Truist Foundation

Grant information

Let's build a better world together. We support communities by investing in initiatives, projects and programs that create greater opportunity for all. Learn more below.

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We support our communities by investing in innovative nonprofits that work with adults and align with our key areas of focus: building career pathways to economic mobility and strengthening small businesses.

We support needs that are sustainable and don’t commit funds to recurring expenditures. Examples include funding for a new program launch, a curriculum to expand or strengthen a program, equipment to deliver a program, and capital needs.

Capital campaign requests may be considered (1) if the purpose of the campaign aligns with the Foundation's priorities and (2) when the campaign is 60% complete in donations and pledges toward its fundraising goal, showing the campaign’s viability and community support.

At Truist Foundation, we believe in the importance of inspiring and building better lives and communities through strategic philanthropy and partnerships. This hub is designed to give you a clear understanding of our vision, priorities, and processes. Explore the videos below to learn more about how we work together to create meaningful impact:

Truist Foundation’s Vision

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At Truist, our purpose is to inspire and build better lives and communities. This purpose defines who we are as a company. It's at the heart of every decision we make.

And the investments that Truist Foundation makes in local communities play an important role in fulfilling this purpose.

When Truist Foundation was established in two thousand twenty, we created a vision that aligns to Truist's purpose, mission, and values with one primary differentiator. The foundation would focus on inspiring economic mobility and wealth building, especially for those who are in highly distressed communities.

Our grants focus on building career pathways to economic mobility and strengthening small businesses. Through these two giving pillars, we aim to help level the playing field for all. Please review each giving pillar video to learn more.

Building Career Pathways to Economic Mobility Pillar

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At Truist Foundation, we focus our giving on two pillars: Building Career Pathways to Economic Mobility and Strengthening Small Businesses.

Within our Building Career Pathways to Economic Mobility pillar, our goal is to help job seekers enter middle skill careers to improve their financial security and ease mental burdens associated with not earning a living wage. We focus on three areas: helping workers navigate resources by giving them access to career coaches to help find solutions to challenges that inhibit career advancement, developing career pipeline programs and wraparound services, and field building across regional workforce systems. This means we encourage employers, the other end of the employment ecosystem, to consider expanding their talent pools to include non traditional job seekers, or possibly changing their cultural and social norms to allow for career advancement for all.

For this pillar, we ultimately seek to impact unemployed or underemployed adults and adults eighteen and older who are not your typical four year college graduate. We define middle skills jobs as any jobs that require a high school diploma or a GED and or a specialized certification, but less than a four year college degree. We also want to be transparent and share some information about what Truist Foundation will not support in the Building Career Pathways to Economic Mobility pillar. We would not be able to support primary education programs focused on kindergarten through twelfth grade students or anyone under the age of eighteen. While there are other funders who will support children and those who are in high school, our grants are primarily focused on those who are eighteen and older and are looking to advance their careers.

In addition, CHO's foundation will not support programs for adults who are already in a stable, well paying job with a four year degree or another advanced degree, or leadership programs for individuals who have been through a traditional college track to advance in their career.

The foundation will not support scholarships, including need based scholarships, and we won't support a standard higher education class or building at an undergraduate or postgraduate program.

Finally, the foundation will not provide general operating support. We're really looking for a special program or initiative that fits with our pillars.

Strengthening Small Businesses Pillar

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At Truist Foundation, we focus our giving on two pillars building career pathways to economic mobility, and strengthening small businesses.

The goal of our strengthening small businesses pillar is to ensure that entrepreneurs can start and grow small businesses with equal access to resources, including capital, education, markets, and networks.

Within this pillar, we have identified three primary needs to support: access to capital, technical assistance, and ecosystem support.

Our grants may support a local or national business accelerator, such as the University Innovation Center.

They may support a Community Development Financial Institution, or CDFI, providing loans to businesses that lack capital. Or they may support a cohort program of small business owners, such as those run by a local chamber of commerce or a local community development corporation.

We also want to be transparent and share some information about what Truist Foundation will not support in our Strengthening Small Businesses pillar.

We will not support a local chamber of commerce for general operating support, and we will not support membership dues.

The foundation also will not support initiatives that do not provide direct service to small business owners, or those that do not support all types of entrepreneurs.

