NOTE: American Express does not actively solicit applications for grants and new partnerships. However, we remain interested in learning about new organizations doing good work across our priority issues and in deepening our engagement with eligible existing partners.

Mission

It is our mission to support our customers, colleagues and communities by helping them achieve their aspirations and helping their communities thrive. This shapes our work as a responsible corporate citizen. We deliver high-impact funding and initiatives that support people, businesses and non-profit partners so that together, we can make a meaningful difference in the world.

Making community possible

At U.S. Bank, we are dedicated to supporting our communities through responsive and humbled actions focused on addressing racial and economic inequities and creating lasting change in our communities. Through our Community Possible Grant Program, we are partnering with organizations that focus on economic and workforce advancement, safe and affordable housing and communities connected through arts and culture.

The U.S. Bank Foundation is committed to making Community Possible through Work, Home and Play. We advance this work through collaborative grant making to bring equitable and lasting change through our focus on sustainable, high-impact funding with 501c3 nonprofit partners.

Home

Children and families are better positioned to thrive and succeed in a home that is safe and permanent. Access to sustainable low-income housing is increasingly challenging for low- to moderate-income families. In response, our giving supports efforts that connect individuals and families with sustainable housing opportunities.

Access to safe, affordable energy-efficient housing

We provide financial support to assist people in developing stability in their lives through access to safe, sustainable and accessible homes. Examples of grant support include:

• Organizations that preserve, rehabilitate, renovate or construct affordable housing developments for low- and moderate-income families, individuals, seniors, veterans, and special-needs populations
• Organizations that provide transitional housing as a direct stepping stone to permanent housing
• Organizations that focus on veterans housing and homeownership
• Construction of green homes for low- and moderate-income communities
• Clean energy retrofit programs for low- and moderate-income housing developments
• Organizations that provide access to renewable energy
• Improving waste management systems to include recycling and composting programs

Homeownership education

Owning and maintaining a home requires significant financial knowledge, tools and resources. We support programs that assist low- and moderate-income homebuyers and existing homeowners. Examples of grant support include:

• Homebuyer education
• Pre- and post-purchase counseling and coaching
• Homeownership-retention programs designed to provide foreclosure counseling

Work

We know that a strong small business environment and an educated workforce ensure the prosperity of our communities and reduce the expanding wealth gap for communities of color. We provide grant support to programs and organizations that help small businesses thrive, allow people to succeed in the workforce, provide pathways to higher education and gain greater financial literacy.

Investing in the workforce

We fund organizations that provide training for small business development, as well as programs that support individuals across all skill and experience levels, to ensure they have the capability to gain employment that supports individuals and their families. Examples of grant support include:

• Small business technical assistance programs
• Job skills, career readiness training programs with comprehensive placement services for low- and moderate-income individuals entering or reentering the labor force

Providing pathways for educational success

• To address the growing requirements for post-secondary education in securing competitive jobs in the workplace, we support:
• Organizations and programs that help low- and moderate-income and at-risk middle and high school students prepare for post-secondary education at a community college, university, trade or technical school and career readiness
• Programs and initiatives at post-secondary institutions that support access to career and educational opportunities for low- and moderate-income and diverse students

Teaching financial well-being for work and life

Financial well-being is not only critical for financial stability, it’s crucial in helping individuals be successful in the workplace. Examples of grant support include programs that positively impact:

• K-12 and college student financial literacy
• Adult and workforce financial literacy
• Senior financial fraud prevention
• Military service member and veteran financial literacy

Supporting the green economy through workforce development

The green economy is fast becoming an area of opportunity for workforce development programs. Funding support includes:

• Reskilling or retraining for jobs in renewable or clean energy
• Building and maintaining infrastructure to support renewable energy, including EV charging stations and bike/transportation programs

Play

Play brings joy, and it’s just as necessary for adults as it is for kids. But in low-income areas there are often limited spaces for play and fewer people attending arts and cultural events. That’s why we invest in community programming that supports ways for children and adults to play and create.

