Apply For Grant
Madison Cooper created the Cooper Foundation with a mission to make Waco, Texas a better or more desirable city in which to live. This is realized through grant awards to qualifying nonprofits in Waco, Texas. We are proud to fund projects that impact all aspects of life in Waco – education, health, arts and culture, community building and social services, and senior citizens.
Nonprofit organizations seeking funding from the Cooper Foundation are highly encouraged to discuss their grant application with Foundation staff before and during its preparation. This can be a time-saver in determining whether a proposal fits within foundation guidelines, interests, and current priorities. Additionally, we can often help clarify plans and ideas and can offer advice on the preparation of a request. We know how precious time and resources are to nonprofit organizations, and we want to ensure that your time developing a proposal is well-spent. In other words – we don’t want to waste anyone’s time!
Please note that an invitation to submit a proposal does not imply a guarantee or promise of funding, but merely sufficient interest in a program and that the Board of Directors would like more information so that they may evaluate whether the program meets the Foundation’s highest funding priorities.
Application Process
- Determine if your organization is ready for foundation funding: Organizational Readiness Checklist.
- Submit a GRANT INQUIRY form (Inquiry Form button below) OR call the foundation to discuss your potential application with Cooper staff.
- There are no deadlines for grant inquiries. They are accepted on an ongoing basis. Once submitted, Cooper Foundation staff will review your inquiry and be in touch within a few weeks to let you know if you are invited to submit a full proposal. If you are on a tight timeline for a project, please be sure to state that online in the inquiry.
- If your inquiry is accepted, you will be invited to submit a full grant proposal through the online system by invitation from Cooper Foundation staff.
- See below for a list of deadlines and correlating review dates for full grant proposals.
Recent Grants
- Baylor University, $100,000
- Cameron Park Zoological & Botanical Society, $225,000
- Caritas of Waco, $50,000
- Compassion Ministries, $39,000
- Community Cancer Association, $7,500
- Heart of Texas Goodwill Industries, $25,874
- Heart of Texas Workforce Development Board, Inc., $194,370
- Providence Foundation, $25,000
- Salvation Army Waco, $316,978
- The Cove – Heart of Texas, Inc., $81,050
- Waco Downtown Farmers Market, $25,000
- Waco Independent School District, $50,000
- Waco Symphony Association, $125,000
Upcoming Grant Application Deadline & Review Dates*
*The deadline and review dates listed below are for full grant proposals and do not apply to grant inquiries (see above). Please note that the review date may change, depending on staff or board questions about a specific application.
As a reminder, grant inquiries are accepted by the foundation on an ongoing basis and then an organization must be invited to submit a full proposal.
Application Submission Deadlines | Application Review Dates |
2024 | |
| May 1 | August 22 |
| June 3 | August 22 |
| July 1 | September 26 |
| August 1 | October 24 |
| September 3 | December 12 |
| October 1 | December 12 |
| November 1 | January 23, 2025 |
| December 2 | February 27, 2025 |
2025 | |
| January 6 | March 27 |
| February 3 | April 24 |
| March 3 | May 22 |
HISTORY OF OUR WORK
Sign up for the
Nonprofit Network
UPCOMING EVENTS
NONPROFIT NETWORK
Upcoming Nonprofit Network Sessions:
Nonprofit Network is not offered in July.
Check back soon for details about upcoming Nonprofit Network offerings!
BOARD GOVERNANCE TRAINING
2024 Training Dates:
Check back soon for additional training dates!
UPCOMING DEADLINES
Visit our grants page to learn more about the process of applying and a full list of the upcoming application deadline and review dates.
