Community Needs Grants (up to $25,000)

The Scranton Area Community Foundation makes grants from our Unrestricted General Endowment Fund (Community Needs Fund) to foster good ideas that have the potential to strengthen our community and enrich the lives of the people of Lackawanna County.

We respond to community needs and opportunities with grants in diverse fields such as children and youth, education, animal welfare, arts, human services, seniors, environmental, housing, and veteran’s issues.

Through our grants, we provide support to 501(c)(3) charitable organizations, schools, and government entities that work to address the needs of people living in the Lackawanna County region.

Applications will be reviewed by Foundation Leadership and the Grants Distribution Committee. Grant applications are assessed and evaluated according to specific criteria including but not limited to:

• Community Impact: Project should be well-defined and should address a need in the community. Project should indicate a defined population served, indicate how it will impact the quality of life in Lackawanna County, and provide qualitative or quantitative measurable outcomes in a certain time frame.
• Organizational Capability: Organizations should present a well-defined mission; A demonstrated record of success; A financially sound structure; and leadership and staff with proper expertise to complete the project.
• Project Feasibility and Sustainability: The application should include an appropriate budget for the project, and should detail how the project will be completed. Other funders and future funding of the project should be identified.

Spring 2023 Community Needs Grant Cycle Deadlines

Deadlines to submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) for a Community Needs Grant:

• Wednesday, March 15th, 2023
  • If invited to apply, applications will be due: Saturday, April 15th, 2023

Ready to apply?As part of our ongoing commitment to building the capacity of our nonprofit professionals and to better serve our grant seekers, our grant application process is now streamlined through our online grant management portal. All grant requests are handled through the online portal.

The grant application process generally begins with submitting a Letter of Intent (LOI) through the online portal. To submit an LOI, you will need to log on to your organization’s account in our online grant management portal. If your organization does not have an account established, you will need to create an account*.

*If you are unsure of your organization’s account credentials, please contact your organization’s leadership to inquire or email us at grants@safdn.org for further instruction.

Other 2023 Grant Opportunities

In addition to Community Needs grants, This year we will offer the following grant opportunities from our Unrestricted General Endowment Fund (Community Needs Fund):

• Critical Needs Grants (up to $5,000) which are made for emergencies or pressing, unanticipated needs to 501c3 organizations in the Lackawanna County region.
  • Letters of Intent (LOIs) for Critical Needs Grants are accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis throughout the year.

• Community Events Grants (up to $1,000) which are made to support community events hosted in the Lackawanna County region, which add value to the overall community and enrich the lives of those in our area. This program is not intended to support fundraising events.
  • Letters of Intent (LOIs) for Community Events Grants are beings accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis throughout the year.