Access to artistic and cultural programming and arts education

Our investments ensure economic vitality and accessibility to the arts in local communities, as well as support for arts education. Examples of grant support include:

• Programs that provide access to cultural activities, visual and performing arts, zoos and aquariums and botanic gardens for individuals and families living in underserved communities
• Funding for local arts organizations that enhance the economic vitality of the community
• Programs that provide funding for arts-focused nonprofit organizations that bring visual and performing arts programming to low- and moderate-income K-12 schools and youth centers

Supporting learning through play

Many young people across the country do not have the resources or access to enjoy the benefits of active play. Supporting active play-based programs and projects for K-12 students located in or serving low- and moderate-income communities fosters innovation, creativity, and collaboration and impacts the overall vitality of the communities we serve. Funding support includes:

• Support for organizations that build or expand access to active play spaces and places that help K-12 students learn through play and improves the health, safety and unification of neighborhoods in low- and moderate-income communities
• Programs that focus on using active play to help young people develop cognitive, social and emotional learning skills to become vibrant and productive citizens in low- and moderate-income communities

Outdoor places to play

Environmental stewardship enhances and improves the livability of our communities. Supporting efforts to preserve, protect and enhance outdoor spaces is now part of our Play pillar of giving. Funding support includes:

• Cleanup efforts in community spaces, including (but not limited to) beaches, rivers, and streams
• Protecting green spaces within the community, including planting trees, mangroves and seagrass
• Programs that support community, native and/or pollinator gardens, including community composting

NOTE: Letters of Interest may be submitted at any time, and we try to get back to you within 30 days. However, November-January and April-June are our busiest times of year, so it could take longer to hear back from us during those periods. Recognize that if you are asked to submit a full application, as much as six months may pass between the time you submit your LOI and a final determination is made on your proposal. Successful awardees typically receive the funds within 45 days of Board approval. 

The Lovell Foundation

The Lovell Foundation grew from the passions and life experiences of founders David and Lura Lovell. Together they dealt with monumental challenges and opportunities – by connecting with others, crusading for change, creating success and experiencing peace and joy. Established in 1994, this family foundation continues to embrace causes close to their hearts. In its first 20 years, the foundation invested $11 million in 60 nonprofit organizations for local and national projects supporting people and programs that empower lives, provide opportunities, improve conditions and advance community. Today the foundation is propelled by the passions of the second and third generations of the Lovell family.

Focus Areas

Mental Health

The Lovell Foundation envisions communities where mental health care is both barrier- and stigma-free as part of a broader approach to Integrative Health and Wellness. We prioritize programs and initiatives that aim to reduce the stigma of living with and seeking services for a mental health issue.

• We do not fund drug and alcohol treatment.

Integrative Health and Wellness

We envision communities where all people have access to integrative (also known as alternative or complementary) approaches to health care and wellness throughout the spectrum of life. We prioritize programs and initiatives that aim to broaden the awareness and use of best practice approaches in integrative health and wellness, especially those that reach underserved populations.

Youth Access to the Arts

We believe that experiencing the arts through education or participation contributes to the development of well-rounded individuals. We continue to support community-level programs, but prioritize programs and initiatives with the capacity to systematically improve youth access to arts.

Gender Parity

We partner with organizations working to advance gender parity at a regional or national level only. We give priority to organizations that address gender barriers and aim to have an impact on gender parity in significant and measurable ways. While the majority of gender-based efforts are focused on inequities among girls and women, we will also consider initiatives for men and boys that promote overall gender parity.

• We do not fund community level projects that provide direct services to gender-specific groups.

Types of Grants

Initiative Grants

We define Initiatives as efforts that attempt to:

• address the root causes of an issue in one or more of our four Focus Areas, either through elimination of a problem or creation of a solution;
• alter a structure or a system so that it can better address the root causes of an issue; or
• transform an organization or group of organizations so they are better equipped to alter the structure of a system and/or address the root cause of a social issue,
• or some combination of the above.

Social Impact Media Grants

Social Impact Media (SIM) Grants are for creating and disseminating different forms of media: documentary film features, documentary film shorts, episodic documentary series, web series, multi-media projects for web, and trans media projects (Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, or other) designed specifically to make a social impact. They must either qualify as Initiative Grants themselves, for example, using a documentary film feature aligned with one of our four Focus Areas to make a sustainable impact on a particular social issue, change a system, or transform an organization; or they must be created in collaboration with and in support of an ongoing or proposed Initiative Grant, for example, broadly disseminating a multi-media project in support of education and outreach in a multi-partner initiative effort. These grants are extremely competitive and there are limited funds available annually.

