Hearst Foundations' Mission

The Hearst Foundations identify and fund outstanding nonprofits to ensure that people of all backgrounds in the United States have the opportunity to build healthy, productive and inspiring lives.

Hearst Foundations' Goals

The Foundations seek to achieve their mission by funding approaches that result in:

• Improved health and quality of life
• Access to high quality educational options to promote increased academic achievement
• Arts and sciences serving as a cornerstone of society
• Sustainable employment and productive career paths for adults
• Stabilizing and supporting families

Funding Priorities

The Hearst Foundations support well-established nonprofit organizations that address significant issues within their major areas of interests – culture, education, health and social service – and that primarily serve large demographic and/or geographic constituencies. In each area of funding, the Foundations seek to identify those organizations achieving truly differentiated results relative to other organizations making similar efforts for similar populations. The Foundations also look for evidence of sustainability beyond their support.

Culture

The Hearst Foundations fund cultural institutions that offer meaningful programs in the arts and sciences, prioritizing those which enable engagement by young people and create a lasting and measurable impact. The Foundations also fund select programs nurturing and developing artistic talent.

Types of Support: Program, capital and, on a limited basis, general and endowment support

Education

The Hearst Foundations fund educational institutions demonstrating uncommon success in preparing students to thrive in a global society. The Foundations’ focus is largely on higher education, but they also fund innovative models of early childhood and K-12 education, as well as professional development.

Types of Support: Program, scholarship, capital and, on a limited basis, general and endowment support

Health

The Hearst Foundations assist leading regional hospitals, medical centers and specialized medical institutions providing access to high-quality healthcare for low-income populations. In response to the shortage of healthcare professionals necessary to meet the country’s evolving needs, the Foundations also fund programs designed to enhance skills and increase the number of practitioners and educators across roles in healthcare. Because the Foundations seek to use their funds to create a broad and enduring impact on the nation’s health, support for medical research and the development of young investigators is also considered.

Types of Support: Program, capital and, on a limited basis, endowment support

Social Service

The Hearst Foundations fund direct-service organizations that tackle the roots of chronic poverty by applying effective solutions to the most challenging social and economic problems. The Foundations prioritize supporting programs that have proven successful in facilitating economic independence and in strengthening families. Preference is also given to programs with the potential to scale productive practices in order to reach more people in need.

Types of Support: Program, capital and general support

The Educational Foundation of America (EFA) is a family foundation. It was established in 1959 to preserve the lifelong altruistic commitment of its founders, Richard Prentice Ettinger and his wife, Elsie P. Ettinger.

Today, decedents of the founder in generations three and four lead the Foundation. Together, they direct efforts to fund nonprofits working on efforts related to Creative Placemaking, Climate, Democracy, and Reproductive Health and Justice. Much of our work is focused in the Appalachian region of the United States, as well as the South and the Pacific Northwest. 

Our grants are typically for general operating support and for more than one year. EFA believes in building the capacity of our partners and will support efforts to do so. As active impact investors, EFA is also committed to activating our endowment to align with our grantmaking goals. 

Reproductive Health & Justice Program

EFA’s Reproductive Health & Justice Program supports state-based organizations that use civic engagement, litigation, communications, and advocacy efforts to improve access to abortion and contraception. Our current geographic focus is on Appalachia and Florida. Taking a broader view, EFA also invests in organizations that work to help ensure access to reproductive healthcare nationally.

Additionally, in partnership with our funder colleagues, EFA catalyzed the creation of the Reproductive Healthcare Investors Alliance, which utilizes shareholder engagement and other impact investing tools to help ensure access to care. This nascent effort is an exciting one and builds on the Foundation’s commitment to aligning our investments with our grantmaking goals.

