Opportunities
The Regional Foundation invests in non-profit entities engaged in resident-driven community development activities. For example, current and former grantee partners include, but are not limited to, community development corporations, healthcare institutions, municipal level planning non-profit agencies, and creative placemaking organizations.
The Regional Foundation encourages applicants to consider their plan scope in breadth and depth when requesting funds. Expenses may include staff time, consultants, community outreach and organizing costs, resident stipends for steering / advisory committee membership, meeting expenses and related costs.
Our Priorities
- Fall within our 62-county service area;
- Geographic and demographic diversity – rural, small town, small city and dense urban areas.
- Center resident-driven process and the building of community leadership throughout the course of the investment, from start to finish;
- Support wealth creation and neighborhood stabilization in communities that have experienced historical disinvestment and experience concentration of poverty;
- Support for place-making, place-keeping, and anti-displacement efforts through community development tactics;
- Feature collaborations with allied organizations, government entities, and other institutions to support long-term buy-in.
- Inclusion of newer, smaller, historically underinvested BIPOC-led initiatives in underinvested rural, urban, or other geographies.
Funding Opportunities
Neighborhood Planning Grants support the creation of neighborhood plans that address root causes of inequality and address any number of community development priorities including but not limited to affordable housing, workforce development, human services, commercial corridor initiatives, environmental justice, transportation, and education.
Comprehensive neighborhood planning initiatives typically address several development domains; however, the foundation recognizes that smaller, more targeted plans may be a catalyst for long-term neighborhood health and resiliency.
The foundation supports organizations in their capacity to define “neighborhood” as they see fit, regardless of population density—rural, suburban, small town, small city and large city neighborhoods are eligible to apply.
Requests may be made between $50,000 and $125,000 for a period of 12-18 months.
Grants typically culminate in the delivery of a written plan, detailing the process by which the plan was developed with the community, and outlining strategies for future plan implementation with partners.
Neighborhood Planning Applicant Resources
Click here to access definitions and additional resources.
This opportunity is currently closed.
Neighborhood Implementation Grants support comprehensive community development projects that target specific neighborhoods.
The community development project is typically based on a resident-driven neighborhood plan and is used for program costs only. It doesn’t provide funding for deficits, general operating costs, or bricks-and-mortar capital development.
The foundation typically provides five years of funding, up to two rounds per organization (total 10 years implementation funds).
This opportunity is only open to current grantee partners at this time.
Program-Related Investments (PRIs) are low-interest loans designed to support equitable community development and are available to current Regional Foundation grantee and PRI partners.
For 2024, the foundation has $700,000 in total available to facilitate up to two new PRIs for a maximum of $350,000 per loan at an interest rate between 1.5% and 3.0%. Loans will be made to support capital projects (i.e. bricks and mortar) across any domain of community development, including but not limited to: affordable housing, community real estate, and small business infrastructure.
The foundation expects the loan to be repaid in full upon the maturity date set forth in the loan agreements.
Details and Timelines
- Loan range: up to $350,000, interest rate between 1.5 – 3.0%
- Loan timeline: project dependent
- Letter of Intent opens: Wednesday, July 24, 2024 at 9:00AM EST
- Letter of Intent deadline: Wednesday, August 21, 2024 at 11:59PM EST
- LOI Notifications/Declinations: mid-September 2024
- Loan Underwriting Process*: September – November 2024
- Final Approvals: December 2024
*An invitation to move forward to the underwriting process indicates likelihood of loan approval, barring any major concerns discovered during the due diligence phase.
Program Eligibility
Eligible projects must meet the following criteria:
- Must be a current grantee or program related investment partner of the Regional Foundation
- Supports wealth creation and neighborhood stabilization in communities that have experienced historical disinvestment and experience a concentration of poverty
- Demonstration that the investment would support a community priority (i.e. community center for which residents have advocated, mixed-income rate housing inclusive of at least 20-30% of the AMI and/or in an area with a housing cost burden over 30%)
- Capital projects that support equitable development across any phase of project financing (i.e. planning, pre-development, construction, facility maintenance, bridge finance, etc). Examples may include:
- Property acquisition
- Housing – new or rehabilitation
- Community or commercial building construction or upgrades (i.e. community center or other community facility)
- New or upgraded office for organization
- Other related capital expenses including urgent bridge loans for capital projects
The Foundation will not consider proposals for:
- Loan pools or loan funds
- 100% market-rate housing development projects
Note for grantee partners: proposed projects may, but do not have to, exist within the same neighborhood the foundation currently funds.
How to Apply
LOIs can be submitted through the foundation’s grants management portal, SmartSimple.
Information Session
Date: Monday, July 29, 2024 at 3:30 PM EST
Registration Link: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcld-itpzkuGNcXcjebxsjE9jq1BbD4zAkb
Upon registering, participants will receive a confirmation email with meeting details. The information slides and recording will be made available after the session.
Questions
Please contact Samantha Mogil, Program Officer, at smogil@regionalfoundation.org.
Capacity Strengthening Grants are designed to support current grantee and program related investment partners aiming to address specific opportunity gaps in their organization’s planning, staff well-being, operational or governance structures and longer-term holistic investments.
- Opportunity opens: May 28, 2024
- Opportunity closes: July 2, 2024 at 11:59 pm EST.
- Award range: up to $35,000.
- Award timeline: 12-18 months.
Examples of Eligible Capacity Strengthening Activities:
Organization, staff, and leadership wellness:
- Staff wellness and healing activities (staff sabbaticals, team retreats, wellness stipends.)
- Staff and team development activities, including coaching.
Organizational Development:
- Financial planning, real cost analysis, fundraising strategies.
- Cost associated with independent / third-party fiscal audit.
- Board development, governance, and succession planning.
- Strategic planning and visioning.
- Core organizational infrastructure development.
Other examples:
- Community organizing, policy advocacy or coalition-building training.
- Development or refinement of diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility and belonging practices.
- Storytelling, communications, and marketing.
Capacity grants do not support:
- Capital infrastructure projects.
- Sponsorship of events for organizational promotion.
- Ongoing operations, programs, activities or requests to replace existing funding sources.
Eligibility
Current Regional Foundation grantee or program related investment partners may apply.
How to Apply
Grants Management Portal, Smart Simple
Information Session:
When: May 30, 2024 02:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Registration link: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcudeugrzIqGdPZVKvAu9BDbzpVKjtSO13r
After registering, participants will receive a confirmation email with meeting details.
In the event of a crisis, Regional Foundation partners can reach out to us to request support for an emergency, unforeseen, time-sensitive, urgent need that has arisen within their organization or focus neighborhood.
Responsive funds will be disbursed only for unforeseen circumstances that are tactical or strategic to the organization. These may be of a policy nature, or may include an emergency, disaster, critical emergent change to needs of community and/or operational unforeseen need.
Unplanned circumstances (e.g. “we did not get the grant we hoped to receive”) are not eligible. These short-term funds will be turned around within 1 week of request to support the organization in beginning to address the moment at hand.
Examples of eligible requests:
- Natural disaster direct impact on the organization’s neighborhood of focus.
- Emergent policy issue that puts community members at immediate risk.
- Identification of urgent, unforeseen organizational need: e.g. sudden leadership transition, legal needs, other disruptive or catastrophic event.
Responsive grants do not support:
- Ongoing operations, programs, or activities.
- Requests to replace existing sources of funding.
- Sponsorship of events for organizational promotion.
Eligibility
Current or former (2019 to present) Regional Foundation grantee (or a collaborative partner) or program related investment partner.