Corporate foundations fund community organisations, sports clubs, schools and small enterprises as part of corporate social investment. The money is real and the application process is more predictable than most people assume — but it is aimed at organisations, not at individuals.
This page sets out what corporate foundations generally require, how to find them, and how to write an application that gets read.
Eligibility Requirements at a Glance
What corporate foundations generally require of an applicant.
- A registered organisation — a non-profit company, a trust, a voluntary association with a constitution, or a registered small business, depending on the programme
- Registration as a non-profit organisation with the Department of Social Development, where the programme requires it
- A bank account in the organisation’s name, with signatories properly authorised
- A constitution or founding document and a governing body or board
- Evidence of the work already done — foundations fund track records, not intentions
- Alignment with the foundation’s stated focus areas
- A defined project with a budget and measurable outcomes
- Willingness to report on how the money was spent
Income and Affordability Requirements
Confirm the foundation’s current focus areas, criteria, application windows and channels directly with it. Corporate foundations set their own priorities, revise them, and often fund on cycles rather than continuously. The foundation’s own published guidelines are the authoritative source.
Foundations fund organisations, not individuals, in the great majority of cases. Where individual support exists it is usually a bursary programme with its own criteria. If you are an individual seeking help, look for bursary and scholarship programmes rather than grant applications.
Read the focus areas before writing anything. A foundation funding sport development will not fund a feeding scheme however worthy, and applications outside the stated focus are declined without being read. Matching the focus is more important than the quality of the writing.
Track record beats ambition. Foundations fund organisations that have already done something, however small, with evidence — photographs, attendance records, testimonials, previous financial statements. A new organisation with no history is a hard application; run something small first and document it.
Governance is checked. A constitution, a functioning board, minutes, and financial records that reconcile. Organisations fail on governance far more often than on merit, and it is entirely fixable in advance.
Section 18A status is worth having. Where an organisation is approved as a public benefit organisation under section 18A of the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962, it can issue receipts allowing donors a tax deduction, which makes it materially more attractive to corporate funders. Confirm the requirements with SARS.
Credit and Financial Requirements
Write the application around outcomes, not activities. “We will run a programme” is an activity. “Forty children will attend twice weekly for a year, and we will report attendance and school results” is an outcome with evidence attached. Funders read for the second.
Budget realistically and completely. Understating costs to look cheap is the most common error, and it leaves the project unfunded halfway. Include everything, and be explicit about what other funding is in place.
Say what happens after the grant. Funders ask about sustainability because they do not want to create a dependency. Having an honest answer — even “we will apply again and here is what we are doing to reduce the need” — is better than avoiding the question.
Reporting is a condition, not a courtesy. Grant agreements require reporting on spending and outcomes, and failing to report ends the relationship and usually blocks future applications. Build the reporting into the project from day one.
Apply to many foundations. Corporate foundations, private family foundations, embassy small grants programmes, the National Lotteries Commission, sector bodies and municipal community grants all fund community work through different processes. Applying to one is not a strategy.
Never pay anyone to secure a grant. Foundations do not charge application fees and no consultant can guarantee funding. Anyone charging for access to a grant programme is committing fraud.
Documents and Verification Required
The application document set.
- The organisation’s constitution or founding document
- Registration certificates — NPO, CIPC or trust deed and letters of authority
- Proof of the bank account in the organisation’s name
- Certified ID copies of the board members or trustees
- Latest annual financial statements or a financial report
- A list of the board or governing body and their roles
- A project proposal with objectives, activities, budget and measurable outcomes
- Evidence of past work — photographs, reports, attendance records, testimonials
- Section 18A approval, where held
- Letters of support from the community, a school, a clinic or a municipality
How to Apply and Improve Approval Readiness
Read the foundation’s published guidelines, confirm the current application window, and write the proposal specifically for that foundation against its stated focus areas. Generic proposals sent to many funders are recognisable and are declined.
If your organisation is not yet registered or its governance is incomplete, fix that first — free help is available from the Department of Social Development for NPO registration and from small business support offices for enterprises.
- Confirm the foundation’s current focus areas and application windows
- Match the focus area before writing anything
- Register the organisation and get a bank account in its name
- Put governance in order — constitution, board, minutes, financials
- Consider applying for section 18A approval through SARS
- Document your existing work — funders fund track records
- Write around measurable outcomes, not activities
- Budget completely and realistically
- Build reporting into the project from day one
- Apply to many funders and never pay anyone to secure a grant
Frequently Asked Questions
Do corporate foundations fund individuals?
Rarely. They fund registered organisations. Where individual support exists it is usually a bursary programme with its own criteria — look for those instead.
What matters most in an application?
Matching the foundation’s stated focus area, and evidence of work already done. Applications outside the focus are declined without being read.
Why do good organisations get declined?
Most often on governance — no constitution, no functioning board, no financial records that reconcile — rather than on the merit of the work. All of that is fixable in advance.
Can a consultant guarantee funding?
No. Foundations do not charge application fees and no one can guarantee a grant. Anyone charging for access to a grant programme is committing fraud.
Focus areas, eligibility criteria, application windows and reporting requirements are set by each foundation and are revised. Confirm current requirements directly with the foundation, and registration requirements with the Department of Social Development, the CIPC and SARS.