SIM proposals are eligible for the following purposes and amounts:

• Development: A range of $10,000 to $30,000, with the possibility of an additional match of up to $20,000
• Production and Post-Production: A range of $25,000 to $100,000 (generally no match is recommended for this stage, although there will be exceptions)
• Distribution/Outreach: A range of $25,000 to $100,000, with the possibility of an additional match of up to $50,000

https://lovellfoundation.org/impact/mental-health/

NOTE: The Foundation is focusing it's remaining grantmaking for 2021 on covid-19 funding.

Our Mission

Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust supports organizations that enrich health, well-being, and opportunity for the people of Maricopa County, Arizona. The Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust makes grants that continue Virginia Piper’s commitment to improving the quality of life in Maricopa County through programs that support healthcare and medical research, children, older adults, arts & culture, education and religious organizations. 

Piper Trust works side-by-side with nonprofit organizations as a partner, helping them to identify problems, build expertise, find solutions, and become continually stronger and more effective. The Trust strives to be a vital part of Maricopa County—not only as a source of leadership and financial support, but as a neighbor sharing a lasting stake in the county’s future.

The Piper Trust’s grantmaking focuses on Virginia Galvin Piper’s commitment to improving the quality of life for residents of Maricopa County. Reflecting Mrs. Piper’s own grantmaking, the Trust awards grants in six core program areas. 

Arts & Culture

Piper Trust’s Commitment

Arts and cultural experiences create a vibrant Maricopa County

• Literature, performance, visual arts, and other cultural experiences enrich our quality of life.
• A lively arts and culture scene can provide Maricopa County with much-needed economic stimulus.
• Children’s participation in arts and culture facilitates communication ability, critical reasoning, and social aptitude.

Our Approach and What We Fund

• Improved Business and Financial Operations:
• Organizational planning in business, marketing, and fundraising strengthens arts and culture organizations and improves sustainability.
• Computers, specialized software, and upgraded technology, such as installations of the comprehensive Tessitura software, are assets to help arts and culture nonprofits manage their operations, build audiences, and communicate with donors.
• Collaborations for Greater Effectiveness and Efficiencies
• Collaborative projects to build a distinctive arts and culture community in Maricopa County — emphasizing arts and culture as an engine of economic development and community asset.
• An example of a collaborative project is the Cultural Data Project (developed by The Pew Charitable Trusts).
• Revenue Generation, Cost Reduction and Mergers
• Redesigning business models and alternative structures may be opportunities to increase revenues and reduce costs.

Children

Piper Trust’s Commitment

All children in Maricopa County deserve a happy, healthy, and safe childhood 

• Nurturing families produce children who arrive at adulthood prepared to contribute to society.
• Coaching families and giving them help to nurture their children in the earliest years produces greater success than remedial aid to children and families later.
• Adolescents with family and community encouragement fare better than their peers in avoiding risky behaviors.

Our Approach and What We Fund

• Improved Parent and Caregiver Child-Rearing Know-How
• Teaching proper parenting, such as parent hotlines, classes for teen mothers and programs and assistance for dealing with difficult social and emotional stages in a child’s growth, pays off in greater numbers of thriving children.
• Family programs in the home and convenient places like libraries help children prepare for school and achieve academic success.
• For example, the Raising A Reader program successfully takes early-literacy training directly to families and children in apartment buildings.
• Special Trust Investment: The Arizona Parent Kit, given to new parents at birthing hospitals, is now administered by First Things First statewide.
• Assistance for Children without Resources or with Special Needs
• Children and families in crisis find help from food banks, crisis nurseries, domestic violence shelters, behavioral health programs, and transitional housing for families and youth.
• Vulnerable children get necessary aid addressing child abuse, living in poverty, and living with addicted parents.
• Children with disabilities and their families gain assistance from programs that remove social, emotional, and physical barriers to their growth and learning.
• Special Trust Investments: Vulnerable children benefit from the Adopt-A-Pool Fence project, the Back-to-School clothing program and the Child Abuse Prevention License Plate program.
• Enhanced Child Care Practices and Afterschool Care
• Early childhood educators and youth mentors find helpful instruction in learning care practices, safety training, and manuals.
• Afterschool facilities and activities at teen centers, as well as homeless youth hubs and mentoring programs, support youth and keep them engaged in productive activities.
• Integrated Early Childhood Policies and Practices
• Special Trust Investment: Planning for the BUILD Initiative, a project of the Early Childhood Funders’ Collaborative, will guide state efforts to prepare children for success.

