Making community possible

At U.S. Bank, we are dedicated to supporting our communities through responsive and humbled actions focused on addressing racial and economic inequities and creating lasting change in our communities. Through our Community Possible Grant Program, we are partnering with organizations that focus on economic and workforce advancement, safe and affordable housing and communities connected through arts and culture.

The U.S. Bank Foundation is committed to making Community Possible through Work, Home and Play. We advance this work through collaborative grant making to bring equitable and lasting change through our focus on sustainable, high-impact funding with 501c3 nonprofit partners.

Home

Children and families are better positioned to thrive and succeed in a home that is safe and permanent. Access to sustainable low-income housing is increasingly challenging for low- to moderate-income families. In response, our giving supports efforts that connect individuals and families with sustainable housing opportunities.

Access to safe, affordable energy-efficient housing

We provide financial support to assist people in developing stability in their lives through access to safe, sustainable and accessible homes. Examples of grant support include:

• Organizations that preserve, rehabilitate, renovate or construct affordable housing developments for low- and moderate-income families, individuals, seniors, veterans, and special-needs populations
• Organizations that provide transitional housing as a direct stepping stone to permanent housing
• Organizations that focus on veterans housing and homeownership
• Construction of green homes for low- and moderate-income communities
• Clean energy retrofit programs for low- and moderate-income housing developments
• Organizations that provide access to renewable energy
• Improving waste management systems to include recycling and composting programs

Homeownership education

Owning and maintaining a home requires significant financial knowledge, tools and resources. We support programs that assist low- and moderate-income homebuyers and existing homeowners. Examples of grant support include:

• Homebuyer education
• Pre- and post-purchase counseling and coaching
• Homeownership-retention programs designed to provide foreclosure counseling

Work

We know that a strong small business environment and an educated workforce ensure the prosperity of our communities and reduce the expanding wealth gap for communities of color. We provide grant support to programs and organizations that help small businesses thrive, allow people to succeed in the workforce, provide pathways to higher education and gain greater financial literacy.

Investing in the workforce

We fund organizations that provide training for small business development, as well as programs that support individuals across all skill and experience levels, to ensure they have the capability to gain employment that supports individuals and their families. Examples of grant support include:

• Small business technical assistance programs
• Job skills, career readiness training programs with comprehensive placement services for low- and moderate-income individuals entering or reentering the labor force

Providing pathways for educational success

• To address the growing requirements for post-secondary education in securing competitive jobs in the workplace, we support:
• Organizations and programs that help low- and moderate-income and at-risk middle and high school students prepare for post-secondary education at a community college, university, trade or technical school and career readiness
• Programs and initiatives at post-secondary institutions that support access to career and educational opportunities for low- and moderate-income and diverse students

Teaching financial well-being for work and life

Financial well-being is not only critical for financial stability, it’s crucial in helping individuals be successful in the workplace. Examples of grant support include programs that positively impact:

• K-12 and college student financial literacy
• Adult and workforce financial literacy
• Senior financial fraud prevention
• Military service member and veteran financial literacy

Supporting the green economy through workforce development

The green economy is fast becoming an area of opportunity for workforce development programs. Funding support includes:

• Reskilling or retraining for jobs in renewable or clean energy
• Building and maintaining infrastructure to support renewable energy, including EV charging stations and bike/transportation programs

Play

Play brings joy, and it’s just as necessary for adults as it is for kids. But in low-income areas there are often limited spaces for play and fewer people attending arts and cultural events. That’s why we invest in community programming that supports ways for children and adults to play and create.

