Through the Community Funding Grant Program, the City of Cupertino provides funding to local non-profit organizations in the areas of social services, fine arts, and other programs for the Cupertino community. The Community Funding Grant application becomes available at the end of January every year and applications are due by March 1^st. The City Council will make the final decision regarding Community Funding Grant requests in June. Funding is contingent upon the City Council’s General Fund allocation to the program and funding is not guaranteed.

Apply Now

We are now accepting applications for Community Funding Grants for Fiscal Year 2019-20. Please download the application here. Completed applications are due by March 1, 2019. Applications must be emailed to marielar@cupertino.org by the deadline in order to be considered for funding.

Eligibility

To be eligible for a Community Funding Grant, grant requests must:

• Be made or sponsored by a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with experienced staff capable of implementing and managing the program/project/event.
• Identify how the funds will be used to benefit the Cupertino community.
• Be for one-time, project specific needs and not ongoing, operational costs.
• Have more than 75% of the requested funds allocated for direct service costs versus administrative costs.
• Be complete and submitted by March 1, 2019.

Evaluation Criteria

Evaluation criteria for grant requests include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Impact on and benefit to the Cupertino community
  • Number of Cupertino residents served vs. number of non-Cupertino residents served
  • Cost per Cupertino resident served vs. cost per non-Cupertino resident served
  • Availability of the program/project/event to the entire Cupertino community
• Community need for the program/project/event
• Alignment with City priorities
• Uniqueness of the program/project/event
  • Lack of duplication in service
  • Level of collaboration if a duplicated service
• Qualifications and experience of the organization and its staff
• Reasonable cost
• Demonstrated effort to secure funding from other sources
• Clarity, completeness, and accuracy of grant application
• Past performance if a recurring applicant

The Parks and Recreation Commission will review the grant applications and make a recommendation to the City Council.  City Council will consider the Community Funding Grant requests at their Budget Study Session in May and make final grant award decisions at the Budget Adoption in June. If awarded, grant funds will be provided in July 2019.

Important Dates

These are important dates for applicants to keep in mind. It is recommended that applicants attend the meetings where applications are being considered to answer any questions that may arise. This section will be updated with exact dates once the meetings have been confirmed.

March 1, 2019
Applications are due.

March 2019
The Parks and Recreation Commission will consider applications for a recommendation to Council.

May 2019
The City Council will consider applications and the Parks and Recreation Commission Community Funding Grant recommendation as part of the Budget Study Session.

June 2019
The City Council will finalize Community Funding Grant award amounts as part of the Budget Adoption.

Prior Community Funding Grant Recipients

Fiscal Year 2018-19 Community Grant Recipients

For past years, please see the City’s Budget Archives for previous budgets and review the Community Funding section under Council & Commissions.

Additional Information

Community Funding Policy