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Grant Guidelines

What We fund

The Charitable Trust supports programs that contribute to the quality of life in Charles County. We fund programs that keep our communities strong, diverse and vibrant.

The Charitable Trust is dedicated to improving the health and effectiveness of nonprofits serving Charles County.

  • We welcome applications that focus on health and human services, civic and community development, culture and arts, education and the environment.
  • We are unable to consider grants for capital campaigns, fundraising events, vehicles, or maintenance and repair of buildings owned by nonprofits.

Looking Forward to the Next Grant Cycle

Every year the Charitable Trust conducts an evaluation of the Nonprofit Grant Awards Program with a view to introducing improvements as appropriate. The goal from the outset has been to assure an even playing field for applicants.

The guidelines for the upcoming cycle – for Fiscal Year 2021, starting on July 1, 2020 – will be posted here as soon as they are ready.

The information will include:

  • The deadline for submission of grant applications
  • Opportunities to take advantage of grant-writing training
  • Maximum allowable grant request
  • A link to the online application form, which will include all the requirements

Eligibility Requirements

  • Applicants must have IRS recognition as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization and must operate in Charles County.
  • Proposed program activities must be carried out for the benefit of Charles County residents.
  • If the proposed grant request involves collaboration with one or more other nonprofits, one organization must act as the lead applicant and submit a single application.
  • Other eligibility requirements will be found in the online grant application for Fiscal Year 2021 when it has been posted on this site. 
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Grant Application Review Process

By its nature, grant-seeking is a competitive process. With this factor taken into account, the Charitable Trust strives to keep the playing field as level as possible for applicants. One way we do this is by establishing and publishing clear criteria and guidelines applicable to all grant aspirants. We also treat every application the same. Each one submitted is first looked over by staff to ensure its completeness and the applicant’s eligibility. It then gets assigned to a panel along with a small group of other proposals. The panel members all read each application and meet to discuss and score them. The recommendations and scoring decisions made at the panel meetings are then aggregated. The next step in the process requires each member of the Charitable Trust’s Board of Directors to read all the applications and review the aggregated list of recommendations and scoring decisions. The Board then meets in a plenary session for the sole purpose of determining the grant recipients and the amount of the awards.

Criteria for
awarding Grants

  • Goals, objectives and outcomes are clearly defined and achievable, given the available financial and staff resources.
  • Potential impact program(s) will have on the quality of lives of underserved populations, such as those living in poverty or from low-income households and individuals with disabilities.
  • Potential impact on the quality of life for residents of Charles County at large, such as arts and culture, the environment and education.
  • The extent to which partnerships are formed with other organizations to better target services, improve programs and reduce costs.
  • The extent to which a diverse mix of funding is obtained to support and/or expand programs

Conditions of
Grants

  • Grant recipients must continue to meet all eligibility requirements during the grant application review period and, if awarded a grant, during the grant period.
  • Grantee must remain in good standing with the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation during the application review and grant award periods, and hold a current Certificate of Status.