Overview:
The Community Action Grant is available to nonprofits holding an agency endowment fund at the Black Hills Area Community Foundation. Two Community Action Grants are offered each year: one $20,000 opportunity and one $50,000 opportunity.
This grant will be awarded to an organization employing innovative ideas, leveraging community partnerships, and focusing on sustainable practices.
The maximum grant amount is $50,000.
Eligibility requirements
BHACF supports a wide variety of proposals in all funding areas, including requests for ongoing or new programs and projects.
- Applicants must be an IRS 501(c)(3) public charity, school, government entity, or religious organization.
- Applicants must have an agency endowment fund with BHACF.
- Requested support must be for organizations or activities that take place within the following counties: Butte, Custer, Fall River, Lawrence, Meade, Oglala Lakota, and Pennington counties.
Ineligible projects
- Grants will not be awarded to support religious activity, political activity fundraisers or benefits, debt, retirement or organizations working primarily to influence legislation.
- Supported activities may not discriminate against any individual or group based on race, gender, gender expression, age, disability, religion, ethnic or national origin, or otherwise legally protected groups.
- Grant funds cannot be used for the reimbursement of any expenses incurred prior to the grant notification date.
- Funding for multi-year projects or support.
- Requests to support capital campaigns.
Grantmaking process and timeline
To get started, organizations should submit a Letter of Interest (LOI) to carrie@bhacf.org. The opportunity to submit an LOI opens on April 1 and closes on May 3.
The BHACF Grants Committee will review all LOIs and select four organizations to submit a full application. Once the deadline for applications is closed, the BHACF Grants Committee will set up an informal interview with each organization to discuss their application. After all interviews have been completed, the BHACF Board of Directors will select an organization to receive the Community Action Grant.
Selected organizations will be asked to sign a grant agreement within a week of being notified of their grant award. They will be responsible for providing a final report at the completion of the grant-related work or within 30 days following the completion of the grant year.
How to apply
If this is your organization’s first application, you will need to create an account in our grant application portal. When you apply, you’ll login to the portal with your email and password.
Contact Carrie Robley at carrie@bhacf.org if you have any questions about your organization’s account.