Matching grants · pilot
A match from the Foundation — not a campaign we run for you.
Local 501(c) groups can apply for a matching grant. Neighbors fund that pool by giving to the Foundation. We do not raise money on behalf of other nonprofits.
Matching grants are how the Foundation can stretch a neighbor’s gift to us. If a qualified local 501(c) raises cash from Elfin Forest and Harmony Grove residents, we can match it from the Foundation’s matching pool. You run the campaign. We write the matching check.
Spring opens February 1, due April 15, 5 p.m., awards about May 15. Fall opens August 1, due October 15, 5 p.m., awards about November 15.
Suggested campaign window: Giving Tuesday through December 31. Match is typically 1:1, up to a cap set each year. The Foundation-wide pool is targeted at up to $50,000 Foundation-wide. Caps and donor-diversity rules exist so a few large checks cannot soak up the whole program.
Highest-priority ongoing needs: the trail system (walkers, bikes, horses), Fire Safe Council work, and the events that hold the community together. Other mission-aligned work is welcome.
Neighbors: give to the Foundation if you want your gift to fund grants and matching awards. Applicants: do not ask us to solicit or collect for your organization. That is not a use the board has approved.
Questions
Who can apply?
A local 501(c) organization in good standing doing work that delivers broad benefit in Elfin Forest and Harmony Grove and that fits our mission: rural quality of life, trails, fire safety, habitat, recreation, education. Individuals use the regular project-grant track instead. Resident supporters are not required of a local 501(c).
Does the Foundation raise money for us?
No. The board has not approved raising money on behalf of other nonprofits. You run your own campaign. Neighbors who want to fund the match give to the Foundation. We pay the match from that pool after we verify what you raised.
What counts toward the match?
Cash gifts your organization receives from people who live in Elfin Forest or Harmony Grove during the campaign window. In-kind labor is welcome on a project but does not draw the match. A single underwriter does not satisfy the “many neighbors” test — we may cap how much of any one donor’s gift counts.
How much can we ask for?
Don’t name a match dollar figure. Present your fundraising goal — what you aim to raise, from whom, and over what window. The Foundation uses that to decide the matching award from our own funds.
When is the money paid?
After the campaign closes and the Foundation has verified the eligible donations. We do not wire a match on a pledge. We match what actually arrived.
What if the campaign undershoots?
You keep what you raised. The match follows the verified total, up to your cap and the Foundation’s remaining pool. There is no penalty for missing a stretch goal.
What do we have to report?
A short post-grant report: how the money was used, who was served, and how many unique local donors gave. Photographs help. We will put a story on the Impact page.
Are gifts tax-deductible?
Gifts to the Foundation (EIN 33-0672537) are deductible as gifts to EFCF. The match we pay is a grant from EFCF, not a second gift from the donor. Gifts a neighbor makes directly to your organization are deductible to you, not to us — we are not in the middle of that gift.