Grants
For Applicants*
Early Childhood Education Grants
Open through midnight Dec. 11.
CLICK HERE to apply.
Funding is available for eligible applicants who can address a critical need for the region: helping more local children enter grade school prepared to succeed. The primary goal of this initiative is to make sure children in Cambria and Somerset counties are ready for kindergarten and literate by third grade.
Somerset County COVID-19 Nonprofit Assistance Grant Program
Open through midnight Nov. 30
CLICK HERE to apply
Nonprofits will be able to apply for reimbursements for COVID-related expenses (incurred since March 1) that were used to serve Somerset County residents. Applicants may also request grants to cover estimates for eligible purchases they would like to make prior to Dec. 30. Awards are expected to be announced by mid-December. To be eligible, an organization must be IRS-designated as a 501(c)(3) with fewer than 50 employees and must either have headquarters in Somerset County or have COVID-related expenses specific to Somerset County.
Annual Spring and Fall Grants
Click here to apply to our Spring 2021 Grant Round.
(Deadline: Last Friday of January)
Our Fall 2020 Grant Round is now closed. (Deadline: Last Friday of August.)
PLEASE NOTE: The maximum grant amount that may be requested from the Spring and Fall Grant Rounds is $7,500.
Community Initiatives Fund Grants
This application is now closed.
(Deadline: Tues., June 30, 2020)
Funding is available for transformative efforts to improve business and workforce development, develop recreational amenities, fight blight, and support community development in Cambria and Somerset counties.
Projects should demonstrate broad-based collaboration, and those that provide a three-to-one financial match will be prioritized.
*PLEASE NOTE: We recently transitioned to a new online application system. Even if you have applied for a CFA grant before, you may be a new user for this system, launched in May 2020. Before you begin, please click here to open a PDF of tips and guidelines for using the new system. All applications must be submitted online (hard copies are not accepted). When a grant opportunity is accepting applications, you will be able to link to it in the boxes below. There, you can preview the application, time frame, and eligibility requirements for any open opportunity. After you review the application process, you can log in (or create a username and password), which will enable you to continue applying for a grant. Please note that Google Chrome and FireFox are the preferred web browsers for this system.
Grant Application FAQs
The Foundation supports the work of nonprofits through grants to organizations directly from our donors; competitive grantmaking to fund strategic change in Bedford, Cambria, Somerset, and Indiana counties; and nonprofit capacity building through the Bosler Academy. Our mission is to empower all people to become philanthropists who have a permanent impact and leave a lasting legacy in our region.
Nonprofit organizations that serve Bedford, Cambria, Somerset, and/or Indiana counties with evidence of IRS designation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, governmental entities, volunteer fire companies with a 501(c)(4) status, and organizations that the IRS has determined to be tax-exempt as a church.
- Debt
- Activities that occurred prior to the beginning date of the grant
- Individuals
- Religious organizations for religious purposes
- Government entities for basic services
- Projects that discriminate on the basis of ethnicity, race, color, creed, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender expression, or any veteran status.
The Community Foundation offer various grant programs. Click on an active link in the “Grant Application” section above, and you will find a description of the grants available, eligibility requirements, and application deadlines.
Click here for a list of our grantees from the 2020 Fall grant round.
Click here to see the full list of grants distributed from all of the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies’ funds during FY 2020.
- If a grant opportunity is currently accepting applications, you can click on the active link in one of the purple boxes above to read the eligibility requirements.
- You may preview the grant application using the link above. A login and password will be required to begin an application. Please remember the login and password for future use.
- Complete the requested application information in the online forms, and hit submit before the deadline.
- Click here to open a PDF with helpful tips and guidelines for using our online application system.
The Community Foundation moved to an online application process to reduce processing time and assure that our records are up to date and accessible. We can serve you better with the online process and do require an online application for grant requests. To allow for any technical or computer issues, you may wish to get started with the application early. Any questions regarding the online application can be sent to Angie Berzonski.
Applications will be screened for eligibility and completeness by Community Foundation staff. Applications that may fit the criteria for other funding sources that we are aware of may be forwarded to those funders for consideration. The Distribution Committee will evaluate eligible applications and will forward grant recommendations to the Foundation’s Board of Directors for final approval.
All applicants can periodically check their dashboard within the application system to verify the status of their request. Declinations as well as grant award winners will be notified of the results via email. The email will be sent to the email address of the person who was listed as the contact person in the grant application.
The timeline for these grants is as follows:
Spring Round
- Applications due on the last Friday of January
- Distribution Committee announces awards in mid-April
Fall Round
- Applications due on the last Friday of August
- Distribution Committee announces awards in early November
The Community Foundation for the Alleghenies’ Distribution Committee awards grants twice annually. Grants are typically in the range of $500 – $5,000, but may vary.
For more information about applying for a grant, contact Angie Berzonski at 814-315-2982.
For Grantees
The Community Foundation publicizes grants and grant stories through media relations, social media, publications, and our website. We find this helps bring communities together on common interests and activities. We encourage you to also share success stories and photos so we can create additional partnerships to help make the Alleghenies an even more enjoyable place to live. Please use these guidelines to help you publicize your program.
Grant Report Due Dates
Fall 2019 grant reports: due 8/8/20.
Spring 2020 grant reports: due 2/1/21.
Early Childhood Education Fund, Community Initiatives Fund, or COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund: approximately one year and one month from the date the grant check was issued. Please refer to your grant agreement to confirm the specific due date.
Final Grant Reports
We are now using a new online application and reporting system. If you originally applied for a grant prior to May 2020, this is not the same system that you used when you submitted your grant request. If this is your first time using the new system, you will need to create a new account and register in order to submit the final report.
If you received a grant from the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies prior to June 2020 (Spring or Fall grant rounds, the Early Childhood Education Fund, or the Community Initiatives Fund), OR if you received a grant from the COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund at any time, please click here to fill out a Final Grant Report. After you register or log-in, you will need to click on APPLY and then enter this access code to fill out this report: CFA$Report.
If you received a grant from the Community Foundation (other than a COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund grant) after June 2020, you will receive an email on how to access your final grant report via your dashboard in our application system. (In that system, below your application, you will see the final grant report form listed. Click on the blue “Edit” link to the right of the form to access the form. You can save the form as often as you need but remember to submit by the due date.)
Here is a link to helpful tips and guidelines about the new system.