Bank of America Grants 2026: RFP Dates and Who Gets Funded

Bank of America grants open now: 8 routes checked

Grantsights checked 8 possible routes on November 8, 2026. None was taking applications from organizations that day. The table lists what each pays for, who it's for and its status.

Recently closed: both 2026 local RFP windows (February 2 to March 2 and May 18 to June 29, 2026) and the Art Conservation Project's 2027 funding round.

The honest summary: for most nonprofits, Bank of America money means one shot a year through one of 2 short RFP windows. If you missed 2026, the work now is getting ready for 2027.

How the Bank of America Charitable Foundation's 2 RFP cycles work

The foundation's FAQ describes 2 application cycles a year, and says it won't accept unsolicited applications outside the posted dates. Each cycle maps to 2 of its 4 priorities:

According to the grant funding page, checked November 8, 2026, an organization must meet 3 tests to be considered for a local grant:

• be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3), not classified as a private foundation, and not operating through a fiscal agent or sponsor;
• be based in and serve communities in one of the bank's eligible markets (opens in a new tab); and
• line up with at least one funding priority: basic needs, income creation, stable housing or Empowering Communities.

The page also lists who can't get a grant: individuals (including people seeking scholarships), political, labor and fraternal groups and civic clubs, government and municipal agencies, endowment funds, fiscally sponsored groups, individual pre-K-12 schools (public, private, charter, school foundations and PTAs or PTOs), memorial campaigns, and groups that discriminate. Religious organizations can't get general funding, though the page says the bank will support their homeless shelters, soup kitchens and other social services. Sports, travel and book or film production are ineligible "with rare exceptions."

Four FAQ answers shape how you should apply:

1. One grant per calendar year. The foundation says it funds an organization no more than once a year, with rare exceptions. Pick the cycle that fits your highest-priority program.
2. No multi-year grants through the local RFP, as a general rule.
3. Arts and environmental groups can apply only through the priorities. Arts groups need a link to Income Creation or Empowering Communities; environmental groups need a tie to jobs, energy-efficient housing or community resilience.
4. Local committees decide. Applications go through CyberGrants, and accepted ones move to a local market committee for the final call.

The market list matters more than the state

The eligible markets page (opens in a new tab) listed 96 entries on November 8, 2026. Some are whole states (Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Utah, Wisconsin), but most are metro areas, such as 15 in California and 12 in Florida. Ten states had no listed market: Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming. A nonprofit in rural Texas is in a state the bank serves but may not be in one of its 7 Texas markets.

Who Bank of America grants actually fund

Grantsights analysis of the foundation's 2023 return found 5,621 payments of $5,000 or more, worth $188.8 million, after the exclusions in the data note. They went to about 4,200 differently named recipients in 49 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The median was $15,000, and the middle half fell between $5,250 and $25,000.

According to our analysis, the most common amounts were $5,000 (1,309 payments), $25,000 (676), $10,000 (608) and $100,000 (312). The $100,000 cluster is the band where a local grant becomes a serious operating gift, but the return doesn't say which program paid it.

Where the money went by state

California led with 809 grants and $23.8 million, followed by New York (489, $20.1 million), Washington, D.C. (135, $13.9 million), Texas (415, $13.1 million) and North Carolina (370, $13.0 million). Florida (458, $11.7 million), Massachusetts (196, $9.8 million), Illinois (187, $9.2 million), Virginia (185, $8.7 million) and Georgia (173, $6.7 million) complete the top 10. Charlotte, the foundation's home city, alone drew 160 grants worth $8.7 million.

The states with no listed market got almost nothing: 4 grants totaling $20,000 in Alaska, 2 grants worth $10,000 each in Mississippi and West Virginia, 1 grant of $5,000 each in Wyoming and South Dakota, and none in North Dakota.

Named examples from the 2023 return

The largest checks went to national groups and Charlotte institutions. For example, the American Heart Association received $2,500,000 and Atrium Health Foundation in Charlotte received $2,500,000 in 2023. Other large 2023 grants on the return:

• Close Up Foundation, Arlington, Virginia: $1,715,000
• UnidosUS, Washington, D.C.: $1,425,000
• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), New York: $1,300,000
• Enterprise Community Partners, Columbia, Maryland: $1,250,000
• Feeding America, National Urban League, Johnson C. Smith University and the Charlotte Symphony: $1,000,000 each

Local grants look much smaller. For example, Bunker Labs in Chicago received $50,000, the HOPE Program in Brooklyn received $50,000, Neighborhood Progress in Cleveland received $100,000 and $40,000, Grace Medical Home in Orlando received $100,000, Iron Gate in Tulsa received $20,000 and $16,000, and Mid-Ohio Foodbank received $20,000, all in 2023.

