Grant Opportunities

Community Grant Program:

Two-year general operating grants

Timeline

• Application opens June 23
• Application closes August 1
• Decisions by early October

CFSLOCO offers an opportunity for local nonprofits to request funding support through a competitive process. The competitive process includes review and decision by an external evaluation committee comprised of community experts, community volunteers, and staff. Applications will be assessed using these criteria:

1. serving San Luis Obispo County residents
2. centering the voices and perspectives of communities served
3. dismantling disparities and increasing access to opportunities
4. utilizing substantiated data to inform strategy and programs

Our application is open to organizations doing work in the below issue areas. Submitted applications will be further assessed using the issue-based criteria listed here:

• Arts & Culture: $20,000-40,000 across two years, or $10,000-20,000 per year
  • promotes cultural expression and bridges cultural divides
  • enhances youth participation and appreciation of the arts
  • increases audience diversification through arts innovation
  • uplifts community well-being through arts
• Environment: $20,000-40,000 across two years, or $10,000-20,000 per year
  • promotes preservation of land, natural resources, and green spaces
  • supports community education, appreciation, and awareness of local environmental issues
• Health & Human Services: $20,000-40,000 across two years, or $10,000-20,000 per year
  • addresses root causes of health disparities
  • promotes mental and physical health and well-being of our SLO County communities
  • alleviates housing and food insecurity
• Seniors & People with Disabilities: $20,000-40,000 across two years, or $10,000-20,000 per year
  • supports resources for independent living for seniors and people with disabilities
  • enhances social and emotional support for seniors and people with disabilities
  • improves access to food and basic needs for seniors and people with disabilities

---

Field of Interest Grant Program:

Single year project grants

Timeline

• Application open June 23
• Application close August 1
• Decisions by early October

CFSLOCO leads work in several issue areas that have been identified and funded by our donor community and other external funding sources. In some of these issue areas, grants are awarded through a competitive process. The competitive process includes review and decision by an external evaluation committee comprised of community experts, community volunteers, and staff. Grants awarded through our field of interest funds will be filtered using the same criteria as our community grants program:

• serving San Luis Obispo County residents
• centering the voices and perspectives of communities served
• dismantling disparities and increasing access to opportunities
• utilizing substantiated data to inform strategy and programs

Current Field of Interest funds that award grants through a competitive process include:

• Growing Together: LGBTQ+ Fund, $5,000-$10,000
  • reach out to, involve, and center queer and trans people of color (QTPOC)
  • advances medical and mental health care for transgender and nonbinary people
  • creates ‘queer spaces’ in currently underserved areas of the County

Competitive Grant Program Filters

In addition to our overarching criteria, staff will use other screening filters when reviewing competitive grant applications; we will not fund the following:

• Candidate election activities
• Capital campaigns
• Endowment campaigns
• Fraternal Organizations, unless in support of a specific program which is open to or benefiting the entire community
• Fundraising events
• Government
• Individuals
• National or international organizations, unless the organization operates in, and has a significant presence in San Luis Obispo County
• Organizations that are in the first year of a two-year general operating grant
• Organizations that discriminate on the basis of age, disability, ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, race or religion
• Organizations with religious affiliations, unless the program is open to the entire community without regard to religious beliefs
• Partisan advocacy or activities
• Real estate purchases
• Sponsorships

Online Application Instructions

Instructions and links to access our new grant application program will be posted here, including an orientation recording, by June 23, 2025.

Contact the Grants & Programs Department at grants@cfsloco.org if you have any questions about eligibility, program fit, or the grantmaking program.