We have a ‘totality of assets’ approach, meaning we leverage the full power of the foundation’s financial and non-financial assets for impact. There are two types of funding opportunities: grants and program-related investments (PRIs). Both grant and PRI proposals must align with our interconnected goals of racial justice, economic justice, and/or environmental justice (REEJ).  

We support racial justice work that:

• Fosters civic engagement: BIPOC and other marginalized communities face long-standing and concerted efforts to restrict and suppress their participation in the public sphere, especially in civic processes. We support efforts to ensure these communities have the access and capacity to participate freely in shaping the policies, practices, and institutions that impact their everyday lives. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, work that:
  • Decreases regressive policies aimed at disenfranchising BIPOC communities and limiting political participation
  • Fosters leadership development for public servants including advocates and elected officials
  • Encourages innovative policy interventions around democratic values

• Addresses the racial wealth gap: Extreme racial wealth inequality persists in the United States, especially among Black communities, as a product of centuries of unjust policies and practices. We support efforts to repair this harm, build wealth, and address the root causes of the racial wealth gap. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, work that:
  • Increases assets among those who have been most harmed by the racial wealth gap
  • Grows the number of local, state, and federal policies and institutions that support access to and ownership of assets for BIPOC communities, especially Black communities​
  • Decreases the number of public-private barriers to BIPOC communities building wealth
• Combats racism and oppression: White supremacy is at the root of our society’s most unequal systems, institutions, and policies. We support efforts to build the infrastructure and capacity necessary to create systems that are free from oppression and allow us all to thrive. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, work that:
  • Undermines systemic hurdles to racial justice
  • Supports education/narrative building efforts at the hyper-local, regional, and national levels to advance equity and justice
  • Builds a strong ecosystem of effective organizations that advance and sustain racial justice

We support economic justice work that:

• Fosters systemic economic security: Economic security is a necessary baseline for people to survive and thrive, especially amidst conditions of rising inequality. We support efforts that systemically mitigate economic precarity and secure a path to a more stable future for poor and low-income people. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, work that:
  • Increases workers’ ability to negotiate for fair pay and good benefits
  • Contributes to systemic approaches that allow more poor and low-income people to have enough money to meet their basic monthly expenses and save for emergencies
  • Addresses the ways in which massive public and private companies contribute to economic insecurity
• Increases access to capital: Generations of discriminatory lending and investment practices have prevented BIPOC and women from accessing the capital required to bring their ideas to the marketplace and profit from them. We support efforts to provide more access to capital for historically excluded entrepreneurs and to cultivate an ecosystem in which they can prosper. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, work that:
• • Increases capital controlled and allocated by women and people of color
  • Expands Black, Indigenous, and other people of color’s ability to secure competitively priced private and public capital, including loans, lines of credit, and investment dollars
  • Shift perceptions of risk and bankability and advances fair underwriting standards
• Combats monopoly power: Monopoly power drives many corrosive problems in our political, economic, and social systems. We support efforts to decrease corporate power and create a level playing field for workers, marginalized communities, and small businesses. Our approach to addressing monopoly power includes but extends beyond a focus on revitalizing antitrust enforcement and undermining the consumer welfare standard. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, work that:
  • Increases competition in key industries (e.g., energy, agriculture, healthcare, finance, retail, technology, and media/journalism) and dismantles consolidated corporate power
  • Ensures enforcement of regulations that keep corporate power in check
  • Increases transparency about corporate influence in our political system

We support environmental justice work that: 

• Addresses environmental harms: BIPOC and low-income communities are disproportionately harmed by environmental hazards. We support systemic efforts to prevent and repair these environmental disparities and ensure affected communities can meaningfully engage in forging solutions. Areas of interest include, but are not limited, work that: 
  • Supports frontline communities in efforts to mitigate the environmental harms they face 
  • Develops and implements long-term solutions that protect both ecosystems and public health 
  • Holds polluters financially accountable for environmental impacts caused by their operations  

• Creates inclusive participation in the green economy: A Green Energy transition is well underway, but the positive economic outcomes are not distributed equitably. We support efforts to ensure that BIPOC-led environmental organizations and diverse companies can fully take advantage of the investments, benefits, and opportunities of the Green Economy. Areas of interest include, but are not limited, work that: 
  • Increases jobs, investments, and wealth-building opportunities in the Green Energy Transition for BIPOC and women-led companies and individuals  
  • Increases capital and funding to support, replicate, and/or scale solutions led by frontline communities that advance the transition to a green economy  
  • Demonstrates and amplifies models of economic inclusion and their impact in the green economy transition 
• Develops regenerative economic models: We recognize that achieving environmental justice and addressing climate change requires a shift from extractive to regenerative economic models that prioritize the health of our communities and ecosystems. We support social entrepreneurs and innovators who are building regenerative projects and models based on sustainability, ecological restoration, and community wealth-building and resilience. Areas of interest include, but are not limited, work that: 
  • Creates economic and political incentives to build, replicate, or scale community-driven regenerative economic models.  
  • Increases investments to organizations and social entrepreneurs that help them to scale innovative alternatives to extractive processes, practices, and products. 
  • Demonstrates and amplifies effective regenerative economic models and their impact on both local economies and ecosystems 

Just like grants, PRIs must advance the foundation’s mission and accomplish one or more of the foundation’s tax-exempt purposes. Also, like grants, PRIs must not be used to influence legislation or take part in political campaigns on behalf of candidates. 

Unlike grants, PRIs are made with the expectation that some or all the capital will be returned to the foundation in the future, according to terms that the foundation and the PRI recipient agree to. That said, we do not make PRIs for the purpose of financial gain. Therefore, we may be able to structure financing with more favorable and flexible terms than a traditional financial institution would.

We will consider PRIs in a variety of forms, including debt and equity instruments. 