Also, the foundation will not provide funding directly to small businesses.

All of our grants must go to nonprofit organizations.

Finally, the foundation will not support a local economic development agency or a community development corporation for general operating support. We're looking for specific programs or initiatives that fit squarely within our pillars.

Grant Deadlines, Stewardship Policy and How to Apply for a Grant

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At Truist Foundation, we have an open grant application process, meaning organizations do not have to be invited to apply for a Truist Foundation grant. We only accept applications through our online portal. To apply for a Truist Foundation grant, start by visiting truistfoundation dot org.

From there, navigate to the top right corner of the page and click Apply for a Grant, then click Apply Now.

Once you are at the Truist Foundation grant submission portal, you can refer to resources such as frequently asked questions, guidelines, and our measurement approach, monitoring, evaluation and learning, and our Stewardship Eligibility Chart prior to applying. You will need to create a new account with a unique username and password before you can begin the new application process.

Keep in mind, we have three deadlines a year: March thirty one, July thirty one and November thirty.

Applications that are submitted by March thirty one will receive the decision in July.

For those submitted by July thirty one, you'll receive the decision in November.

For applications submitted by November thirtieth, you'll receive the decision by April the following calendar year.

We also want you to know that we follow a three year stewardship policy, which means we ask organizations to wait three years between grants.

This policy is designed to benefit both the nonprofits and the foundation in making sure that you receive a grant that is large enough for you to generate impact and accomplish your goals in the first year.

As an example, if you receive a grant in twenty twenty five, we ask you to wait until twenty twenty eight before you apply again.

If you apply and you're declined, you can reapply as often as you want. There's no stewardship period for organizations who are declined.

Overview of Measurement, Evaluation & Learning

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An important aspect of our application for partners to understand is that Truist Foundation is committed to a learning agenda, meaning we want our partners to measure, evaluate, and learn alongside us. We have a couple guiding principles that we keep top of mind, including: Right size ensuring the value of the data collected exceeds the cost to collect it. Actionable not collecting data that won't be used.

Impact and outcome focused: meaning we don't measure vanity metrics.

Building on what others have learned before us instead of starting from scratch.

Minimizing cost and burden. Again, knowing nonprofit staffs are stretched, creating efficient data collection processes, and ensuring that we respect all that we share is part of our ethical process.

Our specific reporting requirements vary based on the size of the grant. But for most organizations, we ask for a final report fifteen months after the grant is approved. We provide a simple online form and try to make it as simple as possible. We evaluate impact at the output level and outcome level by measuring indicators such as those on the slide. For more details, please refer to the resources such as FAQs, guidelines, monitoring, evaluation and learning, and stewardship eligibility chart on the grant application site.

Answers to Common Questions

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Many nonprofits have similar questions as they consider applying for a Truist Foundation grant. In this video, we'll share answers to common questions we receive at Truist Foundation. What types of organization does Truist Foundation support? We support five zero one(three) organizations and five zero nine(three) supporting organizations.

We do not consider requests from private foundations, but fiscally sponsored projects are eligible to apply. Does Truist Foundation support capital campaigns? Yes, we support capital campaigns if the following criteria are met. First, the purpose of the campaign must be aligned with one of our strategic pillars. And second, the organization must have at least sixty percent of its fundraising goal secured before submitting the application to Truist. This includes donations, cash and pledges.

We like to see that your grassroot supporters are contributing before we consider capital campaign requests.

What is the typical grant amount I can apply for?

Grants are assessed based on the merit of the application, which includes evaluating the program, the budget allotted to the program, and the organization.

We don't want to be a sole supporter of a project, program or initiative. So, part of the review for your budget will also identify other supporters and their investments, which influences our investments. Sustainability of the project you're requesting funding for should be a factor as well.

Our grants span a wide range, but our local and regional based investments minimum is five thousand dollars And our support ranges based on our assessment of the application.

Our national grants are sometimes one million dollars or more.

Another factor to keep in mind is that we will consider partial funding of a request if alignment is there and we cannot meet the full request amount.

Can you tell me more about what Truist Foundation does and does not support?

We will provide project support for programs that align with our pillars.

We'll support capacity building and capital needs.

We will consider support for seed funding to launch a program or a project that aligns with the pillars.