Access to artistic and cultural programming and arts education

Our investments ensure economic vitality and accessibility to the arts in local communities, as well as support for arts education. Examples of grant support include:

• Programs that provide access to cultural activities, visual and performing arts, zoos and aquariums and botanic gardens for individuals and families living in underserved communities
• Funding for local arts organizations that enhance the economic vitality of the community
• Programs that provide funding for arts-focused nonprofit organizations that bring visual and performing arts programming to low- and moderate-income K-12 schools and youth centers

Supporting learning through play

Many young people across the country do not have the resources or access to enjoy the benefits of active play. Supporting active play-based programs and projects for K-12 students located in or serving low- and moderate-income communities fosters innovation, creativity, and collaboration and impacts the overall vitality of the communities we serve. Funding support includes:

• Support for organizations that build or expand access to active play spaces and places that help K-12 students learn through play and improves the health, safety and unification of neighborhoods in low- and moderate-income communities
• Programs that focus on using active play to help young people develop cognitive, social and emotional learning skills to become vibrant and productive citizens in low- and moderate-income communities

Outdoor places to play

Environmental stewardship enhances and improves the livability of our communities. Supporting efforts to preserve, protect and enhance outdoor spaces is now part of our Play pillar of giving. Funding support includes:

• Cleanup efforts in community spaces, including (but not limited to) beaches, rivers, and streams
• Protecting green spaces within the community, including planting trees, mangroves and seagrass
• Programs that support community, native and/or pollinator gardens, including community composting

Danville Regional Foundation Grant

The region served by Danville Regional Foundation (DRF) has faced many challenges in the last decade-economic, health, educational, and social. Because these challenges are ongoing, DRF is committed to working with organizations that strive to create a healthy and thriving Danville/Pittsylvania County/Caswell County region.

DRF supports regional improvement through funding initiatives: 

• proposed by others (responsive grant making) that show potential for significantly impacting present problems by converting them into opportunities for ultimate success, 
• developed because of unanticipated opportunities where DRF funds, in cooperation with others, can enable productive advances that might not otherwise be attainable.

DRF will consider requests that reflect its mission, values, and areas of focus (outlined under "About the Foundation"). Beyond these previously stated specifics, funding is given greater consideration when the application demonstrates intersection of three areas: need, opportunity, and potential impact.

At DRF, we don't award grants just to fill a need or to embrace an opportunity. The grants we fund do both.

In addition, they lead to a larger impact that is visible in the community.

Here are four questions to ask as your proposal is prepared to see if your idea meets the need, opportunity and impact criteria:

• What issue and/or problem are you trying to change?
• How will you do it?
• Who will you connect to make this successful? What groups will you work with to make this happen?
• What does this change look like if you are successful? How will we know it when we see it?

DRF anticipates requests will exceed available funds. Grants will be made based on a competitive process; but, regardless, some very worthy projects will not receive funding. There is always more need than there is money available to grant. Funding decisions will come down to this question, what difference will it make?

Proposals may be submitted at any time and the review process will begin when they arrive at the DRF Office. Depending on the time of year when a proposal is received, the entire process (inquiry to receipt of funds) may take as little as three months or as much as eight.

Program Areas

Education

In the Dan River Region, DRF knows that the first step towards transformation in any community begins with the educational opportunities available to its residents. From investments in early childhood education to public school programs to STEM to higher education opportunities, DRF looks to make investments that will benefit the entire community no matter their income level or background.

Economic Development

One thing we know is the future will be significantly different than the past. A second thing we know is having the right skills will be critical to our individual and collective futures. Next, we know we need a vision of the future that helps to distinguish this region from 4,400 similar places in the United States. Fourth, we know we have to work together across political, social and economic structures, or we will make little progress individually. Finally, we know we are creating a new economy and that means we must develop, recruit and grow in new ways.

At DRF, we spend part of our time looking to what’s next. What’s the next series of investments we need to make to help transform the Dan River Region? As we look to answer this question, DRF realizes it will take the entire community to make positive change happen through economic and workforce development. To see the types of investments we’ve made through the years, visit our economic development and workforce development portfolios.

Health & Wellness

At DRF, we believe that a healthy population is key to our social, economic and physical vitality. The Dan River Region currently suffers from poverty, obesity and chronic disease at rates much higher than state and national averages. The situation is not unique to us. What is unique is the dedication and passion of the many organizations, individuals and community groups that are working to improve the health of our region.

