MCFF grant, Nelson scholarship deadline April 1

McCOOK, Neb. -- The deadline for grant requests from the McCook Community Foundation Fund and the annual Nelson Hometown Scholarship program is quickly approaching. Applications are due Wednesday, April 1st, for both the MCFF spring grants and the Nelson Hometown Scholarship.

For the grant requests, up to $30,000 will be available for public charities, government entities or other community groups performing charitable activities. Grant applicants from MCFF must align with the Fund's mission to improve the quality of life for the people of southwest Nebraska.

McCook Community Foundation Fund will place priority on projects that will have a broad impact on the quality of life for a significant number of people, propose creative ways to address community needs, engage young people in the community, or support innovative approaches to economic and community development.

Those assisted through the 2014 grants included the McCook Art Guild, Educational Service Unit 15, McCook TeamMates, the Oh, What a Night! celebration, the Hormel Business Plan Competition, Southwest Nebraska Leadership Institute and McCook Public Schools.

Also available is the annual Nelson Hometown Scholarship program, which is available to McCook High School and Southwest High School graduating seniors. The Nelson Hometown Scholarship program will award scholarships of $1,500 or more annually. Eligible applicants must express a desire to return to southwest Nebraska sometime in the future. Special consideration will be given to those applicants expressing a desire to own and operate a business. The scholarships may be renewed. Recipients must attend one of the following colleges: The Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis, Nebraska; Mid-Plains Community College in McCook or North Platte, Nebraska; or the University of Nebraska-Kearney.

The scholarships are funded by the Nelson Institute Fund, an affiliated fund of the Nebraska Community Foundation, and administered by the McCook Community Foundation Fund.

McCook Community Foundation Fund works to ensure that McCook is a vibrant, inclusive community by investing in innovation, economic and educational opportunities, quality community leadership, cultural arts and healthy families and lifestyles.

Application forms and additional information about either the grants or the scholarship are available on the Web at www.nebcommfound.org/fund/McCook. For additional information or to request an application form, contact Ronda Graff at (308) 340-3412, or mcffund@gmail.com.

All applications must be received by 5:00 p.m. CDT on April 1, 2015.

The McCook Community Foundation Fund is an affiliated fund of the Nebraska Community Foundation. NCF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization providing strategic planning, education, training and financial management to 223 affiliated funds in Nebraska. Since its founding in 1993, NCF and its affiliated funds have invested more than $163 million in Nebraska.