The FirstBank Charitable Foundation
Building strong communities together.
Creating Positive Change in Our Communities
The FirstBank Charitable Foundation (FBCF) is a community-focused 501(c)(3), not-for-profit organization established in 2008. The foundation has awarded more than a million dollars in grants to nonprofits serving tens of thousands of individuals in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Florida.
Our mission is to support charities and organizations within our communities that contribute to the betterment of their citizens and seek to create a strong fabric for the neighborhoods they serve.
We are dedicated to furthering our outreach to assist charities and organizations within our communities. FBCF focuses on building partnerships with these charitable organizations to have a positive impact on the essential needs within our neighborhoods.
Focus Areas
- Health and Wellness
- Housing
- Education
- Improving the quality of life within our communities
Grant Eligibility
We consider requests from nonprofits 501(c)(3) that can demonstrate a mission alignment with one or more of the Foundation’s funding focuses and who have a significant level of service impact within FirstBank Charitable Foundation’s New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Florida footprint.
General Grant Request Procedure
Start a grant application through our online portal, get more detailed information and and see our current grant cycles in the link below to learn when your application will be considered.
Application Process:
- Submit your grant application through our online portal and complete the eligibility quiz.
- You’ll need to submit the organization's EIN (Tax ID#) and the nonprofit must be in good standing with the IRS. If you’re not sure, you can check IRS.gov or Guidestar.
- Applications should include a list of board members, an annual operating budget, a program budget (if applicable to a specific request), the most recent audited financials, and/or the most recent 990 tax return.
In addition, some grant programs might have additional eligibility requirements. We cannot provide funding for the following:
- Organizations with IRS Code Section 509(a)(3) status.
- Athletic teams, athletic events, or sports leagues.
- Individuals
- Organizations that are not compliant with the States of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, or Florida’s charitable registration requirements.
- Political organizations or campaigns or organizations designed primarily to lobby.
- Programs operated by religious organizations for religious purposes.
- Research
- Travel and related expenses including student trips and tours.
- Any organization that discriminates based on race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, ancestry citizenship, veteran, or disability status or espouses hate.
Grant Cycle
Decisions on grant requests are made at Quarterly FBCF Board meetings. To be considered at any of the FBCF Board meetings, requests must be submitted by the 1st of the month of each Board meeting month.
2024 Meeting Dates
- February22
- May 22
- August 22
- November 20
Funding Decisions
The total number of grants awarded will depend on the number of applicants and funds available. We consider factors including but not limited to: available resources, a request alignment with the Foundation’s stated funding priorities and geographic footprint, organizational capacity and good financial health, a track record of success in providing programs and services that positively impact on community needs, and a solid plan for measuring impact/success.
We recommend you apply early in the year as grants are offered until the budget is fully allocated. Please remember that demand typically exceeds the resources available to support the hundreds of nonprofits across our footprint.
