Search Through Grants for K-12 Schools in California in the U.S.

Charitable Contributions

Costco Wholesale’s primary charitable efforts specifically focus on programs supporting children, education, and health and human services in the communities where we do business. Throughout the year we receive a large number of requests from nonprofit organizations striving to make a positive impact, and we are thankful to be able to provide support to a variety of organizations and causes. While we would like to respond favorably to all requests, understandably, the needs are far greater than our allocated resources and we are unable to accommodate them all.

Warehouse Donations:

Warehouse donations are handled at the warehouse level - please consult your local warehouse for up-to-date information regarding their donations contacts and review process.

Grant Applications

If the request is under consideration, you may be contacted by staff for any additional information needed. Applications are reviewed within 4-6 weeks, and decisions are made based on several factors, including: type of program; identified community need not otherwise available; indication that evidenced based data will establish measurable results of intended outcomes; community collaboration; broad base of financial support; project budget and operating expenses.

Community Grants

State Farm is committed to helping build safer, stronger and better-educated communities.

• ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​We are committed to auto and home safety programs and activities that help people manage the risks of everyday life.
• We invest in education, economic empowerment and community development projects, programs and services that help people realize their dreams.
• We help maintain the vibrancy of our communities by assisting nonprofits that support community revitalization.

Good Neighbor Citizenship company grants focus on safety, community development and education.

Focus Areas

Safety Grants

We strive to keep our customers and communities safe. That's why our funding is directed toward:

• Auto safety — improving driver, passenger, vehicle or roadway safety
• Home safety — shielding homes from fires, crime or natural disasters
• Disaster preparedness and mitigation
• Disaster recovery

Community Development

We support nonprofits that invest and develop stronger neighborhoods. That's why our funding is directed toward:

• Affordable housing — home construction and repair
• Commercial/small business development
• Job training
• Neighborhood revitalization
• Financial literacy
• Sustainable housing and transportation
• Food insecurity

Education

Our education funding is directed toward initiatives that support the following programs:

• Higher education
• K-12 academic performance
• K-12 STEM
• Pathways for college and career success

The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation strives to support and facilitate the work of the region's best nonprofit organizations, recognizing that many of those in need today will go on to shape the future of Southern California, to define it, redefine it, and help it set and achieve new goals.

Los Angeles County is one of the most exciting, dynamic, quickly evolving and challenging environments in the United States. In our diversity — racial, ethnic, cultural and economic — Greater Los Angeles presents extraordinary challenges and opportunities for the nonprofit community.

We are a responsive grantmaker.

Program Areas:

As a responsive grantmaker, we invite organizations serving Los Angeles County to come to us for what they need to do their best work. More than half of our grantmaking is for general support; organizations also come to us for funds to renovate or purchase buildings and equipment, specific programs, and staff positions. Funding is prioritized across four program areas:

Civic & Cultural

Grantmaking in this area values enriching cultural experiences and active civic engagement as essential ingredients for a healthy society. We support organizations and institutions that contribute to Los Angeles’ cultural and civic vibrancy, including performing arts organizations, museums, botanical gardens, arts education programs, and those that promote civic engagement and leadership.

Education

Our Education grantmaking underscores the importance of access to quality learning opportunities for all, with a special focus on underserved populations. Our grantees reflect the full continuum of learning from “cradle to career,” and include organizations that support early care and education, K-12 education, charter schools, academic enrichment, college access and persistence, higher education, and vocational training.

Health

The Foundation’s work in this area is rooted in our belief that all the residents of Los Angeles County need access to essential health services that offer a greater quality of life. We invest in organizations that promote health and well-being among vulnerable populations, placing an emphasis on community clinics, mental health providers, prevention services, emergency and trauma centers, and improvements to health care facilities.

Human Services

Our work in Human Services reflects our commitment to improving the lives of Los Angeles’ most vulnerable community members, including low-income children, families, foster youth, seniors, the working poor, and homeless populations. We fund a broad range of services and programs, including child welfare, youth development, supportive services, and basic needs.

Philanthropy is our commitment to communities in which we operate and broader society. We focus our resources on a limited number of key projects that can deliver valuable benefits from our contributions and those of our partners. We give priority to innovative, high-quality projects that meet the following criteria:

• promote sustainable development
• offer an opportunity for Roche to use its expertise and logistics capabilities
• involve Roche actively at an early stage with local authorities and established partners
• engage Roche employees in cultural (focus on contemporary arts), educational and social activities
• managed by an accredited charity

Our four focus areas

Humanitarian and Social

We direct the majority of our philanthropic donations to humanitarian and social development projects.

Science and education

We are dedicated to programmes that promote scientific interest and provide educational opportunities for young people around the world.

Community and Environment

We are committed to building stronger communities and responding to natural disasters sustainably.

Arts and Culture

We support groundbreaking contemporary art, cultural projects and activities that explore the parallels between innovation in art and in science. 

We have strong partnerships with nonprofit organizations across the country that are working to advance economic mobility and social progress in low- and moderate-income communities. Our focus areas include basic needs like food and housing, workforce development and education, and community development. In addition to our philanthropic investments, we also encourage our employees to make a difference by offering robust employee giving and volunteering programs, including the opportunity to direct funds to organizations they support through volunteer efforts, and a matching gifts program that doubles their individual giving to causes they care about. Last year, we invested $350 million in the communities we serve, and employees contributed more than 1 million volunteer hours and directed $65 million through individual giving and matching gifts to support nonprofits.Through our regional U.S. sponsorships, we support the economic, social and cultural life of the places we live and work. We provide an extensive program of arts and sports sponsorships to help maintain vibrant, healthy communities.Sponsorships supporting communitiesBank of America welcomes your sponsorship proposal for opportunities that make our communities a better place to live and work. We are particularly interested in providing support to address needs vital to the health of our communities through a focus on:

• preserving neighborhoods;
• educating the workforce for 21st century jobs;
• addressing critical needs such as hunger and emergency shelter;
• arts and culture;
• the environment; and
• diversity and inclusion programs.

Grants are made at the Foundation’s discretion based on our current funding strategies focused on housing, jobs and hunger. 

Grant Funding Priorities

We aspire to a future where all  rural families provide childcare with a nurturing, safe, and stable foundation for life. A child’s early years are the most critical time for setting a positive trajectory for life. Research shows that trusted relationships with caring adults make all the difference. We want to help families access the supports they need.