Community Development

Community building takes resources — human and financial. At DRF, we have some of the financial resources to support different goals and initiatives throughout our region. But what we don’t have is the human capital needed to make every change that is wanted or necessary. Leadership and human capital must come from a wide variety of local sources, both public and private, and more importantly from within the community.

Community change starts right where we are standing: in our neighborhoods, our churches, our clubs, our circles and our businesses. It begins when someone decides to make a change for the better and to stop complaining about what they perceive isn’t happening. All the money in the world could be available, but without people committed to working together and dreaming big, it makes no impact.

These are the people and groups that DRF makes grants to throughout the year — ones with vision, with plans and with dreams for a better Dan River Region. Articulating needs are important, but not sufficient. Solutions are needed and citizens willing to commit to them are critical and what is often missing.

Our Vision

For more than 25 years, the Dakota Foundation has sought to combine business discipline and charitable intentions to solve social problems. With grants and program-related investments (PRIs) we take an investment approach: we want the total social return of our investments to be higher than the cost.

In doing so, we hope to foster organizations and activities that are both economically and environmentally sustainable. We help people invest in themselves to improve their economic condition and those of their families and communities. This mission stems from our values: self-reliance, personal responsibility, human dignity, equal opportunity, and the preservation of life and beauty on our earth.

General Rules of Thumb

The Dakota Foundation generally makes PRIs with non-profit groups whose programs empower people and increase their control over their own economic destinies. For more information about our PRIs, please see our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) .

The Dakota Foundation opposes unlawful or unfair discrimination in all its activities, and our resources are available to organizations that serve their constituencies without unlawful discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, marital status or national origin. 

We support organizations that collaborate with other community groups to create bottoms up solutions to common issues. It is important to us that a project or program is sustainable, scalable, and that benchmarks and indicators are in place to ensure meaningful and measurable results. 

NC 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) Program

Purpose of Program

The 21st CCLC program is authorized under Title IV, Part B of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The program provides before and after-school, weekend, and summer school academic enrichment opportunities for children attending low-performing schools to help them meet local and state academic standards in subjects such as reading, mathematics, and science. In addition, programs may provide activities for youth development, drug and violence prevention, art, music, technology, character education, counseling, and recreation to enhance the program's academic components. The program also supports a component for family literacy and community outreach.

Overview

The 21 st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) Program is authorized under Title IV, Part B, of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015. The purpose of the 21st CCLC program is to provide federal funds to establish or expand community learning centers that operate during out-of-school hours with three specific purposes:

• Provide opportunities for academic enrichment, including providing tutorial services to help students (particularly students in high poverty areas and those who attend low-performing schools) meet state and local student performance standards in core academic subjects such as reading and mathematics.
• Offer students a broad array of additional services, programs, and activities, such as: youth development activities; service learning; nutrition and health education; drug and violence prevention programs; counseling programs; arts, music, physical fitness and wellness programs; technology education programs; financial literacy programs; environmental literacy programs; mathematics, science, career and technical programs; internship or apprenticeship programs; and other ties to an in-demand industry sector or occupation for high school students that are designed to reinforce and complement the regular academic program of participating students.
• Offer families of students served by 21 st CCLCs opportunities for active and meaningful engagement in their children’s education, including opportunities for literacy and related educational development.

Any public or private organization wanting to provide out-of-school programs for K-12 students in North Carolina is eligible to apply for a 21st CCLC grant. Agencies and organizations eligible under the 21st CCLC program include, but are not limited to, local education agencies (LEAs), non-profit agencies, city or county government agencies, community-based organizations (CBOs), faith-based organizations (FBOs), institutions of higher education (IHEs), and for-profit corporations. The 21 st CCLC grant funds are solely available on a reimbursement request basis for actual allowable expenditures. Organizations are eligible to receive reimbursement grants of not less than $50,000 and up to $400,000 a year, based on the number of students served, with an opportunity for a second and third year of funding.

