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BxCF Funding Guidelines

Our Grantmaking Approach: The Bronx Community Foundation (BxCF) invests in Bronx-based organizations advancing community-led solutions to persistent structural challenges. We deploy resources through structured, participatory grantmaking processes designed to promote equity, community voice, accountability, and sustainable impact across the borough.

Our Guiding Principles

communityvoice

Centering Community Voice

Decisions are informed by lived experience, local knowledge, and collaborative engagement.

Advancing Racial Equity

Funding addresses systemic barriers and promotes fairness across all Bronx communities.

Transparency & Accountability

Data-driven decisions, public reporting, and adherence to best practices ensure integrity.

Sustainable Impact

We prioritize scalable and resilient solutions that endure over time.

Collaborative Partnerships

We work alongside Bronx-based organizations, residents, and stakeholders to maximize meaningful outcomes.

Participatory Decision-Making

BxCF recognizes community members and practitioners as experts on the Bronx’s challenges and opportunities. Each grant cycle, a Participatory Grantmaking Committee informs funding decisions by contributing lived experience, local knowledge, and subject-matter insight.
  • Bronx-Based Organizations: Serving the borough directly and addressing local needs.
  • Nonprofits or Fiscal Sponsors: Organizations must be registered 501(c)(3) entities or operate with an eligible fiscal sponsor.
  • Organizational Capacity: Eligible organizations should have a minimum annual operating budget of $500,000 and have been operating for at least two fiscal years.

BxCF provides grants across four pillars to dismantle systemic barriers and advance
equity in the Bronx:

  1. Digital Equity – Ensuring access to technology and digital literacy.
  2. Economic Security – Supporting pathways to financial stability and opportunity.
  3. Health – Promoting wellness, access to care, and healthy communities.
  4. Equity & Justice – Advancing fairness, civic engagement, and systemic reform.

BxCF deploys funding primarily through participatory grantmaking, including public,private, and emergency resources. Our approach emphasizes community input, transparency, and measurable impact.

Key Features:
  • Grant Size & Duration: Grants considered by our Participatory Grantmaking Committee are up to $50,000, typically for a two-year funding cycle.
  • Application Process: Funds are awarded via open or targeted Requests for Proposals(RFPs). Applications are reviewed with guidance from a Participatory Grantmaking Committee composed of community members and subject-matter experts.
  • Frequency: Major funding decisions are announced twice a year (Spring/Fall).
  • Emergency & Micro-Grants: Rapid-response funding is prioritized to address urgent community needs, ensuring timely support for small nonprofits and local businesses.
  • Public Funding Partnerships: BxCF strategically manages donated public funds via our Participatory Grantmaking Committee/processes to enable grants, convenings, and programs aligned with community priorities.
  • Trust-Based, Unrestricted Funding: BxCF prioritizes flexible, unrestricted grants that allow organizations to direct resources where they are most needed, guided by datadriven insights and organizational priorities.

BxCF’s approach to trust-based, unrestricted funding emphasizes holistic impact, organizational resilience, and meaningful partnerships. Data collection is guided by the following priorities:

  • Holistic Impact: Focus on overall organizational effectiveness and community benefit, not just restricted program outcomes, including participation in BxCF-supported
    learning opportunities such as convenings, peer collaboration, and capacity-building efforts.
  • Organizational Capacity: Understand how funding strengthens core functions, financial health, and resilience (e.g., covering overhead, building reserves).
  • Innovation & Adaptation: Assess the organization’s ability to develop new solutions and respond to evolving needs (e.g., during crises like COVID-19).
  • Strategic Goals: Report progress toward overarching mission goals, rather than specific project deliverables.
  • Relationship Building: Provide data that supports honest, transparent, and less transactional partnerships with funders.
To maintain strategic focus, BxCF does not accept sponsorships, event funding requests, scholarships, or one-time appeals. This policy ensures all resources are dedicated to structured, participatory, and outcomesdriven grantmaking aligned with borough-wide impact priorities.
  • Compliance with all local, state, and federal regulations.
  • Public reporting of funding sources, expenses, and grants.
  • Policies and guidelines are regularly reviewed to reflect best practices and evolving standards in philanthropy.
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