Program Support Grants

Program Support Grants are offered by the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation to support programs or projects of nonprofit organizations serving Linn County, Iowa. The opportunity is geographically focused on Linn County. Organizations based outside Linn County may apply only for the Linn County portion of their project or program costs. The program also permits multiple organizations to submit a joint application for a collaborative project, although applicants considering a collaborative application are instructed to contact the Program Officer to discuss the arrangement further. Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations with current IRS 501(c)(3) public charity tax-exempt status, governmental organizations, and non-501(c)(3) organizations that have a current fiscal sponsorship agreement with a 501(c)(3) organization. Several activities and costs are expressly ineligible. Program Support Grant funds may not be used for capital infrastructure or bricks-and-mortar projects, fundraising events and activities, re-granting awarded funds to other nonprofits, scholarships for primary and secondary education or post-secondary degree programs, or travel outside the region. Religious activities or efforts supporting an organization's core religious mission are also ineligible, with applicants directed to the Program Officer for clarification when needed. Expenses that have occurred or will occur during the approximately 12-week grant review process are not eligible. Organizations with an active Program Support Grant face additional application restrictions. For example, an organization receiving a one-year Program Support Grant in the fall of the previous year may not apply again until the fall of the current year. If an organization received a two-year Program Support Grant in the fall of the previous year, it may not apply again until the fall of the following year. Organizations that requested a time extension to complete a previous grant should contact the Program Officer to confirm eligibility before applying. New projects or programs are limited to a single-year request, while the stated overall grant duration is 12 to 24 months. Maximum request amounts depend on organizational operating budget. Organizations with operating budgets greater than $150,000 may request no more than $30,000 per year. Organizations with operating budgets less than $150,000 may request up to 20 percent of their operating budget per request, rounded up to the nearest $100. The Community Foundation generally does not fund more than 20 percent of an organization's operating budget between Program Support and Organization Support Grants in a single year. Organizations that are primarily volunteer-driven or have very small operating budgets are directed to contact the Program Officer to determine the eligible request amount for their particular circumstances. No required applicant cost share or matching contribution is stated in the provided material. For 2026, the Program Support Grants have two stated deadlines: Friday, March 6 and Friday, September 11, both at 4:30 p.m. CST. As of August 13, 2026, the March deadline has passed and the September 11 deadline is the next stated deadline. Applications are accepted online through the Community Foundation's application system. The source refers applicants to detailed application instructions and identifies a 2026 Program Support Grant Information document and a 2026 Program Support Grant Budget Form for reference and planning. All application information must ultimately be entered directly into the online portal. No separate letter of intent, concept paper, pre-proposal, or other pre-application gating requirement is stated in the provided material. The Community Foundation states that it maintains strict standards intended to uphold the integrity of its grantmaking process. Its Conflict of Interest Policy applies to grant committees, board members, and staff and requires recusals when conflicts of interest occur. The Foundation describes its review processes as methodical and transparent and states that scoring criteria for competitive grant applications are available. The grant review process is approximately 12 weeks from the applicable grant deadline, which also establishes the period during which expenses are ineligible. The Community Foundation also states that it is committed to ensuring equity in its grantmaking strategy and refers applicants to its Board-adopted Grantmaking Equity Statement. Questions about the Program Support Grants may be directed to Sanjana Raghavan, Program Officer, at 319.200.2279 or sanjana.raghavan@gcrcf.org. The Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation is located at 324 3rd St. SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401, with a general contact address of info@gcrcf.org and telephone number 319.366.2862. The source does not state a specific award notification date or an explicit opening date for the application window. It provides two deadlines for 2026 but does not expressly state that the same dates or schedule recur annually, so a future recurring cycle should not be asserted from the provided information alone.

Do not include expenses that occur during the approximately 12-week grant review process. Keep requests within the applicable operating-budget limit. Organizations that are primarily volunteer-driven and/or have very small operating budgets should contact the Program Officer about the eligible amount. Collaborative applicants should contact the Program Officer. Applicants with a previous grant time extension should confirm eligibility with the Program Officer. Review the available scoring criteria for competitive grant applications.