2024: one line and a total

According to the 2024 Form 990-PF, the foundation paid $216,309,069 in grants during calendar 2024, down about 4% from $225.6 million in 2023. The e-filed data lists that amount as a single entry pointing to an attachment, so 2024 recipients, counts and medians can't be read from the public data. The 2024 return answers the application questions in Part XIV with a pointer to the foundation's web page rather than the "preselected only" box, which fits an open RFP model.

Neighborhood Builders: what the page says in November 2026

Neighborhood Builders is Bank of America's best-known nonprofit award, and in November 2026 its page gave almost no details. On November 8, 2026, the page described a 2-year leadership development and grant program for an organization's executive director or CEO and an emerging leader, with core operating support and a national peer network. It listed no application window, no amount and no 2026 class.

The foundation's own returns show the program had a public window in past years. The 2023 return lists May 1 to May 31, 2023, and the 2024 return lists May 1 to May 31, 2024. Those returns also named a Neighborhood Champions program (April 3 to April 30, 2024) and a Summer Youth Employment Program window. Neither appears on the current giving pages Grantsights checked, so treat both as past programs unless the bank posts them again.

Don't rely on figures from grant blogs or old press clippings for the award size. Bank of America hadn't published an amount on its own page on the check date, and this guide doesn't repeat one.

How to apply for a Bank of America grant in 2027, step by step

The foundation's FAQ gives a 6-step path, and most of it can be done before a window opens.

1. Confirm your market. Find your city or state on the eligible markets page (opens in a new tab). The organization must be based in and serve that market.
2. Confirm your status. You need a 501(c)(3) public charity determination, not private foundation status and not a fiscal sponsor. The IRS explains the 501(c)(3) exemption requirements (opens in a new tab) if you're still setting up.
3. Register in NPO Hub. The FAQ says U.S. charities must register for NPO Hub (formerly FrontDoor) and accept ACH payments to receive funding and stay eligible. Do this early; it isn't tied to a window.
4. Pick one cycle. Since the foundation funds a group once a year, choose Basic Needs and Income Creation (the winter cycle in 2026) or Stable Housing and Empowering Communities (the late-spring cycle in 2026) based on your top program.
5. Take the eligibility survey when the window opens. The FAQ links to an eligibility survey on CyberGrants. It says meeting the criteria doesn't guarantee funding and that applications outpace available money. Qualifying answers lead to the online RFP application, which you can save and finish later at the CyberGrants RFP login.
6. Ask for the right amount. The FAQ says amounts vary by market and size, and past grantees should ask in the range they received before. First-time applicants can use the return's median of $15,000 as a reality check.

Common mistake: applying to both cycles. The FAQ says an organization can't send an RFP and a separate local request, and it funds an organization no more than once a calendar year. Two applications won't double your odds.

Questions go to foundation@bofa.com or 800.218.9946, per the funding page. CyberGrants login problems go to CyberGrants support, not the bank.

What Bank of America's Grant Pages Don't Tell You

Grantsights checked the bank's 6 giving pages against the foundation's 2023 and 2024 returns, and 5 things stood out.

Most payments are tiny. Of 58,994 payments in 2023, 43,775 were under $1,000. The single most common amount was $500 (10,056 payments). The return calls all of them "Program/Operating Support," but the pattern looks like employee-driven giving, not RFP grants. Mid-Ohio Foodbank, for example, received one $20,000 grant and 13 smaller payments worth $1,793 in total. Don't underestimate how much of the headline $225.6 million never went through an application at all: 53,273 payments under $5,000 added up to $28.1 million.

Schools are excluded but still show up. The grant page rules out individual pre-K-12 schools and PTAs, yet the 2023 return lists 1,934 payments ($1.67 million) to recipients coded as schools or school districts, and 1,438 of them were under $1,000. A school reading that list as proof it can apply would be making a common mistake: those payments don't fit the local RFP rules as written.

The survey and the page don't quite match. The grant page requires 501(c)(3) status. The CyberGrants survey asks whether the group is a 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4) or 501(c)(6), or an accredited educational institution. If you're a (c)(4) or (c)(6), ask foundation@bofa.com before you spend time on a local application, because the page's eligibility list is stricter.

National partners take the biggest checks. The 14 payments of $1 million or more, about 10% of analyzed dollars, went mostly to national groups such as the American Heart Association, UnidosUS, LISC and Enterprise. LISC and Enterprise also run local programs, so a local housing group may reach Bank of America money through them.

Some money goes abroad through an intermediary. In 2023, 99 payments worth $8.8 million went to Charities Aid Foundation America, which passes grants on to overseas charities. The return doesn't name the final recipients. That fits the FAQ's note that funding outside the U.S. is by invitation only. It's a red flag only if someone tells you there's an open international application: there isn't one.

