Moonshot Grant

The Hendricks County Community Foundation is offering the Moonshot Grant Opportunity as a rare, one-time investment intended to address significant challenges and opportunities in Hendricks County, Indiana. The opportunity is supported through the Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow IX Community Support Grants Program offered by Lilly Endowment Inc. Of the $3 million awarded to HCCF, $1 million has been designated for a transformational project or program with the potential to change the trajectory of Hendricks County. HCCF seeks bold, forward-thinking ideas that are grounded in demonstrated community need, realistically implementable, and capable of producing significant and lasting impact. Transformational proposals may create new systems, remove longstanding barriers, build community-wide infrastructure, establish scalable models, or improve outcomes for large populations or historically underserved groups. A total of $1,000,000 is available. HCCF intends to make one grant of $1,000,000, although it reserves the right to award less than $1,000,000 to a single proposal or fund a combination of proposals totaling $1,000,000. Applicants are encouraged to request the amount needed to fully realize their proposed vision. Funds may support programmatic expansion or innovation, capital or infrastructure investments, and operating support directly tied to the project, including fundraising costs associated with the project or program. Funds may not be used for endowment building, debt relief, covering prior deficits, or general operating expenses unrelated to the proposed project. No required cost share or matching contribution is stated. Leveraged or additional funding may be identified if applicable and will be viewed favorably, but it is not presented as a condition of eligibility. Projects may span one to three years. Funding will be available beginning in March 2027, with the payment structure, whether a lump sum or installments, to be negotiated. Implementation should begin between March 2027 and January 2028, and grant funds should be spent by November 30, 2030. Because this is a one-time investment, applicants should not expect ongoing HCCF funding beyond the grant period. Applicants are encouraged to explain how the investment can create lasting community value through systems change, infrastructure, capacity building, partner adoption, replication, future investment, or another durable benefit. Future funding pathways may be discussed but are not required. Eligible applicants include 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, which are strongly preferred, as well as government entities, parks, trails and other publicly accessible outdoor spaces, coalitions or collaborative groups, and organizations using a fiscal sponsor. A memorandum of understanding is required when a fiscal sponsor is used. One organization must serve as the lead applicant. Organizations may collaborate on multiple proposals but may submit only one Letter of Intent as the lead applicant. Projects must primarily benefit Hendricks County, although organizations located outside the county may apply when the primary project is located within Hendricks County. Schools or school corporations may not apply independently unless the project involves collaboration across districts or is a replicable pilot intended for broader adoption. Meaningful collaboration is required for competitiveness, and organizations or projects that discriminate on protected grounds identified in the RFP are ineligible. The first required submission is a Letter of Intent. The LOI narrative is limited to two pages and must be titled Moonshot LOI - [Lead Applicant Organization Name], with one additional page for a high-level estimated budget and one additional page for a high-level implementation timeline. The LOI should address the community need and include at least one credible data source, describe the proposed solution and what makes it bold or transformational, identify partners and their roles, explain expected impact and measurement, provide major budget categories and any leveraged funding, and outline key phases and milestones. LOIs must be submitted in PDF format by email to Eric Hessel at eric@hendrickscountycf.org by 3pm on September 15, 2026. Four to six organizations are expected to be invited to submit a full application. Full applications will be submitted through HCCF's online grant portal, GLM, and will require more detailed narratives, financial documentation, an implementation budget and timeline, organizational capacity information, community engagement and collaboration information, outcomes, measurement and evaluation, sustainability information, and supporting attachments as applicable. LOIs and final applications will be evaluated for alignment with a significant data-informed community need, boldness and vision, meaningful collaboration, feasibility, and scale of impact. Final applications will also be evaluated for organizational strength, community engagement, sustainability, and leveraged resources when applicable. The LOI is open from August 12 through September 15, 2026, with optional LOI feedback sessions on August 25 and 26. LOI decisions are scheduled for the October 22, 2026 board meeting. The full application period runs from October 28, 2026 through January 26, 2027, with possible presentations February 15 through 18 and final board decisions scheduled for February 25, 2027. Announcement and implementation are planned for March 2027. During the grant, the recipient will participate in quarterly progress check-ins and provide high-level financial updates every six months; formal written reporting is not required until completion, when a final reflection will address outcomes, lessons learned, and future opportunities or community benefit. The primary contact is Eric Hessel, HCCF Vice President of Programs, at eric@hendrickscountycf.org or 317-268-6240.

Frame a compelling, data-informed Hendricks County challenge; explain why this solution and why now; pursue bold but realistically implementable transformational work; demonstrate meaningful collaboration because go-it-alone proposals will not be competitive; show a clear path to implementation at scale; engage community members in solution design and implementation; demonstrate lasting impact beyond the funding period; use verifiable and reliable data; ensure the proposal reflects the organization's authentic voice and actual implementation capacity; identify leveraged resources when applicable because they will be viewed favorably.