Community Grantmaking

An organization must meet the following criteria to apply:

• 501(c)(3) public charity nonprofit organizations registered with the IRS (see answers to the questions below for additional details)
• Organizations with fiscal agents that are 501(c)(3) public charity nonprofit organizations registered with the IRS (see below for additional information)
• Local governments (including public schools)
• Fire and rescue departments
• 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. 

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.

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. Different community grantmaking programs 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.

View the dates for NCCF application-based cycles, either chronologically or in alphabetical order below. Please note that all cycles end at 12 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date.

• Grantmaking calendar by chronological order
• Grantmaking calendar by alphabet

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 timeline, contact the appropriate NCCF program officer.

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the community grantmaking program.

While the application may vary slightly depending on the grant program, you can download a sample to preview.

This sample may be updated if changes are made to the application. Please check back for updates.

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

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 application 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. 

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.