Education

Piper Trust’s Commitment 

Learning results in opportunities and a higher quality of life 

• Formal and informal education helps us to understand ourselves, our world, and human potential.
• Learning begins at birth and the first three years of life are critical for a healthy, well-developed brain.
• Education and learning create economic opportunities, promote national competitiveness, and encourage active citizenship.

Our Approach and What We Fund

• Improved Early Learning Environments
• Advancing early learning practices, training and curricula, including standardized orientation for new teachers and accreditation for community-based preschools, enhances preschool education throughout Maricopa County.
• Teach for America Phoenix introduced the corps members in Maricopa County preschool classrooms.
• Special Trust Investment: Model programs for better early learning environments such as the Quality Preschool Curricula Project present attractive solutions to preschool education challenges.
• Academic Enhancements for Youth
• Tutoring and academic enrichment help school-age children overcome educational challenges and advance in school.
• Examples: Improving Chandler Area Neighborhoods gives children afterschool tutoring opportunities. Junior Achievement Arizona broadens perspectives. And The College Depot helps remove barriers for young people to transition to college.
• Remedial programs can help vulnerable students stay and succeed in school or work toward GEDs, advancing opportunities.
• Assistive learning aids can make learning easier for children with disabilities.
• Special Trust Investments: Collaborative projects such as Expect More Arizona and Science Foundation Arizona are broad community-based projects.
• Engagement of Older Adults in Learning
• Programs for older adults and people with disabilities can promote employment and second careers.
• The Gateway Community College Career Transition Center builds marketable skills. Lifelong learning opportunities offer active minds and engagement in the community.
• Programs for older adults to tutor and mentor school children offer academic benefits to the children and meaningful volunteer opportunities for themselves.
• Experience Corps and Your Experience Counts successfully bring older adult tutors into classrooms.

Healthcare & Medical Research

Piper Trust’s Commitment

Quality, accessible healthcare and disease prevention are essential for all residents

• Quality, accessible care is acutely important for Maricopa County residents at three critical stages–early childhood, adolescence, and later life.
• Limited access to preventive healthcare signals long-term problems with chronic diseases.

Personalized medicine, biosignatures and the promise of cost-effective healthcare

• Arizona has become a center for biomedical research and biomedical enterprises and attracts world-renowned clinical and research experts in biomedicine.
• The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University are at the center of international research focused on personalized medicine.

Our Approach and What We Fund

• Improve Facilities for Children, Adolescents and Older Adults
• Capital investments such as expanded children’s emergency rooms and neonatal intensive care units bring improved healthcare.
• Enhancing geriatric facilities directly advances the quality of healthcare for older adults.
• Better Trained Healthcare Workforce
• Integrating child development principles and practices into pediatric medicine magnifies the effectiveness of children’s healthcare.
• The model Healthy Steps program successfully teaches pediatric residents about childhood development requirements not taught in the typical medical curriculum.
• Training in geriatrics and end-of-life care expands perspectives beyond traditional medical models.
• Hospice of the Valley creates palliative medicine curricula for medical students, residents and the hospital care team.
• The Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence at ASU College of Nursing and Health Innovations trains a new generation of nurses to serve older adults.
• Increased Access to Basic Healthcare
• Uninsured and underinsured people and families require preventive and acute health services easily accessible to their neighborhoods and communities.
• Mobile medical vans and free-standing community health clinics serve this need.
• Mobile units like Mission of Mercy medical vans circulate in Maricopa County, and the Virginia G. Piper Medical and Dental Clinics at St. Vincent de Paul offer free medical services in areas of most need.
• Centers for Advancement in Personalized Medicine
• Special Trust Initiated Investments: Piper Trust has invested in building regional distinction in biosciences, particularly personalized medicine. The initiative includes support for the Center for Sustainable Health and the Virginia G. Piper Center for Personal Diagnostics (both within the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University). The Centers work to improve health outcomes at lower costs by sustaining health through the prevention and early detection of disease.

