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 visit the Funding Focus Areas page to understand TPF’s funding priorities of education, poverty reduction and community vitality. Further, applicants should be prepared to demonstrate how its proposed project strongly aligns with these funding priorities 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.