Flexible Funding is an unrestricted grant program from the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts (CFWM) that provides financial support to nonprofit organizations to sustain day-to-day operations and advance their core mission. Awards of up to $30,000 are available to nonprofits with at least one year of financial data operating in Franklin, Hampden, and/or Hampshire Counties in Massachusetts.

CFWM prioritizes equity and especially welcomes applications from smaller, newer, non-traditional, or fiscally sponsored organizations that have not yet received substantial institutional philanthropy, as well as organizations deeply rooted in their communities. A partnership with the MassMutual Foundation has expanded the program's reach and available funding.

Flexible Funding 2026 - Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts and tags on every page of your site. Eligibility – Take the quiz Frequently asked Questions An Overview of Our Flexible Funding Opportunity Flexible Funding aims to provide unrestricted financial support to sustain day-to-day operations of organizations, enabling you to focus on your mission. At CFWM, equity is central to all our efforts.

We especially welcome applications from smaller, newer, non-traditional, or fiscally sponsored organizations that have not yet received substantial institutional philanthropy. We also prioritize organizations deeply rooted in their communities. In March 2024, we were thrilled to announce a partnership with the MassMutual Foundation, offering an expansion of Flexible Funding grants specifically for Springfield-serving organizations .

In January 2025, we were proud to share that additional funding had been made available and that we awarded our first 109 grants . Additionally, we have expanded funding available in Franklin County. With a single application, organizations can apply for funding ; our staff will decide which of the criteria your organization best meets.

Organizations in CFWM’s strategic focus areas can serve Franklin, Hampden, and/or Hampshire Counties. Organizations working in our additional focus areas are limited to Springfield or Franklin County as outlined below . Flexible Funding grants provide general operating support to local organizations aligned with our strategic focus areas.

More details on these areas are available here , helping you determine if your organization qualifies. Grants of up to $30,000 are available. Funds must be spent by December 31, 2026.

CFWM plans to award a minimum of $3. 4 million in total. Organizations will begin with an eligibility quiz before proceeding to the full application.

Select organizations that complete the eligibility quiz by September 2, 2025 will receive feedback and guidance to help with the application process. complete our elgibility quiz A PDF of the eligibility quiz is available for your review here . Eligible organizations must have IRS designated 501(c)(3) status or an existing fiscal sponsorship.

Organizations should be located and/or actively serving residents in Franklin, Hampden and/or Hampshire counties. If you also have locations outside of the region, you must demonstrate local presence through indicators such as having locally based staff, regional offices, or programs exclusively serving our region’s residents. Additional eligibility criteria includes: An operating budget less than $10 million.

Organizations with operating budgets larger than $10 million are not eligible. There is a strong preference for organizations with an operating budget of less than $5 million.

Funding cannot support the following: Endowments or capital campaigns Sectarian or religious organizations unless as a fiscal sponsor for a broad community benefit Institutions of higher education—including for scholarships K-12 schools—public, private, or charter schools Organizations whose mission is to support municipalities/government agencies such as friends of libraries or school districts Start-ups or organizations that do not have a year of financial data as of September 1, 2025.

Preference will be given to organizations with BIPOC leadership and where leadership is reflective of the communities they serve. Decisions about whether an organization falls into the outlined focus areas will be determined by CFWM staff, with information provided by the organization as well as other publicly available information.

The foundation’s strategic vision serves as the cornerstone for establishing the priority support areas for Flexible Funding. Our aim is to fund organizations working to increase equity and opportunity while demonstrating a strong mission in the following areas: 1.

Racial Justice : Recognizing the urgent need to address systematic racism, we are seeking applications from organizations whose primary mission and activities are dedicated to this cause. We believe that working toward dismantling systems of racial inequality provides a framework for dismantling all other forms of oppression.

We seek organizations explicitly working to combat racial disparities, promoting equity and justice, and creating pathways for marginalized communities. This grant opportunity is intended to support your efforts in fostering inclusive communities, eliminating systemic barriers, and advancing social change. 2.

Accessible and more affordable post-secondary education and training: Education and skills training are critical components for individuals seeking economic mobility. We are seeking applications from organizations that provide access to learning opportunities for post-secondary learners, including trade, vocational, and skills-based programs.

This grant opportunity aims to support efforts in equipping individuals with the tools and knowledge necessary to meaningfully access the workforce. 3 . A strong start for all children : From birth to age five, children develop more rapidly than at any other time in their lives.

A strong start for children helps to set the foundation for their future success, health, and well-being. We seek to fund nonprofit organizations that that provide early childhood education and care as a core part of their mission, professional development for early childhood education providers, and direct cohort-based support related to parenting knowledge and skills.

This grant opportunity is intended to strengthen the bandwidth, skills, and resiliency of those who provide care to children before kindergarten. 4. A vibrant local arts and creativity ecosystem: Art and creativity bring people together, create community dialogue, and inspire imaginative approaches to community challenges.

ValleyCreates aims to support a vibrant arts and creativity sector that is interconnected, collaborative, and actively engages the full and diverse community with programs and artistic expression opportunities. We encourage organizations whose primary mission and purpose revolve around creating and/or presenting cultural activities in the arts to apply.

This grant opportunity is intended to support your efforts in promoting creativity and fostering community engagement. ValleyCreates specifically prioritizes organizations with an operating budget of less than $500,000 to create a more inclusive ecosystem. This focus area does not include humanities or historical societies, but we encourage those organizations to connect with Mass Cultural Council or Mass Humanities.

