The Foundation will invest in organizations whose mission or programs directly further one of the Foundation’s community pillars: Affordable housing and homeownership, upskilling and reskilling, or small business development. Here’s what that looks like for each pillar:

• Affordable housing and homeownership: The grant supports programs and activities designed to address homeownership barriers. Barriers include preparedness and understanding of the homebuying process, financial education, access to credit, savings and down payment, and housing affordability.
• Desired outcomes: The grant should help people achieve homeownership, increase savings behavior, increase affordable housing or strengthen a nonprofit’s capacity to provide programs and serve more individuals.
• Upskilling and reskilling: The grant supports programs or activities designed to address the barriers to employment or living-wage jobs. Barriers include education and training, skills and experience, and transportation.
• Desired outcomes: The grant should help with job placement, increased marketable skills, increased wages, or strengthen a nonprofit’s capacity to provide programs and serve more individuals.
• Small business development: The grant supports programs or activities designed to address the barriers to starting or growing a business. Barriers include startup or growth funding, financial education, business planning and management skills.
• Desired outcomes: The grant should help new business startups, create new jobs, increase business management and planning skills, or strengthen a nonprofit’s capacity to provide programs and serve more individuals.

If awarded, the organization agrees to apply all grant funds toward eligible activities.

Must be a 501(c)(3) public charity that is not a supporting organization or unit of state, local or federal government (like a public library or public university).

Organization must commit to providing the Foundation with outcome information. A mid-year update and a final outcome report at the end of the award timeline. Reporting is required to be eligible for future awards.

Activities supported include, but are not limited to:

• Direct services of the organization
• Opportunities that allow the organization to deliver services more effectively and efficiently, and improve the delivery of services with priority to low-to-moderate income communities
• Development of new programming, approaches or tools to improve charitable outcomes
• Development of new ideas or scaling of existing solutions

Activities that are not supported include, but are not limited to:

• Groups seeking educational or travel grants for contests, pageants, trips or conventions
• Advertising, promotional events or sponsorship of athletic teams
• Lobbying, partisan or denominational groups
• Endowment support
• Capital campaigns
• Cause-related events like walks, runs and conferences
• Requests submitted by a third party on behalf of an organization
• Individual elementary and secondary schools
• Individuals, families or businesses
• Private foundations, donor advised funds and supporting organizations
• Any entity that does not meet the grantee eligibility criteria

Grantmaking preference will be given to organizations that operate in the cities where Dupaco maintains a branch office. All grant applications will be evaluated on the following criteria:

• Alignment with the Foundation’s community pillars and desired outcomes.
• Organizational experience and capacity to deliver on program and attain outcomes.
• Project plan and how it addresses need.
• Service to underserved populations (e.g., low-income).
• Potential for outcomes and impact.
• Measurement plan.
• Sustainability or growth potential of the program or project.