Competitive Donor-Advised Funds

Competitive Donor-Advised Funds are different than other grants offered at the Community Foundation because they are donor-driven. The funding priorities, exclusions, decision-making and timing of grant awards are determined by the donor-advisor.

Purpose 
The Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation accepts grant applications for a number of local corporations and family funds. Funding priorities are determined by each donor-advisor and may include programmatic or operating support, capital campaigns, event sponsorships, and religious activities.

Eligibility

• The Community Foundation accepts applications from nonprofit organizations with a 501(c)(3) status, governmental organizations, and non-501(c)(3) organizations that have completed arrangements to obtain a fiscal sponsor.
• Eligible activities and funding priorities are different for each donor-advised fund. Information regarding donor-advisor priorities may be found below.

Duration of Grants and Frequency of Application 
Typically, organizations may receive one grant from each competitive donor-advised fund in a 12-month period, however, there are exceptions. Please contact the Program Officer for clarification.

Timing of Grant Awards 
The timing of grant awards is different for each donor-advised fund. Donor-advisors typically provide grant recommendations two or three months after the deadline, however, it may take longer.

Important Note
Under federal legislation, donor-advisors may not receive tangible benefit, goods or services as a result of a grant from their fund. This includes membership, dinners, tickets and other benefits.

Duration of Grant 
12 months

Deadline 
Competitive donor-advisors accept applications in the following grant funding cycles:

Competitive Donor-Advised Funds	Mar 1, 2023	June 30, 2023	Sept 12, 2023
Altorfer Inc.		X
Bloomhall Family		X
CRST International			X
Diamond V		X
GreatAmerica Financial Services Corporation	X
Lil’ Drug Store Products		X
McGrath Automotive Group			X
World Class Industries		X

Fund Priorities and Typical Awards
Altorfer Inc.:

• Eligible Categories: Program or Capital
• Priorities:
  • Health and human services
  • Educational programming
  • Community development
• Ineligible:
  • Individual public schools
  • Projects outside of Linn County
  • Fundraisers/sponsorships
• Average Award: $2,400

Bloomhall Family:

• Eligible Categories: Program or Capital
• Priorities: Health-related activities
• Ineligible:
  • Fundraisers/sponsorships (instead, consider applying for a program for which you are raising funds)
  • Conferences
  • Travel expenses
  • Religious organizations for religious purposes

CRST International:

• Eligible Categories: Program or Capital or Sponsorship
• Priorities: Arts and culture
• Ineligible:
  • Individual public schools
  • Religious organizations for religious purposes
  • United Way agencies may not apply for program support but may apply for capital requests
• Award Range: $500 to $30,000

Diamond V:

• Eligible Categories: Program or Capital
• Priorities:
  • Diversity and Inclusion
  • Education with STEM as a high priority
  • Environment
  • Food Security
  • Programs and services for youth
• Ineligible:
  • Fundraisers/sponsorships (instead, consider applying for a program for which you are raising funds)
  • Conferences
  • Travel expenses
  • Religious organizations for religious purposes
• Average Award: $7,500

GreatAmerica Financial Services Corporation:

• Eligible Categories: Program or Capital or Sponsorship
• Ineligible:
  • Individual public schools
  • Travel expenses
  • Religious organizations for religious purposes
• Average Award: $7,000

Lil’ Drug Store Products:

• Eligible Categories: Program or Capital or Sponsorship
• Priorities: Projects within Cedar Rapids
• Awards: Up to $5,000

McGrath Automotive Group:

• Eligible Categories: Program or Capital or Sponsorship
• Priorities: Children’s needs
• Ineligible:
  • Travel expenses
  • Projects/organizations outside of Linn County
• Average Award: $2,500

World Class Industries:

• Eligible Categories: Program
• Priorities:
  • Basic health and human services
  • Classroom education for Iowa Core Standards
  • Capital improvements to support priority program areas. Please submit a program application for these improvements to provide context.
• Ineligible:
  • Fundraisers/sponsorships (instead, consider applying for a program for which you are raising funds)
  • Religious organizations for religious purposes
• Award Range: $500 to $10,000

Applications and Forms
The forms below are updated for each grant cycle. Please download new forms for each grant cycle to avoid using outdated versions.

Each category – program, capital, or sponsorship – has a unique set of questions within the application. To determine the correct category for your project or program, look at the questions on the following pages of the Competitive Donor-Advised Guidelines and Application Questions document:

• Program questions begin on page 4
• Capital questions begin on page 5
• Sponsorship questions begin on page 6

If you have questions regarding the appropriate category, please contact the Program Officer prior to beginning work on your application.

Download 2023 Competitive Donor-Advised Application Packet
Download Competitive Donor-Advised Project Budget Form
Download Sample Application Budget and Explanation Key

Questions? Contact
Dylan Cooley, Content and Information Officer, at dylan.cooley@gcrcf.org or at 319.774.2376.