Cisco Global Impact Cash Grant Program 2026 (With Up to $100,000 in Funding)

Published: August 05, 2026
Deadline: Ongoing
Category: Grants

Applications are currently being accepted for the Cisco Global Impact Cash Grant Program 2026. Interested applicants are encouraged to click here to learn more about this opportunity and apply for it.

About Cisco Global Impact Cash Grant Program

They identify, incubate, and develop innovative early-stage solutions with the highest potential for impact. Global Impact Cash Grants go to nonprofit organizations (NPOs) and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that address a significant social problem. They're looking for programs that fit within our investment sectors, focus on the underserved, and use technology to improve the reach and efficiency of services.

Sponsor Organisation: Cisco

Benefits of Cisco Global Impact Cash Grant Program

If your organization is selected for a Global Impact Cash Grant, the funding package includes:

Up to US$100,000 in cash grants for first-time grant recipients.
Opportunities for continued funding eligibility based on project success and metrics performance.
Access to Cisco’s online grant platform to customize performance metrics.

Cisco Global Impact Cash Grant Program Requirements

To be eligible for the Cisco Global Impact Cash Grants, your organization must meet all of the following requirements:

US organizations must be recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) public charity. Organizations outside the US must provide documentation proving they are the equivalent of a US public charity.
The program you are funding must serve an audience that is greater than 65 percent economically underserved, relative to the average standards of your target geography.
Must align with at least one of the four key investment sectors (Crisis Response, Education, Economic Empowerment, Climate Resilience).
Your organization’s overhead costs must not exceed 25 percent.
The program must make innovative use of information and communications technology to improve efficiency and reach.
The solution must be replicable, scalable, and sustainable without requiring a nearly equivalent investment for each new individual or group.

Application Date and Process

Global Impact Cash Grants multiply the impact of eligible non-profit and non-governmental organizations around the globe with national or multinational operations. We welcome applications from potential partners who share our vision and offer an innovative approach with potential for broad impact.

Step 1: Determination of eligibility

Before spending time on a submission, we urge you to use the following resources to determine if your program is a strong fit with Cisco's mission, strategic approach, and objectives for grant support. Only optimally aligned programs can be considered for funding.

We welcome you to introduce us to your concept, using one of the two online pathways linked immediately below. We offer a primary pathway for all NPO/NGO grant proposals, and then a second pathway for for-profit climate investments.

Please choose the most appropriate pathway for your concept:

For climate, education, crisis response, and economic empowerment nonprofit grant proposals, please complete our Eligibility Quiz for NPOs/NGOs on our Cisco Grants and Cash Donations portal. If you complete the quiz successfully, you will move on two Step 2, below, within the same portal.
Otherwise, for climate resilience for-profit investing, please complete our climate impact investing inquiry form and then follow the separate impact investment process.

Step 2: Submission of Letter of Inquiry (LOI)

For NPOs/NGOs who successfully complete the eligibility quiz on the Cisco Grants and Cash Donations portal, the portal will support you in submitting an initial grant concept that we call a Letter of Inquiry (LOI). This form requests detailed information about your organization, the program you expect to fund, the population served, and your budget. Your answers will determine whether you will be invited to complete a full proposal in Step 3, below. Before you complete the form, we recommend that you review our social investment sectors and our grant giving policies.

Submission of an LOI does not guarantee that your organization will be invited to submit a full proposal. The forms are reviewed wholly within the discretion of Cisco and the Cisco Foundation. Review may take up to one business quarter (i.e., up to 3 months). While we encourage you to be selective about submitting your most aligned programs, there is no fixed limit to how many LOIs can be submitted.

Step 3: Invitation to submit full proposal (where applicable)

If a Cisco grant administrator determines that your organization's Letter of Inquiry (LOI) is aligned with Cisco's mission, strategic approach, and objectives for grant support, they will invite you to submit a full grant proposal. If we need further information, a grant administrator will contact you. Once a full proposal is submitted, you can expect to receive our decision on your proposal within one business quarter.

A request from Cisco to submit a full proposal application does not constitute a guarantee of funding.