Best Utah Grants for Nonprofits

There is a wide variety of funding sources for nonprofits available in Utah. Currently, there are more than 100+ individual open grants available, totaling $6,630,750 in funding. For organizations interested in pursuing grant funding in Utah, the median grant size is $17,500. However, those interested in attaining more funds will be happy to know that there are currently 34 grant opportunities that are over $25,000. There are also 24 grants that support general operating expenses and 100+ grants that fund programs and projects. More specifically, over 1,000+ grants focus on environmental conservation and more than 2,000+ grant opportunities are focused on human & social services.

In Utah, more than half of the opportunities come from private foundations, followed by corporate funders, government agencies, and more. Here’s a breakdown of where you'll find the most grants available:

• Private Foundations: Around 65 grants come from private foundations. Many support environmental conservation, homelessness services, and literacy from a variety of foundations. For example, the Wilburforce Foundation and Maki Foundation both support environmental conservation, while the Cross Charitable Foundation Inc. funds homelessness services, and the Dollar General Literacy Foundation supports literacy in the state.
• Federal, State & Local Government: The USDA, United States Department of Agriculture, United States Department of Energy, and the National Library of Medicine all fund federal government grants in Utah that focus on rural development, water resource management, and energy. On the state and local side, there are 17 grants that have an emphasis on water resource management, education, and health services, including grants from the Utah Department of Health and Human Services and the Utah Department of Environmental Quality.
• Corporate Funders: There are 14 grants available from corporations, including grants that largely focus on community services and education from corporations like Boeing, Marathon Petroleum, Nature's Path Organic, and Bank of America.

Whether you go after government grants or foundation grants depends on your grant readiness and the alignment your organization has with the funder's focus. Keep in mind that government grants often have large awards but equally large compliance requirements.

Based on the data we have now, the best time to apply for grants in Utah is in Q2, which is when about 28.1% of deadlines for grants land. This period offers nonprofits the most opportunities to secure funding. However, Q3 has a similar amount of grant deadlines, with 24.9%. Comparatively, Q4 is the grant period with the least activity, coming in at only 23.0%. To maximize your odds of winning grant funding, be aware of the peak fundraising periods.

The nonprofit funding landscape throughout Utah has shown significant activity over the past several years. Based on the funding reports sent to the IRS, overall grant funding reached nearly $1.9 billion in 2021 and then rose to $2.1 billion in 2022. The largest areas for funding included private grantmaking foundations. Likewise, the top counties that received the most funding were Salt Lake County, Utah County, and Summit County.