We will award PRIs using the following criteria: 

• Alignment with one or more NCF focus areas (see above) 
• Alignment with NCF’s values, including a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion 
• Ability to return capital according to agreed-upon terms 
• Ability to provide agreed-upon impact data to evaluate progress in NCF focus areas  
• Inability/difficulty obtaining sufficient capital through conventional financial institutions 
• Opportunity for learning that enhances the work of NCF and its partners 
• Opportunity to catalyze action and investment from others 
• Opportunity to demonstrate and amplify successful models and approaches that may be overlooked or underutilized by traditional sources of funding 

The following are ineligible for financial support: 

• 501(c)(4) organizations  
• Individuals  
• Requests outside the United States and U.S. Territories. 
• Social or direct service projects that are not a part of a larger advocacy strategy. For example, we do not support direct services (e.g. cash transfer, work development programs, food and education services, housing assistance, etc.).  
• Fundraising events, sponsorships, panel requests, or galas  
• K-12, extra-curricular, religious, or community arts education programming  
• Religious communities, congregations, and churches 
• Community gardening and greening projects 
• Conservation projects  
• Projects addressing diseases including medical research, personal health, and wellness programs 

We support organizations who are and do work based in the United States and U.S. Territories. We are particularly interested in work focused on the U.S. South. We are not currently accepting proposals for work in the Israel-Palestine region as we are still aligning our strategy for that geography, but we will share more later this year about funding opportunities. The best way to stay updated is to subscribe to our emails. You can do that by scrolling down to the bottom of any page on our website (past the menu) and you will find an email sign up box.

Our overall grantmaking budget in 2024 is approximately $17 million. 

• Our budget for funding economic justice work in 2024 is $2,900,000, of which approximately $1 million of the 2024 budget for economic justice is available to support new partners. 

• Our budget for funding environmental justice work in 2024 is $2,900,000, of which approximately $1.5 million is available to support new partners.  

• Our budget for funding racial justice work in 2024 is $3.8 million, of which approximately $2 million is available to support new partners. 

Our target budget for funding program-related investments in 2024 is approximately $3 million. Note: We have dedicated $22 million, five percent of the endowment, to be deployed in the coming years.  

Most of our grants range from about $50,000 – $250,000. We anticipate the typical PRI will range from $200,000 to $500,000.

We believe that social change takes time and requires long-term investments. We also see immense value in supporting new, innovative, and exploratory work. To reflect this, we have a range of grant types:  

• Venture Grants (Up to $100k for one year) These grants are short-term and designed to provide expedited support to social entrepreneurs with breakthrough, emerging, and innovative solutions. They serve to mutually explore new relationships and partnerships. 
• Advancement Grants (Up to $250k annually for up to two years) These grants are designed to provide two-year support to project-based work and/or help scale organizations and promising solutions. 
• Enterprise Grants ($250k+ annually for more than two years) These grants are designed to provide multi-year, unrestricted funding to partners that have deep alignment across our REEJ focus areas and offer the most opportunity to use all our financial and non-financial resources to support their solutions.  

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. The portal will open on January 16, 2024, and the deadline for submissions is April 30, 2024. 

All applicants will be notified within eight weeks of submission whether their application has been selected for further consideration.  

Questions regarding the submission process should be directed to our assets management department at Gadmin@nathancummings.com. We are not currently able to address questions relating to the content of the submission. 

The online grants management system is foundationConnect which offers the best results using Google Chrome. Firefox and Microsoft Edge could also work however, the portal will NOT work on Internet Explorer. 

Yes. Click on “New User?” to complete the registration process. An account is required to access and submit an online letter of inquiry or proposal. The account also allows you to save and return to a request. If funding is awarded, you will also submit funding requirements via the online account. If you’d like to preview the letter of Inquiry before creating an account, you can view it here. 

After completing the registration process an email will be sent to you with an activation link that should be used within 24 hours of receiving the email, to complete your account set-up with your password. The email includes your username for the Applicant Portal, so please save this email for future reference. 

If the link has expired 24 hours from the time you received the email, contact gadmin@nathancummings.org and we will resend a new link to activate your account. 

If an error occurs noting “Nickname already exists,” the activation link has already been used and your account may already be set up. Try to log in with your username and a password. 

After clicking on the activation link, set your password for your account. Please do not use the word “password” in the password itself. Also, if there are other password requirements not met, the system will provide you with further instructions.

Check your original email from Grants Admin – Nathan Cummings Foundation with subject “Nathan Cummings Foundation Online Portal – Please Verify Your Email Address” to refer to your username. Or you can email gadmin@nathancummings.org for this information.

Yes. If you know your username, you can reset your password, by clicking “Can’t access your Account?” to send you an email with instructions on how to reset your password. 

Yes. You can print out the full application or grant report from the “Print” Icon in the REQUESTS or GRANTEE REPORT list view. 

No. You will not be able to edit any information online after you submit your request or grant report. If you need to add information or edit after your completed submission, please contact gadmin@nathancummings.org, to assist you. 

Yes. There are two ways to contact us. If you prefer to communicate in the Applicant Portal instead of a direct email, once logged in, select SEND A MESSAGE, then click on “Compose a Message.”  Another window will appear for you to complete all fields, then click “Send.” 

You can also reach us by email if that is preferred. If you have content-related questions regarding the proposed project and questions on the application form, please contact  gadmin@nathancummings.org and your  portfolio lead (if you are an existing partner). For technical questions about the portal, you may email help@nathancummings.org and copy the portfolio lead.

No. If you are new to the organization, create your own registration with account information about the organization and your contact details. Notify your NCF partner contact of your role with the organization. Our staff will update the active grants pertaining to outstanding activities that relate to your organization, which will allow you to complete grant reports for your organization.