Grow Your Impact Grant Program

The Greater Grand Island Community Foundation offers a Capacity Building Grant program called the Grow Your Impact Grant, which is designed to strengthen the organizational effectiveness of nonprofits within the Hall County area. This grant is part of the foundation’s broader mission to serve the greater Grand Island community and support initiatives that foster sustainability and improved capacity in local nonprofit organizations. The Foundation issues this funding opportunity annually in the fall, with grants of up to $10,000 awarded based on recommendations by the Foundation Distribution Committee and approval by the Foundation Board of Trustees. Eligible applicants for this grant include both private and public organizations that are classified as 501(c)(3) by the Internal Revenue Service. Applicants can only receive a capacity-building grant once every three calendar years. Additionally, any organization that has previously received funding must have submitted and had accepted a final grant evaluation prior to applying again. The focus of the grant is geographically restricted to programs and projects in Hall County, Nebraska, except under extraordinary circumstances. Funding is intended to support specific capacity-building activities and will not be provided for certain purposes, including but not limited to individuals, religious or political activities, endowments, capital campaigns, annual fund drives, vehicles, furniture, ongoing operational or program delivery costs, consumable supplies, or food and beverages for events. Salary expenses are only eligible if they clearly support the capacity-building project itself in a consultant-like role and are justified by financial need. The grant also does not cover sponsorship of fundraising events, conference registrations without a dissemination plan, incomplete requests, projects that have already commenced, or feasibility studies. The grant will consider funding requests that include board training and education to enhance governance, acquisition of critical equipment, staff training to improve management and program delivery, strategic planning and visioning, technology and software upgrades, organizational mergers to ensure sustainability, and other consulting or facilitation efforts aimed at building organizational capacity. Applications must include a project outline with clear deliverables for items like board training. The Grow Your Impact Grant opens on September 1 and closes on November 1 at 4 PM each year. Applications must be submitted within this window. No rolling applications are accepted. The Foundation is accredited by the Community Foundations National Standards Board, and its offices are located at 1503 W 2nd Street, Grand Island, Nebraska, with office hours Monday through Thursday from 8 AM to 5 PM and Friday from 8 AM to 4 PM. The contact phone number is 308-381-7767. The online application process and further details are available through the Foundation’s official website under the Nonprofits Grants section.