Guidelines for Grantseekers
The Chisholm Trail Communities Foundation, in its grantmaking role, seeks to enrich the communities it serves. The community foundation’s grantmaking represents the critical and emerging needs of the area rather than one particular cause. Through quarterly grant cycles, our discretionary grantmaking reflects the work of dedicated volunteers who understand local needs. As our communities' needs inevitably change, our endowment allows the community foundation to respond flexibly, efficiently and effectively to these changes and challenges.
Areas of interest for our grantmaking program include the arts and culture, community development or community services, education, the environment, and health and human services. The community foundation will consider proposals for project/program or general operating support.
To be eligible for support through the Chisholm Trail Communities Foundation, an organization must be a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in the Williamson County area. We prefer to work with community-based organizations, rather than national organizations, unless that national organization has a local presence and activities. Umbrella organizations whose sole purpose is distributing funds to other entities, religious organizations serving a singular religious purpose, and lobbying or political organizations are not eligible for support through our discretionary grantmaking program.
The Chisholm Trail Communities Foundation considers it a priority to support applications that propose ways to address community issues and problems; leverage outside and innovative sources of support; stimulate others to participate in community programs; and assist nonprofit organizations to build and increase capacity. We are also interested in supporting programs that are cooperative efforts, those having a broad impact on diverse audiences, or those that reduce redundancy or programmatic overlap.
The Grants Committee reviews applications quarterly. The application form is available upon request, in addition to being fully available on our website. Deadlines are February 1, May 1, August 1, and November 1. Applications received after these dates will be considered during the next cycle. Site visits will be conducted at the discretion of the grants committee; a site visit does not guarantee funding. Funding decisions are usually made within eight weeks of the deadline.
We welcome inquiries and questions from grantseekers at any time.