Homelessness Trust Fund

The Homelessness Trust Fund is a grant opportunity administered by the Community Foundation on behalf of charitable funding interests. The Community Foundation administers grant opportunities for donors with funds at the Community Foundation as well as for external funders. Its grant opportunities are generally open to 501(c)(3) public charities, including religious organizations, educational institutions, and governmental entities. The Homelessness Trust Fund specifically serves as an endowment intended to provide assistance to individuals experiencing homelessness and individuals who are in danger of becoming homeless. The Homelessness Trust Fund supports organizations that regularly provide assistance and services to people experiencing homelessness or at imminent risk of becoming homeless. To qualify, an organization's mission statement must focus on assisting these populations. Assistance funded through the program must be distributed to eligible individuals who reside in Kansas City, Missouri, and/or Jackson County, Missouri. Participating organizations are also required to use and report through a shared data reporting system. Each applicant may request up to $10,000 through the Homelessness Trust Fund. The source does not state a minimum award amount, total amount available through the program, or anticipated number of awards. A specific spending restriction applies to operational and staffing expenses: no more than 20 percent of the amount requested may be used for the grant program's operational or staffing costs. The source does not state that applicants must provide matching funds, cost sharing, or another financial contribution as a condition of receiving an award. The Community Foundation's broader grant eligibility language states that grant opportunities are open to 501(c)(3) public charities, including religious organizations, educational institutions, and governmental entities. For this particular fund, applicants must additionally satisfy the homelessness-focused mission and service requirements. Their mission statement must focus on assisting individuals experiencing homelessness or those at imminent risk of becoming homeless, they must provide services to this population on a regular basis, and they must distribute assistance to eligible individuals residing in Kansas City, Missouri, and/or Jackson County, Missouri. Use of and reporting through a shared data reporting system is also mandatory. Applications are handled through SmartSimple. Organizations interested in completing a grant application are instructed to create a SmartSimple account, and the Community Foundation provides a step-by-step guide to help applicants get started. The source directs applicants to learn more and apply through SmartSimple. It does not provide application narrative questions, required uploads, evaluation criteria, a pre-application or letter of intent requirement, an application opening date, an award notification date, or a stated performance period. The application deadline is Monday, August 17. Based on the current analysis date of August 13, 2026, August 17, 2026 is the upcoming Monday and is therefore treated as the current deadline. The source does not state that the opportunity recurs annually or on another regular schedule, so no future cycle is inferred. Questions about the grant application process or requests for technical assistance may be directed to the Philanthropic Services team at grants@growyourgiving.org or 816.627.3452. The page also identifies Afton Baxter as Philanthropic Services Manager and Jamie Musil as Philanthropic Services Specialist, but it does not assign either individual as the specific contact for the Homelessness Trust Fund.

Ensure the organization's mission statement focuses on assisting individuals experiencing homelessness or those at imminent risk of becoming homeless; demonstrate that services are provided to this population on a regular basis; ensure assistance is distributed to eligible individuals residing in Kansas City and/or Jackson County; be prepared to use and report through the shared data reporting system; keep operational or staffing costs at no more than 20% of the requested amount.