• New Two-Year Grants: The Growing Communities Priority Area will now be awarded as two-year general operating grants (likely 6–7 grants), providing greater stability. Please note that these grants are only available in the Growing Communities priority area. 
• Streamlined LOI Process: Due to high demand and limited funds, the Letter of Inquiry process for Growing Communities has been simplified.
• Single Spring Cycle: All priority areas—including Growing Communities, Early Childhood Education, Animal Welfare, Capacity Building, and Leadership Development—will be reviewed and awarded during one Spring Cycle moving forward. 
  • Since the 2025 Animal Welfare and Leadership Development grants were disbursed in November 2025, we will not reopen these priority areas in Spring 2026. Instead, they will reopen in Spring 2027. While it may seem like we are skipping these priority areas, this is simply a six-month delay to align with our spendable balance requirements. 
• Community Response Grants: Invitation-only, one-year grants for urgent community needs will be available during the Spring Cycle.
• Capacity Building Priority Area Relaunch: We’re relaunching this priority area to support and strengthen the infrastructure and sustainability of local nonprofit organizations.

Growing Communities (formerly Basic Human Needs) Grant Cycle application process:

Due to the competitive nature of the Growing Communities priority area, the LOI has been streamlined as much as possible to reflect the increased applicants and limited available grant funds. Please note that while we typically receive 75-90 letters of inquiry, we expect to provide 7-8 grants through this priority area in 2025. 

Step 1: Registration in Foundant - Register your organization in Foundant or login to your existing account HERE. Please note, after registering, you will be able to change user information, but not organizational information (organizational address, name/contact for executive director, etc.). To update that information, you will need to contact Quetzali at [email protected]. 

Step 2: Submission of letter of inquiry (LOI) - The Foundation requires applicants to complete a brief LOI in the Foundant system. Foundation staff and Grants and Community Outreach Committee will review LOIs for alignment with the Foundation's goals and priorities and will select organizations to move forward in the due diligence process.

Step 3: Notification - Foundation staff will notify organizations selected to complete full proposals by March 3, 3025. Full applications will be due in the Foundant system on March 28, 2025.

Step 4: Due Diligence - Organizations invited to move forward, will participate in the due diligence process, which may include a site visit (virtual or in-person).

Step 5: Grant Decision - The Foundation's board of directors determines the final grant awards. Applicants will receive an email notification of award/decline by May 16, 2025.

Step 6: Reporting of Outcomes - Grant recipients are required to report on outcomes at the mid-term and end of the grant cycle.

Fall Grant Cycle (Leadership Development and Animal Welfare priority areas):

The Fall Grant Cycle timeline which includes the Leadership Development and Animal Welfare priority area has shifted from August to October 2025.

Due to limited resources, LCCF paused the Capacity Building priority area in 2024 to concentrate our resources to support our work and investment in our Growing Communities priority area. We hope to reintroduce the Capacity Building priority area sometime in the future.

Step 1: Registration in Foundant - Register your organization in Foundant or login to your existing account HERE. Please note, after registering, you will be able to change user information, but not organizational information (organizational address, name/contact for executive director, etc.). To update that information, you will need to contact Quetzali at [email protected]. 

Step 2: Submission of Application - The Fall Grant Cycle application will be available in Foundant in early October. No LOI is required. Foundation staff will review the proposal to assess the request's alignment with the Foundation's goals and priorities, and will then determine whether the application advances to Step 3. 

Step 3: Due Diligence - Foundation staff will review all proposals and organizations will be notified by early November, if they have been selected to proceed in the due diligence process, which may include a site visit (virtual or in-person).

Step 4: Grant Decision - The Foundation's board of directors determines the final grant awards. Applicants will receive an email notification of award/decline by November 21, 2025. 

Step 5: Reporting of Outcomes - Grant recipients are required to report on outcomes at the mid-term and end of the grant cycle in the Foundant system.