What we prioritize:

• Parent and caregiver supports build nurturing and healthy attachments that allow children to thrive. Our communities have identified a need for programs that better match the demographics of families and the emotional needs of children. We prioritize home visiting, parenting education, early childhood mental health and other community supports for parents and caregivers.
• Family financial stability helps parents access programs that exist to assist low-income families, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit. We also offer educational scholarships for parents.
• Child abuse prevention protects children and improves outcomes for future generations. We fund and partner with local organizations and regional and statewide networks to prevent abuse and neglect, build awareness and strengthen systems that bring stability and safety to the most vulnerable among us.Grants aligned with our Education impact area aim to ensure that rural children have the supports and opportunities they need to succeed in their education. Our emphasis is on early childhood education, helping children start strong in their early grades, and preparing students for the transition from high school to postsecondary education or a career.

We envision a future in which all rural young people experience educational success. Education has always been at the top of The Ford Family Foundation’s priorities. We invest in high-quality, affordable early childhood education all the way to our scholarship programs, which have helped thousands of aspiring college students achieve their dreams.

Our emphasis is on ensuring that children and their families benefit from targeted support across two key transitions — from the early years to the schoolroom, and from K-12 to educational and career opportunities after high school.

What we prioritize: 

• Early childhood education allows children to develop the habits, skills and healthy brains that will help them succeed academically as they enter their K-12 school pathway.
• P-3 alignment helps children and families transition from early childhood education settings to more structured classrooms. This ensures children can read independently, problem solve and manage their social-emotional needs.
• Supports and pathways build K-12 students’ knowledge, skills and awareness to plan for life after high school and to improve their long-term economic opportunities.
• Postsecondary completion for students, especially those who are the first in their families to attend and complete college, improves economic and social outcomes for them and their families.

We commit to a future where rural communities are vibrant places that provide opportunities for everyone to thrive.  The Ford Family Foundation is a community building organization. We support rural residents as they work together to develop a shared vision for their community’s future and implement plans that enable them to attract and retain a diverse population, especially working-age families.

What we prioritize:

• Community building catalyzes efforts by rural residents to address needs and improve their communities. Community building fosters leadership, relationships, capacity and collective action to create well-being for all, especially children and families. From scholarship alumni to business leaders, community builders are everywhere. Learn more about the rural Community Building Approach.
• Community economic development builds a vibrant rural economy, improves the economic well-being of families and makes the community a place where people choose to live. Rural business retention and expansion is at the heart of our work in this area.
• Organizational capacity building across the region supports a range of stable and effective organizations that contribute to more resilient rural communities. Nonprofits are the backbone of providing essential services to rural families.

Good Neighbor grants

They’re called Good Neighbor grants for a reason. Good neighbors help each other, learn from each other and lift each other up.

Good Neighbor grants are designed to support the initiatives that matter in your community in a way that works for your organization, including unforeseen emergencies that interrupt programming or services. We fund both program and capital requests.

For Good Neighbor Grants, applicants should note the following:

• 25% committed before applying (in-kind can play a role but strongest requests have other funding at the table)
• Can request up to 1/3 for programs/operations and up to 50% for capital
• Clearly need to see the community at the table where services will be provided
• We also look for a clear plan in place for sustainability
• You will typically hear back from us in six to 10 weeks

Grant amount: Up to $25,000

Grant examples

• Emergency repairs to essential equipment at a food bank, library, fire hall or other community service provider
• Updates to facilities at a beloved community gathering place, including ADA accessibility and technology
• Community events such as celebrations, clean-ups or summer festivals (Events and celebrations must be free to the public and multi-day or annual, such as a music or art series.)
• New or special programs for the children and families in your communities
• Studies or research on a community need
• Playgrounds or recreational facilities
• Translation of materials or outreach to special populations
• Basic needs for vulnerable children and families
• Feasibility studies for economic development projects (e.g., business incubator, makerspace, commercial kitchen)

Wells Fargo and the Wells Fargo Foundation collaborate with a wide range of nonprofit organizations that align with our strategic funding priorities. We prioritize our funding to activities and programs that have a broad reach and support the needs of underserved communities. We aspire to have a positive impact on the communities we serve by using our financial and volunteer resources and business expertise in collaboration with community organizations to help solve complex societal problems.

• Financial health
• Housing affordability
• Small business growth
• Sustainability

We may also support other local needs in eligible communities such as disaster relief, arts and culture, civic engagement, education, human and social services, and workforce development. However, opportunities are limited as our intent is to direct the majority of our giving within our major focus areas.

Southern California Program

The Southern California Program has a broad mission to support projects in five areas: Arts and Culture, Civic and Community Services, Early Childhood Care and Education, Health Care, and Precollegiate Education. Within these areas of interest, the Foundation seeks to promote the healthy development of children and youth, strengthen families, and enrich the lives of people in the region.

We prioritize organizations that strengthen the resiliency of under-resourced communities in Los Angeles County. We place a special emphasis on projects that focus on children and youth from low-income families and special needs populations, including the developmentally disabled, foster children, and homeless families.

Arts and Culture: 

Promoting civic and cultural life through support of museums, performing arts organizations, and public media. Providing opportunities for students to explore the visual and performing arts through support of in-school and out-of-school programs.

Civic and Community

Meeting basic needs through support of social service organizations that address food insecurity and homelessness. Helping children at risk of entering or already in the foster care or probation systems through funding for organizations focused on youth development, children’s rights, and family strengthening.

Early Childhood

Increasing access to quality early care and education programs for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Providing timely intervention to address developmental delays and other risks through support of multiservice agencies and schools.

Health Care

Expanding access to holistic, integrated health care by supporting federally qualified health centers. Addressing the social determinants of health and adverse childhood experiences.

Precollegiate Education

Increasing access to quality K-12 education through support of effective programs that meet the needs of the whole child. Helping first-generation and low-income students navigate the college admissions process and graduate through support of college access and success programs. Improving STEM instruction through teacher pipeline and training programs. Providing opportunities for students to explore concepts and careers in STEM fields by supporting in-school and out-of-school programs.

