Each year, the DCF awards millions of dollars in grants to support the work of nonprofits addressing Delaware’s greatest needs and opportunities, with an eye to building opportunity and advancing equity.


Most DCF grants are from donor advised funds. Nonprofits are invited to apply for the grant opportunities on this page, including the DCF’s Community Impact Grants, which are funded by generous donors who believe in our work to build opportunity and advance equity in Delaware.

Read about our 2023 Community Impact Grants.

Grant Opportunities Currently Open

Read about general grant eligibility. Each grant also has individual eligibility requirements.

Please review our Grantee Publicity Guidelines.

Small grants will support health-related projects, programs and supportive services. Preference is given to programs that fit BluePrints for the Community priority areas. The community priority areas are: increasing access to health care for uninsured/underserved, reducing health disparities in minority communities, supporting early childhood development with initiatives focused on health, recruiting and training health care professionals and addressing social determinants of health.

Grants are reviewed on a rolling basis with decisions announced to applicants at the beginning of each month. Small Grants cannot exceed $50,000.

Sample Application(for reference only – must apply online)

Grant Guidelines

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There are a variety of funds at the DCF that provide a structured opportunity for eligible nonprofits whose missions align with specific interest areas to apply for grants. These specific areas include: 

  • Dave Ryerson Fund and the Beekhuis Community Fund: Statewide small arts grants programs and projects  
  • Walls and Turner Charitable Fund & Freida Dolby Fund: Educational programs and projects that support animals and animal welfare. 
  • Quintin E. Primo Jr. Fund for Racial Justice and the African American Empowerment Fund: Educational programs and projects that promote racial justice and the empowerment of African Americans  
  • The Tubby Raymond Charitable Fund *one time*: small grants funding athletic based educational and mentoring programs that support at-risk youth. 
  • 21st Century Children’s Fund: Education programming or Financial assistance programs for at-risk children or young adults up to age 21 to participate in programs or experiences that help them define their strengths, improve their self-esteem, and build a sense of hope for the future. 

Specific Interest Grants Guidelines

Sample Application (for reference only – must apply online)

Rubric

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The Delaware Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Grant Program is a cooperative agreement between the Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to build resilience across the middle of Delaware’s food supply chain. Funds will support expanded capacity for aggregating, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, and distributing locally and regionally produced food products. The DCF facilitates the grant application process, but this is not a DCF grant program.

Complete program information can be found here: https://de.gov/rfsi.

All questions should be directed to the Delaware Council on Farm and Food Policy at  [email protected].

Sample Application (for reference only – must apply online)

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The First State Food System Program, administered by the Delaware Council on Farm & Food Policy (a subset of the Delaware Department of Agriculture) provides grant funding to entities that grow, process, store, transport, distribute, or sell food in the State of Delaware. The DCF is facilitating the grant application process, but this is not a grant program of the DCF.

All questions should be directed to the Delaware Council on Farm and Food Policy at [email protected].

Full program information can be found here: https://farm-and-food-delaware.hub.arcgis.com/

Program FAQs

Sample Application (for reference only – must apply online)

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Quarterly grants from Highmark’s BluePrints for the Community fund, administered by the DCF, support health-related projects, programs and supportive services. Preference will be given to programs that address the following BluePrints priority areas faced by Delaware’s communities.

  1. Healthcare Access
    For example: preventative care, disease specific, health literacy, research, etc.
  2. Economic Stability for families and individuals
    For example: financial resources strains, food insecurity, housing stability, etc.
  3. Social and Community Context
    For example: mental
    health, physical activities, social connections, etc.
  4. Neighborhood and Built Environment
    For example: safety, transportation, environmental health, infrastructure, etc.

Occasional Special Grants focused on meeting a more specific need may be announced in place of Standard Grants.

2024 Application Periods

  • Quarter 2 application opens March 18, 2024
    • Deadline April 5, at 11:59 pm
    • Notifications TBD
  • Quarter 3 application opens June 24, 2024
    • Deadline July 12, at 11:59 pm
    • Notifications TBD
  • Quarter 4 application opens Sept. 9, 2024
    • Deadline Sept. 27, at 11:59 pm
    • Notifications TBD

Grant Guidelines

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Grant Opportunities NOT Currently Open

Nonprofit organizations supporting the needy in Kent County are invited to apply for grants from the Benjamin F. Potter Trust through the Delaware Community Foundation.

