Our Grant Process Details
The dates of our 2026 Application Acceptance window will be August 14 - September 25, 2026. All applications must be submitted electronically by September 25 to be considered. The Year End Report for all 2025 grants must also be submitted by the September 25, 2026 deadline. Failure to file your grant report by this deadline will affect future grant awards.
1. WCMA Sponsor. A WCMA Member must sponsor a local nonprofit with whom they are actively engaged as a volunteer. Active engagement may include serving on that nonprofit's board or committee or volunteering time for its programs. Financially supporting a nonprofit without volunteering in some capacity does not constitute active engagement with that nonprofit.
2. Grant Application. A complete grant application from the local nonprofit, consisting of a sponsor application from a WCMA Member, a 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 electronically submitted to our Grants Committee prior to the announced deadline. Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.
Please Click Here for our most recent guidelines and application requirements.
Copies of the WCMA Member Sponsor 2026 Application and the Nonprofit Grant 2026 Application are expected to be available on this page by May 31.
3. Grants Committee Review. Our Grants Committee will review and prioritize each application based on criteria including the amount requested, the number of people impacted, the budget and the merits of the proposed project. Our Grants Committee is comprised of active WCMA Members, many of whom have been involved with grant making nonprofits and/or have worked with nonprofits in the past.
Our three focus areas (“Tiers”) are:
- Tier 1: Health & Human Services
- Tier 2: Education
- Tier 3: Animal Welfare & Cultural and Natural Resources
We assign each nonprofit to a Tier based on the overall mission of the nonprofit, not on the nature of the project for which funding is sought. Thus, for example, education programs for a museum are classed as Tier 3 (“Cultural”) rather than Tier 2.
(“Education”). We set a maximum funding amount for any nonprofit in each Tier; our 2026 caps will be announced by May 31.
4. Board of Directors Determination. Our Grants Committee’s recommendations are submitted to our Board of Directors, which makes the final determination of our grant findings for the year.
5. Award Process. Once our grant fundings are determined, 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 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.
7. Announcement. A list of our Grantees and a brief description of their projects is made available through our website and Member emails.
8. Post Project Reports. Each grant recipient must submit a report detailing various items such as how the 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.