Grants

Grants from the County Endowment Fund Program (CEFP) are distributed at the local level. Each of the 84 counties that receive CEFP dollars develop their own grant distribution process, involving local residents in allocating funds to charitable projects and programs that positively impact their county.

In the other 15 counties, each member casino has a nonprofit license holder that receives and reinvests required allocations from the casinos into numerous charitable civic needs in their area.

Here are some steps a nonprofit organization can take to identify funding opportunities in their county:

Step 1: Determine if your project or program is in one of the 84 counties that receives CEFP dollars, or if your county is one of the 15 counties that has a state-issued gaming license.

Step 2: Contact the grantmaking organization in your county. They can provide you with grant guidelines and information on how to apply.

• For those in a green highlighted county in the map above: Find your local community foundation here.
• For those in one of the 15 Iowa counties with a state gaming license: Find your local qualified supporting organization/gaming grantmaker here.

Grant awards vary from year-to-year, based on current and emerging needs and gaming revenue.