Program Overview

The Foundation supports capital projects, expansion of programs that are promising or part of a larger effort, piloting new models, and systems change initiatives. We award grants for projects that strategically address compelling issues and have the potential for significant impact on the target population, region, or field. Please see our grant abstracts for examples of recently funded projects.

The Southern California Program’s process consists of an optional concept review, an application, and an invitation-only site visit.

Ameriprise Financial Grantmaking

At Ameriprise Financial, giving back is deeply rooted in our culture. We’ve initiated positive change in the communities where we live and work for more than 120 years. We believe our community involvement enables us to actively live our values. Through grant making, volunteerism and employee and financial advisor gift matching programs, we support a diverse group of over 6,000 nonprofits across the country.

Focus Areas

Awarding grant dollars to nonprofits is one way we strengthen our communities and help individuals on a path to financial independence. To ensure we're meeting the needs of our communities and making an even greater collective impact, we focus on three key giving areas when awarding grants.

Volunteer engagement is a priority across all focus areas:

The engagement of Ameriprise employees and financial advisors is a critical component of our philanthropy. Whether it’s serving on a nonprofit board, engaging friends, clients and community members in volunteering or providing skills-based support, our relationships with nonprofits go deep. For this reason, we give priority across all focus areas to applications where there is active volunteer engagement of Ameriprise advisors and employees. 

Meeting Basic Needs

At Ameriprise Financial, we help clients achieve financial security and peace of mind. That’s satisfying, meaningful work. We also help the people in our neighborhoods who struggle to meet basic needs such as where their next meal comes from, where they’ll sleep tonight or how they’ll find a higher wage job. We’re here to help them through the three platforms of our Meeting Basic Needs focus area.

Consideration is given to applications addressing the following: 

• Hunger
• Food banks, food shelves and food pantries, daily meal programs or meal services for the homebound
• Hunger-relief programs targeted to meet the special needs of children, ethnic populations or veterans
• Food programs run by nonprofits where hunger is not their sole focus, for example a youth meal program at the YWCA or a backpack program run by a Boys & Girls Club
• Shelter
• Emergency shelter, including youth homelessness
• Transitional housing, permanent supportive housing and efforts to end chronic homelessness
• Housing-first models (programs quickly providing housing and then addressing needed services)
• Achieving and maintaining home ownership, repair and maintenance efforts helping keep seniors, veterans and other populations in their homes 
• Adult Self-Sufficiency: Programs serving adults age 21 and older that help address the following areas:
• Basic hard and soft skills that help adults achieve economic and family stability
• Basic financial and budgeting skills
• Increase employability and wages, including work readiness and job transitions
• Employment of disabled adults

Supporting Community Vitality

We believe communities should be strong, healthy and resilient. We want livable places for all, where neighbors look out for one another, cultural events are well-attended and people pull together in times of crisis and joy. We work to create economic vitality and cultural enrichment through the following areas of focus.

Consideration is given to applications addressing the following: 

• Community Development
• Neighborhood revitalization
• Economic development
• Strengthening and supporting small businesses and nonprofits through technical expertise
• Cultural Enrichment
• Arts education
• Access for underserved populations
• Diverse artists and performances that spark topical community conversations 

Volunteer Driven Causes: Ameriprise employees and financial advisors are outstanding volunteers who serve in teams and also as individuals bringing personal skill-sets to nonprofits. Volunteering is part of the culture at Ameriprise and we are proud to support communities through contributions of both service and financial resources. 

Funding for Volunteer-Driven Causes is determined by current Ameriprise volunteerism. In general, funding is in proportion to the size of the Ameriprise volunteer team supporting a nonprofit. A team may include employees, financial advisors and/or staff or a combination of any Ameriprise volunteers. 

The Foundation is dedicated to providing financial assistance to organizations committed to improving our world. Solutions to the problems of today's world still lie in the values of innovation, practicality, hard work, and compassion.

The Foundation considers applications for grants in the following areas:

• Education
• Social Service
• Health care
• Civic and cultural
• Environmental

The categories above are not intended to limit the interest of the Foundation from considering other worthwhile projects. In general, the Foundation guidelines are broad to give us flexibility in providing grants.

The majority of our grants are made in the U.S. However, like Dr. Scholl, we recognize the need for a global outlook. Non-U.S. grants are given to organizations where directors have knowledge of the grantee.

Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) is a California-based foundation with roots in amateur radio and the technology of internet communication. Our mission is to support, promote, and enhance digital communication and broader communication science and technology, to promote amateur radio, scientific research, experimentation, education, development, open access, and innovation in information and communication technology.

Grantmaking Categories

• Support and growth of amateur radio. Grants in this category are core to our mission. We make grants to clubs for all types of projects, including licensing classes, continuing education, repeater infrastructure, and certain emergency communications projects that expand interest and access to amateur radio.
  • Examples:  Make Operating Radio Easier (MORE), CVARC Serves Its Community and Promotes Amateur Radio, Bridgerland ARC: Engaging and Educating Youth in Amateur Radio
• Education. Grants in this category include scholarships, as well as projects that aim to educate or mentor individuals, such as K-12 school programs and programs aimed at under-served groups. We are primarily interested in STEAM programs that are linked to amateur radio, wireless technology, or digital communications.
  • Examples:  West Bend Public Library, Walters State Community College (WSCC), South Eugene High School
• Research and development.  Projects in this category are projects that are advancing the state of the art in amateur radio and communication science and technology.
  • Examples: Rhizomatica: Digital HF Telecommunications for Civil and Amateur Uses, Tangerine SDR

Grantmaking Goals

ARDC makes grants to programs and organizations that aim to advance our mission and vision to create:

A thriving global community of learners, experimenters, and contributors advancing freedom with open source communication and information technology.

ARDC’s strategic approach to achieving this vision involves three main goals:

• Promoting learning: getting more people learning about amateur radio (AR) and digital communications (DC).
• Promoting experimenting: getting more people experimenting, innovating, and developing technology (in the context of AR and DC).
• Promoting doing: getting more people using new technology productively on more (and newer) bands, modes, and technologies (and other dimensions) within the context of AR and DC.

As we evaluate opportunities for our grantmaking and other program activities, we will be reviewing them based on their ability to meet the above objectives and, overall, help to manifest our vision.

Please review our vision and strategy pages for more detailed information.

