Nonprofits that want a share of St. Mary’s County money in the next budget year have until Dec. 10 to apply, and the county is holding a training session in November to walk groups through the online system.
The Commissioners of St. Mary’s County announced Thursday that county government has opened its nonprofit funding application for the fiscal year 2028 budget cycle. The process is entirely electronic. Applicants must be nonprofit organizations serving St. Mary’s County, and the county asks them to read the full Notice of Funding Availability before starting, then use the links in it.
The county’s nonprofit page adds the details that matter to anyone preparing a submission. Each nonprofit may submit only one application, and the organization must be in good standing with the State of Maryland. Requests are made under one of three categories, each reviewed by a different county department: Aging and Human Services (behavioral health, community services, disability services and homeless prevention); Economic Development (conservation of natural resources, economic development and workforce development); and Recreation and Parks (community events, cultural activities, and historical and heritage interpretation).
The application has two parts. Groups complete online forms covering contact information, revenue and expenditures, a summary of changes, a project budget summary and selected statistics. They also upload an executive summary, their most recent IRS Form 990 and, if one is required, an audited financial statement. Applicants must also attend a Nonprofit Institute class and submit the attendance certificate. County rules bar individual meetings with county employees or departments to review proposals; if staff need more information, they will contact the applicant by email.
The county says applicants should not wait. The online system lets users save their progress and return to edit a submission up to the Dec. 10 deadline. First-time users register for an account on the county’s nonprofit portal, while returning users log in. Questions go to nonprofithelp@stmaryscountymd.gov.
For groups that want help with the software, the county’s Finance Department will offer a one-hour training on how to navigate the online process on Nov. 4 at 3 p.m. To sign up, contact Shelly Bean at (301) 475-4200, ext. 1211, or at the same email address.
Timing matters because the application is the front end of the county’s budget calendar. According to the release, commissioners will review the nonprofit requests at their March 2, 2027, Budget Work Session, with final adoption of the FY2028 county budget scheduled for May 18, 2027. Applying by December puts a request in front of commissioners months before any decision, but the county has not said how much money will be available for FY2028, and the nonprofit page does not list a total pool or maximum award. Groups should confirm those details in the full notice or with the Finance Department before building a request around a specific figure.
The cycle is a familiar one for local nonprofits. The county ran the same process last year for the FY2027 budget and in 2023 for FY2025. Last year’s FY2027 training materials show how applications are scored on a 100-point scale: 25 points for the organization, 35 for performance measures and 40 for qualitative analysis. Applicants should check the current notice to confirm the FY2028 scoring has not changed.
Nonprofits that receive awards must file performance reports online, according to the county’s nonprofit page. For FY2028 awards, a semi-annual report is due Jan. 15, 2028, and an annual report is due July 15, 2028.
Residents who want to follow the budget discussions can attend commissioner meetings and work sessions in person at the Chesapeake Building, 41770 Baldridge Street in Leonardtown; watch live on county TV Channel 95; or stream live or on demand on the county’s YouTube channel. Nonprofit leaders can also read how commissioners handled the last budget in the Chronicle’s coverage of the FY2027 budget approval.