We understand that sometimes it's really hard to get the project off the ground, and we want to consider those requests.

Conversely, we will not consider requests for general operating or recurring expenditures.

We do not consider requests for annual grants.

We do not consider requests for scholarships or endowments, sponsorships, fundraising events, or documentaries or films.

We also do not consider requests for anything that falls outside of our pillars.

Do you support programs or organizations that fall outside of the Truist footprint? Truist Financial Corp operates in seventeen states and the District of Columbia.

So we focus a significant portion of our giving in those locations, which includes the entire southeastern seaboard over to Texas and up to the mid Atlantic region.

Exact regions are listed on our website.

Additionally, we have several opportunities to support local or national organizations and programs that stretch coast to coast.

So if your organization has programming that aligns with one of our pillars, please consider applying.

For more information, please visit our FAQs at truis dot com slash foundation.

How to apply

We’re eager to hear from organizations that serve the critical needs of adults in their communities, by building career pathways to economic mobility and strengthening small businesses. Start a grant application through our online portal, and see our grant cycles below to learn when your application will be considered.

Apply online
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  • Submit your grant application through our online portal, and complete the eligibility quiz
  • You’ll need to submit the organization EIN (Tax ID#) and the nonprofit must be in good standing with the IRS. If you’re not sure, you can check IRS.gov or Guidestar
  • Applications should include a list of board of directors, an annual operating budget, and a project or program budget specific to the request
  • All applications will be reviewed in the requesting organization’s community

Effective Aug. 1, 2022, Truist Foundation’s new application form can be found in our new grants management portal. You’ll need to create an account during your first visit.

If you need access to an application in our previous system, you can login here through Dec. 31, 2024.

GRANT CYCLES

We have three annual grant cycles. Requests should be received by:

  • March 31 – notified of outcome in July
  • July 31 – notified of outcome in November
  • November 30 – notified of outcome in April

Questions?

Email truistfoundation@truist.com or call 833.307.2351.

Resources for grantees: Receive your grant, submit reporting, and other support

Once you’ve received communication from Truist Foundation regarding your application status, you may have questions about the next steps in our partnership. Read through what you can expect for these next steps, and follow the link to submit the necessary information.

Next steps to take note of:

  • Sign and return our Grant Agreement via Docusign
  • Submit payment information to let us know how you’d like to receive your grant payment via our secure portal on Benevity
  • Depending on the size of your grant, prepare to submit your Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) reports on a quarterly, bi-annually, or annually cadence – you will receive notifications when your reports are available for submission
Login here to get started with your grant agreement.

Questions?

For more information on reporting requirements, please refer to our Grantee Guidebook linked here. For other questions or for information about the Grant Acknowledgement or Payment Information submission, please email truistfoundation@truist.com or call 833.307.2351

Truist Foundation application FAQ

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The Truist Foundation supports our communities by investing in innovative nonprofits that align with our key areas of focus: building career pathways to economic mobility and strengthening small businesses. Learn more on our website here.

Although we understand that nonprofits have multiple needs, we'd like all applicants to choose one focus area that's the best fit.

Truist also invests in other areas such as thriving communities, education and disaster relief and recovery, but please note these grant requests are only reviewed if they were submitted with an invitation code.

We don't have a set amount or average grant size. The minimum grant is $5,000. Grant amounts are based on the strength of the program and how many people it impacts as well as how it aligns with our pillars and mission. We like to build our giving amounts as we build a relationship with the grantee.

If you submitted your application by the posted deadline, you'll receive an email notification of the decision approximately four months after the deadline. Thank you for your patience as we work through the internal review and meeting process.

Generally, we require grantees to wait at least three years between their grant award and the next request. We do this because the Truist Foundation doesn't make multiyear grants, nor do we support annual grants. This policy allows us to provide grantees with all funding at the time of the award to support longer-term needs. If your organization doesn't receive a grant, there's no waiting period to apply again.

We do accept applications from fiscal agents and fiscal sponsors for programs that meet the Building Career Pathways to Economic Mobility or Strengthening Small Businesses pillar. If the grant application is approved, the fiscal agent or fiscal sponsor will be required to submit a final report* on behalf of the organization receiving the funding approximately one year after the approval.

*Please refer to the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) reporting requirements linked here.

