Introducing the ACF Flexible Microgrants Program

Shayne Lopez • March 25, 2025

What began as an emergency response in 2020 has grown into something much more.

The Athens County Foundation is proud to announce the launch of the  Flexible Microgrants Program—a streamlined funding opportunity shaped by five years of listening, learning, and evolving alongside our community. Designed to be responsive and accessible, this program offers gap-filling grants of up to $3,000 per organization per year, available when and where they are needed most.


An evolution of our previous Response and Capacity Building Grants, this new iteration offers expanded flexibility to meet a wide range of organizational needs, including:

  • Bridging funding gaps left by other sources
  • Responding to unexpected opportunities or challenges
  • Covering essential operational costs such as rent, staff salaries, or wellness resources
  • Supporting projects that foster  community engagement, build  a sense of belonging, and increase visibility for  historically marginalized groups
  • And more


Aligned with our  2025–2030 Strategic Plan, the Flexible Microgrants Program reflects ACF’s deep commitment to  expanding capacity  and  enabling participation  across Athens County’s nonprofit sector.


Proposal Review Schedule

Proposals are reviewed quarterly:

  • Q2 Deadline:  June 15, 2025   Decisions by July 10
  • Q3 Deadline:  September 15, 2025   Decisions by October 10
  • Q4:  Closed — please apply through the Fall Cycle


For questions about this opportunity, please contact  Shayne Lopez  at shayne@athensfoundation.org.

Apply Now

Stacy Strauss is ACF's new Director of Finance and Administration

By Emily Prince • September 1, 2026
Please join us in welcoming our new Director of Finance and Administration, Stacy Strauss. Stacy looks forward to using her skills to strengthen our community! She brings energy, creativity, and a thoughtful approach to her work, along with a genuine ability to bring people together around shared goals. Her experience spans financial management, fundraising and grant writing, program development, business strategy, and developing materials that tell a clear, compelling story.  Just as importantly, she enjoys helping others grow. She has experience leading and training teams, building collaborative cultures, developing recruitment strategies, and finding practical, creative solutions to complicated challenges. Whether working with colleagues, community partners, or other stakeholders, she builds relationships rooted in trust, communication, and a shared commitment to advancing good ideas.

Fall Grant Applications Open

By Shayne Lopez • August 28, 2026
Athens County's greatest asset is its people. Every day, neighbors, organizations, and local leaders bring skill, creativity, and deep knowledge of this place to the work of building a stronger community. Our grantmaking invests in those strengths, because the best solutions are already growing here, led by the people who call Athens County home. Our grantmaking builds on the strengths already here by investing in the initiatives, people and organizations, relationships, skills, and ideas working to address longstanding challenges and pursue extraordinary opportunities. 

Pull up a Chair: August Newsletter

By Emily Prince • August 12, 2026
Collaboration and Partnership