We support people working towards equitable community development, particularly new, small, or unique programs in the areas of food access, housing, education, and healthcare within Bell County.

No, although it is preferred, this is not necessary to be considered for funding.

Yes! In fact, many of our past recipients have been around for a while. We are excited to work with established partners who are still innovating, especially if the new idea and programs help traditionally disenfranchised populations in our community.

In order to be eligible, your program needs to assist our community in Bell County. Work done in surrounding counties is not eligible for funding. You will need to provide documentation that the Rock Rose Foundation funds were used within Bell County.

We currently offer program, operational, and capacity building grants. We currently do not offer multi-year grants. Check back in the future for new funding opportunities.

The preliminary deadline is a chance for you to receive a little extra help on your application. We recognize that many of our grantseekers are new to writing grant proposals and/or do not have dedicated staff to do the work. We want to make sure that each application is able to be considered for funding so we will help early applicants by providing feedback on completion and clarity. Other than this assistance, applications received before the preliminary deadline will not be given preferential consideration over those received after the initial deadline.

You will receive an email confirmation that we received your application within 24 hrs. You may hear back from us if we have any follow up questions. Once our board members and Community Advisory Committee reviews your application, you will have the opportunity to meet with us to tell us a little more about your project or idea. Final funding decisions are made in the second half of November, and funds are disbursed in the beginning of December.

Your application will be subjected to an eligibility check by our Executive Director, followed by an initial review conducted by our Board of Directors, and then sent to our Community Advisory Committee (CAC) for the final review. The CAC is composed of non profit community members, volunteers, and program participants that are tasked with the funding decisions due to their experience and expertise.

If your application is eliminated from consideration for any reason, you will be notified via email (or your preferred method of communication). Grant recipients will be notified in late November.

While we can’t write your proposal for you, we are here to help! We can talk through your idea or program, provide feedback on your budget, and answer any questions you may have (time permitting). We provide feedback on all applications received prior to the preliminary deadline. Please reach out to us at info@rock-rose.org with any questions.

We've created a video detailing how to fill out the application, available here: We also have a handy, but hard to find, page of resources for you! Here it is: https://www.rock-rose.org/resources . If you'd like a sample application, or an example of how you can do a project budget, we have those here for you:

You should evaluate the cost of your project, and request the amount of funding you need. Be aware that you might not receive full funding for your project. Our annual grant budget will be divided based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to: impact, community need, and urgency. We encourage you to keep this in mind when you are requesting for your project.

Our application is a PDF document. You can open it using PDF software or your browser. Type directly into the fields on the application. Save the edited document, include the name of your organization, and then email us the application as an attachment. You may also print the application and return your copy by mail. There's a sample application you can view above.

We are looking for both a numerical budget and a narrative budget. There are many common and accepted formats for budgeting. We've put together a sample you can look at here. We don't require you to follow this format, but this is one way to do it!