Community Grant Program - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Announcing the Fall 2024 Community Grant Round
The Community Grant program focuses on the unique needs of our community and supports non profit organizations that improve the quality of life for all those who live, work, learn or play in San Carlos.
PRIORITIES
The 2024 grant round will focus on funding organizations that address the physical, mental, social, and other basic needs of community members and uplift the lives of all who live, work, learn or play in San Carlos. Applications will be evaluated based on the impact on our community’s well-being.
ELIGIBILITY
Organizations whose operating budget was less than $1.5 million in the most recently completed fiscal year can apply. Financial and tax statements are required as part of the application. Your impact on our community is a critical factor, so please evaluate this as you assess whether you are a good fit, as we have more requests than funds. If you are not a 501(c)(3), please contact us at grants@sancarloscf.org to discuss your situation before applying.
INELIGIBLE
The Foundation will not fund the following in this grant round:
Organizations with an annual operating budget over $1.5 million.
Organizations whose main activity is fundraising.
Foundations
Fundraising events
Political or religious activities
Deficit funding or cash reserves
Basic research
Purpose of Grants
As we believe the nonprofit recipients know best how to use their funds, we are funding general operating support. If you have a specific project you want to fund, you may specify that within your application.
Grant Size
Our grants range from $2,000-$15,000. We may fully or partially fund an application based on available funds and our assessment of the strength of the application; however, it’s unlikely many will get the maximum amount, as requests exceed available funds, so please apply for what you feel is a critical amount.
Duration
These are currently one-year grants, as we fund numerous organizations and don’t have sufficient funds to offer multi-year grants. If you know anyone who would like to donate to enable us to do this in the future, please direct them to us.
Questions?
We are hosting an optional virtual information session on Monday, Aug. 19th at 11am. If you know you plan to apply and would like to receive the link for this session, please complete the Intent to Apply form by end of day Friday, Aug. 16th. Otherwise, please submit it by Friday, August 30th to help us plan our evaluation cycle. Attendance at the office hours will have no bearing on your application. If you can’t attend and have questions, please email sandy@sancarloscf.org.
Expectations
The foundation expects that your organization will spend granted funds by June 30th of 2025 and provide a short report by that date describing the use of the funds and the impact they had. If you don’t expect to use the funds in this timeframe but would spend them within a year, please contact us to discuss your situation. Please note that if you received a grant in 2023 and are applying again, we must have received your report by 6/30/24 or your organization will be ineligible for this round.
IMPORTANT DATES
Application opens: Tuesday, August 13, 2024 12:01am
(Optional) Virtual Informational Session: Monday, August 19, 11am PT
Please complete the short Intent to Apply Form by Fri. 8/30 to help us plan our evaluation work. - If seeing this post 8/30, you can still apply through 9/13. Please complete this form too to help us plan.
Application deadline: September 13, 2024 at 4:00PM
Award Notifications: November 8, 2024
The Community Foundation Grants Committee may reach out with follow-up questions during the review process.
Where Do Grant Funds Come From?
The available funds for each grant cycle will change based on (1) the market returns from the investment of the endowment, (2) donations from community members, and (3) funds from other sources (government, foundation, and businesses). If you’d like to help us increase the money we have to do this great work, please donate here.
Join Us In Supporting
Great Local Area Nonprofits
Our grants team is comprised of community members who carefully read and evaluate the nonprofits who apply and choose those we feel are or will make the biggest difference for the San Carlos community. There are many wonderful nonprofits in our area. If you have a favorite, we encourage you to support them directly. If, however, you’d like to rely on the careful assessment of the foundation, you can support many by donating to either our grants fund or to all community foundation activities.
Volunteer as a Grants Reader
If you are interesting in joining the team of grant readers, please fill out the Application Form or send an email to grants@sancarloscf.org. Each member of the team gets all the training they need during the summer and then reads and rates 7-10 applications against a common set of criteria in late September. Grant Readers then meet as a group to review the results and make recommendations to the Board of Directors. If you have several hours a week this coming September, and October and a commitment to supporting the San Carlos community through the power of our local nonprofits, consider joining as a Grant Reader. Learn More.