Our Grant Process Details
Revised June 2026
The dates of our 2026 Application Acceptance window will be August 14 - September 25, 2026. All grant applications must be submitted electronically by September 25 to be considered. The Year End Report for all 2025 grant recipients is also due on September 25, 2025. Grant recipients not applying for a WCMA grant in 2026 are still required to submit the Year End Report by the September 25, 2026 deadline. Failure to file your grant report by this deadline will affect future grant awards.
Grant Application. A complete grant application from the local nonprofit, consisting of:
- A Sponsor Application from a WCMA member
- A Non-profit Application to include copies of its IRS 501 (c) 3 letter, its most recent IRS 990 form or equivalent and a proposed program budget for grant funds
Sponsor and Non-profit Grant Applications are available by clicking the links below:
Grants Committee Review (September 28 -November 13)
The Grants Committee will review and prioritize each application based on criteria including the problem that the program associated with the grant is attempting to solve, the program’s anticipated outcomes and impacts on the target population and the broader Western North Carolina community, and the likelihood of success based upon historical performance and available resources. The WCMA Grants Committee is currently comprised of 16 WCMA members, each of whom will be assigned 2-3 applications to review. Each committee member’s recommendations are reviewed in total by the committee and final funding recommendations are prepared for presentation to the WCMA Board.
Board of Directors Determination (November 18)
The Grant Committee’s recommendations are submitted to our Board of Directors which makes the final determination of our grant awards for the year.
Award Process (November 19 – December 15)
Upon the WCMA approval of grant awards, we prepare award agreement letters and checks for the WCMA member sponsor to deliver to the grant recipient. Award agreement letters confirm the purpose of the grant, restrictions (if any) on the use of the funds and instructions for a post-project report and must be signed by an authorized individual for the grant recipient and returned to us.
Announcement (Late December)
A list of our 2026 Grantees and a brief description of their projects will be posted on this WCMA website and communicated to all WCMA members via emails.
Year End Post Project Reports (Due September 2027)
Each grant recipient must submit a report detailing various items such as how the WCMA grant funds were used and the approximate number of individuals impacted by the grant. Grant recipients that fail to meet their reporting obligations may incur penalties affecting future grant awards. A stand-alone report is only required in cases where the 2026 grant recipient does not apply for a grant in 2027. Otherwise the required information is incorporated within the 2027 WCMA grant application.
