Rochester Area Foundation's Better Communities Grants advance initiatives that impact lives and our communities in the long term.
There are two Better Communities Grant cycles each year. Eligible nonprofits are limited to one application per grant cycle. In general, RAF will not award a grant to an organization that we funded during the previous grant cycle.
RAF is committed to assuming a leadership role in grantmaking to address community concerns for which sufficient resources currently do not exist. The Board maintains the Foundation's service radius of 30 miles outside the Rochester city limits. Applications requested from organizations outside this area will only be evaluated if the project primarily serves their catchment area.
The Rochester Area Foundation awarded $100,250 in grants to 13 local nonprofits in the first cycle of the 2020 Better Communities Grants. Previously funded projects can be seen at https://rochesterarea.org/nonprofits/apply-for-a-grant/recent-grants/.
In general, Rochester Area Foundation does not award cycle grants to the following:
Applicants must:
There are two grant cycles per year. Fall 2022- July 5, 2022 Grant Portal opens for Letters of Intent. July 29, 2022 Letters of Intent due. September 2, 2022 Deadline for grant applications for those invited to submit. A similar timeline is anticipated in spring (February/March) and fall 2023.
Grant requests between $2,500 and $25,000 will be considered. Approximately 50% of grant applications are funded at some level. They are rarely the sole financial supporter of projects, as they expect organizations to also seek additional resources to accomplish project goals.