The grant application for 2024 is now closed.

St. John’s Community Foundation considers applications for grants once each year, in the winter. To be considered for funding, your organization must submit its application by November each year . Only grants which support programs within the Stamford community will be considered.

Eligible programs must fall into one of the categories listed below:

Basic Needs – Includes basic needs for low income individuals, including food, shelter, financial supports, and critical services that are often not available for very low income individuals and families.

Educational Enrichment – Includes extra-curricular programs (during the school year or during the summer) that improve student learning and provides opportunities for preschool, elementary and secondary school students to achieve greater success in school and / or prepare them to be successful in post-secondary school activities. This category includes programs that seek to eliminate the achievement gap between students.

Crisis Services – Includes crisis prevention programs for individuals and families, support services for those in crisis and programs that assist in recovery and transition after a crisis.

Economic Opportunity – Includes programs that help individuals and families make long-term improvements to their situation, such as job training, job placement and adult education.

The Foundation gives priority to new initiatives. We do not fund operating expenses and do not prioritize funding the same programs year after year. Grant amounts generally range from $500-$10,000. Larger amounts will be considered for new program initiatives and all programs must serve the Stamford community. Proposals should include:

• Name and physical address of agency

• Name of contact person

• Email address of contact person

• A description of your agency, its mission and impact on the Stamford community.

• Names of your organization’s officers and those of its board of directors (please separate each name with a comma)

• Names of staff persons who will be directly involved with implementing the project (please separate each name with a comma)

• A copy of the 501(C)(3) determination letter issued to your organization (upload)

• Description of the proposed project

• Amount requested

• Proposed budget for the project

• Which of the below categories the project falls into

  a. Basic Needs

  b. Educational Enrichment

  c. Crisis Services

  d. Economic Opportunity

• Goals (long term) and objectives (short term) for the proposed program

• Anticipated benefits of the proposed program

• Target population for the proposed program

• Number of people to be served in the Stamford, CT area

• Overall agency budget (line-item budget is not necessary)

• Sources of funding (including other agencies to which your agency has applied for this project/program)

• Probable duration for the proposed project

• Measurements to be used in determining the success of the project

Following the receipt of grant applications, the trustees of the Foundation meet to review all of those submitted. If site visits to projects under consideration are necessary, these will be arranged directly by a trustee. Funding decisions will be announced following the first scheduled Foundation meeting of the year. All applicants will be notified as to the status of their application. Those applicants who receive grants will be required to provide an assessment report.

The Foundation does not currently fund:

• Public school programs.

• Foundations for the care of specified individuals.

• Projects beyond the Stamford community.