Community Impact Guidelines : North Central Michigan Community Foundation

Community Impact Grant Application Guidelines

ABOUT YOUR ORGANIZATION

Your organization must provide benefits to those within the geographic area of Crawford, Ogemaw and Oscoda Counties.
Your organization must be recognized as a non-profit charitable organization under section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service code. (Schools and government agencies are also eligible. Grants to religious organizations will be considered only if they serve the general public and do not have religious overtones of a sectarian nature.)
You will be asked to provide your organization's EIN.
No grants are made to individuals.

Grants are made for future projects only. No funding will be given for projects completed before final board approval. Board approval is usually within six (6) weeks of the grant deadline. Grants are not made for routine operating needs or budget deficits.
Proposals seeking "seed money" for projects that are new, dynamic and that show funding support from additional organizations are given stronger consideration.
The Community Foundation discourages repeated applications for sustained funding of programs.

Applicants may submit requests up to a maximum of $2,500 per application cycle unless otherwise indicated.
If your organization is awarded a grant, a check for the full amount of the grant will be sent within two weeks of the date of grant approval, provided your organization's executive director has signed and submitted the grant agreement (emailed at the time of grant award notification). Final grant reporting is required.
A portion of funds awarded during the Community Impact grant cycle is set aside specifically for programs addressing health for youth under the age of 18 and senior citizens, as well as broad reaching, community wide health-related programming.

Community Impact Grant applications are reviewed once a year.
Applications must be submitted by June 30.
Grants are normally paid within one year of approval. If necessary, a written request may be submitted for a six (6) month extension.

A Grant Screening Committee comprised of CFNEM board members makes all allocation recommendations. No staff members vote on decisions regarding fund allocations.
All recommendations for allocations must be approved by vote of the Board of Trustees at their monthly meeting following the application deadline.
All charitable projects are eligible for funding, and nonprofits are encouraged to apply for funding. In 2019, the NCMCF Board of Directors identified several grantmaking priorities. Preference may be given to projects aligning with these priorities: Health/Human Services (health/wellness, human trafficking prevention, mental health care, senior programs, substance abuse help, and suicide awareness); Education (workforce development, skilled trades, financial education, early literacy); Community Improvement (trails and bike paths, community spaces, and quality child care); Environment (clean drinking water, invasive species control, and recyling initiatives); and youth arts programming and education.

You may use our budget example to assist you in completing the budget section of your application. (Budget Sample PDF)