Grant Eligibility Requirement Update
Effective Date: June 1, 2026
At Foellinger Foundation, we are committed to transparency and keeping our grantee and community partners informed. The Foundation’s Board of Directors recently approved an update to our grant eligibility guidelines regarding how long an organization must hold its nonprofit status.
The Updated Requirement
Organizations headquartered in Allen County, Indiana, must now have maintained their 501(c)(3) nonprofit status for at least five years (as determined by your IRS determination letter) to be eligible to apply for a Community-Based or Community Interests grant.
What Changed?
Previous Policy: Organizations were required to hold 501(c)(3) status for at least three years.
New Policy: Organizations must now hold 501(c)(3) status for at least five years.
Who is Affected?
This change applies only to new applicants for our Community-Based and Community Interests grants.
If your organization is currently receiving a Community-Based or Community Interests grant and is less than five years old, this policy update does not apply to you. The Foundation will not discontinue your current funding for this reason, and you remain eligible to apply for continued support.
Why the Change?
We understand that preparing a grant application requires a significant investment of your organization's time, energy, and resources. Our goal is always to ensure the process is meaningful and that we set applicants up for success.
To thoroughly review and rate an organization's financial health, our process requires a baseline of at least three years of IRS Form 990s and other foundational financial documents.
In practice, a newly formed nonprofit often takes a year or two to establish its initial filing history. By adjusting our requirement to five years of 501(c)(3) status, we ensure that growing organizations have the time needed to build a critical three-year financial track record. This prevents younger organizations from investing valuable time in a competitive grant process before they have the specific documentation required to succeed.
Have Questions?
Our team is here to help! If you have questions about how this update affects your organization’s upcoming grant applications, please contact Andrew Busch, Grants Administrator, at andrew@foellinger.org.