Washington, DC Metropolitan area fact sheet

Note new grant application deadlinesThis page lists specific guidelines for community action grants in the Washington, DC Metro area.

Our service areas are:
District of Columbia
Maryland – Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties
Virginia – Alexandria, Falls Church, and counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Prince William, and Loudoun.

Deadlines for the Washington Metro Area:
We consider grant applications twice a year. Applications should be POSTMARKED NO LATER THAN February 15th or August 15th. (We do not accept proposals via email, messenger or hand delivery.)

Please note the following information prior to submitting a request. We prefer program support over general support, especially for organizations with operating budgets of $1 million or more.
Our priorities for the Washington metropolitan area:

  • Grass-roots educational programs (i.e., after school tutorial programs)
  • At-risk youth programs
  • Services for special populations (i.e., homeless children, families in crisis, poor/ill elderly)

Our average grant amount is in the $5,000 to $10,000 range.

As a rule, we generally do not consider Community Action Grants for:

  • arts organizations or arts-related education projects
  • capital campaigns
  • colleges or universities
  • events, conferences, seminars, debates, competitions, fundraising events or similar short-term projects
  • hospital-based programs
  • public policy or social research organizations
  • salary support
  • organizations funded by the Gannett Foundation in the previous year
  • HIV/AIDS prevention and service organizations, because we support the Washington Community AIDS Partnership.

What Community Action Grants do not fund

Like many donors, we receive many more requests than we can fund.
As a result, grants will not be considered for the following purposes:

  • individuals
  • private foundations
  • organizations not determined by the IRS to be a tax-exempt public charity under §501(c)(3)
  • organizations classified by the IRS as 509(a)(3)
  • national or regional organizations unless their programs address specific local community needs
  • programs or initiatives where the primary purpose is the promotion of religious doctrine or tenets
  • elementary or secondary schools (public, private or charter schools)
  • political action or legislative advocacy groups
  • endowment funds
  • multiple-year pledge campaigns
  • medical or research organizations, including organizations funding single disease research
  • organizations located in or benefiting nations other than the US and its territories
  • fraternal groups, athletic teams, bands, volunteer firefighters or similar groups

Grant Application

Please note:
• For a summer-only project, your proposal must be received by February 15.
• We do not consider consecutive year grants to an organization. If you received a grant in 2012, wait until 2014 to submit another proposal.

Send one original of your application form and proposal (no staples, copier ready please) to:

Ms. Pat Lyle
Gannett Foundation - GRANT APPLICATION ENCLOSED
7950 Jones Branch Drive
McLean, VA 22107

Your grant proposal must contain the following information:

  1. completed Gannett Foundation Grant Application Form 
  2. IRS letter of determination for 501(c)3 tax exemption
  3. one-page project budget, and a one-page summary organizational budget
  4. Project proposal of no more than three pages that includes:
    • needs statement
      • objectives of the project to be funded
      • whether the project is new or ongoing
      • constituency to be served
      • community and volunteer involvement
    • sustainability statement 
      • your organization's qualifications to carry out the project
      • how the project will be evaluated
      • plans for continued funding of the project, if applicable
      • list of other funding sources, committed and applied for
  5. one pertinent recent publication may also be included

Decisions: A committee of employees from WUSA-TV, USA TODAY, and Gannett Co., Inc. reviews all proposals within one month after each deadline. Applicants are notified by mail of final decisions about 90–120 days after deadlines. Please no phone or email inquiries.