforce Housing Advocacy and Direct Assistance in North Lake Tahoe Program:
     • Reduced homelessness rates in the North Lake Tahoe community.
     • Increased GPAs, salaries, and quality-of-life assessments for participants in the Housing Stability Program from Quarter 1 to Quarter 4 of 2024 (as determined by a twice-annual survey of participants).  
3. Characteristics:
   • Qualitative: Outcomes are often described in terms of improvements, changes in behavior, or societal impact.
   • Long-term: They indicate enduring changes that extend beyond the project’s/program’s duration.
   • Broad: They encompass the overall achievements or changes brought about by the project/program.
4. Role:
   • Outcomes demonstrate the long-term benefits that a project/program creates.

Introduction to the TOT-TBID Dollars at Work Annual Grant Cycle
August 7

Hosted by Tara Hetz and Lindsey McCandless of the North Tahoe Community Alliance grants team.

During this introductory workshop, interested applicants learned about the structure and purpose of the 25-26 TOT-TBID Dollars at Work Annual Grant Cycle and key sections of the application (such as monitoring and evaluation). They also reviewed support materials on the NTCA website.
Watch Now

Housing Support
August 12

Hosted by Erin Casey, CEO of the Tahoe Housing Hub, Tim Cussen, Tahoe Housing Specialist for Placer County, and other local housing leaders.

This workshop supports applicants pursuing housing-related projects and provides an opportunity to learn more about existing housing programs and resources in our region, including Launchpad and the Tahoe Housing Hub.
Watch Now

Finance Support
August 20

Hosted by Francois Cazalot, Derek Vaughan, and Daniel Chavez of the North Tahoe Community Alliance finance team.

The NTCA finance team introduces the budgeting requirements in the 2025-26 Annual Grant Cycle application as well as fiscal reporting requirements throughout the grant cycle.
Watch Now

For questions that aren’t answered here, please email grants@northtahoecommunityalliance.com.

Congratulations! Your project/program has been awarded a grant from the TOT-TBID Dollars At Work Program. The NTCA is excited to work with you. This section provides information about quarterly progress report requirements, marketing requirements, and offers valuable tips to help you set yourself up for success.

We appreciate that you want to get the word out about your project/program! In support of your efforts, we require you to use the TOT-TBID Dollars At Work logo and other relevant assets to educate your stakeholders about the role of funding in your success. To provide you with everything you will need, we created a toolkit that includes relevant logos and copy to include in blogs, social media posts, press releases and more.

• What are the quarterly progress reports?
  • Quarterly progress reports are written updates on the progress of your project/program. Templates for these reports will be sent to you from the NTCA via Submittable.
  • Preview the Quarterly Progress Report 
• What are the start and end dates of each quarter?
  • The quarters follow NTCA’s fiscal year (July 1- June 30)
    • Quarter 1 (July 1- September 30) 
    • Quarter 2 (October 1- December 31)
    • Quarter 3 (January 1- March 31) 
    • Quarter 4 (April 1- June 30) 
  • A quarterly progress report form will be sent to you to complete via Submittable at the end of each quarter. You will have 30 days to complete the report. For example, for Quarter 2, you will receive a quarterly progress report request through Submittable on December 31. The deadline for submission of the Quarter 2 progress report is January 31. 
  • The reporting deadlines for each quarter are: 
    • Quarter 1 Deadline: October 31
    • Quarter 2 Deadline: January 31
    • Quarter 3 Deadline: April 30
    • Quarter 4 Deadline: July 31

• Reimbursements happen after quarterly reports have been received and reviewed. 

For questions that aren’t answered here, please email grants@northtahoecommunityalliance.com.