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
- Start by reading through the Cooper Foundation Grant Guidelines.
- 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
- American Gateways, $150,000
- American Red Cross – Heart of Texas Chapter, $35,000
- City of Beverly Hills – Volunteer Fire Department, $24,057.60
- Coalition of Parents Against Crime, $5,000
- Community Doulas of Waco, $47,000
- Grassroots Community Development, $170,000
- Heart of Texas Behavioral Health Network, $46,300
- Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, $200,000
- Stilwell Retirement Residence, $60,000
- Texas Sports Hall of Fame, $15,000
- Transformation Waco, $200,000
- Waco Independent School District, $43,260
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 |
2025 |
|
| March 3 | May 22 |
| April 1 | June 26 |
| May 1 | August 28 |
| June 2 | August 28 |
| July 1 | September 25 |
| August 1 | October 30 |
| September 1 | December 11 |
| October 1 | December 11 |
HISTORY OF OUR WORK
Sign up for the
Nonprofit Network
UPCOMING EVENTS
NONPROFIT NETWORK
Upcoming Nonprofit Network Sessions:
(click read more to access registration links)
2025:
April 24: Public Charities Can Lobby: How Your 501(c)(3) Can Influence Policy for the Greater Good
BOARD GOVERNANCE TRAINING
2025 Training Dates:
May 9th, 9:00 – 11:30 am
August 8th, 9:00 – 11:30 am
November 14th, 9:00 – 11:30 am
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.
General Inquiry
