Our Grant Application Process

Organizations working on projects in Florida, New York, North Carolina, and Virginia that align with our grant focus areas are eligible to apply for a grant. Organizations must be public charities with a 501(c)(3) status and must not be engaged in political or lobbying activities.

There is no process for an organization to solicit an invitation to apply for a grant. Our grant officers closely monitor the Kenan Trust’s funding priorities and organizations working in those focus areas. A grant officer will be in touch if we are interested in exploring a possible funding partnership.

Generally, the Kenan Trust does not accept unsolicited proposals. On occasion, the Trust may open the opportunity for organizations to submit an unsolicited Letter of Inquiry to the Trust. Information about open opportunities will be announced on our website.

Our grant team will only review Letters of Inquiry and Full Proposals submitted through our online grant management system. The Kenan Trust does not reply to pitches sent via mail, email, or otherwise.

In FY26 (July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026), the Trust is funding projects in Education related to Healthcare Workforce, Access and Retention, and Quality. In Human Thriving, the Trust is funding projects related to Food Insecurity and Affordable Housing.

Our work in Education provides support across seven focus areas with programming that allows all people, regardless of age or life circumstance, to pursue their educational goals. Please see our Education program page for a list of our focus areas and more details about each.

Our work in human thriving provides support in three areas – access to healthcare, affordable housing, and food insecurity. Please see our Human Thriving program page for more details.

The most successful grant proposals will maximize the number of dollars allocated to program related expenses. In rare cases, the Trust will consider grant support for overhead costs with sufficient justification from the applying organization.

Generally, the Trust prefers to fund project or programmatic grants, but in some circumstances, the Trust will consider capital projects and endowment grants. The Trust will not fund projects related to lobbying or political activity.

We are open to funding early stage or exploratory ideas or projects. Please work with one of our Trust Grant Officers to discuss specifics.

The Kenan Trust funds programmatic work in education and does not focus on original research.

No. We fund organizations based in and operating out of the United States and who are doing work in the four states currently served by the Kenan Trust: Florida, New York, North Carolina, and Virginia.

After an organization is invited to submit a Letter of Inquiry, the Kenan Trust employs a two-stage application process. The first stage involves a brief Letter of Inquiry outlining the proposed project and the second stage asks for a more detailed project description and budget.

On occasion, the Trust will offer an open submission period where organizations may submit a Letter of Inquiry without an invitation from the Trust. Opportunities for open submission will be announced on our website. The process is the same as listed above, but the Letter of Inquiry does not need to be invited by the Trust.

The Kenan Trust invites Letters of Inquiry for three grantmaking cycles each fiscal year. See our Grant Calendar page for more details.

Please submit one Letter of Inquiry to us for the program and focus area in which you are invited. If you have more than one idea for a proposed project under the focus area in which you are applying, please be in touch with your grant officer.

Please see our Grant Calendar page for details about our three grantmaking cycles each year and associated deadlines and response dates.

Organizations with a project invited to the second stage of the application process will receive a budget template to complete with their proposal materials.

Organizations with a project invited to the second stage of the application process will receive a template to complete with their proposal that asks for basic financial information about the organization. We also request a copy of the most recent year’s audited financial statements with final proposal materials.

Grant durations are made in partnership with awarded organizations to ensure the overall success of the funded project, however, our grants typically range from one to three years.

Our grants typically range from $100,000 to more than $1M, with the specific amount awarded for each grant depending upon the proposed project, the program and focus area, and the reach and capacity of the potential grantee organization. A Kenan Trust grant officer will be in touch to discuss the specifics and amounts of any invited grant proposal.

Thank you for your interest. Details about submitting a Letter of Inquiry (LOI) without an invitation will be shared on our website once the Trust’s Open Submission process becomes available.

The Kenan Trust reviews Letters of Inquiry and Proposals for alignment with the strategies outlined in our Trust’s Education and Human Thriving programs. In every program and focus area, we look for projects that seek to maximize impact, empower individuals, and provide opportunities for communities.

In each grantmaking cycle, the Kenan Trust receives many strong Letters of Inquiry and Full Proposals. Most declined Letters of Inquiry are not moved forward to the second stage of the application process because we have received more strong projects than we can fund in that cycle. Declined Letters of Inquiry will be notified but will not receive specific feedback. If a Full Proposal is declined, a Trust grant officer may provide feedback in certain situations.

The Trust is open to issuing a matching challenge to grantees if the opportunity allows an organization to leverage Kenan Trust funds to raise additional support. In certain cases, the Trust may structure a grant with a required match to ensure the grantee has additional support for the proposed project. Please be in touch with a grant officer as soon as possible if you would like to discuss matching opportunities.