Description

The Foundation for a Healthy Carolina provides grants for organizations in the greater Charlotte, North Carolina region that are aligned with its vision for improving health, human services and educational outcomes. The Board of Trustees supports its mission through its competitive grant making program.

The Foundation for a Healthy Carolina is an investor in the community and is interested in creating the highest possible levels of human and community gain. In that mode, grant requests are reviewed with the following questions in mind: 

• What results are we buying?
• What are the chances we will get results?
• Is this the best possible use of money?

Result and Investment Areas

Healthcare grants-  directed toward advancing equity and access of the community health needs of vulnerable populations. Programs may address physical and/or mental health initiatives and must serve clients such as the elderly, people in poverty, undocumented workers or others not able to access the care or services they need. 

Education grants- directed toward workforce development, recruitment, placement, and/or retention efforts within the healthcare field, basic health education for the community, or healthcare issues that impact educational outcomes.

Within the investment areas of healthcare and education, the Foundation is also encouraging grant proposals to support creative exploration and project development to address health and health-related needs in the region.

Award Range and Trends

Grant awards typically range between $10,000 and $50,000 with the average award approximately $25,000.

NOTE: A limited number of applicants will then be invited to submit a full application. Preceding the deadline for a full proposal, all invited applicants will be required to schedule a virtual meeting with South Arts to discuss their project. 

Cross-Sector Impact Grants

South Arts recognizes that as our communities continue to change, the arts play an incomparable role in addressing many of our communal and individual challenges and strengths. Further, the value of partnership and working together across sectors brings new opportunities, increased effectiveness, and greater depth to our collective work. Through this program, South Arts seeks to provide significant support to projects developed by partners that harness the power of “Arts & …”.

South Arts is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.  Cross-Sector Impact Grants are open to all art forms, for partnership projects taking place in South Arts’ nine-state region. Eligible projects will continue to feature “Arts & …”, for example, arts and the military, arts and equity, arts and aging, arts and community revitalization. Applicants may be organizations, units of government, higher educational institutions, or artists.

For applicants new to this program that did not receive a Cross-Sector Impact Grant in FY20, FY21 or FY22, matching grants of up to $15,000 will be awarded. For these projects, South Arts encourages applications for new projects. However, projects that deepen and expand existing partnerships may also apply. For applicants/projects that did receive funding through this program in FY20, FY21, or FY22 matching grants of up to $10,000 will be awarded in order to continue or advance the project. South Arts anticipates that this grant program will be highly competitive and that successful applications will be fully funded. 

South Arts’ mission is advancing Southern vitality through the arts. This program addresses two of South Arts’ strategic goals:

• Connect artists and arts professionals in the South to resources that will increase opportunities for success within and outside the region
• Advance impactful arts-based programs that recognize and address trends and evolving needs of a wide range of communities in the South

Project Requirements

South Arts welcomes proposals from partnering entities working together on a project that addresses arts and community impact through cross-sector partnership. Projects must utilize the arts as a tool in creative approaches to address and advance an issue that is of importance in their community. Projects should also establish or advance relationships across at least two different sectors, one being in the arts. 

Arts disciplines may include, but are not limited to:

• Performing arts, including dance, music, theater, musical theater, and opera;
• Literary arts, including fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry;
• Visual arts, including craft, drawing, experimental, painting, photography, sculpture, mixed media;
• Film or media;
• Traditional and folk arts, including music, craft, storytelling, dance; or
• Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary artforms.

Community impact areas may include, but are not limited to:

• Education, including literacy, youth development;
• Environment, including sustainability, weather impact;
• Health and human services, including aging, prisons and rehabilitation, military;
• Infrastructure, including housing, community revitalization, food and nutrition; or
• Social justice, including immigration, community activation, equity and accessibility.

