2011-2012 Program
Annually, limited funds will always be made available for requests that meet community needs. This year, the Foundation hopes to commit $250,000 to organizations in Muhlenberg County through its Community Grants Program. As in the past, proposals are to support civic, educational or cultural projects in Muhlenberg County, with preference to those that relate to an aspect of the four key areas of need, Economic Development, Youth Services, Substance Abuse Services, and Health/Human Services.

Beginning this year, the Foundation will now accept Community Grant requests throughout the year – there will no longer be an annual deadline. In order to be more responsive and supportive of the community, the Foundation will try to make funding decisions for these projects within a few weeks of receiving the request. Furthermore, there will be no minimum or maximum award amount for these grants.

If you are interested in applying for a grant, please visit the Applying for a Grant page of this website for step-by-step instructions on how to apply.

2009, 2010 and 2011 Programs
In December 2008, the Foundation announced that they were taking steps to fulfill Mr. Martin’s wishes while also addressing the four key areas of community need identified by the 2008 Needs Assessment. The Foundation designated a half million dollars to be awarded for competitive Community Grants in 2009, $500,000 for awards in 2010 and $450,000 for awards in 2011.

Over these three years, the Foundation's Board of Directors evaluated nearly 400 applications, with requests for funds that totaled almost $15 million.

Nonprofit organizations, churches and government entities serving Muhlenberg County were invited to submit applications. Applicants could request up to $50,000 per grant for new or expanded projects that address the educational, civic and cultural needs of the county. Preference was given to those applications that relate to one of the four key areas of need - Economic Development, Youth Services, Substance Abuse Services, and Health and Human Services.

To date the Foundation has hosted three grant cycles (2009, 2010, 2011), which have resulted in 98 Community Grant awards, totaling $1,444,842.58.

For a complete list of past Community Grants awards: