Community Funds Grant Application

As a collection of flexible, responsive assets, our Community Funds address gaps and support opportunities that our other funds cannot.

That’s because Community Funds broadly support our region and can fund all types of organizations, from environmental nonprofits and arts and culture groups to Tribal organizations and educational institutions.

We aim to equitably and meaningfully invest Community Funds to support healthy, resilient, thriving communities across our region, now and for generations to come.

Photo credit: Discovery Center Great Lakes, one of our previous Community Funds grant partners

Grant Eligibility

We welcome applications from grant partners who are ready to accept significant and strategic investments to support their missions.

Organizations are encouraged to submit a grant application for the amount they need, whether that's $1,000, $5,000, $10,000 or $30,000. We have a total of $238,000 available for community funds grantmaking in 2023.

Nonprofit, educational, governmental, and Tribal entities across Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska and Leelanau Counties are eligible to apply by submitting an online application.
Previous grant partners can reapply for a community funds grant.
Grant awards may include unrestricted general operating support.
Consideration is given for grant awards that can have a larger impact for the grant partner; provide a significant community benefit; and/or can leverage other funding sources.
Grant requests that are informed by data on the Community Development Regional Scorecard and/or address a community issue that appears on the Scorecard are prioritized in the review process.

Grantmaking Process

Standarized grant application processes are used to increase access to potential grant partners, including proactively sharing opportunities with new partners that have not been traditionally funded.
An initial review and due diligence of grant applications will be conducted by Community Foundation staff.
Applications are then be reviewed by the Community Foundation's Grantmaking Committee.
Grant awards will be made in November 2023 following the Foundation's board of directors approval.

Apply Now

Community funds grant applications are now closed for 2023. Please visit our Grant Opportunities page to learn about other grants we have available.

Post-Grant Reports

The Community Foundation values data and how it informs both our ongoing impact and future grants. Post-grant reports will be sent to grant partners and are intended to provide feedback on our process and effectiveness as grantmakers.

Questions?

Please contact Steve Wade, Vice President of Community Impact, at swade@gtrcf.org or by calling 231-935-4066.