Bank of America Grants for Nonprofits: The Charitable Foundation and the Foundations It Manages

Bank of America grants reach nonprofits through two separate doors. The Bank of America Charitable Foundation takes applications during two posted windows a year for local grants in the bank's markets, and the bank's Philanthropic Solutions group lists more than 160 private foundations, each with its own rules, for which Bank of America serves as trustee or co-trustee. A grant from one of those foundations comes from that foundation, not from the bank.

Quick Answer: Does Bank of America Give Grants to Nonprofits?

Yes. The Bank of America Charitable Foundation makes local grants to 501(c)(3) public charities in its markets through two application windows a year, for basic needs, income creation, stable housing and empowering communities. Separately, the bank's Search for Grants site lists more than 160 private foundations it serves as trustee or co-trustee, each with its own rules.

How Do You Apply for a Bank of America Charitable Foundation Grant?

You apply online during one of the foundation's two posted application windows, after registering in NPO Hub and setting up ACH payments. Requests that pass the first review go to a local market committee for the final decision (Bank of America, Nonprofit Grant Funding and Sponsorships, read November 2026).

The foundation's eligibility rules come first. To be considered for a local grant, an organization:

• Must be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3), not classified as a private foundation, and not operating through a fiscal agent or sponsor
• Must be based in and serve communities in one of the bank's markets, listed on the same page
• Must fit one or more of the four funding priorities: basic needs, income creation, stable housing and empowering communities

The application itself runs on CyberGrants, the online system the foundation's FAQ links to. You can save an application and return to it from the Organization History screen. The bank cannot reset CyberGrants passwords; its FAQ sends locked-out applicants to CyberGrants support. Charitable organizations in the United States must register for NPO Hub, formerly called FrontDoor, and accept ACH payments to receive funding and to stay eligible for future grants.

Several rules in the FAQ shape the request:

1. The foundation funds an organization "no more than once in a calendar year," with rare exceptions, so choose the one request that matters most.
2. If you want general operating support, pick the request for proposals (RFP) that matches your mission most closely.
3. There is no separate local grant application. Every request goes through an RFP in CyberGrants and then to a local market committee.
4. Grant amounts "vary by market and organization size." If you received a grant before, a request in the same range is a good starting point.
5. The local RFP process does not, as a general rule, make multi-year grants.

For questions after you apply, the foundation lists foundation@bofa.com and 800.218.9946.

When Can You Apply for a Bank of America Grant?

The Bank of America Charitable Foundation opens two RFPs a year, and "unsolicited applications are not accepted outside of posted dates." Both 2026 windows have closed, and the 2027 dates had not been posted when this guide was checked in November 2026.

Source: Bank of America, Nonprofit Grant Funding and Sponsorships, read November 2026.

The 2026 calendar put one window in late winter and one in late spring, with status updates a few months after each window closed. That pattern is a rough guide only, so check the foundation's page in early 2027 for the posted dates before you build a timeline around them. If your work spans both RFPs, the once-a-year rule means you choose one. A food pantry that also runs a housing program, for example, would apply in the round for the work it most needs funded.

Two kinds of work need care. Arts organizations may apply if they can show a fit with income creation or empowering communities. Environmental organizations are eligible when their work connects to employment, energy-efficient housing or community resiliency. Funding for work outside the United States "is limited and is awarded by invitation only."

Who Is Not Eligible for a Bank of America Grant?

The Bank of America Charitable Foundation does not fund individuals, government agencies, endowments, fiscally sponsored groups or individual pre-K-12 schools, among other exclusions. The full list on its grant page:

• Organizations that discriminate on the grounds the page lists, including organizations that espouse hate toward any group
• Individuals, including people seeking scholarships or fellowships
• Political, labor and fraternal organizations, and civic clubs
• Government and municipal agencies
• Endowment funds
• Fiscally sponsored organizations
• Individual pre-K-12 schools, including private, public and charter schools, school foundations and PTA or PTO groups
• Memorial campaigns

Religious organizations get a specific rule. The foundation does not give general funding to any organization whose purpose is to promote or discourage religious belief, but it "will support such organization's funding of homeless shelters, soup kitchens or other social service needs," and it may ask for proof of the community program the grant supports. A church that runs a shelter or a meal program can apply for that program, not for its general budget.

