Mission
The Chequamegon Bay Area Community Funds are granted by the Apostle Islands-Chequamegon Bay Advisory Board for initiatives that meet the changing needs of our community in these five areas: arts, community and economic development, education, environment and human services. The Apostle Islands-Chequamegon Bay Advisory Board may, from time to time, emphasize one area over another when emerging needs or opportunities require special attention. Within these five areas, priority will be given to projects that meet some or all of these criteria:
- Strengthening community ties between individuals and collaboration between organizations within our service area (covering Washburn, Ashland and Bad River)
- Addressing underlying causes of community problems
- Undertaking studies on matters that impact civic issues or public policy
- Requiring start-up funds
- Building an organization’s program and/or management capacity
- Responding to community needs that require moderate grant money but produce significant results
Grant awards from unrestricted funds cannot provide long-term or permanent support. In some cases, more than one year of funding may be considered to ensure the stability of a new organization or program.
The following areas are of low priority and usually will not be considered for funding:
- Capital and equipment requests
- Ongoing program support
The Apostle Islands-Chequamegon Bay Advisory Board does not make grants awards for the following:
- Endowments
- Religious organizations for direct religious activities
- Medical research
- Fundraising activities
- Debt retirement
- Funding for an organization’s own granting activities
- Individuals
- Political organizations or campaigns
- Organizations that work to influence legislation as a substantial part of their purpose
- Activities that are normally government responsibilities
Eligibility
To be eligible to apply for funding, an organization must:
Be classified as one of the following:
- Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (i.e., traditional nonprofit)
- Section 170(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code (e.g., governmental entities and schools)
- Section 7871 Tribal government
- Church
- Organization with a fiscal agent that is classified as one of the above
- Be located in or provide service to residents within the service area of the Chequamegon Bay Area Community Fund, which includes: the boundaries of the Washburn School District and the Ashland School District, including Odanah, the central community of the Bad River Reservation/ Mashkiiziibii.
Grant range
Grants generally range from $300 to $2,500.
Application timeline
Spring 2025 Grant Cycle
- Open: January 3, 2025
- Close: March 3, 2025 at 5pm
- Project Start Date: June 1, 2025, or later
- Project End Date: No more than 12 months from the project start date
- Notifications: By May 21, 2025
- Funding Awarded: May 30, 2025
