Marshall County Community Foundation grant applications due Feb. 2

The Marshall County Community Foundation is now accepting applications for the first of two 2026 Community Funds grant rounds. Applications for the Spring 2026 grant round are due Feb. 2, 2026. Applications must be submitted online on the MCCF website.

These grants support specific projects or programs throughout Marshall County typically focusing on the arts, education, health and human services, recreation, and the environment. Community members who serve on MCCF’s Grants Committee evaluate the grant proposals during a competitive application process.

Grant applications for the Community Funds are due by 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 2, 2026. Applicants must be organizations with 501(c)(3) IRS status or organizations with 501(c) IRS status whose request is charitable in nature for the following: 1) Start-up costs for new programs or the expansion of needed programs, and 2) One-time projects or needs.

The Community Funds at the MCCF are some of the most flexible and responsive of the Foundation’s funds. Earnings from the Community Funds make the biannual grant cycle to Marshall County nonprofits possible. Donations to Community Funds at MCCF from individuals and businesses provide a way to make a permanent investment in the community for ever-changing and immediate needs. The larger the Community Funds become, the more in total grant monies may be awarded.

In addition to the Marshall County Community Fund, the following ‘named’ unrestricted funds support competitive grant rounds in Marshall County: the Alan and Barbara Neidlinger Community Fund, Barbara and Ralph Winters Community Fund, the Billy and Vickie Ellinger Community Fund, Brian and Patricia Kitch Family Community Fund, the C & M Overmyer Unrestricted Endowment Fund, the Constance K. Danforth Community Fund, the Earl and Susie (Lemler) Houin Community Fund, the Eleanor and Randy Danielson Community Aesthetic Improvement Fund, the First Merchants Bank Community Fund, the Gibson Community Fund, the Janet Newberg Community Fund, the John and Kay Finlay Community Fund, the Paul and Carol Nye Community Fund, the Philip and Sylvia Bieghler Community Fund, R&T Jacobs Community Fund, Starr Harbor, LLC Community Fund, and the Will and June Erwin Community Fund.

The first grants from unrestricted funds at MCCF were awarded in 1995; since then, the MCCF has awarded over $5.6 million in total grants to the community from these funds alone. The growth of unrestricted funds now enables MCCF to award more than $250,000 annually in unrestricted fund grants to nonprofits serving Marshall County on an annual basis.

All contributions to unrestricted funds may be eligible for a 2:1 GIFT VIII match from Lilly Endowment Inc., plus MCCF will provide an additional 20% match to the MCCF endowed fund of your choice. Match funding is on a first come, first serve basis and expires when all match funds are claimed or Dec. 31, 2025, whichever comes first. For more information, contact the Marshall County Community Foundation at 574.935.5159 or go to marshallcountycf.org. 

About the Marshall County Community Foundation 

The Marshall County Community Foundation is a public charity with local roots that helps great ideas take flight through endowment philanthropy. Since 1991, donors to the Marshall County Community Foundation have built the community’s assets currently valued at more than $43 million and have returned over $26.8 million to Marshall County communities in grants and scholarships, $5.6 million from Community Funds. For more information about the Foundation, call 574.935.9159, or visit www.marshallcountycf.org.