Foundation / Corporation
The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee
08/01/17 Midnight
Grants generally up to $5,000 to Tennessee nonprofit organizations and government agencies for a wide range of community benefit purposes. The application process must be initiated by July 11, and an online applicant profile must be updated by August 1, 2017. Eligible counties include: Bedford, Cannon, Cheatham, Clay, Coffee, Cumberland, Davidson, DeKalb, Dickson, Fentress, Franklin, Giles, Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, Jackson, Lawrence, Lewis, Lincoln, Macon, Marshall, Maury, Montgomery, Moore, Overton, Perry, Pickett, Putnam, Robertson, Rutherford, Smith, Stewart, Sumner, Trousdale, Van Buren, Warren, Wayne, White, Williamson, and Wilson.
The Foundation is particularly interested in ideas that shed new light on the needs and aspirations of Middle Tennesseans with emphasis on providing long-term solutions. The Foundation has identified several broad categories in which needs exist and for which grant requests are encouraged, including animal welfare, arts and humanities, civic affairs and community planning, conservation and environment, education, employment and training, health, historic preservation, housing and community development, and human services for citizens of all ages.
GrantWatch ID#: 172695
Grants will generally be limited to a maximum of $5,000, but the Allocations and Distribution Committee reserves the right to make grants up to $10,000.
Organizations with programs or projects scheduled to take place from December 1, 2017 through November 30, 2018.
The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee will accept Discretionary Grant Applications for programs or projects from:
- Nonprofit organizations legally chartered in Tennessee and in possession of a determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service declaring the organization a public charity that is exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3).
- Organizations that are entities of government (i.e. libraries, schools, etc). Such entities are exempt from the Givingmatters.com requirement.
Nonprofit Organizations must be headquartered in and serving the following Middle Tennessee counties: Bedford, Cannon, Cheatham, Clay, Coffee, Cumberland, Davidson, DeKalb, Dickson, Fentress, Franklin, Giles, Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, Jackson, Lawrence, Lewis, Lincoln, Macon, Marshall, Maury, Montgomery, Moore, Overton, Perry, Pickett, Putnam, Robertson, Rutherford, Smith, Stewart, Sumner, Trousdale, Van Buren, Warren, Wayne, White, Williamson, and Wilson.
The Community Foundation has the ability to fund faith-based organizations. Through the Discretionary Grant program, we generally will not fund any programs of a religious nature or programs requiring participation in religious activities or adherence to a particular set of beliefs as a condition for receiving services.
Not Eligible:
- Nonprofit organizations headquartered outside Middle Tennessee
- Private Foundations
- Private Schools
- Grantmaking Organizations
- Houses of Worship
Additional Exclusions:
- Advertising/Sponsorships
- Annual Campaigns/Endowment Campaigns
- Biomedical or clinical studies; other than those related to breast cancer
- Capital Campaigns/Improvements
- Curriculum-based school projects
- Debt retirement or restructuring
- Equipment and Technology for general operations
- Events/Receptions
- Federated fund drives
- Fundraising events/Fundraising feasibility studies
- Lobbying activities/Political activities
- Multi-year grants for projects
- Purposes/Services outside our service area
- Public agencies for mandated services
- Programs of a religious nature or programs requiring participation in religious activities or adherence to a particular set of beliefs as a condition for receiving services.
- Replacement of Government Funding
- Scholarships
- Trips and/or conference attendance
All 501(c)(3) public charities (not including governmnet entities) must have a full and updated nonprofit profile in GivingMatters.com in order to be considered for a discretionary grant. Only organizations with full and updated profiles will be considered for funding. You must fully update your organization’s profile by July 11, 2017, to ensure that any updates you make can be approved and published by the GivingMatters.com staff before August 1, 2017.
The Community Foundation Discretionary Grant Timeline:
- Application and guidelines made available: June 20, 2017
- New GivingMatters Profiles/Placeholder Form due: July 11, 2017, at 4:30 PM
- Giving Matters Profile updates due: August 1, 2017, at 4:30 PM
- Grant Applications due: Monday, August 1, 2017, at Midnight CST
- Applications reviewed: Fall 2017
- Notification sent to applicants: November 2017
Grant Resources:
https://www.cfmt.org/grants-scholarships/grants/apply-for-a-grant/grant-toolkit/
How to Apply:
https://www.cfmt.org/grants-scholarships/grants/apply-for-a-grant/how-to-apply/
FAQs:
https://www.cfmt.org/grants-scholarships/grants/apply-for-a-grant/grant-faqs/
Before starting your grant application, please review the funding source's website listed below for updates/changes/addendums/conferences/LOIs.
Return the completed GivingMatters form and all required attachments to The Community Foundation by mail, fax, or email in order to create your online profile.
Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee
3833 Cleghorn Avenue Ste 400
Nashville, TN 37215
Fax: (615) 327-2746
givingmatters@cfmt.org
Once approved, register and apply online:
https://app.wizehive.com/apps/cfmtgrant2017
Laundrea Lewis, Grants Manager
615-321-4939 ext. 107
grants@cfmt.org
Phone: 615-321-4939 or toll-free 888-540-5200
USA: Tennessee: Middle Tennessee - see Additional Eligibility Information for eligible counties