Montgomery County Announces $5.75 Million for Nonprofit Grant Programs Targeting Youth, Seniors, Residents with Disabilities and Underserved Communities

For Immediate Release: Friday, July 14, 2023

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich and the Montgomery County Council have announced that $5.75 million in Community Grants funding is available to assist County community nonprofits. The money is to be dispersed to nonprofits with unique and innovative programs focusing on youth, seniors, residents with disabilities and underserved populations to cover special community needs that are not otherwise being addressed by County funding or efforts. 

Applications can now be submitted by eligible nonprofits. Applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 13.

Questions about the application process can be directed to Ali Hoy, outgoing grants program manager at the Office of Grants Management, by calling 240-773-3384 or emailing [email protected].

“Increased resident needs and demands, rising costs due to inflation, along with the loss of federal COVID-19 funding means that these grant opportunities are more important than ever for nonprofit organizations to apply,” said County Executive Elrich. “After five years of engagement with our community partners on reforms, our new Fiscal Year 2024 Community Grant process now gives nonprofits from across the County equitable funding opportunities, creates space for innovation from old and new partners and right-sizes the administrative burden on our nonprofit community. I encourage all applicable County nonprofits to apply.”

Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) Community Grants award amounts will vary with a minimum award of $50,000 and a maximum award amount of $375,000 over a 12-month performance period. Applicants can submit multi-year funding proposals of up to three years.

• The FY24 Youth Community Grants Program will provide $1.5 million in funds for programs targeting the needs of the County's youth community.
• The FY24 Seniors Community Grants Program will provide $1.5 million in funds for programs targeting the needs of the County's senior community.
• The FY24 Residents with Disabilities Community Grants Program will provide $1.5 million in funds for programs targeting the needs of County residents who have disabilities.
• The FY24 Underserved Communities Community Grants Program will provide a total of $1,258,128 to nonprofit organizations from underserved communities that have unique insights into their local challenges and can develop the best programmatic solutions to address them.

For multi-year proposals and grant awards, continued funding beyond the first 12-month period for both programs will be contingent on satisfactory program performance and future Council appropriations. 

“The nonprofit sector is critical to maintaining a strong social safety net in Montgomery County,” said Montgomery County Council President Evan Glass. “I am pleased that the County is pursuing reforms to improve the grants process for our nonprofit partners. As the County makes these important changes, we must ensure that we work alongside our nonprofit partners. Nonprofits are instrumental partners for our County and their engagement in this process is key.”

Grant applications will be reviewed by an independent committee organized by the Office of Grants Management. The committee will include neutral, qualified individuals from Montgomery County Government who are selected for their experiences in the Community Grant Program’s subject area, grants administration or project management. The panel members will review and score applicant proposals on a 100-point scale based on the criteria and priorities established in the Community Grant Program, with cumulative ranking informing the final awards.

The Community Grants Program is intentionally very flexible to allow nonprofits to identify their own needs and new programming best suited to support their communities. The full program Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), the online application, the recording of an online Information session, links to additional training events and other resources are available on the Montgomery County Office of Grants Management – Grant Application Platform.

• For more information on the FY24 Community Grants Program, click here.
• To download the full FY24 Community Grants Program NOFO, click here.
• To view a recording of an online information session for the FY24 Community Grants Program, click here.

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Release ID: 23-314
Media Contact: Jennifer Garfinkel
Categories: Grants