Call for Proposals for Community Investment Fund – Mississippi

The United Way of Oxford-Lafayette County (UWOLC) is seeking applications for its 2025-2026 Community Investment Fund.

Donor Name: United Way of Oxford-Lafayette County (UWOLC)

State: Mississippi

County: Lafayette County (MS)

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 03/03/2025

Size of the Grant: Not Available

Grant Duration: 1 Year

Details:

The United Way of Oxford-Lafayette County (UWOLC) is committed to investing its resources in ways that create a lasting community impact by preventing problems before they occur, prioritizing long-term solutions over quick fixes, and promoting community-wide approaches that serve all who live in the Lafayette-Oxford-University (LOU) community.

The UWOLC recognizes there are many people living in the community who are at times unable to meet their families’ basic food, shelter, and medical needs. The UWOLC believes no one should be without a safety net. As a result, the UWOLC balances its commitment to lasting change with a focus on ensuring the community’s basic needs are met.

Focus Areas

In keeping with these broad national goals (but based on local community input), the UWOLC has identified the following areas of focus and funding preferences:

• Health
  • Focus: To improve people’s health, with a focus on programs that help the community and its members:
    • Achieve and maintain healthy lifestyles for adults and children.
    • Support older adults and adults diagnosed with mental illness.
• Education
  • Focus: To help children and youth achieve their potential, with a focus on programs that help the community and its members:
    • Enter kindergarten ready to learn.
    • Read at grade level by the fourth grade.
    • Earn a high school (or equivalent) degree.
• Income/Financial Stability
  • Focus: To promote financial stability and independence, with a focus on programs that help the community and its members:
    • Attain family-sustaining employment.
    • Create affordable housing opportunities.
    • Manage expenses and build savings.
• Basic Needs
  • Focus: To meet the community’s basic needs, with a focus on programs that ensure that community members have:
    • Sufficient food.
    • Adequate shelter.
    • Disaster/emergency relief services.

Grant Period

Funded programs will be conducted between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026.

Eligibility Criteria

• The UWOLC funds programs that improve health, advance education, promote financial stability, and meet basic needs for Lafayette County residents. Specifically, the UWOLC funds programs that are aligned with the focus areas and funding preferences above.
• The UWOLC funds programs run by 501(c)(3) organizations. Exceptions to this requirement may be made for other nonprofit or public entities (e.g., libraries, schools, and universities) in the event a non-501(c)(3) runs a program that aligns with a UWOLC focus area or funding preference. For-profit businesses are ineligible even if they run programs aligned with UWOLC focus areas or funding preferences.

Ineligibility Criteria

• Even if they have 501(c)(3) status, the following types of organizations are ineligible for UWOLC funding:
  • Highly controversial organizations.
  • Organizations primarily political in nature.
  • Organizations that benefit animals.
• Any organization that does not complete an Anti-Terrorism Certification or that appears on the AntiTerrorism Watch List (Specially Designated Nationals List) is ineligible to receive UWOLC funding.

For more information, visit UWOLC.