Open Access Requirement

Because ARDC works with and for the public, we require that the work of the projects we fund be freely available to everyone who can benefit and to everyone who can contribute. Thus, all technology, documentation, and other materials produced using ARDC funds must be made freely available to the public, ideally using one of the below open source licenses:

• Software: GPL licenses (esp. AGPLv3), MIT, BSD, LGPL
• Hardware: CERN Open Hardware License
• Media, writing, images etc.: Free Culture subset of the Creative Commons licenses, particularly CC-BY-SA, as well as CC-BY and CC0

Our Mission

The mission of the Atkinson Foundation is to provide opportunities for individuals in San Mateo County to attain their highest potential in areas of educational, social, and economic life, to assist their efforts to become independent and self-sufficient, and to generally improve the quality of their lives.

Funding Priorities

The Atkinson Foundation provides opportunities for individuals in San Mateo county to attain the highest potential in the areas of educational, social & economic life; to assist their efforts to become independent & self-sufficient and to generally improve the quality of their lives.

We are committed to supporting community-based and community-led organizations that address the needs identified by the communities they serve.

Education and Youth Development

We support nonprofit organizations that provide:

Enhancing K-12 public education curriculum and provide academic and/or enrichment activities to underserved students (programs that take place in schools, but are offered by nonprofit organizations)

Providing youth development opportunities to underserved students in grades K-12 (programs that take place away from school sites)

Assisting low-income families in the caring and early learning journey of their young children

Providing youth and adults who face significant obstacles to employment with training and services that prepare them for job placement

Community Support

We support nonprofit organizations that provide:

Providing such as food, shelter, and/or family support resources to help sustain healthy families and strong communities

Supporting the well-being of youth and adults faced with mental and/or physical health conditions and addictions

Enhancing the quality of life for older adults who have limited resources

Protecting the rights of newcomers and create opportunities for forward mobility

Supporting reproductive and prenatal care, and wrap-around services for survivors of domestic violence, to ensure all women are healthy and safe

Overview

Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia) values being an informed, compassionate and contributing neighbor in our local communities. The commitment has been demonstrated throughout Sandia’s history and is an enduring part of our future.

Sandia and National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia (NTESS) provide grants to address the greatest challenges facing families in our communities. K-12 school systems are working to eliminate educational disparities from one community to another. Many families struggle with affordable housing, food insecurity, and other challenges. Recognizing that both family stability and equitable educational success are critical to our children’s futures, we are investing our corporate contributions in the areas of Family Stability and Educational Success. NTESS, on behalf of Sandia National Laboratories, contributes more than $1.5M annually to our local communities. 

Family Stability Criteria

This grant opportunity is intended to support non-profit organizations that are helping families in crisis provide and sustain a stable home environment, especially for families with children. Programs should demonstrate sustainable improvement and where applicable, partnerships with other organizations to create efficiencies and avoid duplication of services. Priority will be given to programs that address:

• Hunger relief services including pantries and prepared meal services that serve people experiencing food insecurity.
• Support those working toward obtaining short or long-term housing for people experiencing homelessness
• Workforce development serving under-employed populations.
• Services and wraparound support for children/families who are experiencing a temporary crisis. 

Our Mission

Our mission is to continue and further the philanthropic legacy of Gardner Cowles, Jr. and the Cowles family, which includes promotion of education, social justice, health, and the arts.

The Founder

The Cowles Charitable Trust was first established in 1948 by Gardner “Mike” Cowles, Jr. (1903-1985). Born into the Cowles publishing family of Des Moines, Iowa, Mike was the youngest of Gardner Cowles and Florence Call Cowles’ six children. A newspaper editor and publisher by trade, he was committed to his family’s traditions of responsible, public-spirited, and innovative journalism as well as philanthropy. 

The Cowles Charitable Trust supports the arts, education, the advancement of ethical journalism, medical and climate research.

About Us

The William McCaskey & Adaline Dinsmore Chapman Foundation was created through the generosity of Mrs. Chapman, who formed it in 1983 to help students obtain educational opportunities that otherwise would not be available to them. She established the Foundation to Support, in perpetuity, the practice that she and her late husband, William McCaskey Chapman, followed during their lifetimes: helping students to pursue educational excellence.

Colonel William Chapman was reared in Pacific Grove. Following his military career he was active in the community and served as Mayor of Pacific Grove. Upon her death, Mrs. Chapman left the majority of her estate to the Chapman Foundation. Since then, the Foundation has distributed millions of dollars to more than 125 local educational programs and projects.

William McCaskey Chapman and Adaline Dinsmore Chapman Foundation Grant

The principal criterion for a successful grant application is to show how the grant will be of direct help to students who want to prepare for and succeed in college studies. The common denominator in all grants is that they are intended to help motivated students gain the skills needed for successful completion of college.  All grants are intended to help motivate students living on the Monterey Peninsula to gain the skills needed for successful completion of college.

Types of Grants

Organizations will be selected for a grant only if they demonstrate that their proposal meets the Foundation's criteria of financial need and academic merit.

• Scholarship Funds for Individuals: When organizations are applying for grants that will benefit individual students selected by the organization to receive financial assistance, the organization's selection procedures should provide, at a minimum, that parents or guardians of individuals requesting financial assistance submit a financial statement (to include assets, liabilities, income and expense) sufficient to demonstrate financial need for the proposed assistance.
• Programs Benefiting Groups: Organizations applying for grants of general benefit to groups of students, should identify the group to receive the benefit of the grant, demonstrate that without a grant the benefit would not otherwise be available, and demonstrate that the program or event for which funding is requested will provide a distinct college-preparatory educational benefit for a deserving group.
• Challenge Grants: The Foundation Board normally follows the practice of issuing challenge grants, under which organizations are required to raise in the same grant year or provide funds matching the amount of the approved grant, and for the same program. This process affords an incentive for others to make donations to the receiving organization, thus extending the benefit of a Foundation grant. This has been heartily endorsed by grantees. Absent very unusual circumstances, grants will be made on a challenge basis.

The Boston Scientific Foundation’s mission is to improve health and open up educational opportunities for economically disadvantaged persons, with an emphasis on communities where Boston Scientific employees live and work in the United States.

Education

The Foundation supports programs focused on improving STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) educational opportunities and academic development for K-12 students who are economically disadvantaged.