Matching Requirements

For applicants/projects that are new to this program, the minimum grant request for this program is $5,000; the maximum request is $15,000. For applicants/projects that did receive funding in FY20, FY21 and/or FY22, the minimum grant request for this program is $5,000; the maximum request is $10,000.

A match of at least 1:2 is required, meaning for each grant-funded dollar, the grantee must provide $.50 towards the project.

Up to half of the match may be comprised of in-kind contributions such as donated materials, donated services, or other contributed non-cash assets or staff time diverted to this project. At least half of the match must be cash and cannot include salaried staff time allocated to this project. However, contracted services specifically for this project may be included in the cash match. 

The mission of the Union County Community Foundation is to inspire philanthropy and strengthen our community by supporting initiatives that address local needs and providing quality services to donors and constituents.

The Board of Advisors supports this mission through an annual competitive grantmaking program. The Foundation is an investor in the community and is interested in creating the highest possible levels of community gain, focused on improving the lives of citizens in Union County, North Carolina.

Priority will be given to requests for projects and programs that address the following investment areas:

• Broad charitable purposes
• Professional development for Union County public school teachers
• Support for individuals with mental or physical disabilities due to visual or hearing impairments

Projects and programs which clearly demonstrate their ability to attain measurable results will receive higher consideration. The Board will review each proposal's described evaluation metrics and expected results to decide how to invest the limited dollars of the Foundation.

NOTE: Unsolicited requests should be in the form of a letter of inquiry. Solicitations will be accepted throughout the year and grants issued at convenient intervals thereafter. Solicitations received after October 31st will be held for consideration the following year.

Philosophy & Mission

The F. M. Kirby Foundation aims effectively to manage and utilize that which has been entrusted to it over multiple generations of the Kirby family. It strives to make thoughtful and prudent philanthropic commitments to highly selective grantee partners. The goal is to invest in opportunities that foster self-reliance or otherwise create strong, healthy communities.

The Board of Directors recognizes that achieving its philanthropic aspirations takes time, effort and perseverance that often result in sustained funding relationships.

The F.M. Kirby Foundation is a family foundation. Its grantees are largely in geographic areas of particular interest to five generations of family members and, in many cases, are organizations with which family members have been associated.

Scope

The F. M. Kirby Foundation is a family foundation. Its grantees are largely in geographic areas of particular interest to five generations of Kirby family members and, in many cases, are organizations with which family members have been associated. Successful new applicants tend to be organizations already well known to one or more of the directors of the Foundation, and/or other members of the family.

Programmatic Areas of Interest

The F. M. Kirby Foundation donates to organizations within 8 major funding program areas, listed below with brief descriptions:

Arts, Culture, & Humanities

Funding in Arts, Culture, and Humanities includes performing arts centers and programs, cultural community arts development, historical and educational museums, and fine art museums.

Education

The Foundation’s Educational interests include family alma mater support, equitable educational access, school choice, special education and educational support services, civics and history education, and programs fostering entrepreneurship.

Environment & Animals

Areas of interest in Environment and Animals include land conservation and stewardship, environmental law/advocacy organizations, and environmental community development.

Health

Cancer research, neuroscience and neurodegenerative disease research, Type I Diabetes research, and general biomedical research are all included in Foundational research interests. Also included in Health funding is support for medical centers in geographic areas of interest.

Human Services

Support in Human Services includes emergency and disaster services, child protection and domestic violence support, homeless services, food pantries, housing assistance programs, drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs, mental health services, adoption, health services, cancer support services, youth and family development programs, physical and cognitive disability services, veteran affairs, and community development.

Public Affairs & Society Benefit

Public policy areas of interest include higher education reform, drug and alcohol prevention policy, sexuality and reproductive health and rights, democratic capitalism, free enterprise think tanks, individual rights and free speech policy, immigration reform, and public news media support.

Religion

The F. M. Kirby Foundation provides support for select religious organizations and churches that are of familial special interest.

Mutual Membership Benefit

The F. M. Kirby Foundation belongs to several membership organizations that serve the non-profit and philanthropic sector.