ACLU

ACLU of Alabama

ACLU of Kentucky

Appalshop

Blue Ridge Abortion Fund 

Catholics for Choice

Center for Reproductive Rights

Kentucky Civic Engagement Table

Kentucky Health Justice Network

Mayday Health

New River Abortion Access Fund

Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawai'i, Alask, Indiana, Kentucky

Planned Parenthood of Illinois

Planned Parenthood of South, East, and North Florida and Progress Florida

Power to Decide

Resources for Abortion Delivery

Reprocare

RHIA Ventures

State Innovation Exchange

Women's Health Center of West Virginia

WV Free

Submit an Idea to the Reproductive Health & Justice Program

EFA's Reproductive Health and Justice program welcomes project and program ideas that will help increase access to abortion and contraception across the United States, with a particular focus in Appalachia

Walmart’s more than 2 million associates are residents, neighbors, friends and family in thousands of communities around the globe. Walmart works to strengthen these communities through both retail business and community giving, and we support and invest in communities through local giving. The following programs have open application processes with specific deadlines for eligibility and consideration.

Local Community Grants

Each year, our U.S. stores and clubs award local cash grants ranging from $250 to $5,000. These local grants are designed to address the unique needs of the communities where we operate. They include a variety of organizations, such as animal shelters, elder services and community clean-up projects.

Areas of Funding

• There are eight (8) areas of funding for which an organization can apply. Please review the areas listed below to ensure your organization’s goals fall within one of these areas.
• Community and Economic Development: Improving local communities for the benefit of low-income individuals and families in the local service area
• Diversity and Inclusion: Fostering the building of relationships and understanding among diverse groups in the local service area
• Education: Providing afterschool enrichment, tutoring or vocational training for low-income individuals and families in the local service area
• Environmental Sustainability: Preventing waste, increasing recycling, or supporting other programs that work to improve the environment in the local service area
• Health and Human Service: Providing medical screening, treatment, social services, or shelters for low-income individuals and families in the local service area
• Hunger Relief and Healthy Eating: Providing Federal or charitable meals/snacks for low-income individuals and families in the local service area
• Public Safety: Supporting public safety programs through training programs or equipment in the local service area
• Quality of Life: Improving access to recreation, arts or cultural experiences for low-income individuals and families in the local service area

NOTE: The Letter of Inquiry is the first step of the application process. Select applicants will be invited to submit full proposals.

About Us

Ms. South is a multi-year grantmaking strategy to build power for Women and Girls of Color (WGOC). We amplify the leadership of WGOC and support the sustainability of the ecosystem of organizations.

Ms. South resources and networks organizations that do movement building and organizing work in 14 key states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Ms. South Grant Program

We are excited to embark upon the third year of our multi-year program strategy with the goals of strengthening the organizational and financial sustainability of an ecosystem of WGOC-led organizations; increasing connectivity between WGOC-led organizations; and positioning WGOC leaders as key experts and decision-makers in shaping policy and culture change. We believe that using an intersectional framework will wield the full strength of WGOC’s knowledge, experience, and networks and lead to transformational change.

WGOC are pivotal frontline leaders and organizers in the powerful social change movements that have paved the way for a more equitable and just democracy. They have led nearly every impactful grassroots movement in United States history. They are the primary constituency most impacted by inequity and live at the intersection of multiple systems of oppression including white supremacy, patriarchy, colonization, and unbridled capitalism. And yet, their work is under-resourced.

In this round of grantmaking, we will invest over $1,500,000 in support of WGOC-led groups in the U.S. South across the spectrum of movement building and organizing, building on our investment of over $2.5M to date. (Current Ms. South grantees) Our Ms. South strategy also supports the leadership of Southern WGOC through capacity building, networking, communications to amplify the work of their organizations, and advocacy within the philanthropy community to increase giving to WGOC by a significant margin.

Innovation Fund

Our purpose at The Workers Lab is to give new ideas for and with workers a chance to succeed. Our Innovation Fund is one of the ways we achieve this purpose. It’s how we invest in innovators and entrepreneurs who are serving workers and addressing the challenges faced by workers.

Since 2014, the Innovation Fund has invested $5.7 million in 77 innovators.

We understand that bringing transformative ideas for and with workers to fruition requires investment. Far too many worker-led ideas, especially those by entrepreneurs of color and women, never see the light of day since they historically receive only a tiny fraction of the early investment enjoyed by others. The Workers Lab is changing that. The ideas we invest in are collectively making the ways our country serves workers more modern and inclusive to ensure that every worker is safe, healthy, secure, and has power. 

