Deadline: 30-Apr-21
The Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation has opened applications for its Cycle Grants Program to enrich the quality of life for residents of their 20-town service area in Connecticut’s Northwest corner through the generosity of fund holders.
The Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation, Inc. (“Foundation”) is the community foundation located in and serving Northwest Connecticut. The Foundation enhances life for citizens in its 20-town service area by:
- Awarding grants to non-profit organizations and scholarships to students
- Helping donors create lasting, local legacies
- Encouraging local philanthropy and volunteerism
- Building endowments for future generations
Focus Areas
The Foundation has five areas of concentration:
- Arts & Culture
- Civic & Education
- Environment
- Health
- Social Services
Funding Information
Grants are designated as:
- Small ($1,500 and under); or
- Traditional (over $1,500).
What they do not fund?
The Foundation will not consider requests to fund the following:
- Organizations that, in their constitution, bylaws or practice, discriminate against or show favoritism toward a person or group on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status;
- Grants to schools for programs that would be included in the operating budget of most schools;
- Grants to governmental agencies for programs that should be part of their operating budget;
- Debt retirement;
- Endowments or other reserve funds (with the exception of applications to the Edwards Community Endowment Project);
- Membership or affiliation campaigns;
- Grants that further political or religious doctrine;
- Grants to individuals;
- Individual medical procedures;
- Grants requested for the purpose of re-granting;
- Activities, projects, or programs that will be completed before funding becomes available (in general, no retroactive funding);
- Staff positions for which long-term funding has not been established or planned.
Eligibility Criteria
To qualify for a grant from the Foundation, an applicant must:
- Qualify per the Internal Revenue Code as a tax-exempt organization. Most grantees qualify under Section 501(c)(3), although there are other eligible nonprofits such as schools or governmental agencies, for certain projects. Organizations may contact the Foundation to discuss eligibility;
- Serve residents in one or more of the 20 towns within the Foundation’s service area
- Provide a service that meets one of the Foundation’s five focus areas of concentration
- The Foundation is also interested in funding innovative projects and/or programs that promote collaboration among nonprofit organizations within its service area.
- In addition, application requests are grouped into three categories:
- Program (funding a new program or an expansion of existing programs);
- Furniture, fixtures or equipment;
- Capital/renovation projects.
For more information, visit https://www.northwestcf.org/grants
