About our grants

Each quarter, Civic Foundation awards community grants of $25,000 each to three nonprofit entities that focus their work on one or more of the following causes: hunger, health care, housing and human services.

Eligibility

• Grants can be used only for programmatic expenses and will only be made to the following types of organizations in NC: 
• Public charity, private foundation, nonprofit, or government entity that qualifies as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization 
• A school, hospital, or local governmental organization that holds nonprofit status as a 501(c)(3) organization (examples include hospitals with foundations, schools with charitable programs, and local government professional development associations) 
• 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations that have been in existence 10 years or less and have an annual operating budget of less than $1 million 

If awarded a grant, grant recipients are required to:

• Meet with their local municipal and county governments to share information about the services their organization provides 
• Complete a class, seminar, workshop, and/or consultation with a local community college via the free services of a Small Business Center, or any low-cost professional development course of their choice 
• Implement a volunteer activity for Civic Credit Union staff and community members to support the grant recipient’s operation or programming 
• Develop a strategy to evaluate and measure the impact of the grant on the organization’s programming or bottom line 

Grants will NOT be awarded to:

• Political candidates or groups
• Individuals
• Groups without 501(c)(3) or similar nonprofit status
• 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations that have been in existence more than 10 years
• 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations that have an annual operating budget of more than $1 million
• Grants for operating expenses