US: Grants for Projects in Areas of Health, Environment & Humanitarian Needs

Deadline: 1-Aug-21

The Community Foundation is awarding grants to non-profit organizations and community groups that support the arts, culture, heritage, the environment, recreation, education, health, humanitarian needs, and other civic initiatives.

These grants are provided by CFDC funds created by local families, philanthropists, corporations and private foundations for the betterment of Dunn County and to enrich the lives of those who live here.

The Community Foundation of Dunn County’s mission is to connect people who care with causes that matter to enrich the quality of life in Dunn County, now and for future generations.

Funding Information

• The average grant amount is $2,500 with typical award amounts ranging from $500 to $5,000, totaling approximately $70,000 or more in grant awards annually.
• For each grant cycle, an average of 20 applications is submitted, with 12-15 organizations receiving a grant for full or partial funding.

Grant Initiatives

Community Grants enable nonprofits and charitable groups to better serve their local communities. In setting priorities for making grants, we consider the needs of the Dunn County area, the programs of other funding agencies, and their available resources. Projects which are supported generally fall under one of the following broad categories:

• Community Health & Wellbeing
  • Health and wellness are at the heart of our quality of life. That’s why the Community Foundation of Dunn County invests in a spectrum of health programs and projects, mainly through the Healthy Futures Fund, which is an endowed fund formerly managed by the Menomonie Health Foundation. These funds support health-related initiatives that best football predictions website benefit the service area of the Red Cedar Medical Center – Mayo Health System through a variety of initiatives that:
    • Enhance the health status of the community.
    • Promote health education and healthy lifestyle choices for community residents.
    • Improve community-based health services that include oral, mental, and behavioral health.
    • Improve and expand healthcare delivery and integrate prevention efforts.
    • Address human needs such as food security, housing, and safety.
    • Improve intervention efforts and increase self-sufficiency of at-risk populations.
• Program Development or Expansion
  • Nonprofits play a vital role in providing opportunities and public services within the communities they serve. Community grant funding can help organizations offer new, innovative programs to better meet the changing needs of the community through projects or activities that:
    • Take an imaginative and innovative approach to deepen the impact.
    • Serve a broad and wide range of Dunn County citizens.
    • Solve critical local problems or address critical local needs.
    • Can be sustained without continued funding from the Community Foundation.
    • Encourage collaboration and cooperation among charities and does not duplicate services.
    • Have a measurable impact on the community that can be evaluated and shared.
• Capacity Building
  • When used strategically, grant awards can increase an organization’s sustainability so it can better serve the community today and into the future. It is not meant to simply sustain day-to-day activity – it is meant to help an organization reach a new level of operating effectiveness. Capacity-building grants are broad and can support various improvement efforts to:
    • Form new partnerships or collaborations to improve services or eliminate duplication.
    • Strengthen governance, leadership or staff expertise.
    • Refine and improve communications and outreach.
    • Improve volunteer recruitment, training and engagement.
    • Acquire or improve impact measurement tools and evaluation capacity.
    • Secure equipment/assets that allow the organization to operate more efficiently and effectively.

Eligibility Criteria

• The Foundation welcomes grant requests from nonprofit organizations and civic groups that serve Dunn County citizens. Eligible entities include:
  • Independent nonprofit organizations;
  • Charitable organizations classified as 501(c)(3) under the Internal Revenue Code;
  • Local units of state or national organizations;
  • Groups of individuals or clubs organized to sponsor a charitable project.
• The Foundation will not normally make grants to private non-operating foundations. Grants may also be made to units of government, including Native American tribal governments, for public purposes. Organizations must serve residents of the Foundation’s service area. Preference will be given to applications that have the potential to impact a broad range of Dunn County area residents. Applications should detail measurable and achievable outcomes and demonstrate other sources of support, collaboration, and/or cooperation. Applications should also address the sustainability of the proposed program or project for which funding is desired.
• Evaluation criteria include but are not limited to the overall merit of the project, the ability of the organization to successfully complete the project, the clarity and measurability of the project’s goal, the feasibility of the time frame given for completion of the project and the number of people served.

For more information, visit http://cfdunncounty.org/4385688-2/