Community Grants
Improving the oral health of communities throughout Arkansas
Launched in 2008, the Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation’s Community Grant opportunity provides statewide support to communities and nonprofit organizations focusing on oral health education and services to underserved and uninsured Arkansas residents.
Community Grants support transactional projects and services promoting good oral health practices and increasing access to dental care.
Funding focuses on increasing access to oral health care through community partnerships by funding preventative services and/or treatment for underserved individuals of all ages, ethnicities, genders, and socio-economic statuses in Arkansas.
Focus Areas
Grant Overview
- $750,000 total awards with a funding range from $2,500 up to $40,000 per organization
- Applicants must be an Arkansas-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit, government agency, school, or charitable dental treatment facility - we do not provide grants to individuals
- Programs must have a primary focus in treatment or prevention
- Applications are accepted on a rolling basis year-round and subject to DDARF Board approval quarterly
- Community Grant funding is for one 12-month period after approval, and all funds must be utilized in that time
- Eligible organizations may be awarded only one Community Grant per year
- Final reports for previously funded Community Grants must be submitted before a new application is made
- Funding requests must have an oral health impact and benefit underserved, uninsured, and/or uninsured Arkansans
2024 - 2025 Community Grant Submission Deadlines
Evaluators
The Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation Community Grantee Network consists of organizations throughout the state of Arkansas that are committed to improving oral health in their communities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Our application is available online through Foundant, our grant management site.
The Foundation encourages Arkansas-based nonprofit or community organizations holding a current tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, governmental agencies, and educational facilities to apply. The Foundation cannot award grants to individuals.
Funds may be used for:
- Program specific administrative/staffing costs
- Capital needs (equipment, supplies, one-time expenses)
- Dental clinic treatment expenses/supplies
- Programmatic, operational expenses
Typically Not Funded
- Direct dental staff salaries or payments to cover dental treatment
- Individuals – grants must be awarded to an eligible organization
- Fundraising events/sponsorships
- Private foundations and endowments
- Reduction of organizational debt
- Excessive salary costs, travel, or incentives/gifts
- Programs that discriminate on any basis
No. Whether you’ve been doing this work for one year or a decade is less relevant than how you approach the issues, your vision for change, and ability to track and measure results.
Due to limited funding, the 2024 Community Grants will prioritize programs providing treatment and preventative services. Each applicant will also be asked to identify how their proposal aligns with our strategic focus areas.
Yes, absolutely. You will have an opportunity in the application to tell us how your ideas and initiative have evolved since last year.
Who/What We Fund
DDARF will prioritize grant requests that incorporate the following (as applicable):
- A clear oral health focus
- A project plan detailing how and when the program will be carried out and who will be responsible for each task
- Active collaboration among organizations, schools, and/or healthcare providers
- Inclusion of diverse groups
- Referral protocols that link individuals needing dental care with a source of dental care
- Wrap-around support that links participants to other social services
- Initiation of oral health programs in counties where none or few exist
- Previously funded organizations that have submitted complete Interim and Final Reports
Because we know the kind of investment required for these proposals, we do our best to make sure that re-application is as easy as possible.
Unfortunately, due to the volume of applications we receive, we are not able to provide individual feedback on last year’s application. However, we welcome your questions as you develop your content for this year’s application.
View our Foundation Strategic Roadmap here.