Older Adults

Piper Trust’s Commitment - Older adults in Maricopa County must have the chance to remain healthy, independent, and productive

• The continuum of older adults stretches from the Baby Boom Generation just entering traditional retirement age to frail older adults–all needing to stay vital and engaged as long as possible.
• Frail older adults and the many Boomers who face eventual frailty will benefit from improved disease prevention and the greater independence these improvements bring.
• The pioneering work we do now to help Boomers sort out new ways to live a productive later life will define aging for the generations that follow.

Our Approach and What We Fund

• Disease and Disability Prevention
• Prevention programs that focus on proper nutrition, exercise, early screening for diseases, and appropriate medications promise to advance quality of life.
• Implementation of programs such as the statewide Falls Prevention Advisory Coalition and the Stanford Chronic Disease Self Management Program enhance health, safety and independence.
•  Assistance for Older Adults to Remain Independent
• Adoption of such national health models as BenefitsCheckUp, Matter of Balance, and intergenerational day care for children and older adults at Benevilla can establish the pattern by which older adults remain healthy and independent.
• Volunteer aid can help older adults remain at home and give respite to caregivers.
• Volunteerism, “Recareering” and Community Engagement
• Spaces and programs that promote civic engagement and nontraditional work benefit both older adults and their communities.
• Mesa United Way uses over-55 Vista and AmeriCorps workers and executive volunteers to fill important positions at nonprofit organizations in the East Valley.

Religious Organizations

Piper Trust’s Commitment - Our investment in faith-based programs for children, adolescents, and older adults reflects our founder’s own beliefs

• Piper Trust invites and supports projects from all faiths provided they focus on children, adolescents, and older adults.
• Grantmaking for religious organizations reflects Piper’s objectives and strategies in the Children, Older Adults, Education, and Healthcare program areas.

Our Approach and What We Fund

• Assessments of learning environments in faith-based preschools and quality improvement projects such as the Quality Preschool Curricula Project offer enhanced learning for young children.
• Housing alternatives for older adults such as the Beatitudes Campus Foundation for Senior Living and Jewish Family Children’s Services offer private care management for older adults.

Competitive Grantmaking

Piper Trust conducts rigorous competitive grantmaking. Program, evaluation, communication and finance staff work closely with potential grantees to ensure that projects are focused, meet the Trust’s funding guidelines and address longer term needs.

NOTE: The U.S. Bank Foundation utilizes an electronic Letter of Interest to identify organizations with unique and innovative programs that fit within our pillars of Work, Home and Play. U.S. Bank Foundation accepts applications by invitation only.

U.S. Bank Foundation

The U.S. Bank Foundation is committed to making Community Possible through Work, Home and Play. We advance this work through collaborative grant making to bring equitable and lasting change through our focus on sustainable, high-impact funding with 501c3 nonprofit partners. Established partners are annually invited to apply for a grant via an invitation from a Community Affairs Manager. New and emerging organizations bring balance to our grant making through our Letter of Interest (LOI) application, and we ensure funding is set aside each year to explore new opportunities.

Our Community Affairs and Foundation Team works closely with U.S. Bank regional leadership, Business Resource Groups and our National Community Advisory Committee to ensure that the prevailing needs of our communities are met in all communities we serve. Nonprofit organizations new to U.S. Bank Foundation are encouraged to submit a LOI at any time during the year.

Mission & Commitment to Our Communities

We believe all people deserve the opportunity to dream, believe and achieve.

The building blocks of vibrant communities – a stable job, a home to call your own and a community connected through culture, recreation and play – continue to be atthe heart of possibility for all of us. Through U.S. Bank’s Community Possible Platform, we are dedicated to supporting our communities through responsive and humbled actions focused on addressing racial and economic inequities and creating positive and transformative change in our communities.

