Rural Initiative

Rural Initiative is sponsored by The Daniel Foundation of Alabama. This initiative supports projects in all Rural Tier 1 and Tier 2 counties in Alabama, focusing on strengthening communities and improving the quality of life for Alabama citizens.

Rural Grants | Daniel Foundation of Alabama 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.

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: County population under 50,000 Kids Count county ranking below top 25% 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. 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. 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.

This cycle starts with an LOI submitted through our online grants management system. LOIs submitted will be reviewed monthly and notifications sent to all organizations submitting. This will be a rolling cycle and the timing of committee meetings will determine application dues dates.

In general, we anticipate LOIs submitted: December – March will be considered at the June board meeting April – July will be considered at the October board meeting August – November will be considered at the February board meeting Operating and Special Projects are open to receive LOIs through July 1. These opportunities are for the 17 non-rural counties and for organizations who have been board funded in the past.

Operating grants have additional eligibility requirements as outlined on our website and covered in the eligibility quiz in Foundant, our online grant portal. Please review the possible opportunities and submit ONE LOI for the opportunity that best meets the organization’s needs. Do not submit more than one LOI.

Special Projects are for larger requests and, if received, require a two-year sit-out period. If you have a small project request, it may fit best in the operating category since this is essentially a request for unrestricted funding. If your organization is in one of the 17 non-rural counties but you are doing rural work.

The rural opportunity may be best if a request can be submitted with all programming taking place in the Tier 1 and Tier 2 rural counties.