Our Grants
Scranton Area Community Foundation Grants
The Scranton Area Community Foundation makes grants to foster good ideas that have the potential to strengthen our community and enrich the lives of the people of Scranton, Lackawanna County, and Northeastern Pennsylvania. The Foundation responds to community needs and opportunities with grants in such diverse fields as health, education, arts, environment, human services, and civic affairs. Organizations that serve the needs of residents in Lackawanna County are encouraged to keep the Foundation informed of their programs and services and to share their ideas about addressing community needs and opportunities.
Explore all of our available grant opportunities on our Online Grant Management portal
AVAILABLE GRANT OPPORTUNITIES
TOMORROW’S LEADERS TODAY
Tomorrow’s Leaders Today (TLT) is a youth leadership program of Leadership
Lackawanna that provides high school juniors the opportunity to meet with community
leaders and decision-makers. In addition to leadership development, the students
must complete a philanthropy curriculum conducted by the Scranton Area
Communication Foundation.
Community Needs Grants (up to $20,000)
Community Needs Grants fund a wide range of nonprofit programs that respond to a particular community need or issue and which enhance the quality of life in Lackawanna County. The Scranton Area Community Foundation responds to needs and opportunities with grants in such diverse fields as education, arts, environment, human services, animal welfare, and civic affairs. 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.
We offer two grant cycles throughout the course of a year. All submitted LOIs will be reviewed and select organizations will be invited to submit a full grant application through the online portal before the grant application deadline.
Community Needs Grants will begin accepting LOI’s in September. Deadlines:
- Deadline to submit Letter of Intent (LOI): Monday, September 30th, 2024
- Deadline to submit application, if invited: Thursday, October 31st, 2024
Critical Needs Grants (up to $5,000)
Critical Needs Grants will be made for emergencies or pressing, unanticipated needs to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. Letters of Intent (LOIs) for Critical Needs Grants will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis throughout the year. These grants are intended to be (relatively) quickly deployed where and when needed.
Community Events Grants (up to $1,000)
Community Events Grants are made to Lackawanna County nonprofit organizations hosting community events 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. Please note that Community Needs grants are not available for events that charge admission.
Letters of Intent (LOIs) for Community Events Grants will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis throughout the year.
Women in Philanthropy Grant (max grant: $10,000)(average: $5,000)
Women in Philanthropy is now accepting grant applications from 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations and educational institutions for its 2024 grant cycle.
Grant requests for the 2024 must cover projects in one or more of the following focus areas:
Civic Engagement & Advocacy, Financial Education, Housing, Childcare, Mental Health, STEAM Education
Robert H. Spitz Grants
The Robert H. Spitz Foundation, administered by the Scranton Area Community Foundation, is pleased to announce the Fall 2024 grant cycle and invites local 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations to apply for grant funding. The grant application process begins with submitting a Letter of Intent (LOI) through this online portal. All submitted LOIs will be reviewed and select organizations will be invited to submit a full grant application through the online portal before the grant application deadline.
The Robert H. Spitz Foundation awards grants to registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations that support initiatives and programs serving the residents of Lackawanna County and Northeastern Pennsylvania. Please note that the trustees of the Robert H. Spitz Foundation have not set funding parameters for this grant process.
Fall 2024 Priority areas for funding include:
Breaking the Cycle of Poverty
Programs that aim to remove economic barriers, mitigate intergenerational poverty, and encourage independence in adults and children through access to safe, affordable housing, transportation, education, training, and other important issues.
Environmental
Programs/projects that seek to preserve and/or protect the environment; raise awareness and/or educate about climate/environmental issues; and seeks to mitigate the impact of harmful practices to the environment and promote recreation/public health.
Deadlines:
– Deadline to submit Letter of Intent (LOI): Saturday, August 31st, 2024
– Deadline to submit application: Monday, September 30th, 2024
Grant Application Process
As part of our ongoing commitment to building the capacity of our nonprofit professionals and to better serve our grant seekers, we have recently simplified our grant application process. Our grant application process is now streamlined through our online grant management portal.
The grant application process begins with submitting a Letter of Intent (LOI) through the online portal.
To submit an LOI, you will need to first create an account in our online grant management portal.
All applicants are required to create an account. [Note that your LOI/grant application can be saved as a draft, and when you log on again it’s easy to return to that draft, make edits, and submit the application when you’re ready to do so.]
Scranton Area Community Foundation’s Online Grant Management Portal:
To create your account and begin the grant application process, enter the following information:
A username that is an email address
Your contact information
Your organization’s information, including the EIN/Tax ID number
Contact information for the organization’s Executive Officer
We have provided additional resources, including a written tutorial, to help you with our new grant application process. To access the written applicant tutorial, visit Applicant Tutorial – Grants.
Please note that the Scranton Area Community Foundation will ONLY accept grant requests through the online portal. No paper or emailed applications will be accepted.
The Scranton Area Community Foundation’s Community Needs Grants, Critical Needs grants, and Community Events grants are awarded to registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations that help to enhance the quality of life in Lackawanna County. Grant applications are evaluated according to specific criteria including community impact, organizational capability, and project feasibility and sustainability. We will also take into account the challenges nonprofits face in this turbulent time.
If you have any questions about our grant application process, please contact us at 570-347-6203 or grants@safdn.org.