The Community Grant Program provides funding to programs and efforts that help build a better Brookline for all who live, learn, work, and play here.
Donor Name: Brookline Community Foundation (BCF)
State: Massachusetts
City: Brookline
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 11/19/2025
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: 1 Year
Details:
As one of BCF’s largest grant programs, the Community Grant Program aims to support a wide range of efforts that create opportunity and promote equity. They welcome proposals that address a variety of community needs, such as, but not limited to, the following:
- Health & Wellness
- Climate Sustainability
- Arts & Culture
- Healthy Aging
- Wealth Building and Economic Mobility Programs
- Housing (including capital improvements, access to affordable housing, etc.)
- Crisis Intervention Services (including services that address mental, emotional, and physical health)
- Organizational Capacity Building activities (including Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training).
Funding Information
- Total amount available to grant: This fiscal year, BCF has $143,450 to distribute within the Community Grant Program.
- Maximum Grant Amount: Grant requests are limited to $25,000 or below this year. For reference, the average Community grant awarded in fiscal year 2025 was ~$7,100.
Grant Period
1 year.
Priority Considerations
In alignment with the organizational vision, as Foundation reviews proposals, they will give preference to community organizations and groups that:
- Work to advance equity (including removing barriers to opportunities, meeting the immediate individual needs of those impacted by inequities, and addressing root causes of inequities);
- Focus on underserved populations (e.g., individuals and or communities who identify as immigrants; women; children; older adults; LGBTQ+; disabled; members of racial, ethnic, religious, and/or linguistic minorities; incarcerated or formerly incarcerated people; those consistently excluded from access to resources and services vital for thriving).
Eligibility Criteria
- 501(c)(3) nonprofits organizations, Town departments or agencies, and community groups can apply for funding. If you are a Town department or agency.
- Proposed projects or programs should directly benefit members of the Brookline community, which they define as those who live, learn, work, or play in Brookline.
- If an organization or project is new and/or not yet tax-exempt (is not a 501(c)(3) nonprofit), an application may be submitted through a fiscal sponsorship. BCF can assist applicants in identifying an appropriate fiscal sponsor.
- BCF grants cannot be used to cover travel costs, political campaigns, or lobbying, and they are unable to provide direct support or scholarships to individuals. While they cannot provide direct assistance to individuals, BCF grant programs may fund organizations and groups that provide direct financial support or scholarships to individuals.
- To be eligible, an applicant must be operated and organized so that it does not discriminate in the hiring of staff or provision of services on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, national origin, marital status, military status, or disability. Though they can’t fund everyone, they hope to make grants to impact change within the community.
For more information, visit BCF.
