Grants for COVID-19 Response

Updated April 30, 2020

PHASE TWO ADAPTATION GRANTS
The deadline to apply for COVID-19 mini-grants and adaptation grants has passed. We’ll continue to post updates about grants that have been awarded and future opportunities to apply.

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As of April 13, 2020
Please read the following information carefully for criteria related to the Phase Two Adaptation Grants. Applications must be received by 11:59pm on Wednesday, April 29, 2020.

The purpose of this grant program is to aid nonprofit and community organizations in:

  • Adapting their operations to meet new needs in the community that have arisen from the pandemic or
  • Delivering services in new ways to accommodate social distancing and other health and safety guidelines or
  • Serving an expanded client base, i.e. reaching individuals who are experiencing new economic hardships due to the pandemic. (Emphasis is on vulnerable populations, including individuals who have lost a source of income due to the pandemic, low-income residents, individuals with greater health risks, immigrants and people with limited English language proficiency, people with a disability, people experiencing homelessness or incarceration, etc.)

Grants are intended to help organizations adapt their work in these uncertain times, not to replace lost revenue.

Who’s Eligible
Any IRS 501(c)(3) public charity, public school, hospital or government agency in Arkansas may apply. Grants are not made to individuals.

Grant Range
$5,000 – $25,000. Organizations may receive only one Phase Two Adaptation Grant. 

What We’re Looking For
Priority will be given to organizations that are specifically addressing:

  • Economic hardships of individuals Arkansans related to COVID-19, including food security, housing, household finances, etc.
  • Support for small businesses or economic development related to COVID-19 
    NOTE: We do not fund for-profit (small and large) businesses directly, but we can fund nonprofit and community organizations that provide support and technical assistance to businesses.
  • Physical and mental health care needs related to COVID-19
  • Educational needs of children, including infants, toddlers and K-12 students related to COVID-19

Uses of this funding could include:

  • Modifying or upgrading technology systems to serve clients remotely
  • Modifying facilities to enable greater social distancing among essential personnel and clients
  • Providing prepaid cell phones or WiFi hotspots to clients so they can continue to receive services remotely
  • Disseminating public health information to clients. This could include translation services.
  • Implementing changes to operating procedures necessitated by COVID-19
  • Scaling up service delivery to support increased demand

This is not an exhaustive list, and other needs will be considered.

The following types of requests will not be considered:

  • Support for capital campaigns
  • Projects that address sectarian religious purposes
  • Projects that are political in nature or have a political bias
  • Multi-year proposals
  • Scholarships or fellowships for formal education at any level
  • Support for private schools
  • We can award only one adaptation grant per organization. (This is based on the organization’s Tax ID number.) Organizations that have multiple locations, programs, chapters or affiliates are encouraged to submit a coordinated application, rather than individual applications.

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As of April 13, 2020

Thanks to generous donors across the state, Arkansas Community Foundation reopened its grant portal and accepted more proposals for $1,000 mini-grants for organizations responding to the immediate needs of vulnerable populations affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The deadline to apply for COVID-19 mini-grants was Tuesday, April 14 at 12:00 p.m. These applications were reviewed and approved on a first-come-first-served basis. 

If a nonprofit in your area has submitted a mini-grant request but not yet received a response, don’t worry. We are still in the process of reviewing and responding to the applications that have come in and will be continuing to approve mini-grants on a rolling basis.

 
Here’s a list of grants that have been awarded so far. Note that we are continuing to review additional proposals and will add to this list as more grants are approved. 

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Access Online Portal

Apply now for mini-grants. You will need to create a username and password to access the online portal. if you have applied for a grant through our online system in the past, you can use the username and password you created previously.

View Portal