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The Outer Banks Community Foundation announced it has awarded more than $1.8 million in grants and scholarships in 2020, including over 150 grants to 72 nonprofits and college scholarships to 74 students totaling $180,000.

Nearly $300,000 in COVID Rapid Response Grants helped to feed hundreds of families; helped shelter and serve our area’s homeless; provided home wi-fi, day care, and tutoring for hundreds of local children; and much more. Other grants supported artists and performances through the pandemic; rebuilt, repaired and elevated homes on Hatteras and Ocracoke that were damaged during Hurricane Dorian; bolstered new nonprofits like Peace Garden Project and Saving Lives Task Force; and helped groups like the Pea Island Preservation Society bring educational programming online.

The Outer Banks Community Foundation is now accepting applications from nonprofits for its 2021 Community Enrichment Grants Program. Applications must be submitted online via OBCF’s web portal, www.obcf.org. The first deadline of the year is Friday, January 29 at midnight.

The Community Enrichment Grants Program is the Community Foundation’s largest and broadest funding opportunity. The grants are offered on a competitive basis for any kind of charitable project that benefits the Outer Banks, or any part thereof. Areas of interest include arts and culture; animal welfare; children and youth; education; the environment; disaster relief and mitigation; health; historic interpretation and preservation; and other human services.

Community Enrichment Grants are awarded to support the direct costs of a charitable project or program; for capacity-building projects, with a goal of enhancing a nonprofit’s long-term effectiveness, financial stability, and/or program quality; or for program scholarships, which are grants to enable a nonprofit to offer “scholarships” to individuals and families with financial need or other hardship. Some limited Community Enrichment Grants are also available to nonprofits for program staff wages.

Community Enrichment Grants will be accepted on a rolling basis throughout 2021 and will be reviewed and awarded quarterly. Any applications received by Friday, January 29 will have a decision by March 12. Before starting an application for any grant, prospective applicants should first review the criteria online at www.obcf.org/grants and then contact Lorelei Costa at 252-261-8839 to discuss their projects.

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