The Bristol County Savings Charitable Foundation is celebrating 25 years funding our communities. Our hope is that the investments we make, help to create a more equitable place to live and work and improve the quality of life for everyone in our communities. 
We know your time is valuable and we want you to be successful in your request for funding. The following criteria and funding areas of focus help us to better concentrate our efforts to create the greatest impact and help organizations determine if their request aligns with our funding preferences.
In an effort to assist as many qualified organizations as possible within our market areas, our Foundation awards grants of varying sizes depending on the project. We are always happy to discuss your specific project, however, please note the following:
* Bristol County Savings Charitable Foundation Funding Year = November 1 through October 31
Education is an essential foundation for prosperity and opportunity. We fund various types of educational support including early learning programs and initiatives, all levels of academic learning, work force development, job training and more.
We fund activities and programs that work to improve the economic well-being and quality of life of our communities. Particularly those that focus on community development, diversification, creating and retaining jobs and building the local tax base.
Affordable housing can improve the quality of life of residents leading to better health, adequate jobs, financial stability, security, and population diversity. We fund a wide variety of affordable housing initiatives including organizations and programs that provide credit counseling, homebuyer education, temporary and affordable housing solutions.
This is a new area of focus added during the past year in response to the serious issues impacting our communities. The effects of COVID-19 and social injustice continue to be felt throughout our community and have negatively impacted many of our community organizations. We want to address these and other community impact issues as well as create the flexibility to address new critical needs and sustainability concerns that may arise.
The Bristol County Savings Charitable Foundation has two funding cycles during our funding year (November 1 through October 31) in each of our geographic regions (please refer to eligibility requirements above).
Grant application submission deadlines:We’ve tried to make our grant application process as easy as possible. Below are the top questions we receive from community organizations and we hope they assist you in your application process.
If you have other questions, or need additional assistance, you can reach out to a member of our Community Support Team.
All funding requests must be submitted through our online grant application site. (Mailed, faxed or emailed requests can no longer be accepted). If you are a 501(c)3 organization located in or serving one of our qualified communities (please refer to eligibility requirements above) and would like to apply to our Foundation, you can do so using our online grant application or call us at 508-828-5393 and we can assist you.
Your email address is your User ID and can only be associated with one organization. If you are affiliated or applying on behalf of multiple organizations, you must have a unique email address for each organization.
The most frequent problem organizations encounter is losing their password. If you cannot remember your password, please click on the password reset option when prompted at login.
We have the ability to reassign the account to a new authorized user. Please call us at 508-828-5393 or contact us and we can assist you.
Once your application is submitted you will see a printer button to the right. Click and print your completed application.
Yes, you can begin an application by clicking here then save your work and continue at a later time.
Once you submit your application, you will receive a thank you email sent to the email address you provided. If you do not receive this notification, please call us at 508-828-5393 or contact us and we can assist you.
Our advisory boards meet twice a year in May and November. After the meetings you will be personally notified with a recommended funding amount OR that the grant request was not recommended for funding.
After the May and November meetings, you will receive a notification by email. If you did not receive a recommendation for funding but you are eligible to reapply, that will be included in the notification.
You can access your saved application here.
If you are a first time user of our online system, please take our eligibility quiz and begin your application. After your initial account setup, please refer to this website for further guidance. Any issues, please send an email or call us at 508-828-5393 and we will be happy to assist you.
Section 501(c)(3) is the portion of the US Internal Revenue Code (IRS) that allows for federal tax exemption of nonprofit organizations, specifically those that are considered public charities, private foundations or private operating foundations. Organizations applying to the BCSCF must be certified by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) to qualify for funding.
A Fiscal Agent is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, tax-exempt organization with a like mission who takes fiscal responsibility for grant applications on behalf of a community organization which does not own tax-exempt status. All payments will be made to the Fiscal Agent and all reporting requests will be to same.
As defined by the Federal Reserve, the Community Reinvestment Act is intended to encourage depository institutions to help meet the credit needs of the communities in which they operate, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, consistent with safe and sound operations. It was enacted by the Congress in 1977 (12 U.S.C. 2901) and is implemented by Regulation BB (12 CFR 228). The regulation was substantially revised in May 1995 and updated again in August 2005. The CRA requires that each depository institution’s record in helping meet the credit needs of its entire community be evaluated by the appropriate Federal financial supervisory agency periodically.
For purpose of this application, low-moderate income (LMI) is used to describe a population who meet one of the following criteria:
For CRA purposes we ask you to select the community development area which best describes how your program supports the LMI population:
If your organization does not provide support based on any of the below choices, select N/A on the application:
We are requesting demographic data on the beneficiaries of your programs or services showing the number of recipients, where they reside, and how you substantiate that they are LMI, such as ‘qualifies for free-reduced school lunch’ or ‘lives in low-income housing’.
You can call our Community Support Line for help with your questions or contact a member of our team for other assistance.