Doug Perry
Grants Manager
919-256-6911
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Eligibility
Organizations meeting any of the following are eligible to apply:
- 501(c)(3) public charity non-profit organizations (see answers to 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 departments
- Religious entities applying for program/project support (see below for additional details)
Yes, if the IRS has classified your 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status as a public charity your organization is elible to apply. Your IRS determination letter will specifcy whether or not your organization is classified as a public charity.
No. There are 501(c)(3) tax-exempt classifications that are not eligible for grant funding from NCCF, such as 501(c)(3) private non-operating foundations.
Your organization must be classified as a public charity by the IRS to apply for grant funding from NCCF.
No. Only organizations that have already received a determination letter from the IRS are eligible to apply.
If you have applied and are still awaiting your letter of determination, your organization will not be eligible. You are only eligible at the time you receive the official letter from the IRS.
If you received this letter within the last year, we recocmend attaching a copy to the application.
Yes. If your organization or project uses a 501(c)(3) public charity as a fiscal agent, your application’s supporting documentation must include a letter from the fiscal agent that verifies the relationship. If a grant is awarded, the fiscal agent will be responsible for receiving the funds and distributing them.
Items to include in letter:
- A description of the agreement between the parties regarding financial and legal responsibility for the purposes of the requirements of the grant,
- A description of how the responsibilities for the program or project will be managed,
- Date when the relationship was established, and
- Signatures from a representative from the fiscal agent and organization/project
No. Religious entities are eligible to apply for program/project-specific funding to support social outreach and charitable service programs to benefit the community at-large, but they may not apply for general operating support. NCCF and its affiliates recognize the important charitable works of faith-based organizations in our communities.
NCCF and its affiliates raise funds from a diverse constituency and, as a result, charitable funding cannot be limited to the promotion of a specific religion.
If your program is a program/function within your church, the church will need to be listed as the applicant organization. The application proposal must be for your specific program/project. For example, a church that holds its own after-school or back-pack buddies programs.
Your organization may be a separate entity from the church but not have its own 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, meaning your relationship with the church is what qualifies your organization to receive funding. In this case, the church may be operating as your organization’s fiscal agent, and you would apply under the name of your organization, not the church’s and you must also attach a letter from the church that describes the fiscal agent relationship. The letter should include the length of the fiscal agency relationship and address how funds should be distributed if an award is made. For instance, the letter should note whether a grant check should be made out to the church for the program, or if the check may be made out to the applicant organization.
Types of requests
General operating support is funding that an organization uses for its core/general operations which allows the organization to continue to operate and meet its mission. Grants for this purpose may be used for any cost that keeps the organization operating, unless otherwise restricted at the time of the grant, which generally permits some flexibility for the grantee. Please note, NCCF does not fund annual fund and capital campaigns through this grant program.
Program/project support is funding for specific, programs or projects/initiatives. Grants for this purpose only cover costs directly related to the program/project for which the application is made.
Yes, your organization may apply for grants in any of the affiliate programs, if your organization serves the counties of that affiliate or giving circle.
Your organization may also apply for more than one grant within a grant cycle for an individual affiliate. In these cases, we reccomend communicating your priority project to the appropriate NCCF Program Officer in case the board is only able to fund one of your initiatives.
Yes, if the school is listed as the applicant. In this situation, the school is the eligible applicant to the grantmaking program. If an award is made, the school would receive the grant, and would be repsonisble for distributing the funds to the appropriate program. You are responsible for ensuring the school is willing and able to accept the grant funds and obligations should the application be funded.
This applies to all public, charter and private schools.
No. Grants are not awarded for reimbursement of costs already incurred. Grants are only available for work/costs which occur after the submission deadline of your application.
Yes. If your organization serves multiple counties, we recommend that 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.
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
Grants are restricted against expenses that fall within an active (or planned) capital campaign. Capital expenses that are not part of active (or planned) campaigns are allowable.
Grants will not be made in the case where the grantee will then use the funding to facilitate its own grant program.
A common example is an organization applying for funds to provide college scholarships. In this scenario, the organization would be awarded funds while the college would be providing the programming, making this an application for re-granting. This application would be declined.
Application details
Operating budget information can be a helpful tool for reviewers to see how a project fits into the overall operation of an organization. These questions are specific to the interests of the local board in learning about your organization’s financial status and management.
No. The budget templates provided within the application are required and are the only budget format accepted. Reviewing the same budget format for each application allows our committees to compare organizations consistently, for the benefit of everyone involved.
Only one budget template is required per application. When you begin your application, you will elect to apply for Program/Project support or General Operating Support. Depending on your selection, the application will then prompt you to download the appropriate budget template. If you are applying for a specific program/project, use the NCCF Program/Project Budget template and if you are applying for general operating support, use the NCCF Organizational Budget template.
Please ensure that you are using the correct budget template for your application type.
Organizations have fiscal years for tax filing purposes that may or may not line up with the calendar year. Organizations establish their budgets based on their fiscal year. Some examples of common fiscal years are:
- July 1 to June 30 (July 1 would be the beginning date and June 30 would be the end date)
- October 1 to September 30 (October 1 would be the beginning date and September 30 would be the end date)
- January 1 to December 31 (January 1 would be the beginning date and December 31 would be the end date
While the fiscal year dates are related to your organization’s tax filing year, and likely also correspond to your organization’s budget year, the program/project dates are specific to the timeframe or duration of the program/project for which you are applying. For instance, your organization’s fiscal year may run from July 1 to June 30 (a 12 month period). However, you might be applying for funding for a specific program that you operate only during the period from October 1 to December 31. You would enter July 1 and June 30 as your fiscal year dates and October 1 and December 31 as your program/project dates.
If the program for which you are applying is one that is always ongoing and does not have beginning and end dates, then you would enter your organization’s fiscal year dates as the program/project begin and end dates. Please clarify and share additional details regarding begin and end dates in the narrative responses within your application.
We suggest providing information about the group of people tasked with making decisions, including financial decisions about programs, on behalf of the school or organization. In many cases, this may be the members of the school district’s board of education.
Grant terms
Grant recipients have one year from the date of the grant to spend funds awarded by NCCF affiliates.
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.
Yes. An online follow-up report will also be due within nine months of the date of the grant. Grant recipients will receive information via email with instructions for completing the online grant report when they receive their award announcement, and again prior to the deadline.
Questions?
