Every year, The Lee County Charitable Fund makes grants ($25,000 to $100,000 in grants) through the Hellman Lee County IMPACT Fund to only Lee County, Iowa 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organizations and qualified governmental agencies. The Lee County Charitable Fund Hellman Impact Grant Application opens on February 2, 2026.
General Grant Guidelines
- Municipalities, churches, and schools with charitable intent will be considered for grants.
- All applicants must complete a grant application through GLM, and submit it with all required documents. Recurring grants for the same program are accepted.
- No grants for programs, projects or purchases that were completed prior to grant funds being awarded.
- Grants are for a period of one year.
- The Lee County Charitable Fund primary geographic focus for support is Lee County Iowa.
- Successful grant applications typically address problems to be solved or opportunities to be seized in Lee County Iowa only. Grant application requests are considered in the fields of arts and culture, community betterment, education, health, and human services.
Project Support
Community building is central to the work of the Lee County Charitable Fund, therefore the Lee County Charitable Fund will give preference to projects that:
- Suggest practical approaches to community problems.
- Generate community support, both professional and volunteer.
- Demonstrate the organization’s ability to secure realistic funding.
- Strengthen a non-profit organization effectiveness or stability.
- Increase civic participation and community vitality.
- Build community connections, especially among diverse groups, and build mutual trust and reciprocity in community relationships.
- Develop an expanding pool of talented community leaders.
Priority Funding
- Seed Grants to initiate promising new projects and programs so that those projects and programs are able to demonstrate their usefulness to the community.
- Projects that will enable non-profit and charitable agencies to reduce costs, increase efficiency, and move toward self-sufficiency.
- Projects that address and help resolve important existing or emerging community issues and needs.
- Projects that facilitate cooperation and collaboration among organizations and communities in our area.
- Projects that identify, enhance, and expand leadership in the community through the support of charitable activities that empower individuals.
- Capital expenditures, such as construction, remodeling additions to existing buildings, and equipment purchases.
- Projects for which other grants have been approved but require matching funds for completion.
Will Not Be Funded
The Lee County Charitable Fund not provide grant funds for purposes that do not directly advance your charitable purposes.
- Endowment or scholarship funds.
- Annual fund drives or annual giving campaigns-to reduce or erase a budget deficit or any form of a debt reduction campaign.
- Grants for political campaigns or organizations that directly or indirectly participate in a State, Local or National campaigns for any political party or cause.
- Requests to establish or maintain scholarship funds.
- Requests for specific sectarian religious purposes (however, requests from religious organizations will be considered for general community and humanitarian programs).