Awarded grants are required to submit an annual progress report (for grants lasting more than one year) as well as a final report at the end of the grant period. A Trust grant officer will work with the grantee organization to set appropriate reporting dates for grant funded projects.

We are open to naming opportunities in some instances, but a naming opportunity in a project does not have any bearing on whether a grant is awarded.

Organizations working on projects in Florida, New York, North Carolina, and Virginia that align with our grant focus areas are eligible to apply for a grant. Organizations must be public charities with a 501(c)(3) status and must not be engaged in political or lobbying activities.

There is no process for an organization to solicit an invitation to apply for a grant. Our grant officers closely monitor the Kenan Trust’s funding priorities and organizations working in those focus areas. A grant officer will be in touch if we are interested in exploring a possible funding partnership.

Generally, the Kenan Trust does not accept unsolicited proposals. On occasion, the Trust may open the opportunity for organizations to submit an unsolicited Letter of Inquiry to the Trust. Information about open opportunities will be announced on our website.

Our grant team will only review Letters of Inquiry and Full Proposals submitted through our online grant management system. The Kenan Trust does not reply to pitches sent via mail, email, or otherwise.

Our work in Education provides support across seven focus areas with programming that allows all people, regardless of age or life circumstance, to pursue their educational goals. Please see our Education program page for a list of our focus areas and more details about each.

Our work in human thriving provides support in three areas – access to healthcare, affordable housing, and food insecurity. Please see our Human Thriving program page for more details.

The most successful grant proposals will maximize the number of dollars allocated to program related expenses. In rare cases, the Trust will consider grant support for overhead costs with sufficient justification from the applying organization.

Generally, the Trust prefers to fund project or programmatic grants, but in some circumstances, the Trust will consider capital projects and endowment grants. The Trust will not fund projects related to lobbying or political activity.

We are open to funding early stage or exploratory ideas or projects. Please work with one of our Trust Grant Officers to discuss specifics.

The Kenan Trust funds programmatic work in education and does not focus on original research.

No. We fund organizations based in and operating out of the United States and who are doing work in the four states currently served by the Kenan Trust: Florida, New York, North Carolina, and Virginia.

After an organization is invited to submit a Letter of Inquiry, the Kenan Trust employs a two-stage application process. The first stage involves a brief Letter of Inquiry outlining the proposed project and the second stage asks for a more detailed project description and budget.

On occasion, the Trust will offer an open submission period where organizations may submit a Letter of Inquiry without an invitation from the Trust. Opportunities for open submission will be announced on our website. The process is the same as listed above, but the Letter of Inquiry does not need to be invited by the Trust.

The Kenan Trust invites Letters of Inquiry for three grantmaking cycles each fiscal year. See our Grant Calendar page for more details.

Please submit one Letter of Inquiry to us for the program and focus area in which you are invited. If you have more than one idea for a proposed project under the focus area in which you are applying, please be in touch with your grant officer.

The Kenan Trust reviews Letters of Inquiry and Proposals for alignment with the strategies outlined in our Trust’s Education and Human Thriving programs. In every program and focus area, we look for projects that seek to maximize impact, empower individuals, and provide opportunities for communities.

Please see our Grant Calendar page for details about our three grantmaking cycles each year and associated deadlines and response dates.

Organizations with a project invited to the second stage of the application process will receive a budget template to complete with their proposal materials.

Organizations with a project invited to the second stage of the application process will receive a template to complete with their proposal that asks for basic financial information about the organization. We also request a copy of the most recent year’s audited financial statements with final proposal materials.

Grant durations are made in partnership with awarded organizations to ensure the overall success of the funded project, however, our grants typically range from one to three years.

Our grants typically range from $100,000 to more than $1M, with the specific amount awarded for each grant depending upon the proposed project, the program and focus area, and the reach and capacity of the potential grantee organization. A Kenan Trust grant officer will be in touch to discuss the specifics and amounts of any invited grant proposal.

In each grantmaking cycle, the Kenan Trust receives many strong Letters of Inquiry and Full Proposals. Most declined Letters of Inquiry are not moved forward to the second stage of the application process because we have received more strong projects than we can fund in that cycle. Declined Letters of Inquiry will be notified but will not receive specific feedback. If a Full Proposal is declined, a Trust grant officer may provide feedback in certain situations.

Awarded grants are required to submit an annual progress report (for grants lasting more than one year) as well as a final report at the end of the grant period. A Trust grant officer will work with the grantee organization to set appropriate reporting dates for grant funded projects.

Thank you for your interest. Details about submitting a Letter of Inquiry (LOI) without an invitation will be shared on our website once the Trust’s Open Submission process becomes available.