Rural Grants

Rural Grants is sponsored by The Daniel Foundation of Alabama. These grants strengthen communities and improve the quality of life for citizens in eligible rural counties across Alabama, supporting effective organizations focused on building a healthy and well-educated population living in vibrant and collaborative communities.

Daniel Foundation of Alabama | Strengthening Alabama from Corner-to-Corner Serving Communities Across Alabama The Daniel Foundation of Alabama’s mission is to strengthen communities within Alabama and improve the quality of life for Alabama citizens.

We believe this can be achieved through the support of effective organizations that are focused on building a healthy and well-educated population, living in a vibrant and collaborative community. For a list of counties eligible for this opportunity and any additional information please refer to the rural grants page of our website.

Open for Letters of Intent Open for Letters of Intent Open for Letters of Intent Operating & Special Project Opportunities Change for 2027: The Operating opportunity will be offered during 2027 cycle 1 & 3 and the Special Project opportunity will be offered during 2027 cycle 2.

For a list of counties eligible for this opportunity, operating grant eligibility and any additional information please refer to the operating grants page or the special project grants page of our website. Open for Letters of Intent Open for Letters of Intent Open for Letters of Intent All opportunities for 2026 Cycle 3 are closed. Rural application deadline for the final group accepted through the LOI process is September 3, 2026.

We are making some changes to help with our internal processes and to better match our opportunities with our resources. Rural LOIs will now have an opening and closing date for LOI submissions. While this removes the open all year format of 2026, it still allows for LOIs to be accepted about 45 of the 52 weeks for 2027.

Dates are posted on the home page. Operating Grant LOIs will be accepted during the first and third cycles only and have about a two-week window for submission. Dates are posted on the home page.

Special Project LOIs will be accepted during the second cycle only and have a two-week window for submission. Dates are posted on the home page. Programs or projects taking place in rural tier 1 and tier 2 counties should submit opportunities through the Rural Cycle only.

To submit for Rural all work must take place in those counties. Programs or projects taking place in the 17 non-rural counties should choose either Operating or Special Projects. Operating grants have additional elegibility requirements as outlined on our website and covered in the eligibility quiz in Foundant, our online grant portal.

Please review the possible opportunties and submit ONE LOI for the opportunity that best meets the organization’s project. Please refer to the FAQ page for additional information. Previous grants should be closed and the full grant period expired prior to a new grant opportunity being considered by our board.

If you are within a current grant period and have already expended all funds you are welcome to submit your grantee status report prior to the deadline so that all requirements have been met when the grant period expires.