Selection Considerations

The following are considered as applications are evaluated:

• Innovators who are from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented among those who receive venture capital and startup funding, especially entrepreneurs who identify as women of color.
• Innovators with early-stage ideas (idea, solution, pre-pilot) centered around making the ways our country serves workers more modern and inclusive in the United States.
  • Idea - You’ve identified a critical problem facing workers and now you’re researching whether solutions exist.
  • Solution - You’ve begun honing in on the potential solution you want to develop (product, program, service, tool, strategy, etc.) and are scoping a prototype.
  • Pre-Pilot - You have a solution that you’ve conceptualized/designed a prototype for. Now, you’re seeking partners and seed funding for a future pilot.
• Innovators with plans for diversified future revenue streams that support long-term sustainability.
• Innovators who need startup capital and technical support, and have ambition for their ideas to be brought to scale.

Additionally, we’ve identified the following areas of interest and encourage applicants who are serving workers in:

• Key states where startup funding for worker-innovators is lacking including but not limited to, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, Philadelphia, Texas, Florida, and the broader South.
• Key industries and subsets of the economy where there are fewer supports for workers, including but not limited to gig work, care (homecare, healthcare, childcare), as well as climate (energy and the environment).

About

The Southern HIV Impact Fund is a collaborative of funders seeking a greater collective impact against the disparities driving the HIV epidemic in marginalized communities in the South. iFORWARD, a special project of the Southern HIV Impact Fund, seeks to strengthen the technology infrastructure and digital capacity of HIV service organizations in the Southern United States. With funding from Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, AIDS United is pleased to announce the second year of funding for iFORWARD. Grants of up to $10,000 will be available for project-specific or general operating support.

Purpose

iFORWARD recognizes the barriers that Southern organizations face in accessing appropriate technology to carry out their services and achieve their mission. This initiative aims to reduce these disparities by directing funds to and building the capacity of grassroots organizations in the South to:

• Improve community access to health information.
• Enhance organizational communication systems.
• Help to maintain a sense of client social and emotional support.
• Establish and maintain a virtual community.
• Extend organizations' geographical reach.
• Reduce HIV-related stigma.

Types of Grants

• Project-specific grants to support a distinct project with clear goals, objectives, activities and measurable outcomes.
  • Project-specific grants aligned with iFORWARD will support projects such as:
    • Digital campaigns that promote linkage to HIV prevention services, HIV care and/or treatment as prevention.
    • Digital campaigns that address barriers to care.
    • Digital campaigns and/or hybrid events on addressing social and structural determinants of health.
    • Creation of digital health literacy materials.
    • Digital and hybrid advocacy events.
    • Digital and hybrid workshops/events with high-impact populations.
• General operating grants that provide financial resources to an organization in support of its mission and overall activities, including operating expenses and overhead, rather than providing support for specific projects or programs.
  • General operating requests aligned with iFORWARD will support activities such as:
    • Staffing support for social media, mass media or content creation.
    • Building infrastructure for Wi-Fi.
    • Expansion of telehealth services, including live video conferencing, mobile health (mHealth) apps, "store and forward" electronic transmission, remote patient observations and teletherapy, telemedicine, and telepharmacy.
    • Subscriptions to Zoom or other teleconferencing platforms.
    • Purchase of infrastructure building tools such as hotspots.

Funding

For the current cycle, $70,000 in funding is available through iFORWARD. AIDS United anticipates making approximately seven grants of up to $10,000 each to community-based organizations, racial and social justice organizations, AIDS service organizations, Federally Qualified Health Centers and/or networks of PLWH across the South. Grants will be 12-months in length.

Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation Grant

The Foundation will consider requests to support museums, cultural and performing arts programs; schools and hospitals; educational, skills-training and other programs for youth, seniors, and persons with disabilities; environmental and wildlife protection activities; and other community-based organizations and programs.

Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Grant Program

Background

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) encourages the development and implementation of effective, victim-centered law enforcement, prosecution, and court strategies to address violent crimes against women, and the development and enhancement of victim services involving violent crimes, including domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking.

