Rural Grants

A Grant Opportunity Area

Please note this information is for rural grants only. There are different requirements for each of our grant opportunities. Please review each one carefully to determine the proper fit for your project or programming.

Priority Area

We are excited to start 2026 with a Rural Grants initiative. We determined the eligible geographic areas for this cycle, by county, using the following three criteria from the 2024 Alabama Kids Count Data Book, available through VOICES for Alabama’s Children:

  1. County population under 50,000
  2. Kids Count county ranking below top 25%
  3. County poverty greater than 15%

In the list and chart below, Tier 1 counties meet all three of the criteria items; the Tier 2 list incorporates counties who met the first criteria (population), along with counties with population under 125,000 who met both the second and third criteria (overall ranking and poverty rate).  Counties that fall outside this criteria will not be considered in the rural cycle.

Tier 1 (35 Counties)

  • Barbour
  • Bibb
  • Bullock
  • Butler
  • Chambers
  • Choctaw
  • Clarke
  • Clay
  • Conecuh
  • Covington
  • Dale
  • Dallas
  • Escambia
  • Fayette
  • Franklin
  • Geneva
  • Greene
  • Hale
  • Henry
  • Lamar
  • Lawrence
  • Lowndes
  • Macon
  • Marengo
  • Marion
  • Monroe
  • Perry
  • Pickens
  • Pike
  • Randolph
  • Sumter
  • Tallapoosa
  • Washington
  • Wilcox
  • Winston

Tier 2 (15 Counties)

  • Calhoun
  • Cherokee
  • Chilton
  • Cleburne
  • Coffee
  • Colbert
  • Coosa
  • Crenshaw
  • De Kalb
  • Houston
  • Jackson
  • Marshall
  • Russell
  • Talladega
  • Walker
Rural Grants map showing Rural Tier 1 Counties (blue), Rural Tier 2 Counties (green), and Operating and Special Project Counties (gray)

Eligibility

  • Projects or programming for organizations based in our Tier 1 or Tier 2 listing, with preference given to Tier 1 counties.
  • Projects or programming overseen by an organization that is in an excluded county, but the project or program delivery is 100% in a Tier 1 or Tier 2 county.
  • Applicants must be a 501(c)3 public charity.

Priority Exclusions

  • Projects or programming occuring outside of Tier 1 or Tier 2 counties.
  • Projects or programming designed to attract residents from Tier 1 or Tier 2 counties into an excluded county for services and programming are not eligible for consideration.

    Process and Timeline

    This cycle begins with an LOI submitted through our online grants management system.

    Cycle 1

    Open for Letters of Intent
    August 1, 2026

    Letters of Intent Due
    October 15, 2026

    Declination Letters &
    Invitations Sent
    November 16, 2026

    Proposals Due
    December 15, 2026

    Grant Decisions Made
    February 2027

    Cycle 2

    Open for Letters of Intent
    November 1, 2026

    Letters of Intent Due
    February 15, 2027

    Declination Letters &
    Invitations Sent
    March 15, 2027

    Proposals Due
    March 31, 2027

    Grant Decisions Made
    June 2027

    Cycle 3

    Open for Letters of Intent
    March 1, 2027

    Letters of Intent Due
    June 15, 2027

    Declination Letters &
    Invitations Sent
    July 19, 2027

    Proposals Due
    July 31, 2027

    Grant Decisions Made
    October 2027

    How to Apply

    The Daniel Foundation of Alabama uses GLM – Grant Lifecycle Manager by Foundant as our online grants management portal. Click the log in button below to sign in or create an account. Should you have questions about how to use this system, please contact Joyce, (205) 874-3523 or joyce@df-al.com.

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