Grants to benefit economically disadvantaged in education programs is defined as programs with:

• Minimum of 50% of program participants at 185% of poverty or lower OR
• Funding directed to participants at 185% of poverty or lower
• We do not fund dollars towards stipends for program participation

How do you select applicants?

We support programs that improve health and STEM education for economically disadvantaged persons. Applications are initially pre-screened, with qualified submissions then vetted by regional grant review committees. We are particularity interested in proposals that contain these elements:

Evidence based approaches that include a methodology for tracking and measuring improvements in STEM learning or specific health outcomes related to our focus areas.

Clear identification of the target audience and data used to determine the majority of grant beneficiaries (participants) are economically disadvantaged (e.g., household income, enrollment in Medicaid or SNAP benefits, census data for the neighborhood or community, etc.)

Cost-effective and results-oriented programs, where our contributions can make a long-term measurable difference in the quality of people’s lives and serve as a catalyst for positive change.

The American Water Charitable Foundation is an independent, 501(c)(3) private foundation, supported by the shareholders of American Water. The Foundation’s Board of Trustees, composed of officers and leaders of American Water or its subsidiaries, review Foundation programs, guidelines, and distribution of funds.

Applications will be accepted in the following states served by American Water, in addition to its Military Service locations: California, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

The Water and Environment Grant Program will be awarded to help fund innovative, community-based projects that:

• improve, restore or protect the watersheds, surface water and/or groundwater supplies
• promote water conservation
• improve equitable access to water-based recreation in underserved communities 

About the Foundation

Jesse W. Couch lived a life of zeal, honor, and dedication to the betterment of his community. The Couch family now humbly stewards the foundation he created to carry on his legacy of service for future generations. We believe that impact is best accomplished through partnerships with local organizations that know the people and communities they serve. We invest in and support efforts to protect the environment, further conservation and preservation initiatives, and save historical architecture that preserves community heritage. We also support initiatives that promote wellness and mental health and organizations seeking to provide and further education for all communities.

Annual Grant Focus

Each year, we seek to partner with and support non-profit organizations making an impact in the focus areas listed here.  The focus areas for 2025 are:

• Animal Wellbeing: We are dedicated to helping nonprofit organizations that nurture compassion and respect for all living animals. We must have animal-focused organizations that advocate for animal rights and provide humane treatment across all spectrums.
• Early Childhood Education: We are looking for schools that are providing young children with a creative and balanced approach to education. Things we love in early childhood curriculums:
  • Life Skills
  • Collaboration With Their Peers and Teachers   
  • Having Fun   
  • Montessori Teachings   
  • Project Based Teachings   
  • Diversity   
  • More Time Outside   
  • Less Screen Time
• Teachers: Teachers are essential to providing children with the best possible education. We must invest in their future and are always looking for teams that help them succeed in educating future generations.
• Get Outside: Being outside can improve memory, fight depression, lower blood pressure, and more! We support organizations that facilitate and encourage more outdoor activities that help create healthier communities. 

About

Established in 1919 by the California State Legislature and signed into law by Governor William Stephens, the Department of Food and Agriculture is responsible for ensuring the state's food safety, the protection of the state's agriculture from invasive species, and promoting the California agricultural industry.

 CA Farm to School Incubator Grant Program

The California Farm to School Incubator Grant Program will award competitive grants to support projects that cultivate equity, nurture students, build climate resilience, and create scalable and sustainable change.

Funding Priorities

 The California Farm to School Incubator Grant Program will award additional points during the grant review process for projects that:

• Engage students from underserved communities
• Serve schools located among priority populations that are especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change
• Include small to midsize California food producers
• Include veteran California food producers, socially disadvantaged California food producers, and/or limited-resource farm households in California.
• Include California food producers who utilize climate smart agriculture practices, climate smart agriculture production systems like certified organic or transitioning to certified organic, or other regenerative strategies that increase resilience to climate change, improve the health of communities and soil, protect water and air quality, increase biodiversity, and help store carbon in the soil.

To support a systems approach to advancing farm to school throughout the state, the California Farm to School Incubator Grant Program offers four funding tracks.

• Track 1: The California Farm to School K-12 Procurement and Education Grant
• Track 2: The California Farm to School Partnership Grant
• Track 3: The California Farm to Early Care and Education (ECE) Grant
• Track 4: The California Farm to School Producer Grant

Community Ties Giving Program

As part of the Community Ties Giving Program, Local Grants help us achieve our mission by providing small and medium-sized grants within our priority cause areas to local organizations spread widely across Union Pacific's footprint.

Funding Priorities & Objectives

Throughout its existence, the success of Union Pacific's business has been inextricably linked to the economic and community wellbeing of cities and towns across the nation. We take pride in the role we have played in helping communities thrive and believe the impact we can have on local communities is greatest when it is authentic to our history and reflective of the diverse company we are today.

As such, we have carefully aligned our Local Grants cause areas to our company's unique heritage, strengths, and assets. Specifically, we prioritize funding for direct services and efforts that build the capacity of organizations focused on the following causes within our local operating communities. Within each focus area, we aim to support programs and organizations working to advance the diversity, equity and inclusion of underrepresented populations within the local context and issue areas addressed. Find more information about our commitment to DEI in our FAQs.

Safety

In order for communities to thrive, all residents must feel safe. Just as the safety of our employees and community members is paramount to how we operate, Union Pacific is committed to helping communities prevent and prepare for incidents and emergencies, and helping residents get home safely at the end of each day. As such, we prioritize funding for projects and programs that seek to: 

• Encourage safe behaviors and prevent incidents through education and awareness, particularly projects which focus on rail, driver, bike, and pedestrian safety, and ensure outreach efforts reach underserved populations.
• Eliminate risks and improve safe and equitable access to community spaces through infrastructure improvements, such as signage, proper lighting, and public trail improvements.
• Prepare and equip residents and emergency responders* to effectively respond to incidents and emergencies if or when they occur.
  • *Union Pacific supports publicly funded emergency responders through a variety of corporate programs; only independent nonprofit, 501(c)(3) emergency response organizations, such as volunteer departments, are eligible for funding through this grant program
• Prevent crime and violent incidents and support survivors of domestic violence through efforts that address the root causes of these issues and seek to mitigate their occurrence.
• Build the capacity of safety-focused organizations to integrate practices that improve upon the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts of the organization. This can take the form of internal capacity building or the creation/expansion of culturally relevant programming and services that seek to impact a broad and diverse audience. 

