Nicholas County Community Foundation Grant

The Nicholas County Community Foundation is a private community foundation supporting nonprofit and public organizations serving Nicholas County, West Virginia. Its competitive grantmaking is intended to enhance quality of life through a diverse and healthy nonprofit sector. For the current combined grant application, the Foundation is making discretionary grants from the Seelinger Family Foundation Fund and the Fund for Nicholas County. The Seelinger Family Foundation Fund is a field of interest fund dedicated to maintaining and improving Summersville and Nicholas County, including schools and educational systems, parks and recreation commissions, extracurricular organizations, governing bodies, athletic associations, fine arts centers, and cultural and historical societies. The Fund for Nicholas County is an unrestricted fund used to assist organizations that serve all of Nicholas County. The Foundation's unrestricted grantmaking focuses on capital and equipment projects and special programs in arts and culture, education, health and human services, recreation, and youth and family services. Priorities include one-time projects or programs, seed funding for pilot projects or responses to unmet or emerging community needs, matching grants that leverage additional funding, projects reaching a broad segment of the community, projects not adequately served by existing community resources, expansion of existing programs, and startup of new projects or programs by established organizations. Grants are made for one year only, although extensions and changes in scope may be approved by the grant distribution committee. Grant awards will typically range from 250 dollars to 10,000 dollars according to the official 2026 Grant Guidelines, and requests exceeding 10,000 dollars will not be reviewed. The source does not establish a mandatory applicant cost share or matching requirement; rather, matching grants are identified as a funding priority. Unrestricted grants are not made for day-to-day operating expenses, annual campaigns, endowments, sectarian religious purposes, existing obligations, debts or liabilities, or travel and participation in meetings, conferences, seminars, or study exchange programs. Grants are also not made for political purposes or lobbying activities. No work on a proposed project may begin until the applicant has received notification of grant funding. For the Seelinger Family Foundation Fund, eligible applicants are 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, public institutions, and governmental entities that meet the fund's stated geographic and program criteria. Churches and other religious organizations are not eligible for funding from the Seelinger Family Foundation Fund. The Fund for Nicholas County is intended to assist organizations serving all of Nicholas County. Applicants should therefore carefully consider which fund and geographic criteria apply to their organization and proposed work. The application materials do not state that individuals or for-profit businesses are eligible. A complete application requires the Grant Application Cover Sheet, Application Check List, and Assurances page, with the applicant typing a name in the signature box. The proposal must explain the need addressed by the project, its significance and proposed community benefit, its lasting effect, whether it provides a unique service, and the schedule for implementation and completion. Applicants must provide a budget and budget narrative summarizing expenditures, explaining the organization's financial need, and identifying other funding sources when the Foundation is not funding the entire project. Applicants must also describe measurable outcomes, explain how progress and results will be documented, and state how expected outcomes and activity effectiveness will be measured. The measurable outcomes response may not exceed one page. Required attachments include verification of 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status through an IRS Letter of Designation, organizational structure information identifying officers, directors, key staff, qualifications, and contact information, and the names and qualifications of people who will implement and conduct the project. Applicants must also provide approved board minutes or a board resolution authorizing the application; teachers must instead obtain written approval from their school principal. A financial audit or review from the organization's previous two years is required. Projects involving another organization or institution require a letter of support from that organization or institution. Applicants may also include one or two small supplemental items, such as newspaper articles or brochures. Complete applications are submitted online through the Nicholas County Community Foundation website. The 2026 application deadline is September 1, 2026 before 5 PM, with only complete applications containing all required attachments and submitted by the deadline eligible for review. The source does not identify a separate letter of intent, concept paper, pre-proposal, or other pre-application gating deadline. Applicant organizations will be notified after November 1, 2026 regarding the status of their requests, and project work cannot begin before notification. The Foundation's website describes September 1 as its annual grant request deadline, establishing an annual recurrence. Based on that recurrence, the next expected deadline cycle is September 2027. Questions about the community grants program may be directed to the Nicholas County Community Foundation at NCCFWV@gmail.com or 304-872-0202.

Submit only complete applications with all required documents and adhere strictly to the 5 p.m. September 1, 2025 deadline.