Community Foundation of Western North Carolina

Opportunity Grant Guidelines

The Community Foundation offers Opportunity Grants of up to $7,000 to help organizations implement projects that will improve their services.

Proposals must meet one or more of the Objectives AND focus on one or more of the Result Areas listed below.

Objectives:

•  Tackling a timely community need or opportunity not being addressed by other agencies

•  Expanding to reach a new or under-served segment of the population

•  Purchasing equipment that provides immediate and substantial impact

•  Building the internal capacity of an organization to be more self-sufficient or efficient

Result areas:

Assisting People in Need

  • Assisting people of low resources out of crisis and into financial security and independence
  • Addressing root causes of poverty through systemic change

Building Community and Economic Vitality

  • Providing economic opportunities to disadvantaged people through workforce development, small business development, and job creation
  • Contributing to place-based economic development projects that build on local assets and retain wealth within our communities
  • Fostering community involvement in local problem solving and civic engagement.
  • Helping residents access and maintain safe and affordable housing
  • Promoting or implementing smart growth principles including recommendations from the Region A Mountain Landscapes Initiative Toolbox

Improving Educational Opportunities

  • Establishing and/or increasing quality afterschool and summer programs that academically and socially benefit at-risk students
  • Creating or improving school-community partnerships that reduce the achievement gap and academic disparities among students
  • Improve the ability of families to learn and develop skills to more effectively participate in their children's education

We encourage you to view the statewide foundation report, "Education is the Foundation" for background information.

Promoting Quality Health

  • Implementing local counties' health assessment priorities such as programs that focus on healthy lifestyles, obesity reduction, and youth risk behavior prevention or increase the capacity of free health clinics

Refer to the list of local counties' health assessment for more information.

Advancing the Arts

  • Supporting efforts that involve art to improve education or boost economic development

Enhancing our Natural Environment

  • Supporting local adaptation of climate change and energy efficiency strategies for homes, businesses and communities

Eligibility

Nonprofit organizations that are tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code and public agencies are eligible to apply for these grants.

Organizations must be located in or serving one or more of these WNC counties: Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson , Macon , Madison , McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania and Yancey.

Funding Restrictions

The Foundation does NOT make competitive grants for:

  • general operating expenses (except for specific costs including staffing directly related to the proposed project)
  • capital support including feasibility studies and architectural designs
  • recreational programs and equipment such as playgrounds
  • festivals or one-time events such as exhibits, performances or fundraisers
  • scholarships or direct support of individuals including one time emergency assistance
  • activities taking place or expenses incurred before grant decisions are made
  • sectarian religious purposes
  • partisan purposes
  • veteran affairs
  • endowment, deficit funding or debt retirement

The Foundation does NOT make competitive grants to:

  • nonprofits with significant unrestricted revenue such as hospitals
  • private schools, clubs, and childcare centers
  • EMS or fire departments
  • organized sports programs
  • state or national organizations, unless funding is sought for a portion of the program that directly benefits WNC, and local people assume leadership

Timeframe: Opportunity Grants will be considered both in the Fall 2010 and Spring 2011 grant cycles. The Foundation expects to award 20-24 Opportunity Grants per cycle or a total of 45 per year. Organizations can only submit one full application (Strategy or Opportunity ) in any 12 month period.

Deadlines:

Fall Cycle - August 6, 2010 with funding decisions announced in mid-November 2010

Spring Cycle - February 1, 2011 with funding decisions announced in mid-May 2011

How to apply:

Click this link for full application: Opportunity Grant Full Application

Click this link for Common Budget & Narrative form attachment: Common Budget & Narrative Form

Click this link for Common Board List form attachment: Common Board List Form

Click this link for guidance help with Narrative and Results & Verification questions: Opportunity Grant Guidance for Narrative and Results & Verification Questions

Program officers are available to offer advice on how to strengthen proposals to be more competitive. Applications must meet at least one of the objectives and one of the result areas listed above. Applicants may email an outline of their grant request to dollar@cfwnc.org or contact Virginia Dollar at 254-4960 to schedule time to speak with a Program Officer no later than two weeks prior to the deadline.