Delaware General Assembly

Grant in Aid

Grant-in-Aid is an appropriation made by the General Assembly to support the activities of non-profit organizations which provide services to the citizens of Delaware. The purpose of this funding is to provide supplemental funding to service agencies and should not be construed as a sole source of funding.

To qualify for Grant-in-Aid, an agency must:

• Be an incorporated non-profit (or under the umbrella of a parent organization which is also an incorporated non-profit) and operating for two years before applying for Grant-In-Aid.
• Have bylaws that clearly state the purpose of the agency and include a definition of the duties of the Board of Directors.
• Have an active, community-represented, volunteer Board of Directors that sets policies, goals, and objectives and maintains minutes of regularly scheduled meetings and any special meetings.
• Have programs that are unduplicated by other state-supported agencies and satisfy unmet human needs of the community.
• Have personnel policies, including job descriptions and classifications.
• Have competent executives, competent staffing, and reasonable facilities.
• Practice non-discrimination.
• Have accounting (budget) procedures.
• Have an audit OR a review or compilation of financial statements completed within the past three years by a Certified Public Accountant or a Public Accountant. If the agency cannot comply, it must provide a statement of the circumstances surrounding the reason in its application and should submit supporting financial documentation such as profit and loss statements, relevant budget materials, IRS Form 990s, or bank statements.
• Use funds in accordance with the application.
• Demonstrate community support.
• Request funds only for a program that does not receive full funding from other sources of revenue.
• Must not request funds through a fiscal agent.

Submit an online application no later than the due date. Click here to see this year's due date and submit an application.

Grant-in-Aid funding cannot be used for:

• Providing child daycare.
• The purchase of capital equipment.
• The relocation, rehabilitation, renovation, or purchase of buildings.
• The payment of any part of an elected official's salary or benefits.
• A political campaign or for partisan political purposes.
• The hiring of lobbyists or other lobbying services.
• Activities, programs, or services that benefit individuals who do not reside in Delaware.

Grant-in-Aid Categories and Contacts

Each Grant-in-Aid category is assigned a team of legislators from the Joint Finance Committee. The teams review the applications assigned to that group and make funding recommendations to the full Committee. Decisions regarding Grant-in-Aid are made by the Joint Finance Committee in late June. Historically, the Grant-in-Aid bill is the final appropriations bill enacted by the legislature on June 30th.

Grant-In-Aid Coordinator –Jason Smith

Notification of Joint Finance Committee meetings to discuss Grant-in-Aid are posted on the internet and provided to the media. Meetings are open to the public. Please check the Joint Finance Committee Public Hearing page to view the schedule.