Discretionary Grants

The Pokagon Fund’s Discretionary grants are awarded for projects that directly benefit the following Michigan communities or their residents: the City of New Buffalo; the Townships of New Buffalo, Three Oaks or Chikaming; or the Villages of Three Oaks, Grand Beach or Michiana. Collectively, these communities are known as “Harbor Country.” Projects that do not provide a direct benefit to in Harbor Country will not be considered for a Discretionary grant by the Fund.

Before beginning the Initial Questionnaire (linked below), applicants are strongly encouraged to review the Fund’s Discretionary and Municipal Grantmaking Guidelines (see link below). To be eligible to apply for or receive a Discretionary grant from the Fund, an organization must be classified as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) or be a unit of government. In rare and very limited circumstances, TPF may make a grant to an organization that is not described in Section 501(c)(3) of the IRC if it is seeking funding for a purpose that is listed in Section 170(c)(2)(B) of the IRC (an applicant must contact TPF staff prior to beginning an application if she or he believes the organization falls into this category).

Discretionary grant applications are reviewed on a quarterly basis. The deadlines for the Discretionary grant applications are January 15, April 15, July 15 and October 15 each year (if the date falls on a holiday or weekend, then the deadline is extended to the next business day). TPF’s Board of Directors will usually make a decision on each application at its regular meeting in the month following the deadline, but it reserves the right to postpone a decision.