Field-of-Interest Grant Program

The Community Foundation of Mendocino County administers the Field-of-Interest Grant Program, which was established in 2016. The program is a collection of funds created to make grants in specified areas of interest, specified geographic areas, or both. Individual Field-of-Interest funds provide the funding for the program. The program is offered annually, although not every individual fund operates every year. For the current cycle, the program is open from August 5, 2026 through September 2, 2026, with applications due by 5:00 PM on the closing date. The purpose of the Field-of-Interest Grant Program is to provide grants to nonprofit organizations in Mendocino County for projects and initiatives that address designated areas of interest or geographic priorities. The current opportunities cover arts and culture, children and youth, disaster relief, recovery, and resilience, economic development, the environment, and healthy and inclusive communities. Applicants are directed to the Field-of-Interest Guidelines for additional information about the available funds and their specific funding priorities because available funding and grant guidelines are established annually. Awards under the program range from $1,000 to $8,000. The provided program information does not state the total amount of funding available across all Field-of-Interest funds, the expected number of awards, a required cost share or matching contribution, or specific allowable and prohibited expenditures. It also does not provide a performance period or project start and end dates. Because individual funds may have different priorities and not all funds operate each year, prospective applicants should review the current Field-of-Interest Guidelines to determine which available funding opportunity is appropriate for their proposed project or initiative. Eligibility is described as local nonprofit organizations in Mendocino County. The source does not provide additional details regarding required nonprofit tax status, fiscal sponsorship, faith-based organizations, organizational size, operating history, or other organizational qualifications. It also does not state that individuals, businesses, government agencies, educational institutions, or other applicant types are eligible. Geographic eligibility is therefore treated as restricted to Mendocino County rather than statewide or nationwide. Applications are submitted through the Community Foundation's online Grant Portal. The source provides an Apply option and directs applicants needing step-by-step assistance with the Grant Portal to the Community Foundation's Resource Library. The Program Team will also host an Application Workshop by Zoom on August 11, 2026 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM, with simultaneous Spanish translation. The workshop is intended for applicants who want additional information about the online application process, will be recorded, and will subsequently be posted on the Community Foundation website. The workshop is technical assistance rather than a required pre-application step or gating requirement. The source does not identify specific application questions, required attachments, evaluation criteria, scoring procedures, award notification dates, or a separate pre-application deadline. Applications opened August 5, 2026 and close September 2, 2026 at 5:00 PM. The program is explicitly described as annual, so it is treated as recurring. Based on the August 2026 opening month, the next cycle is anticipated for August 2027, although the exact future opening date has not been announced. Applicants needing assistance may contact Amy Cline at amyc@communityfound.org. The Community Foundation of Mendocino County also lists a general telephone number of 707-468-9882 and general email address of info@communityfound.org.

Review the current Field-of-Interest Guidelines and align the proposed project or initiative with an available fund's specified area of interest or geographic priority.