Workforce Development

For more than 160 years, Union Pacific has helped stimulate economic growth in cities and towns throughout the nation by training and providing employment to millions of workers. More than ever, we are committed to helping underrepresented residents in our communities achieve family-supporting careers like those offered by Union Pacific. As such, we prioritize funding for programs that seek to:

• Put youth on the right track by creating awareness of and pathways toward employment opportunities; building foundational skills, especially in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM); establishing necessary technical skills and life skills; and providing mentorship and positive role models for the future.
• Raise awareness of, educate and prepare young adults for middle skills jobs like those Union Pacific offers, for instance through community colleges, vocational and career training programs, workforce readiness initiatives, and programs that assist with job placement and/or on-the-job experience.
  • Programs that develop proficiency in areas relevant to Union Pacific operations such as welding, electrical work, machine operations, and civil and electrical engineering are given priority.
• "Up-skill" the existing workforce by providing training and resources that enable them to reach the next level of their career.
  • Programs that develop proficiency in areas of relevance to Union Pacific operations are given priority.
• Resolve barriers to employment such as transportation, childcare, acquiring necessary equipment for work, and second chance employment programs.
• Build the capacity of workforce development-focused organizations to integrate practices that improve upon the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts of the organization. This can take the form of internal capacity building or the creation/expansion of culturally relevant programming and services that seek to impact a broad and diverse audience. 

Community Vitality

Union Pacific Railroad is committed to establishing vibrant, healthy and inclusive communities for employees, customers and residents to work, visit and call home. Just as the railroad opened avenues for economic development and opportunity more than 160 years ago, we maintain this tradition by cultivating unique cultural and recreational experiences and equipping community members with opportunities to live healthy, vital lives. As such, we prioritize funding for projects and programs that seek to:

• Create, sustain or expand artistic and cultural experiences offered to a broad and diverse audience (e.g., museums, theaters, zoos, cultural and local heritage, visual and performing arts, etc.)
• Provide recreational opportunities that foster wellbeing, enrichment and/or an appreciation for our natural environment (e.g., parks, libraries, senior centers, recreation centers, learning centers, etc.).
• Revive neighborhoods and main street areas, especially in historically underinvested neighborhoods, to improve livability, promote commerce and attract more residents, businesses and visitors to town.
• Ensure residents’ basic needs are met and barriers are overcome (e.g., safe shelter and homelessness prevention, hunger relief, mental health and community health needs, etc.).
• Offer youth development and educational opportunities to ensure young people can thrive into healthy and productive community members (e.g., mentoring, leadership development, tutoring, services for youth in foster care, etc.).
• Build the capacity of community vitality-focused organizations to integrate practices that improve upon the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts of the organization. This can take the form of internal capacity building or the creation/expansion of culturally relevant programming and services that seek to impact a broad and diverse audience. 

Environmental Sustainability

The future of our business, communities and planet depends on bold, collective action to reduce and slow the impacts of climate change while building a more sustainable economy for the next generation. Union Pacific is taking deliberate steps to reduce our environmental impact and helping our partners improve their own. Extending this commitment to our community investments, we seek to support leading environmental nonprofits and community-based organizations to advance the health of our environment. As such, we prioritize funding for projects and programs that seek to:

• Preserve and restore nature, including programs focused on natural habitats, ecosystems, and biodiversity.
• Protect and enhance water, soil and air quality through innovative and proactive solutions such as water conservation, carbon sequestration and emission reduction programs.
• Reduce waste through initiatives focused on promoting recycling and circularity throughout the community, including recycling and composting programs and other efforts that reduce waste.
• Develop environmental stewards through youth programs focused on fostering environmental appreciation, responsibility, and leadership.
• Advance a sustainable economy by helping communities accelerate their transition to environmental jobs and renewable energy, as well as helping nonprofits and small businesses build their own capacity to operate more sustainably.
• Promote environmental justice through initiatives that ensure access to clean air, water, and land and protect underserved populations from disproportionate and adverse environmental effects.
• Build the capacity of sustainability-focused organizations to integrate practices that improve upon the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts of the organization. This can take the form of internal capacity building or the creation/expansion of culturally relevant programming and services that seek to impact a broad and diverse audience.

Economic Security & Dignity Fund

To be healthy, people need the stability, confidence and aspiration gained through earning a reliable and growing income, building up a financial cushion, and owning assets. Yet many Californians face barriers to achieving enough income to meet basic needs, let alone build wealth – the single most important factor that influences health.

If you think of economic security as a house, we strive to support Californians in strengthening the floor and eliminating the ceiling. "Strengthening the floor" means focusing on reinforcing a social safety net that protects people from economic distress when faced with financial challenges. And "eliminating the ceiling" means emphasizing higher education, and access to good jobs that provide living wages, strong benefits and career paths. Eliminating the ceiling also includes entrepreneurship and growing assets – from homeownership to retirement savings.

Our Economic Security and Dignity portfolio aims to advance the economic well-being of Californians, especially those from low-income communities and communities of color.

Economic Mobility & Wealth Creation

All Californians should be able to get good-paying jobs, build businesses as entrepreneurs if they choose to, and be financially secure. We will support efforts that advance workforce development and entrepreneurship for communities of color and low-income communities.

Improving health outcomes is not just a matter of promoting good jobs and increasing income — it’s also about building assets and the confidence and cushion that wealth provides to expand opportunities.

The Economic Security and Dignity portfolio makes grants under three goal areas. To be eligible for funding, your organization’s work must fit into at least one of these goal areas:

• Economic Mobility & Wealth Creation
• Higher Education (note: this goal area is currently not accepting unsolicited applications for funding).
• Economic Safety Net

Economic Mobility & Wealth Creation

• Comprehensive workforce development efforts that focus on systems-impacted communities, with attention to formerly incarcerated men and women and provide all of the following:
  • Placement into living-wage jobs that offer robust benefits and pathways for career advancement;
  • Job retention services; and
  • Case-managed wraparound support services.
• Efforts that support and strengthen small businesses through culturally-effective advising services and access to trustworthy capital for owners and operators who are persons of color, immigrants and refugees, or low-income individuals.
• Public policy efforts that address one of the following:
  • Advance comprehensive workforce development approaches described above; or
  • Strengthen supports for small businesses.

