VAH Foundation Grant

The VAH Foundation Grant focuses on funding projects in Animal Welfare, Education, Literacy, the Environment, and Cultural Beautification for 2025. Applicants must be 501(c)3 nonprofits, registered on GuideStar.org, and based in Kern County. The Foundation seeks detailed budgets, projected impact, and complete supporting documents. Funding will not be considered for general fundraising events, direct aid to individuals, or multi-year grants, with preference given to standalone projects and grassroots organizations.

Funding Focus
For 2026, the Foundation will be funding projects or programs in our core interests of: Animal Welfare, Education, Literacy, the Environment, and Cultural, Historic and Beautification improvement.
When considering an application, the Foundation looks for:
A clear and specific budget for the project requiring funding, including how the requested funds will be allocated.The projected number of constituents the project will serve.The inclusion of the required supporting documents with your application. These required documents include:a copy of your 501(c)3;the aforementioned budget;a list of your organization’s board members.
Foundation directors look for programs that have a variety of financial, participatory and voluntary support.

Eligibility

The Foundation is only able to donate money to organizations that are 501(c)3 nonprofits.The Foundation requires all potential grantees to be registered on GuideStar.org. The Foundation can only donate to nonprofits located in the Kern County region. However, outside nonprofits with projects focused solely on impacting Kern County may also apply.Kern County 501(c)3 religious organizations may apply for specific project-related support, such as funding for educational or literacy programs.

Ineligibility

Funding will not be considered for the following:General fundraising events, campaigns, dinners or mass mailings. Direct aid to individuals or other Private Foundations.Social, labor, political or fraternal organizations or movements.Operational or mission-related work of religious organizations. However, Kern County 501(c)3 religious organizations may apply for specific project-related support, such as funding for educational or literacy programs.Multi-year grants. Though occasionally given, the Foundation prefers to fund standalone projects or one-time financial support. In addition, the Foundation is unlikely to award funding to an organization that has received a grant award within the past year. However, exceptions may be made if the organization is requesting funding for a different project or program than the previous year's grant award.