While we also appreciate the creativity many organizations bring to their work, we will not consider non-arts organizations as part of our strategic priority area. Our goal is to support the arts and creativity sector and those organizations whose primary mission leads with the arts. Additional Focus Areas for springfield-serving organizations working to build financial resilience in their communities Supported through funding from 1.

Building Networks: Connecting people builds social capital, which creates a financially strong community where people can support each other. We seek to fund organizations that take collaborative approaches to break down silos, coordinate among systems, and connect people to critical resources and each other so everyone can meet their basic needs and achieve their goals. 2.

Fostering Financial Health: When people experience less debt, more savings, and improved credit, they are able to take advantage of future opportunities. We seek to fund organizations that expand financial capabilities (e.g., financial coaching, building credit, debt management) and increase access to affordable financial products that help build financial resilience and long-term wealth. 3.

Fulfilling Basic Financial Needs: When people’s most basic needs are met, they can focus on things that make their lives better. We seek to fund organizations that help people meet the following critical needs: reliable childcare that accommodates work schedules, increased food security, and safe & affordable housing (rent or own). 4.

Expanding Employment Opportunities: Building skills, knowledge, and expertise helps people find a career or start their own business – creating long-term change in the process. We seek to fund organizations that work to expand entrepreneurship and small business growth, or provide post-secondary education, skills and training that drives employment and increased income.

Additional Focus Areas for Franklin County Thanks to the generosity of our partners, additional funding is available for organizations serving Franklin County with a focus on family economic resiliency . This includes: 1. Food security : This funding opportunity is intended to support organizations that increase food security in Franklin County.

2. Housing security : We seek to fund organizations that provide and expand housing security in Franklin County. 3.

Basic service needs : For organizations that increase access to basic service needs such as health, transportation, and other human services. This opportunity is now closed. download and share our flyer 2026 Community Partner gatherings (In-person) Community Partner Gatherings will provide nonprofits and fiscally sponsored organizations with a space to connect, share, and learn.

You’ll hear about the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts’ Flexible Funding grant opportunity and other resources, while also having time to network, build relationships, and share what would be most helpful to your organization during these times of change. Please join us in community with peers, lift your voice, and help shape how we support the nonprofit sector moving forward.

Download and share our flyer with others you know might be interested in attending. August 12, 2025 | 1pm – 3pm South Hadley Public Library 2 Canal St, South Hadley, MA August 13, 2025 | 10am – 12pm Community Foundation of Western MA 333 Bridge St.

, Springfield, MA August 19, 2025 | 10am – 12pm 71 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA August 20, 2025 | 3pm – 5pm BOMBYX Center for Arts and Equity 130 Pine Street, Northampton, MA August 28, 2025 | 10am – 12pm Westfield Boys & Girls Club 28 West Silver Street, Westfield, MA Open office hours (Virtual) for Flexible Funding 2026 Virtual open office hours are held every month.

Please feel free to drop in via Zoom at any time during the session to speak with us.

The schedule is as follows: August 29, 2025 | 10am – 12pm September 2, 2025 | 10am – 12pm Updated Time : September 3, 2025 | 12pm – 2pm September 4 & 5, 2025 | 10am – 12pm September 8, 2025 | 10am – 12pm Information Sessions for Flexible Funding 2026 (Virtual) CFWM Staff will hold virtual information sessions about the Flexible Funding 2026 grant opportunity.

Information sessions will review the grant process, the application and criteria. They are as follows: August 7, 2025 | 9:30am – 10:30am August 20, 2025 | 11am – 12pm Applications are due Monday, September 8, 2025, at noon (12 PM) EST. Please reach out to Community Impact and Partnerships at grants@communityfoundation.

org . Frequently Asked Questions How many organizations will you fund? We anticipate funding about 100 organizations .

If more funds become available, or the average grant size is smaller, we are committed to funding more organizations. Can I apply for less than the full $30,000? Yes.

Every organization, regardless of their budget, is invited to apply for the full $30,000; but if your organization needs less, you can share that in the application. Organizations asking for less than $30,000 will not be prioritized over those asking for the maximum grant amount. Can this grant be used as a match for another grant?

Absolutely. We will support grantees needing documentation of our grant for these purposes. If we are a current grantee, can we be funded again?

Yes. Flexible Funding is currently awarded as a one-year grant. As our priority areas do not change year to year, we anticipate that some current grantees will be funded again.

Current grantees must have their required grant check-ins and must be up to date on any reports before the grant deadline to be considered. If you have questions, please contact us at grants@communityfoundation. org .

Can we apply for both the MassMutual Foundation Partnership Opportunity and Flexible Funding? If you meet the criteria for multiple opportunities, you will automatically be considered for all. You only need to fill out the application once .

Who decides if a grant is funded or not? CFWM tries to center voices of community members in our grants process. More than three dozen community reviewers, who have professional and volunteer experience in the nonprofit sector and in our focus areas, join our staff in reviewing grants.

They have diverse race , age , and gender identities and live across our three-county region. What grant reporting is required of grantees? To minimize the work associated with our grants, CFWM staff will have two brief check-ins instead of reports throughout the grant period.

A short report sharing how you spent the funds and what you learned over the grant period may be requested at the end of 2026. Our work is outside the focus areas. Should we apply?

This year Flexible Funding is open to three groups of organizations: those whose mission aligns with CFWM’s strategic focus areas, those in Franklin County that focus on family economic resilience, and those in Springfield that support the MassMutual Foundation’s mission to help build financial resilience. How do we determine if our work falls within your priority areas? We share more on how we think about our priority areas here .

If you have any questions or you are unsure, we encourage you to connect with our team at the listed times or to email us at grants@communityfoundation. org. Will there be opportunities for organizations outside of these focus areas to apply for additional funding?