Agility Grants

To qualify for an Agility Grant, applicants must be designated by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Newly designated 501(c)(3) organizations will be considered as long as they have documentation showing their accepted 501(c)(3) status.  

Agility Grants will not be provided for any of the following:  

• Fundraising campaigns that directly benefit applicant organizations  
• Individuals 
• Any entity without a US public charity 501(c)(3) designation 
• Organizations or programs outside the United States 
• Lobbying activities and/or political campaigns 

Yes! Organizations that are not NCPG Members or State Affiliates are welcome and encouraged to apply. Membership status has no impact on the application scoring and evaluation process. NCPG Members and non-members are invited to apply for Agility Grants. 

Agility Grant awards range between $20,000 – $40,000. We recommend aligning your funding request within that range.

The Spring 2024 grant application deadline is February 28, 2024 at 11:59pm ET. Applications open on January 17, 2024. 

The next application round will open in July 2024.  

Agility Grants are submitted online via an OpenWater platform. You can access the application portal using the link above during the application period.

Yes! The primary applicant can add collaborators so multiple people can work on the grant application.

Agility Grant award announcements will be made in April 2024.  

The grant period for the Spring 2024 Agility Grants is from June 1, 2024 through May 31, 2025. All program activities for the grant funded project must take place within the grant period.

Agility Grants have two strategic priorities, Prevention Innovation and Prevention Amplification. Proposed projects must align with one or both strategic priorities.  

Prevention Innovation aims to foster and accelerate the development, deployment, research, and evaluation of problem gambling prevention programs and curricula to communities disproportionately affected by problem gambling. In short, investments aim to launch innovative new prevention programs, support the expansion of promising programs, or validate existing program effectiveness through research.  

Prevention Amplification aims to increase community awareness, response and support through the identification and elevation of new leaders, new partnerships and new voices within the problem gambling community, prioritizing youth as well as leaders of color. In short, investments seek to promote new thought leaders and platforms to educate communities about problem gambling. Projects may target professional forums and other education initiatives designed to reach communities underserved by problem gambling prevention programs. Investments may also support new collaborations within or beyond problem gambling prevention (e.g., with other substance abuse prevention communities) with the stated purpose of driving prevention initiatives. Priority will be placed on elevating perspectives from communities disproportionately affected by problem gambling.   

No. We recognize that treatment and responsible gambling programs are valuable and impactful programs worthy of funding. However, these programs fall outside the scope of the Agility Grants strategic priorities. Agility Grants are meant to fund problem gambling prevention programs.

Problem gambling prevention programs are those designed to minimize harm among those who have not yet gambled or among those who have limited gambling experience.

Examples of programs/projects that we do NOT consider prevention programs include, (but not limited to): 

• Hiring of additional counselors who would provide counseling to those recovering from gambling addiction.  
• Training for mental health professionals to gain problem gambling treatment credentials.  
• Expansion of gambling addiction/problem gambling call support line.  
• PSA campaign promoting existing services to treat those with an active gambling addiction.  

Applicants are strongly encouraged to review the SAMHSA Strategic Prevention Framework prior to submission.

Agility Grants aim to fund projects reaching populations at higher risk of developing a gambling problem, including:  

• middle school, high school and college students 
• middle school, high school and college athletes 
• Black, Hispanic, Native American, Asian and other communities of color 
• Communities disproportionately affected by problem gambling 

Furthermore, Agility Grants will fund problem gambling prevention programs that minimize harm on a primary level or secondary level. 

• Primary level: among those who have not yet gambled.
• Secondary level: among those who have limited gambling experience.

Priority will be given to projects/programs that target prevention on the primary level.  

Yes! Grant funding can be used to pay staff, including contractors or temporary staff, who are directly designing, deploying or launching the proposed project/program.

Yes, as long as overhead and indirect program expenses do not make up more than 15% of your total grant expenditures.

Yes!  

Applicants are required to submit letters of support from any partners involved in the proposed program/project. We recognize that until funding is deployed, it can be difficult to obtain signed commitment letters. To that end, we ask that you submit a letter of support where partner organizations can outline their intent to work with you on the project should funding be awarded. We offer a template for your use or reference. If you choose to use your own, please reference the template to ensure your letter includes the desired information.

Applications are reviewed by NCPG Agility Grants program staff and an external committee made up of experts in the field of problem gambling. Every application is reviewed closely. We look for proposals that show strength in the following areas: strategic fit with the grant-making priorities, project feasibility, proposed impact and evaluation methods, organizational capacity and effectiveness, budget/effective use of grant funds.    

NCPG will conduct a midyear check-in call with Agility Grant recipients approximately 6 months into the grant period to discuss progress to date on the funded program and any unanticipated challenges or changes to the originally proposed program. Agility Grant recipients are also required to submit a written final impact report, via our online grants management system, no more than one month after the grant period closes. This impact report requests program activity data, demographic data about participants/beneficiaries, and qualitative questions on program impact, achievements, lessons learned, and evaluation methods.