How To Apply
We support Rural Education, Rural Human/Social Services, Rural Conservation and Preservation, Rural Health, and Rural Arts and Humanities projects. Read our Overall Guidelines.
The Steele-Reese Foundation has one grant cycle each year. All requests for support must be submitted online via our grant portal. To establish an account, or to access an existing account, click here. You may create an account at any time. If you created an account during a prior grant cycle, please use it for funding requests during all subsequent grant cycles from the same organization. Once you reach your grant portal dashboard, please select the appropriate Idaho and Montana or Appalachian Kentucky form.
The Foundation makes grants for work in rural Idaho and Montana communities, in Native nations that share the geography, and in Appalachian Kentucky. The funding priorities, program areas, process, and timing in the Appalachian Kentucky Grant Program may vary from those in the Idaho and Montana Grant Program. Please review the appropriate link on the right side of this page for details. The Foundation informs applicants of its grant decisions by August 1 each year. Grant funds for successful applicants become available in late August or early September. We will request any additional information as needed throughout the consideration process.
The Foundation directors and trustees thoughtfully consider every letter of inquiry and application with care. We regret we receive many more worthy requests than we have funds to support. Because of the heavy demand for its limited funds, the Foundation has no choice but to reject scores of proposals each year. The Foundation’s inability to fund a project is not a judgment of the value of an applicant’s mission or an entity’s effectiveness.
Idaho and Montana Grant Program
2022 Grants: Limited to 100 Applicants
The Idaho and Montana Grant Program begins the grant application process with a Letter of Inquiry (LOI) for projects in rural communities in Idaho and Montana, and in Native nations that share the geography. For the 2022 grant cycle, we will open the the LOI process on January 10, 2021. We will close it once we have received 100 LOIs, or by January 31, 2022, before 11:59 pm Mountain Time, whichever occurs first. See the Idaho and Montana Grant Program page for details. Contact Linda Tracy, Western Director, with any questions related to proposed requests for work in rural communities in Idaho, Montana, or in Native nations that share this geography.
Kentucky Grant Program
Trustees of The Steele-Reese Foundation make decisions regarding proposals once each year. The deadline for 2024 Appalachian Kentucky Grant Program applications is March 1. We do not require a letter of inquiry prior to the submission of an application. We do, however, strongly encourage potential applicants to contact Judy Owens, Appalachian Director, to discuss funding ideas prior to applying. You are welcome to email Mrs. Owens to request an appointment any time after November 1.
The Foundation only accepts proposals via an online application form. We encourage applicants to contact Judy Owens, Appalachian Director, for guidance in using this form. The Foundation’s online process automatically confirms receipt of all submitted proposals. We encourage you to follow the advice throughout the application form to save your work frequently.