A 4-question fit check before 2027

Use these 4 questions in order. A "no" on either of the first 2 means the foundation can't fund you.

1. Is your group in one of the 96 listed markets? If you're in one of the 10 states without a market, the 2023 return shows how little reached them.
2. Are you a 501(c)(3) public charity, not fiscally sponsored, and not a school, government agency or individual?
3. Does one program clearly fit basic needs, income creation, stable housing or Empowering Communities? Job training, food access, shelter, housing counseling and financial coaching fit plainly. An arts or environmental program needs an explicit jobs or community link.
4. Do you have peers on the return? Look up groups like yours in your city on the foundation's ProPublica filings (opens in a new tab). If similar groups in your market received $10,000 to $25,000, that's a realistic first ask.

Plausible fit, for example: a workforce nonprofit in Houston training adults for jobs, applying once in the Basic Needs and Income Creation cycle. Poor fit: a PTA in Charlotte raising money for one school, which the page excludes by name.

Where to apply when Bank of America's cycle is closed

Bank of America's 2 windows covered about 10 weeks in 2026. The routes below take applications on their own schedules.

Other banks: banks give locally partly because of the Community Reinvestment Act. According to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's CRA page (opens in a new tab), the 1977 law encourages insured banks to help meet the credit needs of the communities they serve, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. Compare the Wells Fargo Foundation grants guide, the Truist Foundation grants guide and corporate grants for nonprofits for other banks and companies with their own cycles.

Housing and community development groups: according to HUD, its Housing Counseling program (opens in a new tab) works through HUD-participating agencies and certified counselors, and the housing counseling agency grants guide covers who funds that work. For development and repair, see the affordable housing grants guide and the community development corporation grants guide. Community lenders can look at the Treasury's CDFI Program (opens in a new tab), whose awards CDFIs must match dollar for dollar with non-federal funds; the CDFI Fund grants guide explains the cycle.

Income creation and basic needs: the workforce training grants guide, best grants for workforce development nonprofits, the financial literacy program grants guide and the food bank grants guide list funders that take applications. For unrestricted money, read grants for nonprofit operating costs.

Museums: with the Art Conservation Project closed until its 2028 round, see the museum grants guide.

Local money: Charlotte groups should also read the Charlotte grants guide, and everyone should check their community foundation; see the community foundation grants guide. Grantsights' human services funder lists sort private foundations by cause and state using the grants they report on their 990-PF returns, and you can preview your own state free. The Grantsights grant database lists open opportunities.

Bank-managed trusts: Bank of America Private Bank serves as trustee or agent for many private foundations, and its Search for Grants page (opens in a new tab) listed more than 160 of them on November 8, 2026, mostly giving in 21 named states. Each is a separate funder with its own guidelines and deadlines, unrelated to the Bank of America Charitable Foundation's RFP.

How Grantsights Checked This Guide

Grantsights checked Bank of America's grant funding, eligible markets, Neighborhood Builders, find resources, Student Leaders and Art Conservation Project pages, the CyberGrants eligibility survey, the Philanthropic Solutions overview and Search for Grants page, and the foundation's 2023 and 2024 Form 990-PF returns on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer (opens in a new tab), all on November 8, 2026. ProPublica's record shows EIN 20-0721133 for the Bank of America Charitable Foundation in Charlotte, North Carolina, with tax exemption issued March 2004.

According to IRS guidance on its private foundation annual return page (opens in a new tab), every private foundation must file Form 990-PF each year, which is why these grant lists are public. For a walkthrough of reading one, see how to read a 990-PF.

Related Guides

• Corporate grants for nonprofits
• Wells Fargo Foundation grants
• Truist Foundation grants
• Grants for affordable housing

Sources

• Bank of America: Grant Funding for Nonprofits and Sponsorship Programs (opens in a new tab)
• Bank of America: Eligible States and Local Markets (opens in a new tab)
• Bank of America: Neighborhood Builders (opens in a new tab)
• Bank of America: Nonprofit Grants, Sponsorships and Leadership Programs (opens in a new tab)
• Bank of America: Student Leaders (opens in a new tab)
• Bank of America: Art Conservation Project (opens in a new tab)
• Bank of America Private Bank: Philanthropic Solutions, Search for Grants (opens in a new tab)
• ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer: Bank of America Charitable Foundation filings (2023 and 2024 Form 990-PF) (opens in a new tab)
• IRS: Private Foundation Annual Return (opens in a new tab)
• IRS: Exemption Requirements, 501(c)(3) Organizations (opens in a new tab)
• OCC: Community Reinvestment Act (opens in a new tab)
• HUD: Housing Counseling (opens in a new tab)
• CDFI Fund: CDFI Program (opens in a new tab)