Community grantmaking

What you need to know before applying for a community grant from NCCF

NCCF’s community grantmaking program supports the work of charitable organizations serving the communities within our statewide network of affiliate foundations. Learn about NCCF's 2024 community grantmaking programs at an upcoming virtual grantseeker workshop.

Our network of local affiliates is organized by region. Each region has a program officer who supports the facilitation of the community grantmaking program. Not sure who to contact? To identify the appropriate program officer, see the drop-down menu at the bottom of this page for your affiliate.

Grant decisions are made by the affiliate's board members. We’re committed to utilizing the local knowledge and expertise that our advisory board members bring to responding to the needs of the community through their grantmaking.

The community grantmaking program funds a broad range of purposes to meet local needs that includes things like human services, education, youth development, health, food/nutrition, arts, and more.

The information on eligibility and restrictions below applies to all community grantmaking from our network of local affiliate foundations.

Eligibility

An organization must meet the following criteria to apply:

  • 501(c)(3) public charity non-profit organizations registered with the IRS (see answers to the questions below for additional details)
  • Organization with a fiscal agent who is a 501(c)(3) public charity non-profit organizations registered with the IRS (see below for additional information)
  • Local governments (including public schools)
  • Fire and rescue department
  • Religious entities, including churches, congregations and other houses of worship, and/or faith-based organizations whose core functions/operations promote religious doctrine or are restricted to members of a particular faith may apply for funding to support social outreach and charitable service programs to benefit the community-at-large, but they may not apply for general operating support. For more information, check out the FAQs.
  • Only those organizations that serve the counties within our affiliate network will be considered. If an organization serves multiple counties within our network, that organization may complete a separate application for each of those affiliates.
  • Organizations must offer programs and services without discrimination based on age, race, national origin, ethnicity, gender, physical ability, sexual orientation, political affiliation or religious belief. 
Restrictions

Grants are not awarded for the following:

  • Annual fund or capital campaigns
  • Political purposes or lobbying
  • Activities that are restricted to members of a particular faith community or promote a specific religious doctrine
  • General operating support for religious entities
  • Loans
  • Reimbursements: This program does not support reimbursement of costs incurred prior to the deadline for submission of your application. Your request may only include costs that will occur in the future, after the submission deadline of the application.
  • For the direct benefit of named individuals
  • Re-granting by the applicant organization. For more information, check out the FAQs.

Applications for specific programs and projects or for general operating support are accepted, unless otherwise specified.

Specifics

Prior to completing an application, it is important for interested applicants to learn about the grantmaking of the community program to which they are applying. Affiliate boards may also seek applications for certain target areas, capacity building, organizations with operating budgets within a specified range, or for other permissions and restrictions. The amounts of grant awards also vary widely across programs.

Deadlines

View the dates of all NCCF affiliate foundation cycles, either chronologically or in alphabetical order below. Please note that all cycles end at NOON on the closing date.

In most cases, grants decisions are announced a little over two months after the close of the application cycle. If you have questions about a specific affiliate’s timeline, contact the appropriate NCCF program officer.

Preview the application

Preview a sample of the applicationPlease note that this sample may be updated if there are changes to the application.

Our organization serves multiple counties. Are we eligible to apply to individual affiliates?

Yes. If your organization serves multiple counties, we recommend you submit a program/project application, instead of a general operating support application. Local affiliate boards are more likely to fund your proposal if you include specifics about how funds will be used in the local area.

Ready to apply?

Any organization that is eligible to apply and has a grant request that would meet these criteria is invited to apply. A digital signature at the end of the applications confirms that applicant has read and understood the information in these guidelines and attached. Failure to adhere to any of these guidelines may result in the application being excluded from consideration. 

Publicity tools

NCCF offers publicity tools for grant recipients to raise community awareness. We recommend every grantee take advantage of this valuable opportunity to tell the story of their work. Learn more about our publicity tools.

To apply, select the county below that your charitable organization serves.

Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome are the preferred browsers for the online application system.

Doug Perry
Grants Manager
Email
(919) 256-6911
For general questions about NCCF grant programs
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We&rsquo;re committed to utilizing the local knowledge and expertise that our advisory board members bring to responding to the needs of the community through their grantmaking.<\/p>\r\n<p><strong>The community grantmaking program funds<\/strong> a broad range of purposes to meet local needs that includes things like&nbsp;human services,&nbsp;education, youth development, health, food\/nutrition, arts, and more.<\/p>\r\n<p>The information on eligibility and restrictions below applies to all community grantmaking from our network of local affiliate foundations.<\/p>","image":"","alignment":""},{"fieldset":"c5804efe692a46f1a2835cbb338e5c2d","fieldset_slug":"_expanding_text","title":"Eligibility","text":"<p>An organization must meet the following criteria to apply:<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>501(c)(3) public charity non-profit organizations registered with the IRS (see answers to the questions below for additional details)<\/li>\r\n<li>Organization with a fiscal agent who is a 501(c)(3) public charity non-profit organizations registered with the IRS (see below for additional information)<\/li>\r\n<li>Local governments (including public schools)<\/li>\r\n<li>Fire and rescue department<\/li>\r\n<li>Religious entities, including churches, congregations and other houses of worship, and\/or faith-based organizations whose core functions\/operations promote religious doctrine or are restricted to members of a particular faith may apply for funding to support social outreach and charitable service programs to benefit the community-at-large, but they may not apply for general operating support. <em><a href=\"\/apply\/grants\/community-grantmaking\/frequently-asked-questions-faqs\">For more information, check out the FAQs.<\/a><\/em><\/li>\r\n<li>Only those organizations that serve the counties within our affiliate network will be considered. If an organization serves multiple counties within our network, that organization may complete a separate application for each of those affiliates.<\/li>\r\n<li>Organizations must offer programs and services without discrimination based on age, race, national origin, ethnicity, gender, physical ability, sexual orientation, political affiliation or religious belief.&nbsp;<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>"},{"fieldset":"c5804efe692a46f1a2835cbb338e5c2d","fieldset_slug":"_expanding_text","title":"Restrictions","text":"<p>Grants are not awarded for the following:<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Annual fund or capital campaigns<\/li>\r\n<li>Political purposes or lobbying<\/li>\r\n<li>Activities that are restricted to members of a particular faith community or promote a specific religious doctrine<\/li>\r\n<li>General operating support for religious entities<\/li>\r\n<li>Loans<\/li>\r\n<li>Reimbursements: This program does not support reimbursement of costs incurred prior to the deadline for submission of your application. Your request may only include costs that will occur in the future, after the submission deadline of the application.<\/li>\r\n<li>For the direct benefit of named individuals<\/li>\r\n<li>Re-granting by the applicant organization.&nbsp;<em><a href=\"\/apply\/grants\/community-grantmaking\/frequently-asked-questions-faqs\">For more information, check out the FAQs<\/a>.<\/em><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p>Applications for specific programs and projects or for general operating support are accepted, unless otherwise specified.<\/p>"},{"fieldset":"c5804efe692a46f1a2835cbb338e5c2d","fieldset_slug":"_expanding_text","title":"Specifics","text":"<p>Prior to completing an application, it is important for interested applicants to learn about the grantmaking of the <a href=\"\/communities\">community program<\/a> to which they are applying. 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