Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro
/OVERVIEW: This community foundation provides nonprofit capacity-building support and other grants for nonprofits that aim to improve the quality of life in the greater Greensboro area.
IP TAKE: This is an innovative local funder that has demonstrated a strong commitment to supporting and growing the nonprofit sector in greater Greensboro. This funder accepts applications for most of its programs, but eligibility, guidelines and due dates vary by program. Stay in touch with this accessible funder if your work serves the people of the greater Greensboro area.
PROFILE: Based in Greensboro, North Carolina, the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro (CFGG) manages around 650 charitable funds and has over $200 million in assets. It seeks to “help individuals, families and organizations establish charitable funds and make annual gifts from the earnings to support worthy causes.”
Grants for K-12 Education, Women, Community Development, Environment, Arts & Humanities and Youth Philanthropy
This funder makes grants through unrestricted donor funds and also through funds targeted at specific interest areas. Interest area funding is part of CFGG’s community grants program, and the application process is online. Eligibility, guidelines and due dates vary by program. Grantmaking opportunities include the following.
Community Grants generally offer capacity building support to nonprofit organizations in the Greensboro area. The foundation names arts and culture, economic mobility, food insecurity and health as areas of focus, but grantmaking is not strictly limited to these areas. Community grants are awarded in amounts up to $10,000 to organizations with operating budgets of less than $250,000. The foundation accepts applications for this program via an online portal with a due date that falls in June of each year.
The Building Stronger Neighborhoods program supports community development projects that aim to improve the quality of life in Greensboro’s neighborhoods. Grants are awarded in amounts of up to $5,000 and prioritize organizations that are “representative” and have “broad resident support” in areas where they operate.
The Women to Women Fund is a permanent grantmaking endowment supports women-led initiatives for economic empowerment, safety and health. This program accepts applications on an invitation-only basis.
The Future Fund is a competitive grant process in which nonprofits present ideas for improving the future of Grennsboro in a competition-type setting. The winner of the competition receives $20,000, while other contestants receive benefits including mentoring, technical assistance and professional development opportunities. Organizations interested in participating in the contest should sign up for updates at the program page.
CFGG also awards a broad range of college scholarships and runs a Teen Grantmaking Council program in which young people can participate the foundation’s grantmaking processes.
Important Grant Details:
CFGG usually gives out more than $25 million in annual gifts each year. Community grants usually run from a few hundred dollars to $10,000, with the average between $3,000 and $5,000. It supports a variety of interest areas, but the main focus here is nonprofit capacity building.
Organizations must be located in or serve the greater Greensboro area, and requests should be under $10,000. Public schools do not typically receive these community grants, and the foundation does not usually consider multiyear grants. Application deadlines tend to fall in February and August. Past grantees include Arts Greensboro, Eastside Park Community Center, Family Services of the Piedmont and the Children’s Home Society of North Carolina.
The foundation is led by President H. Walker Sanders. A full list of staff members and their contact information is here. General questions can be directed to the foundation staff at info@cfgg.org. Keep up with CFGG grantmaking on its news section.
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).
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