Our Grant FAQs

The dates of our 2026 Application Acceptance window will be August 14 - September 25, 2026. To be considered, both the sponsor application and the nonprofit application (including copies of its IRS 501(c)3 letter, its most recent IRS 990 form, or equivalent and a proposed program budget for grant funds) must be submitted electronically by the Application Deadline. Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

Copies of the WCMA Member Sponsor 2026 Application and the Nonprofit Grant 2026 Application are posted on this website (links under Grant Process Details). 

Applications are to be sent in by email no later than the due date.  The applications and any supporting documentation must be sent as a word processing format file or .PDF file. The sponsor and the nonprofit can submit their forms separately or together.  Both the sponsor and the nonprofit must copy each other when they submit.  

Any WCMA member actively involved with a local nonprofit during the current year can sponsor that nonprofit.

There are a variety of ways a sponsor can be active within a nonprofit. A member can serve on a board or committee, volunteer their time with the nonprofit or provide professional advice.  Financially supporting a nonprofit alone does not constitute active involvement. Also, a sponsor cannot be a paid employee of that nonprofit.

Sponsors are our main point of contact with their nonprofit. A sponsor should be familiar with our current funding guidelines and restrictions, submit a sponsor application and ensure that both the sponsor’s and nonprofit’s applications are submitted on time.  The sponsor assists the nonprofit with preparing a successful application.  During the review process, a sponsor may be asked to help attain additional information for the grant review process. When a grant is awarded, the sponsor is responsible for delivering the award check and obtaining a signed award agreement. Periodically throughout the year, a sponsor may be requested to provide updated information on current volunteer opportunities, in-kind donation opportunities for their nonprofit and assist with providing communications that help WCMA members appreciate what the nonprofit is accomplishing with their donation.  The sponsor also maintains enough ongoing knowledge of a grant award to be able to advise WMCA if a grant is falling short of the intended plans.

Individual WCMA Members may sponsor multiple grant applications as long as that Member is an active volunteer with each nonprofit. However, as we generally do not have enough funds to satisfy all requests, we ask that Members use discretion in sponsoring multiple applications.

A nonprofit may submit grant requests for separate projects or package them as a single request, but the total grant amount awarded per nonprofit cannot exceed our maximum grant limit for the applicable Tier. For this purpose, all entities with the same Employer Identification Number are treated as a single nonprofit.

Our Grants Committee consists of 16 volunteers who review each grant with common criteria and a common process. The goal of the committee is providing confidence to the WCMA members that their contributions are being spent wisely and to make funding recommendations to the Board of Directors that defensibly differentiates between applicants.  The Board of Directors makes the final decision on grant award amounts.

We have created three groups (Tiers) to reflect the funding priorities expressed by WCMA members in the annual member survey. This allows us to better match applicant expectations with our funding priorities by limiting the amount of the potential grant awards by tier. Current tiers and 2026 grant limits:

• Tier 1 - Health & Human Services - Max Grant:  $30,000
• Tier 2 - Education - Max Grant: $15,000
• Tier 3 - Animal Welfare, Arts, Natural Resources - Max Grant: $10,000

We assign each nonprofit to a Tier based on their overall mission (as reflected in their mission statement), not on the nature of the program for which funding is sought. Thus, for example, education programs for a museum are classified as Tier 3 (“Cultural”) rather than Tier 2 (“Education”).

Yes. It depends on the proposed project, performance on prior grants awards, available grant funds and the number and quality of other grant submissions.

We notify sponsors and distribute funds by the end of the year.   The funding is intended to be spent in the following calendar year. Any carry over spending must be approved in advance.

Yes.  Grant recipients must submit a report detailing information including how the funds were used, the approximate number of individuals impacted and whether intended goals were met.  These reports are due in September of the year following the grant award date.

Yes, but only for a specific outreach program that does not discriminate on the basis of religion or promote specific religious beliefs. For example, we have funded church-run soup kitchens that are open to all members of the community.

No. we will not consider a request for a political candidate or action group. Funds can only be applied toward causes our entire Membership can support such as social, healthcare related, environmental, educational, or cultural services. Also, as a 501(c)(3) we are not allowed to support political candidates or political action groups.