Deadline: 4-Sep-20
The Community Foundation of South Puget Sound has launched a call for applications for the 2020 Community Grants program.
Through the Community Grants, the Community Foundation aims to build community capacity and support individual and community well-being in Thurston, Mason, and Lewis Counties. The program is made possible by generous donors who have contributed unrestricted and broadly defined area-of interest gifts which allows to respond to the community’s changing opportunities and challenges over time.
The goal for the program is to make grants to broad segment of the nonprofit organizations that contribute to the social, health, and environmental well-being of communities including arts and culture, environment, health and wellness, education, economic opportunity, basic needs and human services, and community and civic engagement.
Program Objectives
In reviewing grant proposals, the Community Foundation considers the following:
- Impact: Their goal is to support a broad range of organizations contributing to individual and community well-being. They seek to fund organizations across a variety of focus areas including, but not limited to arts and culture, community and civic engagement, environment and animals, health and wellness, basic needs, and economic opportunity.
- Geography: Organization primarily operates in service area or fills an unmet need within service area.
- Community Partnerships: Organization carries out their work in coordination with local community partners.
- Population Served: They support nonprofits that provide services to all populations, and prioritize populations with unequal access to resources and opportunities.
- Accountability: Organization’s services are designed appropriately for the communities they serve. Organization meaningfully engages the voices, perspectives, and expertise of their program participants.
- Organizational Capacity: organization demonstrates reasonable capacity and financial health. Grants Committees review and score applications and make recommendations to the Board of Directors
Funding Information
The Foundation awards roughly 80 grants annually through Community Grants program
- Award amounts will range from $1,500 to $5,000
- Total awards through this program in 2020 will be approximately $400,000
Eligibility Criteria
The Community Foundation of South Puget Sound makes grants to 501(c)(3) public charities that serve Thurston, Mason, and Lewis County residents. Organization must acknowledge that 100% of Community Foundation grant funds will be used in geography. If your organization or group is not a 501(c)(3), you must secure a fiscal sponsor.
Ineligibility Criteria
- Organizations that discriminate with regard to age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, national origin, religious affiliation, or presence of a disability
- Individuals
- Partisan political activities
- Religious organizations when funds would be used in whole or in part to further the organization’s religious purposes
- National and statewide organizations that cannot demonstrate a local presence in Lewis, Mason, or Thurston Counties
- Re-granting organizations
- Service clubs and service club foundations
- Schools, school districts, PTOs, preschools, and daycares
- Sports teams
For more information, visit https://www.thecommunityfoundation.com/grant-guidelines