Sports and athletic programs, travel such as student trips, and the production of books, films, videos or television programs are ineligible for charitable grants "with rare exceptions," though the bank may sponsor some of them through other channels.

What the Bank of America Charitable Foundation's 990-PF Shows

The Bank of America Charitable Foundation paid about $216.3 million in grants in tax year 2024, the latest return GrantCue has on file. That return reports the total as one figure and puts the grant list in an attachment that GrantCue's analysis cannot read, so there is no grant count, median grant or state breakdown to report.

Source: GrantCue's analysis of IRS Form 990-PF returns, tax year 2024.

Two things follow from the table. The foundation held about $10.1 million at the end of 2024, far less than it paid out that year, so it does not pay its grants from a large endowment of its own. And because the grant list sits in an attachment, the foundation's own pages are the better guide to who it funds and how much. The 990-PF vs. 990 grant list guide explains what each IRS form shows and where grant lists hide.

Company foundations differ in how much of their giving a reader can see. Some itemize every grant on the return, some say they fund only preselected organizations, and some, like this one, report a lump sum. Bank of America's foundation also posts its rules and application dates publicly, which a company foundation that funds only preselected organizations does not.

Bank of America Private Foundation Grants: How the Search for Grants Site Works

The second door is the bank's Philanthropic Solutions Search for Grants site (Bank of America, read November 2026). It describes more than 160 private foundations whose donors gave Bank of America sole or shared discretion over their grantmaking, with each foundation's mission, guidelines, application procedures, deadlines, contact information and grant history.

The rules on that site:

• Applicants must be 501(c)(3) public charities. The foundations do not consider requests from individuals and do not support direct lobbying or political campaigns.
• "Nearly all of the foundations presented on this site require online applications," and unless a foundation says otherwise, the bank does not accept applications by email or fax.
• The listed foundations mainly give in Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia, Vermont and Washington.
• Most have limited giving areas. Only five had a national focus when the site was read.
• Each state office publishes a procedures document with its contacts and any extra requirements.
• The bank cannot answer individual status questions. Each foundation emails applicants by its own notification date.

The listed foundations are a small share of the total, and Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase, which also act as trustees for private foundations, run a similar two-door setup. The site says Bank of America, N.A. "serves as trustee, co-trustee or agent for more than 5,000 private foundations nationally (as of October, 2023)." Foundations not on the site are ones whose donors chose a narrow focus or manage the grants themselves, or whose programs are run by outside partners, and the site suggests researching a foundation's 990-PF if it does not appear in the search. The site also says plainly that the Charitable Foundation and the private foundations under management "have different grantmaking programs and application procedures, so you will need to research each separately."

Examples of Foundations Filed Under Bank of America's Name

GrantCue's data includes 32 private foundations whose own filed names include Bank of America, usually as a "care of" line. That is a lower bound, since most bank-trusteed foundations do not print the bank in their names, but it shows what these funders look like. Fifteen of the 32 have a latest return that lists how to apply.

Source: GrantCue's analysis of IRS Form 990-PF returns; grants on file cover each foundation's one or two most recent tax years. Names are shown without the bank's "care of" line.

The examples vary widely. The Jacarlene Foundation says its mission is "to strengthen Florida through the arts, the environment, and education" and that it accepts letters of inquiry "on a quarterly rolling basis" (read November 2026). The Gladys Brooks Foundation says it supports nonprofit libraries, educational institutions, hospitals and clinics that are 501(c)(3) organizations and not private foundations (read November 2026). Hillcrest Foundation, a Dallas foundation whose grants on file went to Texas and Kansas, appears in the bank's search tool. The Twenty-Seven Foundation's latest return does not list how to apply, so it is a funder to watch rather than one to write to.

