Competitive Grant Funding Guidelines
The Community Foundation accepts proposals from organizations with a charitable 501(c) (3) classification under the Internal Revenue Code and that are located within or serve the greater Holland/Zeeland Area. The Foundation is committed to addressing a broad range of issue areas including arts and culture, community and economic development, environment, education, health, human services, housing, seniors, and youth.
It is the intent of the Distribution Committee and the Board of Trustees of the Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area to allocate resources in the most equitable manner throughout the area served by this organization. Each year the amount of funding to be distributed is established based on interest earned and donations made to the endowment funds entrusted to the organization. Grant size typically ranges from $5,000 to $10,000.
We encourage you to call and talk with the Program Director or the Executive Director before you prepare and submit a proposal.
The Community Foundation gives priority to projects that:
- represent creative, innovative, sustainable efforts to address emerging or existing community needs;
- will increase services, enable new programming, or support current levels of critical services;
- promote cooperation among agencies to prevent duplicating services and promote more efficient delivery of services;
- are of a collaborative nature (lead/fiduciary organizations applying on behalf of a collaborative may also opt to apply for an agency specific grant as well);
- encourage proactive projects focused on prevention;
- can obtain the necessary additional funding to implement and sustain the project;
- encourage additional and permanent funding or matching gifts from other donors;
- yield substantial community benefits for the resources invested while serving a broad segment of the community;
The Community Foundation will generally not consider the following in 2012:
- requests in excess of $20,000;
- annual fund-raising drives;
- services which are commonly recognized as government or school obligations (however the foundation does consider applications from schools for pilot projects and innovative programs);
- endowments, loans, taxes or debt reduction;
- conference speakers, fieldtrips, travel or tours, for individuals or groups;
- religious programs that advocate specific religious doctrines or do not serve the broader community.
