Impact Grants
$10,000 to $75,000
IMPACT GRANT CRITERIA:
A. Impact grantees are not eligible for funding in consecutive years.
B. All Impact Grants must fulfill or leverage a 1:1 cash match.
C. Projects must predominantly benefit residents of Ingham, Clinton or Eaton counties in Michigan.
D. To apply for Impact funding, projects must meet at least one of the following Impact Criteria:
- Significantly increase the long-term impact of an organization or program, not to provide cash assistance for ongoing operations. Operating expenses are defined as routine expenses in an organization’s operating budget, including expenses related to existing, ongoing programming, occupancy, administration, etc. We do not award grants for operating deficits. For example: Impact grants will not purchase food for a pantry, but our committee may consider purchasing equipment that would allow a food pantry to stock healthier fresh food options.
- Significantly increase the organization’s ability to reach under-served populations, not to simply serve more people. For example: Impact grants will not be made to support additional people utilizing an existing program, but our committee may choose to fund some costs to expand the program to serve a new population. To qualify, the need must be substantiated along with a detailed sustainability plan.
- Enable two or more nonprofits to work collaboratively to create transformative and sustainable community change. For example, two organizations serving the same constituents may implement a new or expanded program together that would otherwise be impossible without collaboration.
IMPACT GRANT TIMELINE (Closed for 2021)
The preliminary application period is December 1 – February 1. The Impact Grant Committee reviews the preliminary applications in late February and decides which will be invited to submit a full grant application. Full applications are due in April review by committee in mid-June, and notification to grantees by the end of June. Funds must be requested within one year of grant approval date, once the 1:1 cash match has been secured.