Outer Banks Community Foundation
/OVERVIEW: This community funder provides a variety of competitive community enrichment grants and special field of interest grants.
IP TAKE: This is a community foundation with an informative website for grant seekers. Most funding comes from the community enrichment grant program, but grant seekers should take a look at the five special interest funds too.
PROFILE: The Outer Banks Community Foundation (OBCF) is based in Southern Shores, North Carolina. It seeks to “help meet local needs in Dare County and across all Outer Banks communities, from Corolla to Ocracoke Island.” OBCF was organized as a public charity in 1982 by a local author and historian named David Stick and six other residents of the Outer Banks.
The foundation awards four types of discretionary grants: community enrichment grants, rapid response grants, focus grants and donor-advised grants.
The foundation awards its community enrichment grants on a competitive basis and accept online applications. The deadlines typically fall on the last Fridays of January, April, July and October. Topics of interest are arts and culture, animal welfare, children and/or youth, disaster relief and/or prevention, education, environment, health, historic preservation and/or interpretation, and other human services. It usually gives grants for direct costs, such as art supplies and medical equipment, but also awards program scholarship grants and nonprofit capacity building grants.
Rapid response grants vary in focus and are awarded during times urgent need or community crisis.
Focus grants are awarded once annually to area organizations that provide services and support to people with disabilities. Grant applications for this program are generally due on the last Friday of April each year.
And the foundation’s donor-advised grants are awarded for specified purposes according to donors’ wishes. It is usually the case that applications are not accepted for these funds, but grantseekers may wish to check back periodically for information about new grantmaking opportunities through the foundation’s donor-advised funds.
Important Grant Details
The foundation has recently reported assets over $25 million, made about $1.4 million in grants in a recent year. A list of donor-advised funds, designated funds, field of interest funds, giving circle funds, organizational funds, scholarship funds and unrestricted grantmaking funds is here. Its website also provides recent financial information and annual reports. Learn about this funder’s recent grantees here.
While this funder accepts applications for its community enrichment, rapid response and focus grants, it recommends that grantseekers get in touch by phone or email prior to submitting a grant application to discuss your project and funding needs. The foundation provides contact information for its staff members, as well as a general contact form, on its website.
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).
LINKS:
