NOTE: We don’t have grant application deadlines. Instead, we ask that you send in your proposal at least 90 days before you would like to receive a response from our foundation.

Dekko Foundation Grant

Our Funding Priorities

We believe children and young people from birth through age 18 are naturally wired to achieve economic freedom through their own development and by being in learning environments that support their self-sufficiency. When they have opportunities to connect their skills and talents to careers, they further their ability to create goods and services for others. It is through the creation of value for others within our democracy and free-enterprise system that they can earn, build, use, and share their wealth in the manner they choose. In other words, they have achieved economic freedom.

Through our grantmaking, we invest in the healthy development of children and young people and in environments that nurture their self-sufficiency. Using what we’ve learned over our four decades as a grantmaker and our understanding of the principles of child development, we have established a set of funding priorities that guides our work.

Early Childhood Development

Birth through Age 5

We believe that quality early childhood education is the basis for a life of economic freedom. In fact, we believe that early childhood is the most critical stage for children’s social, emotional, intellectual, physical and spiritual development.

Child development research tells us that children of this age:

• Think concretely, not abstractly.
• Learn through their senses.
• Strive for independence.
• Do not yet understand that others have rights.

Middle Childhood Development

Ages 6 through 12

We believe that middle childhood development builds on a child’s early childhood experiences. Further, we believe that each child develops in their own way, and on a timetable that reflects their unique needs.

Child development research tells us that children of this age:

• Develop a strong interest in the world around them.
• Long for an array of experiences outside of their home.
• Thrive as they interact with positive adults other than parents, family and caregivers.
• Are in a fragile emotional stage for self-esteem and self-confidence.
• Begin developing the ability to reason.
• Move from concrete to abstract thinking.
• Need a stimulating environment centered on their needs.

In this area of focus we want to fund projects that result in opportunities for children ages six through twelve to develop socially, emotionally, physically, intellectually, and spiritually.

Adolescent Development 

Ages 13-18

We believe that adolescent development builds on a child’s experiences in middle childhood. We believe further that each adolescent develops in their own way, and on a timetable that reflects their unique needs.

Youth development research tells us that young people of this age:

• Exhibit an extreme push for independence.
• Are less interested in formal learning.
• Become interested in society and their role.
• Are capable of advanced reasoning and logical thought processes.
• Begin to carefully think through issues of social justice.
• Start to ponder their purpose in life.
• Need support and understanding from caring adults as they discover their place in society.
• Need positive adult role models.
• Need opportunities for meaningful participation at home, school and within the community.

In this area of focus we want to fund projects that result in opportunities for young people ages thirteen to eighteen to develop socially, emotionally, physically, intellectually, and spiritually.

Community Development

We believe that healthy and vibrant communities contribute significantly to the positive development of children and young people. The best of those communities act as economic freedom role models for their citizens.

Community development research tells us that vibrant communities exhibit:

• Evidence of community pride.
• Willingness to invest in the future.
• Awareness of how their community compares to others.
• Deliberate transition of power to a younger generation of leaders.
• Strong belief in, and support for, education.
• Willingness to seek help from the outside.
• Conviction that, in the long run, they have to do things for themselves.

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

Mission

We are a public foundation created to serve southern communities and organizations seeking social, economic, and environmental justice by providing them with financial resources, opportunities for technical assistance and training, and access to systems of information and power. 

Purpose

Develop and nurture grassroots community-based leaders and organizers. Build the capacity of their organizations. Strengthen rural communities and people. Develop equitable peer relationships, which support real transformation toward a just society.

Our Values

Using a grassroots perspective, we believe that culture is the essence of its people and should be valued, shared and preserved in the process. 

We must build our strength and unity by incorporating standards of integrity, respect, love, diversity, quality and interconnectedness.

Please note over the next four years SPF will focus on three primary issue areas in its grantmaking: Education Reform; Immigration Rights; and Voter Engagement

The Discretionary Fund

Existing grantee partners as well as organizations new to SPF may apply for funding. All applicants should fall within the scope of the SPF mission and guidelines: grassroots community organizing for economic, social and environmental justice, in rural communities in the South.

Discretionary support includes (not limited to) grants for capacity building, community organizing events and/or activities, and voter engagement activities. There are three primary funding areas within discretionary

• General Discretionary: funds in this category will typically be used to support community organizing activities or small projects that fit within SPF guidelines and will lend its self to creating change within SPF funding region.
• Technical Assistance: The funds awarded in this category will support the capacity building needs of your organization or your constituency. These activities could include (but are not limited to) strategic planning, organizational development, trainings for your base and/or constituency and small technology upgrades.
• Travel Assistance: This category includes (but again, not limited to) travel to and participation in conferences and actions of civic engagement.

Discretionary fund resources are limited. Organizations may submit a maximum of two requests per year for a total reward of $3,500 per year.  

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.

Alabama Power

We are a POWERFUL SOURCE of GOOD. Formed with donations from Alabama Power shareholders, the Alabama Power Foundation spreads good to Alabama residents through a number of different initiatives.

In fact, that’s our mission – to spread good throughout Alabama to the people who need it most. 

• Educational Advancement
• Civic & Community Development
• Arts & Cultural Enrichment
• Health & Human Services
• Environmental Stewardship

Elevate Grants

Lifting up the state one organization at a time

The Elevate grant program empowers nonprofits – helping them expand their impact and address pressing needs. Our goal is to strengthen these organizations, helping provide tools and resources so they can help elevate the people and communities of Alabama.