The purpose of the Benjamin F. Potter Trust, created in 1843 and one of the oldest continuing trusts of its type in the nation, is to aid the economically underprivileged in Kent County by supporting charitable organizations serving these individuals. The CenDel Foundation, which brings expertise in needs in Kent County, serves as the grant recommendation committee. The areas of focus considered for funding are: 

  • Crisis/emergency assistance funding for basic needs 
  • Homelessness 
  • Hunger 
  • Health care 

Grants will support proposals for charitable organizations and activities involving programs that have a lasting, positive impact on Kent County.  

All applicants will be notified of the committee’s decision in September 2023. For more information, please contact Mike DiPaolo at 302.355.6933. To find out more about CenDel, visit www.cendelfoundation.org. 

Sample Application (for reference only – must apply online)

The Roy Klein Education Fund supports nonprofits’ projects or programs that support improvements to life in central Delaware through economic development initiatives and related career and occupational education in Kent County, including all of Smyrna and Milford.

The fund is available to all 501(c)(3) organizations in Kent County or organizations that run programming that directly benefit the county.  

The maximum award is $3,000.

Sample application (for reference only – must apply online)

Grants supports programs addressing addiction treatment, family services, emergency housing and homelessness prevention. 

The Next Gen South Grant total is $10,000.

Since its inception in 2012, Next Gen South has supported initiatives that address the underlying social challenges facing vulnerable Delawareans in Kent and Sussex. 

Sample application(for reference only – must apply online)

Next Gen South Grants Guidelines

The Borkee-Hagley Fund grants specifically support clinical research, care and social and emotional support services specific to the comprehensive and complex care of patients and families suffering from neurodegenerative diseases.  This includes cognitive and movement disorders like Huntington’s Disease, ALS, Parkinson’s Disease, and Alzheimer’s.

Sample Application (for reference only – must apply online)

 

Grants awarded will be $500 – $5,000 to nonprofit organizations working to address community needs in Georgetown and Millsboro.

Nonprofits organizations located in Georgetown or Millsboro will be given priority, but other organizations operating statewide can apply if they are a state agency.

Sample application(for reference only – must apply online)

DCF capital grants assist with the acquisition, final-stage design, construction, repair, renovation, rehabilitation, or other capital improvements of facilities, so nonprofits in all three counties can operate as efficiently and effectively as possible.

An ideal capital grant does more than just renovate or repair. It helps an organization that is already strong to serve its community even better. Supported capital projects will have a lasting, positive impact on the population or community served by the grantee organization.

Grants will not exceed $20,000 other than on rare occasions due to their exceptional merits, based on the discretion of the DCF Grants Committee.

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2023 Workshop

Rubric

Sample Application(for reference only – must apply online)

The Kent County Youth Philanthropy Board believes in the conservation of a sustainable mind, body and environment. In 2024 they invite nonprofits to apply that prioritize the wellbeing of the individual and the planet, e.g. via environmental protection, health, homelessness, domestic violence and/or substance/alcohol abuse.

Sample Application(for reference only – must apply online)

Rubric

The New Castle County Youth Philanthropy Board understand the importance of youth mental health. The board invites and encourages nonprofits that focus on the impact of gun violence, food insecurity, learning disabilities and other forms of trauma on youth to apply.

Sample Application(for reference only – must apply online)

Rubric

The Sussex County Youth Philanthropy Board believes in helping conserve the land and addressing the wellbeing of the individual. For their 2024 grants, nonprofits that focus on land conservation, mental health, homelessness and/or drug/alcohol addiction are encouraged to apply.

Sample Application(for reference only – must apply online)

Rubric

The FFW accepts applications from nonprofit, tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) organizations for programs that address the needs and enhance the worth and potential of women and girls in Delaware by helping them to lead productive, self-sufficient lives. The FFW’s one-year grant offers organizations an opportunity to obtain seed money for innovative, creative programming or funding to continue or expand programs where effectiveness has been demonstrated. Grants will not be awarded to individuals.

Fund for Women hosted two grant application workshops to answer any questions about key dates and how to submit a Grant application. Please use the links below to reference resources from the Workshop.

Questions regarding 2024 Grant Applications can be directed to [email protected].

Grants are available to any nonprofit organization, including any qualified school (public or private) on the Delmarva Peninsula, with particular emphasis given to Western Sussex County. All applicants within the Delmarva region will be considered by the Foundation Committee. No applications for programs outside of Sussex County will be considered. 

Sample Application (for reference only – must apply online)

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