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Nathan Cummings Foundation

NCF seeks to connect with innovative partners and proximate change makers driving impact.

Over the last three decades, NCF has awarded nearly half a billion dollars in funding to support movements, organizations, and individuals pursuing justice for people and the planet. We embrace a “totality of assets” approach to impact, meaning we leverage the full power of our financial and non-financial resources to support our partners’ solutions. We want to learn from, work with, and support organizations that share our commitment to advancing racial, economic, and environmental justice (REEJ).

Nathan Cummings Foundation’s (NCF) Letters of Inquiry (LOI) portals are closed until October 2025 for assessment and reflection. Thank you to all of the organizations who submitted an application. We looking forward to reviewing them and we will get back to you soon.

The portal will reopen on October 1, 2025 remaining accessible until June 2026. The portal will be closed from July 1, 2026, to September 30, 2026, to allow time for assessment and reflection and reopen again on October 1, 2026. We are grateful for the many thoughtful LOIs – more than 2,000 – we receive each year and give each our full attention. Thank you for your patience as we carefully review all submissions. 

About NCF’s Funding

NCF is on a learning journey, and we seek to connect with innovative partners and proximate change makers who are driving impact. We want to learn from, work with, and support organizations that share our commitment to advancing racial, economic, and environmental justice (REEJ).
NCF offers two types of funding opportunities: grants and PRIs. Successful grant and PRI proposals will align with NCF’s interconnected goals of REEJ focus areas.

This is a competitive process and NCF has limited resources. Please review our FAQ section to learn more.
LOIs will be reviewed, and decisions will be made on a rolling basis. NCF staff anticipates notifying applicants if their LOI is aligned within 12 weeks of submission, though some funding decisions may take longer.

 

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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 expedite support to social entrepreneurs with breakthrough, emerging, and innovative solutions. They also 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 invitation-only and 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.  
  • 501(c)(4) organizations  
  • Individuals  
  • NCF maintains a funding area in Israel-Palestine, that portfolio is invitation-only  
  • 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  
  • Campus or prison-based programs  
  • K-12, extra-curricular, religious, or community arts education programming  
  • Religious communities, congregations, and churches  
  • Community gardening and tree planting projects  
  • Conservation projects  
  • Projects addressing diseases, including medical research, personal health, and wellness program

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, economic, and/or environmental justice (REEJ). Proposals that align and intersect with REEJ and our place-based initiatives, which include the U.S. South, are especially encouraged.    

All applicants will be notified within 12 weeks of their submission whether their application has been selected for further consideration.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, with the portal open for three out of the four quarters of the year. The portal will be open from October 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026 at 4:59 PM ET.

The portal will be closed annually from July 1st to September 30th to allow time for assessment and reflection, reopening on October 1st.

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