Golden Heart Community Foundation Fund

The Golden Heart Community Foundation (GHCF) offers grants to qualified 501(c)(3) organizations, Tribal entities, schools, and faith-based organizations that support charitable programs in the Fairbanks North Star Borough area. This geographic community fund aims to address the evolving charitable needs of the Greater Fairbanks area, with guidance from the Golden Heart Community Foundation Advisory Board. The mission alignment is centered on fostering community well-being and development across a broad spectrum of needs within the specified region. The grant program targets a diverse range of beneficiaries, including those in need of support for health and wellness, education, outdoor activities, arts and culture, and general community development. The impact goals are to support projects that provide measurable and achievable outcomes, demonstrating tangible benefits for Fairbanks North Star Borough residents. Preference is given to applications that have the potential to broadly impact the community. The GHCF prioritizes projects that address a wide array of community needs and focuses on initiatives that can demonstrate clear outcomes and effective use of resources. While the grant size ranges from $1,000 to $10,000, funding information also specifies $1,000 – $5,000, indicating a focus on a range of project scales. The foundation's strategic priorities are to facilitate a fair and transparent competitive process, ensuring that eligible applications are reviewed thoroughly using a scoring matrix by the Grants Committee, composed of volunteer Advisory Board members and other community members. Expected outcomes include successful project completion within one year of the award, with a clear focus on measurable and achievable results. Applicants are encouraged to detail these outcomes and demonstrate additional sources of support, collaboration, and/or cooperation. The evaluation criteria emphasize the overall merit of the project, the organization's ability to successfully complete it, the clarity and measurability of the project's goal, the feasibility of the timeframe, and the number of people served, reflecting the foundation's theory of change which centers on impactful, well-executed projects that benefit the broader Fairbanks community.