Community Resilience Grant

About this grant

The Alcoa Foundation, founded in 1952, collaborates with charitable organisations worldwide to invest in projects that advance sustainable social, environmental and economic outcomes, with priority given to regions where Alcoa operates. The Community Resilience priority area funds access to education, health and clean water, STEM-related school programmes and student mentorship, and food security. The foundation's other two priority areas are Economic Resilience (skills development, economic diversification, entrepreneur development and regional STEM workforce development) and Landscape Resilience (biodiversity conservation, climate adaptation, habitat restoration and greenspace and waterways stewardship). Grant applications are by invitation only, and the foundation states it is not accepting unsolicited grant requests at this time. Grantees are selected for alignment with the priority areas and for sustainable, outcome-focused community investments. The page reports 2025 totals of USD $7,077,197 in charitable support across 61 projects in 10 countries and 17,509 volunteer hours, including Alcoa Foundation, Instituto Alcoa and corporate-funded initiatives.

Eligibility

Grant applications are by invitation only, and the foundation is not accepting unsolicited requests at this time. Selected projects must be based in regions where Alcoa operates, align with the foundation's priority focus areas, and be able to meet granting agreement and reporting requirements. The foundation also expects projects to be sustainable without ongoing Alcoa Foundation funding and to demonstrate commitment to the inclusion of diverse and underserved populations.

How it's scored

The foundation seeks projects that align with its priority focus areas, deliver outcomes that are measurable, trackable and communicable, can be sustained over time, and have the organisational capacity to meet granting and reporting terms. It also values demonstrated commitment to inclusion of diverse and underserved populations and, where appropriate and feasible, volunteering opportunities that amplify impact. No scoring weights or panel composition are published.

Key requirements

• ✓Project must focus on access to education, health, clean water, STEM programs, student mentorship, or food security
• ✓Initiative must be located in a region where Alcoa operates
• ✓Applicant must be a nonprofit, charity, community group, or local authority

Recent past awardees

Knowing who's won the last rounds tells you whether you're in the strike zone.

• Rivers of Steel
• Waalitj Foundation
• Rio dos Cachorros community culinary training programme

Frequently asked questions

Who can apply for Community Resilience?

Eligibility covers organisations in GLOBAL; nonprofit, charity, community-group, local-authority. See the eligibility criteria above for the full conditions.

Relevant sectors

About this sector

Water funding covers supply, sanitation, wastewater treatment, water efficiency, catchment management and flood risk. A large share is public procurement for infrastructure and services, alongside grants for innovation and access in underserved areas. Bidders and applicants are typically assessed on technical capacity, operating experience and community impact.