Organizing donors and philanthropy is only half of a what a community foundation does. Our communities are improved when we award grants to the local nonprofits who carry out the work of community building.

Presently, grants from the Fund for Carbon County (created by the Founder’s board) are made available during a spring and fall grant cycle.  Grants from donor-advised funds can be distributed at any time at the donor’s request.

The next grant application deadline for the Fund for Carbon County with take place in 2019. 

Stay up to date with CCCF at https://www.facebook.com/cccfoundpa/ and https://twitter.com/cccfoundpa 

General Guidelines

The Carbon County Community Foundation seeks to make the largest impact possible on the community with the grant dollars that are available. Geographic preference is given to nonprofit organizations within Carbon County, or those that provide programs and services to the residents of Carbon County. Exceptions to this limitation are provided to donors who establish Donor Advised or Designated Funds and who wish to make occasional grants outside this geographic area. All grants must be issued to the final recipient nonprofit organization that will actually administer the program or perform the service. Projects that demonstrate collaboration between two or more nonprofits or public/private organizations are of particular interest to the foundation as are projects that are likely to gain support from matching fund arrangements and projects seeking challenge monies with which to build permanent endowments within The Carbon County Community Foundation. Programs and projects representing significant duplication of initiatives already undertaken by other nonprofit agencies will not be funded. Preference will be given to projects that have the potential of positively affecting broad segments of Carbon County’s population.

The Foundation will consider the overall (potential) outcome of a grant at least as much as it will consider the stated need.

The grant selection team at the foundation will consider the following evaluation criteria when reviewing grant applications.

The intrinsic merit of the proposed project for meeting priority community needs;

• • The ability and past reputation of the agency’s staff for successful completion of projects;
  • The clarity and measurability of the project’s goals including Project Budget;
  • Plans to fund and sustain the project beyond the grant period;
  • The feasibility of the time frame given for completion of the project;
  • Whether the costs are commensurate with benefits;
  • Whether The Carbon County Community Foundation’s grant dollars will significantly impact the overall program or service.

Instructions: Please prepare your written application (with the following three sections) in a word processing program (such as Microsoft Word or Google Docs), save as a single PDF file, and submit via email to grants@cccfoundpa.org. Alternatively, you may mail your application to PO Box 243, Lehighton, PA 18235, however, it must be received—not postmarked—by the deadline. After completing your written application, please complete this short online form that summarizes your application and helps us in the review process. We will confirm receipt of your application once both items have been received.

Each section is estimated to be a page in length. For ease of reading, please keep the font to at least 11pt and regular margins. Try to be as succinct as possible, but if you need more space you may add another page.

SECTION I: Organization Information: Please prepare a 1-page cover letter on your organization’s letterhead that introduces us to your organization. It should include the following information:

• Project Title
• Name of Organization and relevant contact info (Address, Website, etc.)
• Mission of Organization and Date Founded
• Eligibility Confirmation (Confirmation of 501(c)(3) status and EIN number)
• Name, Title, Phone and Email of Grant Contact Person
• List of Board of Directors
• In the closing, please include full names, titles and signature of the Executive Director or the Board Chair (or two signatures of those within the organization with legal signing authority)

SECTION II: Specific Grant Project Information: Please prepare a 1-page narrative describing your project.

• Project Title
• Project Period/Timeline
• Summarize the project/program for which you are requesting funds and describe the need (reference data, study, or plans that document the need for project/program)
• Describe the target population and the impact the program will have on the target population. (who will benefit, how many will benefit and how will they benefit)
• Describe the measurable outcomes

SECTION III: Project Budget: Please prepare a 1-page budget detailing the expenses of your project and projected income sources, including in-kind donations and volunteer time. CCCF is unlikely to fund projects that we are requested to fund 100%. Be sure to include:

• Current organization operating budget (a single value as reported on the IRS 990)
• Total Project Cost
• Amount of Grant Requested
• List anticipated expenses and anticipated income (other funds, in-kind, etc.)