Many trust-managed foundations have no website of their own, and their grant lists live only in their filings. The guide to finding local family foundations without websites shows how to find them, and GrantCue's free profile of the Jacarlene Foundation is one example of a filing turned into a readable grant history.

Neighborhood Builders, Sponsorships and Other Bank of America Programs

Beyond the RFP grants, Bank of America runs a leadership award, local sponsorships and programs for students and nonprofit staff. None of them replaces the RFP windows for ordinary grant requests.

Neighborhood Builders is a two-year leadership development and grant program for a nonprofit's executive director or CEO and an emerging leader, with core operating support and a national peer network (Bank of America, read November 2026). The program page did not list an application date or an award amount when this guide checked it, so look there before relying on figures from older announcements.

The bank's nonprofit resources page (read November 2026) also lists sponsorships "in nearly 100 U.S. markets," the Student Leaders program, which gives rising college sophomores leadership training and work experience with nonprofits, and the Driving Impact webinar series for nonprofit leaders. Sponsorship decisions are separate from grants, and the grant page notes that some sports, travel and media requests that cannot get a grant may still be sponsored.

FAQ

Does Bank of America Give Grants to Individuals?

Not through its charitable foundation, which excludes individuals, including people seeking scholarships. The trustee foundations on the Search for Grants site do not consider requests from individuals either. Bank of America's mortgage business offers a Down Payment Grant of up to 3% of the purchase price, up to $10,000, for first-time homebuyers in select markets (Bank of America, read November 2026).

Does Bank of America Fund Churches?

Only for social services. The Bank of America Charitable Foundation does not give general funding to organizations whose purpose is to promote religious belief, but it will support a religious organization's homeless shelter, soup kitchen or other social service work, and it may ask for proof of that program. Trustee foundations on the bank's search site set their own guidelines, so check each one.

What Is the Bank of America CyberGrants Login?

CyberGrants is the online system where Bank of America Charitable Foundation applications are submitted and saved; the foundation's FAQ links to it. To return to a saved application, open Organization History. The bank has no access to CyberGrants accounts or passwords, so a locked-out applicant contacts CyberGrants support directly. The trustee foundations use a separate online application described on the Search for Grants site.

Is There a Bank of America $17,500 Grant Program?

Bank of America's own grant pages, read in November 2026, do not describe a $17,500 grant program. The Charitable Foundation says its local grant amounts vary by market and organization size, and past grantees should start near their previous award. Treat any fixed dollar figure you see elsewhere as unconfirmed until the foundation's page states it.

Can You Apply to the Charitable Foundation and a Trustee Foundation?

Yes. The bank describes them as two distinct groups with different grantmaking programs and application procedures, and it tells nonprofits to research each one separately. Applying to the Charitable Foundation in its posted window does not stop you from applying to a private foundation on the Search for Grants site, which runs on its own deadlines and decides under its own donor's mission.

Who Can a Private Foundation Give Money To?

Each private foundation follows its own governing documents and guidelines. The foundations on Bank of America's Search for Grants site accept requests only from 501(c)(3) public charities, never from individuals, and do not support direct lobbying or political campaigns. Most have limited giving areas, so check a foundation's states and program areas before you apply.

Next Steps for a Bank of America Grant

Check the Charitable Foundation's grant page in early 2027 for the new RFP dates, register in NPO Hub now so the application is not held up, and decide which single request you will make this year. Then search the bank's trustee foundations by your state and program area, and read the procedures document for your region.

The guides to Wells Fargo grants and Chase grants for nonprofits cover two other large banks, and the guide to corporate grants for nonprofits compares company foundations by typical grant and by whether they take applications. For other funders in your area, the guide to finding grants for nonprofits covers the main channels, and the guide to reading a 990-PF grant list shows how to check a private foundation's past grants. Look up private funders on GrantCue's free foundation pages, search open grants, and create a free GrantCue account to save the funders that fit, track their deadlines and get alerts when new grants open.