• Workforce development efforts that focus on populations other than formerly incarcerated adults, or that emphasize resume writing, interview skills training, placement into low-wage jobs, or job training with minimal job placement or support services.
• An individual organization’s efforts to develop, build, or expand its in-house workforce or its own small business, including social enterprises.

Higher Education

This goal area has two priorities:

• pathways to access and succeed in postsecondary education for juvenile justice system-involved youth and
• advancing racial equity in medical schools to address the acute racial disparities in the physicians’ workforce in California.

More than two-thirds of youth connected to the juvenile justice system aspire to higher education. At the same time, incarcerated youth in California face many obstacles in their quest to enter and succeed in higher education. Across the state, youth in custody have no access to face-to-face, classroom-based postsecondary instruction, and receive no postsecondary outreach, engagement, or orientation activities. And the juvenile justice system’s disproportionate ensnarement of Black and Latino youth exacerbates racial inequities in the pathways into postsecondary education. As a result, college and other postsecondary education – a leading pathway to economic self-sufficiency – is out of reach for most juvenile justice system-involved youth. Our grants are shaping a field and elevating a supportive ecosystem across the state to nurture a higher education pathway for these systems-involved young people.

• College campus-based support programs and supportive housing programs that support the postsecondary educational success of our youth involved with the juvenile justice system.
• Efforts that advance access to and success in medical schools for students from communities of color that are underrepresented in medicine, with attention to pathway and other programs at schools of medicine and community-based organizations.
• Public policy efforts that:
  • Advance the postsecondary educational success of youth involved with the juvenile justice system, or

• Address barriers to access to and success in medical schools students from communities of color that are underrepresented in medicine. Leadership development efforts that support advocacy of:
  • Juvenile justice system-involved youth issues impacting their pathways to and through postsecondary education

• Programs that focus on college preparation, high school completion or the acquisition of a GED or HiSET certificate, or K-12-focused programs, including efforts addressing STEM.
• Supportive housing programs that are not tailored to our priority youth population nor oriented to advancing their postsecondary educational success.
• Health professions schools and training programs that address students broader than physicians.
• Efforts that focus on health workforce or workplace diversity and cultural competence.

Economic Safety Net

We want to make sure there is easier access to safety-net income supports. According to the Center for American Progress, a strong safety net reduces poverty, increases economic mobility, and strengthens our national economy. Furthermore, studies show that many safety-net programs offer an excellent return on investment to taxpayers. We will help expand and strengthen the safety net to support low-income Californians in both maintaining their financial stability and in building their economic progress. We also support the economic justice ecosystem of organizations in California working to improve wages, benefits, and employment practices.

Public policy and systems change efforts that:

• Address strengthening income security (e.g., earned income tax credits, child tax credits, retirement benefits, unemployment insurance, guaranteed income), including expanding eligibility (e.g., undocumented immigrants); or
• Advance economic justice (e.g., worker power, increasing the minimum/living wage, improving workforce policies, etc.).

Efforts that primarily address occupational health and workplace safety.

Albertsons Companies is one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States, with over 2,200 stores in 34 states and the District of Columbia. Our rich history is built on a long-standing commitment to serving customers and communities across the country since 1860 when we were founded by George Clinton Shaw in Portland, Maine.

Albertsons Companies Foundation

Albertsons Companies Foundation supports causes that impact our customers’ lives. Our stores provide the opportunity to mobilize funding and create awareness in our neighborhoods through our associates’ passion, partnerships with our vendors and the generous contributions by our customers. Our priority is eradicating hunger in our neighborhoods. Specifically, we actively seek out organizations that feed our neighbors today, help connect them to resources to feed themselves tomorrow, and end hunger forever.

About Nourishing Neighbors

Albertsons Companies Foundation's Nourishing Neighbors program is dedicated to fighting food insecurity and ensuring that at-risk children, adults, seniors, and families have access to the food they need to succeed. The program supports various initiatives, including providing nutritious breakfasts for children, holiday dinners, and school pantries. Since inception in 2014, Nourishing Neighbors raised and donated over $300 million, enabling more than 1 billion meals to be donated to communities, including those affected by disasters. The program also focuses on long-term solutions to hunger, such as connecting people to federal meal programs like SNAP and WIC. Through these efforts, we aim to create sustainable and lasting change in the fight against hunger.

We have set a bold new goal: to enable 1.5 billion meals and invest $10 million annually to break the cycle of hunger by 2030.

Nourishing Neighbor O Organics Fight Hunger Serve Hope Grant

This grant is generously funded by O Organics, part of Albertsons Companies’ Own Brands portfolio, to support organizations that are actively working to reduce food insecurity for low-income individuals, including children, families, women, and seniors.

In particular, we are seeking proposals for programs that increase access to meals and/or boost participation in federal nutrition programs, such as school meals, Summer EBT etc.

Funding will support programs including, but not limited to:

• Summer Meals: Providing free, nutritious meals and snacks to children and teens 18 and under during the summer months.
• After School Meals: Ensuring children receive free, nutrition meals during the school year, after regular school hours.
• Capacity Building: Training, technical assistance, and outreach to help organizations start or expand meal programs.
• Connecting People to Summer EBT: Programs that help eligible families access and use Summer EBT, conduct outreach, and assist with enrollment.
• Food Distribution: Support programs that help provide food to individuals and families experiencing food insecurity.

The funding period is one year from the date funds are received. 

Calling to Serve

Since its inception in 2016, the Robinson Foundation has sought to demonstrate God’s love through sharing the gifts we have received. We understand the often unspoken hardships and struggles that people in and outside of our community face everyday. As such, our contributions are focused on relieving these hardships for the betterment of our world.

As a family-operated foundation, we pray that our small efforts will not only create immediate change in the lives of our neighbors, but will help set those lives on a course for success in the future. We are thankful for each and every day we have on this earth to use what God has granted us to make a difference.

Areas of Interest

• Animal Welfare
• Children & Families
• Disaster Relief
• Education
• Medical Assistance
• Nature & Wildlife Conservation
• Poverty Relief
• Religious & Spiritual Endeavors
• Veterans' Issues

Grant Considerations

We take many different aspects of applications into account when making grant issuing decisions, however these are some of the high-level questions we ask ourselves during the process:

• How does the organization serve their key audience goals?
• Is the organization fiscally responsible?
• Will a grant have a tangible, meaningful impact?
• Will we see direct results from this grant?
• Does the organization have other financial contributors?