Passed by Congress as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, the VAWA Program promotes a coordinated and integrated approach to improving the criminal justice system’s response to violence against women. The approach is designed to forge a partnership among law enforcement, prosecution, the courts, victim advocates, and service providers to encourage states and local communities to restructure and strengthen the criminal justice response to be proactive in addressing violence against women.

VAWA is administered at the federal level by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). OVW annually awards a grant to each state, the District of Columbia and U.S. Territories. Since the inception of the VAWA Program, the Governor of the State of Alabama has designated the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) Law Enforcement and Traffic Safety (LETS) Division to administer VAWA grants. ADECA, in turn, awards subgrants to organizations that provide programs that address violent crimes against women.

Funding

Alabama must allocate STOP VAWA funding within the parameters of the Act as follows:

• 5% to support court programs
• 25% to support law enforcement programs
• 25% to support prosecution programs
• 30% to support nonprofit, nongovernmental victim services programs (of which 10% must go to culturally specific community-based organizations?)
• 15% to further support law enforcement, prosecution, court or victim services programs at the state’s discretion.
• Sexual Assault Set Aside- 20% of STOP funds must be used for services to victims of sexual assault. Sexual assault services must be specific to adolescents and adult; these funds are not intended to provide services for child abuse or child sexual assault.

The total amount of funds available under this solicitation is estimated $2,180,000.00.

There is no cap with regard to how much an applicant can request; however, agencies should keep in mind that the funding request should be based on need, ability to meet the match requirement, and the ability to sustain requested funding level into future years.

Ms. Foundation for Women

The mission of the Ms. Foundation for Women is to build women’s collective power in the U.S. to advance equity and justice for all. We achieve our mission by investing in, and strengthening, the capacity of women-led movements to advance meaningful social, cultural and economic change in the lives of women. Ms. has six grantmaking initiatives, one of which is the Birth Justice Initiative.

Birth Justice Initiative

Our Birth Justice Initiative aims to:

• advance equitable birth outcomes and experiences;
• strengthen the capacity, organizational infrastructure, and financial stability of grassroots Black, Indigenous and women of color-led birth justice organizations; and
• expand the frame of birth justice to support intersectional movements and strategies that recognize the full spectrum of experiences and identities in birthing, parenting, and family building.

We believe that Black, Indigenous, and women of color (including trans women and non-binary people) are key experts and should be decision-makers in shaping policy and culture change around birth justice. By investing directly into organizations led by and for women and girls of color, we are ensuring that the movement to address racial based disparities in healthcare, including birth outcomes and experiences, is led by those who are impacted most. Strengthening the collective power of communities of color is critical to addressing the root causes of these disparities and advancing birth justice for all.

The U.S. has one of the highest maternal mortality rates of all developed nations and Black women die at three to four times the rate of white women in birth – one of the widest racial disparities in women’s health. Systemic racism, implicit bias, and anti-Blackness all contribute to the significant disparities in birth outcomes among Black, Indigenous and birthing people of color. Moreover, the spectrum of intersectional issues that comprise birth justice and the ability to have children and parent with dignity, are not only limited to the birth process.

As such, the Ms. Foundation’s Birth Justice Initiative invests in organizations who represent the full spectrum of birth experiences including–but not limited to–preconception health, mental health and wellness, infertility, abortion access and abortion care, comprehensive sex and sexuality education, non-racist culturally affirming and gender expansive healthcare, access to birth workers of color, access to lactation support and services, postpartum health and wellness, grief and loss care and support, and sexual assault prevention and survivor support services. Organizations supported collectively utilize a range of movement building strategies to advance birth justice—such as narrative change, policy and systems change, advocacy, leadership development, direct service among others. And finally, they work at the intersection of birth justice and other movements, such as disability justice, youth justice, LGBTQIA+ justice, environmental justice, economic justice, and criminal legal reform.

Funding

During this cycle, Ms. will provide one-time grants ranging from $50,000 to $100,000 to selected organizations not currently receiving funding from Ms.’ Birth Justice Initiative. The grant period will comprise two years.