Community Possible is designed to embrace thediversity in our communities. We consider grant requests without regard to race, ethnicity, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, sexualorientation, gender identity and/or expression, disability, marital status, genetic information, veteran status or other factors that are protected by law.While the U.S. Bank Foundation generously funds many nonprofit organizations in our communities, it's impossible to fund every request. To make the most meaningful impact in ourlocal communities, we focus our grant giving to fund economic development tied to Work, Home and Play.

Community Possible Grant Program

We support organizations and programs that advance the following funding priorities, focusing on organizations that have an intentional approach to addressing immediate needs and systemic economic and racial barriers to success. As part of our commitment to a sustainable future, environmental stewardship is a consideration in each of our three focus areas:

Grant Categories

• Play: Arts, culture and places to play.
  • Access to artistic and cultural programming and arts education:
    • Our investments ensure economic vitality and accessibility to the arts in local communities, as well as support for arts education. Examples of grant support include:
      • Programs that provide access to cultural activities, visual and performing arts, zoos and aquariums and botanic gardens for individuals and families living in underserved communities
      • Funding for local arts organizations that enhance the economic vitality of the community
      • Programs that provide funding for arts-focused nonprofit organizations that bring visual and performing arts programming to low- and moderate-income K-12 schools and youth centers
  • Supporting learning through play:
    • Many young people across the country do not have the resources or access to enjoy the benefits of active play. Supporting active play-based programs and projects for K-12 students located in or serving low- and moderate-income communities fosters innovation, creativity, and collaboration and impacts the overall vitality of the communities we serve. Funding support includes:
      •  Support for organizations that build or expand access to active play spaces and places that help K-12 students learn through play and improves the health, safety and unification of neighborhoods in low- and moderate-income communities
      • Programs that focus on using active play to help young people develop cognitive, social and emotional learning skills to become vibrant and productive citizens in low- and moderate-income communities
  • Outdoor places to play:
    • Environmental stewardship enhances and improves the livability of our communities. Supporting efforts to preserve, protect and enhance outdoor spaces is now part of our Play pillar of giving. Funding support includes:
      • Cleanup efforts in community spaces, including (but not limited to) beaches, rivers, and streams
      • Protecting green spaces within the community, including planting trees, mangroves and seagrass
      • Programs that support community, native and/or pollinator gardens, including community composting
• Work: Workforce education and economic prosperity.
  • Investing in the workforce:
    • We fund organizations that provide training for small business development, as well as programs that support individuals across all skill and experience levels, to ensure they have the capability to gain employment that supports individuals and their families. Examples of grant support include:
      • Small business technical assistance programs
      • Job skills, career readiness training programs with comprehensive placement services for low- and moderate-income individuals entering or reentering the labor force
  • Providing pathways for educational success:
    • To address the growing requirements for post-secondary education in securing competitive jobs in the workplace, we support:
      • Organizations and programs that help low- and moderate-income and at-risk middle and high school students prepare for post-secondary education at a community college, university, trade or technical school and career readiness
      • Programs and initiatives at post-secondary institutions that support access to career and educational opportunities for low- and moderate-income and diverse students
  • Teaching financial well-being for work and life:
    • Financial well-being is not only critical for financial stability, it’s crucial in helping individuals be successful in the workplace. Examples of grant support include programs that positively impact:
      • K-12 and college student financial literacy
      • Adult and workforce financial literacy
      • Senior financial fraud prevention
      • Military service member and veteran financial literacy
• Home: Neighborhood stability and revitalization.
  • Access to safe, affordable energy-efficient housing:
    • We provide financial support to assist people in developing stability in their lives through access to safe, sustainable and accessible homes. Examples of grant support include:
      • Organizations that preserve, rehabilitate, renovate or construct affordable housing developments for low- and moderate-income families, individuals, seniors, veterans, and special-needs populations
      • Organizations that provide transitional housing as a direct stepping stone to permanent housing
      • Organizations that focus on veterans housing and homeownership
      • Construction of green homes for low- and moderate-income communities
      • Clean energy retrofit programs for low- and moderate-income housing developments
      • Organizations that provide access to renewable energy
      • Improving waste management systems to include recycling and composting programs
  • Homeownership education:
    • Owning and maintaining a home requires significant financial knowledge, tools and resources. We support programs that assist low- and moderate-income homebuyers and existing homeowners. Examples of grant support include:
      • Homebuyer education
      • Pre- and post-purchase counseling and coaching
      • Homeownership-retention programs designed to provide foreclosure counseling

