Ashton W. Lilly Fund for Philanthropy Grant
Funding Amount
Up to US $50,000
Deadline
Deadline not published
Grant Type
Foundation
Can we apply?
Check your organization against each line. Taken from the listing; confirm with the funder's guidelines.
Other requirements
- Applicant has a fully funded agency endowment at Cumberland Community Foundation, Inc.
- Applicant has an active endowment committee of two or more board members and a board adopted endowment goal.
- Applicant has demonstrated board engagement in endowment building throughout the last two years as evidenced by board member giving and discussion during meetings.
- Applicant has participated in one or more planned giving and endowment building presentations/meetings with Cumberland Community Foundation staff.
Overview
Easily learn more about the Ashton W. This grant has a rolling deadline.
The Lilly Endowment Challenge Grant Program of Cumberland Community Foundation is made possible by the Ashton W. Lilly Fund for Philanthropy, a charitable fund created in honor of the great philanthropy of Ashton Lilly. The program is designed to assist non-profit organizations to build sustainable support for their missions through permanent endowment funds with Cumberland Community Foundation.
An application may be any amount up to $50,000, not to exceed 50% of the organization's board-adopted endowment goal. Unless otherwise agreed, the grant period will be two years. Organizations that have received a Lilly challenge grant within the last four years will have lower priority in a competitive awards cycle.
The matching funds are available for new gifts to the endowment during the grant period. Funds from operational reserves will not be matched through the endowment challenge.
The dollars raised and the matching dollars (supplied by Cumberland Community Foundation) will be placed as irrevocable gifts into the endowment fund owned, held, and managed by Cumberland Community Foundation for the sole benefit of the non-profit organization.
Organizations should be clear that an endowment fund is not an operating reserve. This challenge grant is to create a permanent endowment. Principal and gifts to the endowment fund may not be taken back to meet current needs.
Eligibility
Applicant has a fully funded agency endowment at Cumberland Community Foundation, Inc.Applicant has an active endowment committee of two or more board members and a board adopted endowment goal.Applicant has demonstrated board engagement in endowment building throughout the last two years as evidenced by board member giving and discussion during meetings. Applicant has participated in one or more planned giving and endowment building presentations/meetings with Cumberland Community Foundation staff.Applicant is engaged in promoting its endowment fund.
What Cumberland Community Foundation Inc actually gave
Source: IRS Form 990, 2025
- Grants in 2025
- 125
- Total given
- $8.5M
- Median grant
- $28K
- Range
- $5,100–$1.65M
- By dollars: North Carolina 89%, New York 5%, Pennsylvania 3%. Top recipient cities: Fayetteville, NC; Raleigh, NC; New York, NY.
- 22% of recipients were new grantees, not repeat recipients.
Example grants
Methodist University · Fayetteville, NC
$1.65M
Cape Fear Regional Theatre at Fayetteville Inc · Fayetteville, NC
$472K
Cape Fear Botanical Garden · Fayetteville, NC
$393K
Green Beret Foundation · New York, NY
$269K
Breezewood Church · Hope Mills, NC
$250K
Focus Areas & Funding Uses
Fields of Work
- Nonprofits
- Capacity building
Categories
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