Elevate Grants support needs and initiatives that are not addressed through our other grant programs.

Elevate Grant Focus Areas

Educational Advancement – Supporting equitable programs to advance learning for adults, children, families and communities, capacity-building for nonprofits through professional development or certifications that help equip staff with skills to operate programs more efficiently and effectively.

Civic & Community Development – Supporting programs that promote workforce development, criminal justice, economic empowerment, and quality of life.

Arts & Cultural Enrichment – Supporting cultural programs and expressions of creativity.

Health and Human Services – Supporting the well-being of Alabamians by advancing equitable programs in health, medicine and social welfare.

Environmental Stewardship – Supporting conservation, beautification and sustainable practices benefiting Alabama’s biological diversity and the environment.

NOTE: A limited number of applicants will then be invited to submit a full application. Preceding the deadline for a full proposal, all invited applicants will be required to schedule a virtual meeting with South Arts to discuss their project. 

Cross-Sector Impact Grants

South Arts recognizes that as our communities continue to change, the arts play an incomparable role in addressing many of our communal and individual challenges and strengths. Further, the value of partnership and working together across sectors brings new opportunities, increased effectiveness, and greater depth to our collective work. Through this program, South Arts seeks to provide significant support to projects developed by partners that harness the power of “Arts & …”.

South Arts is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.  Cross-Sector Impact Grants are open to all art forms, for partnership projects taking place in South Arts’ nine-state region. Eligible projects will continue to feature “Arts & …”, for example, arts and the military, arts and equity, arts and aging, arts and community revitalization. Applicants may be organizations, units of government, higher educational institutions, or artists.

For applicants new to this program that did not receive a Cross-Sector Impact Grant in FY20, FY21 or FY22, matching grants of up to $15,000 will be awarded. For these projects, South Arts encourages applications for new projects. However, projects that deepen and expand existing partnerships may also apply. For applicants/projects that did receive funding through this program in FY20, FY21, or FY22 matching grants of up to $10,000 will be awarded in order to continue or advance the project. South Arts anticipates that this grant program will be highly competitive and that successful applications will be fully funded. 

South Arts’ mission is advancing Southern vitality through the arts. This program addresses two of South Arts’ strategic goals:

• Connect artists and arts professionals in the South to resources that will increase opportunities for success within and outside the region
• Advance impactful arts-based programs that recognize and address trends and evolving needs of a wide range of communities in the South

Project Requirements

South Arts welcomes proposals from partnering entities working together on a project that addresses arts and community impact through cross-sector partnership. Projects must utilize the arts as a tool in creative approaches to address and advance an issue that is of importance in their community. Projects should also establish or advance relationships across at least two different sectors, one being in the arts. 

Arts disciplines may include, but are not limited to:

• Performing arts, including dance, music, theater, musical theater, and opera;
• Literary arts, including fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry;
• Visual arts, including craft, drawing, experimental, painting, photography, sculpture, mixed media;
• Film or media;
• Traditional and folk arts, including music, craft, storytelling, dance; or
• Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary artforms.

Community impact areas may include, but are not limited to:

• Education, including literacy, youth development;
• Environment, including sustainability, weather impact;
• Health and human services, including aging, prisons and rehabilitation, military;
• Infrastructure, including housing, community revitalization, food and nutrition; or
• Social justice, including immigration, community activation, equity and accessibility.

Matching Requirements

For applicants/projects that are new to this program, the minimum grant request for this program is $5,000; the maximum request is $15,000. For applicants/projects that did receive funding in FY20, FY21 and/or FY22, the minimum grant request for this program is $5,000; the maximum request is $10,000.

A match of at least 1:2 is required, meaning for each grant-funded dollar, the grantee must provide $.50 towards the project.

Up to half of the match may be comprised of in-kind contributions such as donated materials, donated services, or other contributed non-cash assets or staff time diverted to this project. At least half of the match must be cash and cannot include salaried staff time allocated to this project. However, contracted services specifically for this project may be included in the cash match. 

NOTE: Applicants have three options to submit responses to this proposal:

• Live 60-minute Zoom call (First full proposal date)
• Written applications (Second full proposal date)
• Pre-recorded video (Second full proposal date)

Applicants submitting their responses to the Application Narrative Questions via Zoom call or pre-recorded video must submit all required attachments and responses by second full proposal date.

Southern HIV Impact Fund

The Southern HIV Impact Fund (the Southern Fund) supports organizations across intersecting movements to enhance and coordinate HIV prevention, care and support services, and advocacy and movement-building across the South.

The Southern HIV Impact Fund recognizes the historical inequities that Southern organizations face when it comes to implementing and growing when it comes to the global mission of ending the HIV epidemic.

The grants aim to address these inequities by directing funds to and building the capacity of Southern organizations to:

• Increase collaborative efforts across the South to end HIV and reduce health disparities.
• Catalyze a demonstrable increase in leadership in the U.S. South that is more reflective of the regional HIV epidemic, while also providing support to current leaders.
• Increase resources to the South, both through technical assistance and grant making.

$1.2 million in funding is available through the Southern HIV Impact Fund. AIDS United anticipates awarding up to $60,000 in grants to Southern racial, social justice and community based organizations that serve people living with HIV or the communities most impacted by HIV, federally qualified health centers, historically Black colleges and university and other minority-serving institutes, Black Greek lettered and civil and social service organizations, and Southern-based networks of people living with HIV.

The Southern HIV Impact Fund will award 20-25 grants to organizations in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas for to support general operations expenditures and implementation of special projects.

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.