Types of Funding Requests

• Operating grants: An operating grant is given to cover an organization’s day-to-day, ongoing expenses, such as salaries, utilities, office supplies and more. We consider operating support requests from organizations where the entire mission of the organization fits a Community Possible grant focus area.
• Program or project grants: A program or project grant is given to support a specific, connected set of activities, with a beginning and an end, explicit objectives and a predetermined cost. We consider highly effective and innovative programs that meet our Community Possible grant focus areas.
• Capital grants: A capital grant is given to finance fixed assets. The U.S. Bank Foundation considers a small number of requests for capital support from organizations that meet all other funding criteria, whose entire mission statement fits a Community Possible grant focus area, and with which the Foundation has a funding history. All organizations requesting capital funding must also have a U.S. Bank employee on the board of directors. U.S. Bank does not fund more than 1% of the non-endowment total capital campaign fundraising goal. All capital grant requests are reviewed and approved by the national U.S. Bank Foundation Board or by the U.S. Bank Foundation President.

Factors of Consideration

Because the Foundation receives funding requests in excess to the annual grant program budget, we must decline support to worthy organizations and programs. We may decline support to organizations we have previously supported to expand community engagements. Support should not be expected to continue in perpetuity and declination does not reflect a negative appraisal of the organization or the value of its programs and service.

The following factors are among those the foundation will consider:

• Innovation and/or differentiation in our focus areas of Work, Home and Play
• Programming and services that advance positive community engagement efforts
• Demonstrated outcomes and impact
• Service delivery to low-and moderate-income, women and people of color
• Diversity in the management and governing board of the organization
• The financial health of the organization

NOTE: If you believe that your organization aligns with the Trust’s funding priorities and geographic areas, contact one of the Trust program officers below to begin the process of applying for a grant.

Furthermore, this grant page is specifically for "Helping People in Need", non-environmental requests within "Protecting Animals and Nature", and "Enriching Community Life". For Environmental Requests within the "Protecting Animals and Nature" grant program area, see the grant page here. 

Grant Process

On an invitation-only basis, the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust funds primarily nonprofit organizations in Arizona and Indiana that align closely with our giving areas: Helping People in Need, Protecting Animals and Nature, and Enriching Community Life. 

Helping People in Need

Mrs. Pulliam valued giving people experiencing difficulty a hand-up and firmly believed that education was essential to reaching one’s full potential.

The Trust supports:

Self-sufficiency

• Programs that provide adult education or training with accompanying social supports for individuals to obtain and maintain gainful employment.
• Programs that focus on economic self-reliance through micro-lending, small business development and entrepreneurial efforts for low-income individuals.
• Programs that assist the elderly in maintaining their independence and remaining in their homes.

Crisis Intervention

• Programs that assist vulnerable families, women and children to help move them from crisis or instability to greater functioning.
• Programs that provide basic needs, such as food, clothing, emergency shelter or transitional housing.

Foster Care

• Programs that increase the number of licensed foster families and kinship providers.
• Multigenerational programs that help prevent children from entering the system.
• Programs that support young adults ages, 18-25 who are aging out of the system, with post-secondary educational attainment, job training and financial self-sufficiency.

Education and Literacy

• Programs that provide mentoring and tutoring to disadvantaged youth.
• Out-of-school time programs and projects for underserved children.
• Programs that improve literacy skills of adults.
• Programs that help high school students gain access to careers or post-secondary education.
• Programs that work with children (0 – 5) and their families to improve literacy, reading and language acquisition.

Protecting Animals and Nature

Mrs. Pulliam loved animals – domesticated and wild – and the natural environment. She sought ways to encourage human bonds with both.

The Trust supports organizations and programs that:

• Programs that provide humane and wellness services for domestic animals, including shelter, rescue, spay/neuter and adoption.
• Programs that promote conservation of natural habitats and ecosystems that advance preservation, protection and restoration of land, water, wildlife and plants.
• Programs that promote environmental awareness to connect people to the natural world, promote personal stewardship, or offer knowledge and tools for addressing current and future problems. 

