Matt Animal Protection Fund Grant

The Matt Animal Protection Fund Grant Cycle is a competitive grant opportunity administered by Main Street Community Foundation. Grant awards are made from the Elizabeth I. and Louis J. Matt Animal Protection Fund. The opportunity is intended for eligible community organizations serving Bristol, Burlington, Plainville, Plymouth, Southington, and Wolcott that provide care and support for animals in need. The supplied materials do not state an overall program funding amount, minimum or maximum grant award, anticipated number of awards, or a required matching contribution, so those amounts should not be inferred. The grant is geographically restricted to the six named Connecticut communities. The application specifically asks whether the applicant is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit in good standing, a school, or a governmental entity. Applicants must provide organizational information including a mission statement, organizational description, total operating budget, board size and meeting information, a current board or governing body list with occupations or community affiliations, and an address for a potential site visit. The materials do not provide broader eligibility rules for organizations outside these identified organization types and communities. Applicants must describe the proposed program or project, provide its total cost and requested grant amount, and indicate whether the project is new or existing. They must explain the purpose of the request and provide a detailed proposed-program narrative addressing program goals, intended beneficiaries, and data demonstrating the need for the program or project. A separate program-delivery narrative must identify specific activities, program oversight, and collaborating organizations. Applicants must also provide a timetable covering the program or project from inception through final evaluation. Evaluation information is an explicit application component. Applicants must state expected program or project outcomes, describe the anticipated impact on individuals and the community served, and explain how outcomes and impact will be measured and how frequently measurement will occur. The application also collects beneficiary demographic information, including beneficiaries in each of the six eligible communities and information by age, race or ethnicity, and gender or gender identity. Main Street Community Foundation's nondiscrimination policy applies to organizations, programs, and projects under consideration. Targeted programs may address identified special needs, but must remain open to all people within the targeted population. Several supporting documents are required. Applicants must upload a program or project budget broken down by line item and show how the requested grant will be allocated. They must provide a current-year budget-versus-actual revenue and expense report and fiscal-year-end financial statements. Financial statement requirements vary by organizational revenue: organizations with revenues over $1,000,000 must provide independently audited financial statements; those with revenues from $501,000 through $1,000,000 must provide an independent CPA financial review or compilation; and those with revenues of $500,000 or less must provide a balance sheet and year-end operating statement without an external review requirement. Applicants must disclose other program income where applicable. School-collaborative programs require a school administrator letter of support, including programs physically taking place in a school, and equipment or capital requests require an official cost estimate. The 2026 cycle opened August 17, 2026, and applications are due September 18, 2026. The source instructs interested organizations to contact Whitney Shufelt, Director of Grants & Programs, at whitney@mainstreetfoundation.org or 860.583.6363 to discuss their proposal at least one week before the application deadline. This establishes September 11, 2026 as the last date satisfying the stated one-week-prior instruction. Within the application system, applicants may save their work and return later, but all required questions must be completed before submission. Applicants should review the completed application and select Submit Application; once submitted, the application cannot be changed. The supplied materials do not state award notification timing, a formal performance period, or that this grant cycle recurs annually or on another fixed schedule.

Contact Whitney Shufelt to discuss the proposal at least one week before the deadline; use data to demonstrate program need; clearly define goals and beneficiaries; identify specific activities, program oversight, and collaborators; state expected outcomes and community impact and explain how and how frequently outcomes will be measured; provide a timeline from inception through final evaluation; show exactly how the grant request will be allocated among project budget line items; review the complete application before submission because changes cannot be made after submission.