Samueli Foundation

Our vision is well-being for all.

Our mission is to make Orange County, California a thriving mosaic of community well-being. We support and unite catalytic forces whose innovations yield a high quality of life for everyone.

Breakaway Fund

A breakaway is one of the most electrifying moments in hockey. It’s a turning point, the moment. when a player or individual charges ahead, unimpeded, nothing but opportunity between them and the goal. With the Breakaway Fund, we’re bringing that same momentum of possibility to our local community.

This fund provides unrestricted, easy-to-access capital that helps you and your team barrel past the usual obstacles, giving you the best possible advantage for achieving your goals. No red tape. No onerous applications. Just the support you need, when you need it most.

Grant Categories

According to our Orange County Nonprofit Needs Assessment, nonprofits serving Orange County face significant challenges in securing unrestricted funds to support staffing and leadership development, enhance their infrastructure, and engage in meaningful inter-organizational collaboration. The Breakaway Fund will provide one year grant awards of $50,000-$100,000 for projects in the following categories:

• Talent and Leadership
  • Every professional hockey team invests in coaches, trainers, nutritionists and other people who help their players thrive. Why should nonprofit organizations go without the same types of support? We will consider requests that cover investments in human capital to improve employee recruitment, professional development, organizational culture, and retention other than personnel salaries.
  • Examples include:
    • Professional development classes, executive coaching, and conference registration fees
    • Employee perks or discounts (lunches)
• Systems and "Stuff"
  • Hockey players rely on having abundant equipment including skates, sticks, pads, helmets, and mouth guards. Their coaches use sophisticated technology to assess game play and plan team logistics. Nonprofits also need to purchase new equipment to support their missions. We will consider requests that cover capital expenses or physical assets that improve your organization’s ability to deliver its mission.
  • Examples include:
    • Technology upgrades (hardware or software)
    • Facility or equipment upgrades
• Expertise
  • Behind every great team are experts that help with complex legal issues, human resources, financial planning, and other work that requires specific contracted expertise. We will consider requests that cover third party technical assistance to augment your current team with the right experts at the right time.
  • Examples include:
    • Specialized legal support
    • Accounting assistance
• "Season Ticket"
  • Not everything you dream of fits into neat boxes. If you have a unique funding request that falls outside of the above categories, please describe your request and we will consider it.

Selection Criteria

Eligible projects will be selected for funding based on the following criteria:

• Organization:
  • The organization helps to advance well-being and opportunity for all individuals and families living in Orange County
• Project:
  • The proposed activities are realistic and feasible and will enable the organization to better deliver its mission
• Funding:
  • “Right resources” for the project (would allow the organization to cover 100% of the requested expense)

Samueli Foundation

Our vision is well-being for all.

Our mission is to make Orange County, California a thriving mosaic of community well-being. We support and unite catalytic forces whose innovations yield a high quality of life for everyone.

Build OC Fund

As members of the community, there’s nothing more exciting than watching Orange County grow for the better. The Build OC Fund is dedicated to supporting the growth and development of Orange County’s nonprofit organizations by funding capital projects.

Grant Categories

According to our Orange County Nonprofit Needs Assessment, many Orange County nonprofit organizations are struggling with inadequate or unaffordable physical space. High rental costs, lack of long-term leases, and limited access to funding for facility improvements prevent organizations from expanding services, retaining staff, and providing welcoming, functional environments for their communities.

The Build OC Fund will support:

• Facilities and/or land acquisition (i.e., to make a new purchase)
• New construction (i.e., to build a new building or an addition to an existing building)
• Renovation (i.e., to significantly revamp an existing facility or outdoor space)
• Repair (i.e., for maintenance or repair of a facility or outdoor space)
• Preservation (i.e., to maintain or repair existing historic structures)
• Equipment (i.e., to purchase major equipment as part of a larger capital project)

Organizations may apply for one-time capital grants of up to $1,000,000 for projects located in Orange County, California for which they have site control or are in the process of securing site control (e.g., ownership of the property, option to purchase, long-term lease of at least 7 years). The project should be completed or reach a meaningful milestone within one year of receiving funding.

Selection Criteria

The Samueli Foundation will be looking at the following criteria:

• Organization:
  • The organization helps to advance well-being and opportunity for all individuals and families living in Orange County
• Project:
  • The proposed activities are realistic and feasible and will enable the organization to better deliver its mission
• Funding:
  • The request represents the “right resources” for the project (i.e., would allow the organization to cover 100% of the project’s costs)

Community Partnership Award

The Mutual of America Foundation Community Partnership Award recognizes outstanding nonprofit organizations in the United States that have shown exemplary leadership by facilitating partnerships with public, private or social sector leaders who are working together as equal partners, not as donors and recipients, to build a cohesive community that serves as a model for collaborating with others for the greater good.

Each year, the Mutual of America Foundation sponsors a national competition in which hundreds of organizations demonstrate the value of their partnership to the communities they serve, their ability to be replicated by others and their capacity to stimulate new approaches to addressing significant social issues.

Six organizations are selected by an independent committee to receive the Community Partnership Award.

• The Thomas J. Moran Award is given to the national award-winning program and includes $100,000 and a documentary video about the program.
• The Frances R. Hesselbein Award is given to a partnership that is addressing social challenges in more than one community, or which demonstrates the potential to be replicated in other communities. This recipient receives $75,000.
• Four other organizations are named Honorable Mention recipients for their programs, and each receives $50,000.

Since its inception in 1996, the Community Partnership Award has recognized 262 partnerships from cities and towns across America. Like so many of our clients working in the nonprofit community, Mutual of America is dedicated to having a direct, positive impact on society.

The Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation Vision

The Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation, "A Foundation for All", was established in 2002. It was begun in order to give a clear voice for those who wish to be a part of the many, worthy, forces for change in our world.

We are a foundation whose purpose is to look ahead towards the future, giving the past its due by remembering where we came from, and how much we can all accomplish together. We aim to make the critical difference on our planet by recognizing and having respect for our ever changing world. We respect all Life, the Environment, and all People, no matter who they are.