An organization must meet the following criteria to apply:

• Organizations must be qualified as tax-exempt public charities under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or be classified as a unit of local government (including public schools). An exception is made to include fire and rescue departments.
• If your organization operates as a 501 (c)(3) public charity via a fiscal agent, your application's supporting documentation must include a letter from the fiscal agent organization that verifies the relationship and includes when the relationship was established.
• Faith-based organizations may apply for funding to support social outreach and charitable service programs to benefit the community-at-large, but they may not apply for general operating support. See restrictions below.
• Only those organizations that serve the county(ies) of the giving circle will be considered. If an organization serves multiple giving circle regions, that organization may complete a separate application for each of those giving circles. The only exception is The Women’s Fund of North Carolina, which supports organizations serving any county within the NCCF network.
• Organizations must offer programs and services without discrimination based on age, race, national origin, ethnicity, gender, physical ability, sexual orientation, political affiliation or religious belief.