Comunidad Grants

The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona proudly provides unrestricted operating grants to local nonprofits through the Comunidad (Community) Grants Program.

This grants program was created to provide unrestricted funding to Southern Arizona nonprofits with annual operating budgets under $100,000. Comunidad Grants will support organizations working at the local level with their communities to address emerging or systemic issues. The program is dedicated to supporting grassroots nonprofits who are often most in need of unrestricted funding. Rooted in mutual trust, this program gives nonprofits autonomy over how resources are best utilized to achieve their mission.

Comunidad Grant applications will open in January 21, 2025!

Application Information

Applicant Criteria

Eligibility Requirements

The organization must have an annual operating budget under $100,000.
The organization must be located in or conducting charitable work in Southern Arizona (defined as Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, Pima, Pinal, Santa Cruz, and Yuma counties – south of the Gila River ONLY).
The maximum grant award is $10,000.
The organization must be a 501c3 in good standing or apply using a fiscal sponsor.
- The fiscal sponsor must be 501c3 in good standing, located in Southern Arizona, and provide a letter confirming fiscal sponsorship.
- University programs may apply using the university foundation as a fiscal sponsor.
The organization must have an established board of directors.
The organization must have a clear commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity, and access.
The organization must be current in all grant reporting to CFSA.
Grants are generally not made to individuals, for-profit organizations, government entities, capital fund drives, agency endowments, debt reduction, individual schools, religious organizations for sectarian purposes, or pure sports teams.

Grantmaking Priority

CFSA values community. As a permanent community resource, we understand that transformative impact takes time and trust. We promote inclusion and dignity for all. All applicants meeting the criteria are welcome and will be considered for funding. However, funding priority will be given to the following:

Organizations located in or conducting charitable work in rural areas.
Organizations whose charitable work directly impacts historically marginalized communities.

Rubric

Applicants will be scored according to a rubric representative of the following characteristics:

Awareness of community needs.
Response to community needs.
Financial impact of the grant on organizational mission.
Operational sustainability.

Documents Required

Organizational Annual Operating Budget (for the current fiscal year – templates will be available in application).
Fiscal Sponsor Letter (if applicable).

Important Dates

The next applications will open in January 2025!

To Apply

All applications must be submitted through an online process with Common Grant Application. We strongly encourage you to review the tutorial video, which contains important information on how to register/log in and submit an application. To view the video: click here.

First-time users of the Common Grant Application, click here to register for an account.
If you have already applied for a grant using the Common Grant Application, you should have an account. Returning users click here.

En Español

Desde 2017, CFSA ha otorgado $4.7 millones a 115 organizaciones sin fines de lucro a través de su programa CORE Grants para brindarles el capital de trabajo necesario para maximizar su impacto y mejorar la calidad de vida en el sur de Arizona. En 2023, CFSA ampliará su concepto de subvenciones CORE por primera vez con el lanzamiento de Community Grants, un programa dedicado a proporcionar subvenciones en dólares sin restricciones a organizaciones sin fines de lucro con presupuestos operativos anuales inferiores a $100 000.

Community Grants proporcionará a las organizaciones que trabajan a nivel local con sus comunidades para abordar problemas emergentes. El programa está dedicado a apoyar a las organizaciones sin fines de lucro de base que a menudo son las que más necesitan financiamiento sin restricciones. Arraigado en la confianza mutua, este programa tiene como objetivo brindar a las organizaciones sin fines de lucro autonomía sobre cómo utilizar mejor los recursos para lograr su misión.