Grants for Hartford, Dowagiac, South Bend Communities
The Pokagon Fund’s Grants for Communities surrounding Band Trust Lands (“Band Grants”) are awarded for projects that directly benefit the following communities or their residents: Hartford, Michigan; Dowagiac, Michigan; or South Bend, Indiana.
To be eligible to apply for or receive a Band Grant from TPF, an organization must be classified as a tax-exempt organization 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).
Before beginning an application, applicants are strongly encouraged to review and understand the purposes for which TPF was established and able to award grants. These purposes include charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes; fostering amateur sports competition; promoting community education; lessening the burdens of government; promoting conservation and environmental protection; combating community deterioration; promoting community beautification and preservation; charitable or educational programs benefiting seniors, children and schools; student scholarships; compulsive treatment programs; charitable local economic development projects; and the erection or maintenance of public buildings, monuments, or works; or other charitable activities as the Board deems appropriate. Further, applicants should be prepared to demonstrate how its proposed project strongly aligns with one or more of these purposes as it completes the application. Grants for unsolicited projects are generally limited to $10,000.
Grants are reviewed on a quarterly basis. The deadlines for the Band Grant applications are January 15, April 15, July 15 and October 15 (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 reserves the right to postpone a decision.