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Qualifying organizations meet basic criteria to be considered for charitable funding at Truist and may move forward with a grant application; however, meeting the qualifying organization criteria does not guarantee a grant will be provided.


The following types of organizations may qualify to receive funding:

  • Grants may be approved for organizations classified as 509(a)(1) or 509(a)(2) public charities under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. This includes churches (for secular, charitable programs only), educational organizations, hospitals, and publicly supported organizations.
  • Organizations, as well as the intended use of funds, must align to one of the established Truist Foundation giving pillars and must not fall under the “non-qualifying” or “ineligible” categories below. Additionally, evaluation of each grant request will be based on such factors as program management and budget, sources of income population served, distinctive features and community impact.
  • All organizations must be U.S.-based.
  • All organizations must comply with the USA Patriot Act.

When submitting an application, your organization's 501(c)(3) status will automatically be verified by our online system, so there’s no need to submit a copy of your organization's 501(c)(3) federal tax exemption letter from the IRS. However, if your organization is a 509(a)(3) supporting organization, please include a letter from your chairman, executive director, tax team or legal counsel that outlines:

  • Whether your organization is a Type I, II or III supporting organization and the name of the supported organization(s)
  • If your organization is a Type III supporting organization, confirmation that your organization is functionally integrated with the supporting organization(s)
  • List of your organization's board of directors and their affiliation

If any of the Non-Qualifying criteria applies, the organization does not qualify to be considered for charitable funding at Truist and the organization should not move forward with an application. If an application is submitted, a grant will not be approved.


The following types of organizations do not qualify to receive funding:

  • Any organization that does not qualify as a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the U. S. Internal Revenue Code.
  • Non-functionally integrated Type III supporting organizations described in Code section 509(a)(3).
  • Organizations that are described in a different subsection of Code section 501(c), such as a social welfare organization described in section 501(c)(4) or a trade association described in section 501(c)(6).
  • Political candidate committees, political parties, political action committees, political campaigns or lobbying activities, ballot measure committees, associations, and other political organizations.
  • Religious organizations (churches, synagogues, mosques, other houses of worship) with tax status identified as 170(b)(1)(A)(i) or other organizations primarily promoting religious purposes.
    • Faith-based community service organizations or schools may be considered if their programs are open to all individuals in the community regardless of religious beliefs and serve a secular purpose, such as a food pantry, homeless shelter or education.
  • Private elementary and secondary schools as listed by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center For Education Statistics (NCES), unless the majority of students represent low- to moderate-income households or otherwise vulnerable children.
  • Donor-advised funds, private foundations, personal trusts, endowments, individuals or families, including assistance with scholarships, humanitarian efforts, bills, or to assist specific persons following a catastrophic event, accident, or injury.
  • Organizations providing grants, loans, compensation, or similar payments to donors, fund advisors, or related parties.
  • Organizations that do not comply with our nondiscrimination policy, that attack or malign individuals or groups of individuals based on their demographic or other immutable  characteristics or act based on other prejudices, or that have a policy of discrimination on the  based on race, creed, national origin, color, religion, class, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, veteran status, or any other classification protected by applicable law.
  • Any organization on the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) watch list, or that has an individual on the OFAC watch list, or that do not comply with their established guidelines. Additionally, Truist Foundation reserves the right to utilize other national or international watch lists when vetting organizations.
  • Any organization that Truist Foundation, in its sole discretion, considers noncompliant with applicable law, controversial, or otherwise incompatible with its mission and core values.

While some organizations may meet the Qualifying organization criteria, if the request meets one or more of the Ineligible Requests criteria, their application will be ineligible. The organization should not move forward with an application; if an application is submitted, a grant will not be approved.

  • Requests that provide Truist Financial teammates, Truist Financial or related parties a direct or indirect material benefit from the organization such as athletic booster club benefits, dinners or other special events.
  • Requests seeking support for annual grants or general operations (except for United Way chapters), conferences without a charitable focus, documentaries and films, medical or scientific research, membership dues, scholarships, sponsorships, fundraising events or travel-related events, including student trips or tour.
  • Requests related to pledges or legally-binding financial obligations made by donors, fund advisors, or related parties.
  • Requests seeking support for deficit reduction.

For any additional questions, please email truistfoundation@truist.com