Enriching Community Life

Mrs. Pulliam appreciated the importance of having vibrant communities that benefit all residents, while ensuring that nonprofit organizations fulfill their missions at a level of excellence.

The Trust supports:

• Programs that add to the overall civic vibrancy and cultural vitality of the community.
• Programs that create innovative solutions to enhance the quality of life in Indianapolis or Phoenix. 

NOTE:  The application deadline has been  extended to December 1, 2023.

About School-Based Healthcare Solutions Network (SBHSN).

Utilizing a unique framework of funding systems offered by the Department of Health and Human Services, managed care organizations, health insurers, and private donors, SBHSN promotes a system of care model (Coaching Model℠) offering a mix of evidenced-based intervention, prevention, and care coordination services to children in grades K-12. The Coaching Model aims to expand quality mental healthcare access on public school campuses and improve children's social, emotional, behavioral, family, and wellness outcomes.

School-Based Mental Health Implementation Grant

In response to the growing number of students who need mental health counseling, the School-Based Healthcare Solutions Network (SBHSN) is accepting applications from Local Education Agencies (LEA), Public and Private Universities, State and local Colleges, Charter School Management Companies, Public Schools, Charter Schools, and Non-Profit Organizations (501c3) to implement and expand mental health program services on local school campuses. Grantees will receive direct funding and reimbursement to support the following activities: 

• Expanding access to School-Based Social and Emotional Learning (SEL).
• Coordinating mental healthcare services with school administration and staff. 
• Delivering mental healthcare services and coordinating academic-support activities to students with a history of attendance, behavior, and poor academic performance.

FUNDING

5-Years, renewable based on meeting performance goals 5-year award ceiling is $5,500,000.

NOTE: All applicants must be invited to apply for a grant from Bayer Fund. Invitation codes can be requested from the Bayer site in your community or through the Contact Us page.

We support high-quality educational programming by schools and nonprofit organizations that enable access to knowledge and information and empower students and teachers in communities around the nation, with a focus on furthering STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) education. Priority is given to programs that take place during the school day, but also includes after school and summer programs, technical training programs, and academic programs that enrich or supplement school programs.

The in-school educational programs we support target grades K-12 and under-served students (50%+ students qualify for free/reduced lunch) and take place during the school day. The after school and summer programs we support include those offered by youth development organizations that take place outside of the regular school day and provide students in grades K-12 with opportunities to enhance their skills and interests through exposure to STEM fields.

All funding requests and budgets must be for program activities and expenses that start after funding decisions are made. All programs must be completed within one year of the start date, except in limited situations where longer term programs have been agreed upon. Grant award amounts vary, depending on the size of the community, the type of programming, and the reach/impact of the organization.

Introduction

Season for Sharing, the annual holiday campaign of The Arizona Republic, and azcentral.com, in partnership with the Gannett Foundation, Arizona Community Foundation and the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust, raises awareness and dollars for non-profit 501(c)3 agencies that help the Valley’s neediest.

Specific funding priorities

Grants will be made to organizations that match the criteria:

Children & Families

• Support of programs that focus on preventing child abuse, protecting children from abuse, finding permanent appropriate placements and providing support for children in the foster care system.
• Programs that offer access to free or low cost food including food banks and meal programs for children.
• Programs that help people receive emergency short term shelter and long term affordable housing.
• Programs that provide for short term emergency needs including personal care or hygiene items, clothing, rental or utility assistance or disaster relief.

Education

• Programs that support early childhood education and quality child care for disadvantaged populations.
• Programs that enhance and/or improve K-12 core curriculum including tutoring and academic afterschool programs.
• Programs that provide for school readiness (back to school clothing, supplies, school food programs).
• Programs that ensure that all students graduate from high school prepared to succeed in college or the workforce.
• Programs that support adult and family literacy programs.

Older Adults

• Programs and services for the elderly including supportive services, assisted living services, Alzheimer’s support, access to free or low cost in-home or congregate meal programs and nutrition assistance, and recreational services.

Funding request range

Average grant range is $7,500-$50,000. First-year grants will be no more than $7,500. No new grants for less than $7,500 will be considered. Please limit requests to increase grant amounts to no more than 50 percent higher than the last grant received.