The Community Foundation of South Lake County supports a wide variety of projects, but does restrict itself to making grants to tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations certified by the Internal Revenue Service under section 501 (C)(3), and serving the South Lake County, Florida community. Please be aware that we can no longer honor grant requests from cities and municipalities. Public schools are eligible to receive grants.
- Education
- Health and Wellness
- Community Development — includes Arts and Culture, Community Services and Youth and Family Services
Consideration is given to the following in determining the merits and priority of an application:
- Degree of potential benefit to the community;
- The capacity of the organization to achieve the project's expected results;
- Programs which are likely to attract additional funds, resources and community support. (Because the foundation grants are only for one year, plans outlining future funding of the project from other sources are critical. Sound and realistic financial planning must be part of each request).
- Projects of special benefit to the community that do not duplicate other efforts.
- The grant-seeking organization should investigate other funding sources before applying to the Foundation. (For example, if a program is eligible for government funding, the grantee should first apply for funding from that source.)
The Foundation generally will
not approve requests to fund or assist:
- Political campaign, lobbying efforts or related activities
- Religious organizations for religious purposes
- Cities and Municipalities
- Agencies or organizations who are not currently providing services to South Lake County residents
- Individuals
- Salaries
Many challenges face our community. Not surprisingly, we have seen an increase in the volume of grant applications that we receive. We want to enhance your organization’s chances for success. The following are some suggestions to help you with your application.
- Focus on the potential benefit to the community to be derived from this project.
- Carefully consider how you plan to measure performance and define success.
- When appropriate, consider collaborations or a coordinated effort that will benefit more than one agency.
- Include the most up-to-date financial information available. Both a project budget and organizational budget must be included.
- Demonstrate your organization's ability to obtain continued funding.
- Make sure the application is well conceived and organized.
- Be as concise, brief and specific as possible in order to clearly communicate your message.
- Make sure that all copies are clearly legible and use standard size type.
Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to discuss the appropriateness of their grant request with the Community Foundation staff before beginning the application process. Please call the Foundation office (352) 394-3818 for assistance or to arrange an appointment.
During the review process, applications will be screened by Foundation staff to ensure completeness. Staff may contact you for additional information. The Grants Committee will conduct on-site reviews to ensure administrative, fiscal, and program accountability.
Organizations applying for funding must complete the application available from the link at the top right of this page. The Foundation does not accept faxed or e-mail applications. Please do not enclose the proposal in any type of cover or binder.
Please submit One hard copy of the entire grant packet. In addition, we respectfully request that applicants also submit electronic copies of any or all of the components comprising the grant packet.
Applicants will be notified of grant award or denial by letter after the Community Foundation's July Board meeting.
An unsuccessful grant application does not reflect the worthiness of a particular project. We receive more requests than we can fund. Any agency whose request has not received funding may call the Foundation office to discuss specific reasons.
The Community Foundation of South Lake County is interested in the impact of its grant making on area nonprofit organizations and the community. All grant recipients are required to provide the Community Foundation with progress reports according with the schedule stated in the award agreement. Report forms will be provided to all grant recipients. Grant recipients may also be asked to participate in a survey to evaluate the Foundation's grant making process.