Capacity Building Grants for Nonprofits

Note: While we’re open to new ideas and projects, funding for unsolicited requests is very limited.

Education - Advancing Afterschool

We work to increase access to quality educational opportunities for all children — particularly those from low-income families and underserved communities.

Preparing a child for the future doesn’t end when the school bell rings.

How it Works

The hours before and after school — and during the summer months — provide opportunities for children and youth to engage in learning, and the space for the kinds of activities that encourage curiosity, creativity and confidence.

Students who attend afterschool and summer programs are better prepared for work and life. They attend school more, make gains in reading and math, improve their grades and have higher graduation rates. And they develop positive social skills and improve their behavior during the school day.

Our interest in afterschool and summer learning programs spans 85 years of support, from the early development of community schools through our partnership with the U.S. Department of Education’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers program. Now serving more than 1.7 million children and youth at 11,000 sites across the country, these local programs provide a wealth of practical information and data on the impact of and need for afterschool and summer learning opportunities.

Mott is dedicated to making afterschool and summer learning programs available for every child and family who needs them. Through our support of afterschool networks in all 50 states, as well as key national education organizations, our grantmaking helps to inform policies, develop partnerships and shape practices that will sustain and increase the quality of local programs across the U.S.

Currently, our grantmaking focuses on three areas:

Building an Afterschool Infrastructure

Our grants support a national infrastructure of organizations dedicated to increasing the quality of afterschool programs for children, youth and families.

We make grants to:

• organizations helping to strengthen the capacity of 50 statewide afterschool networks through technical assistance that will improve program quality and data collection practices; and
• nonprofit groups supporting the sharing of best practices, research and communication strategies throughout the network.

Fostering Afterschool Policy

Our funding supports efforts to inform the development of effective policies and partnerships to increase quality afterschool programs for children, youth and families.

We make grants to:

• national nonprofit groups that work to inform state, federal and local policies to increase access to quality afterschool and summer learning programs; and
• organizations that support strategic communications aimed at improving access to quality afterschool and summer learning programs at the local, state and national levels

Improving Afterschool Quality & Innovation

Our grantmaking advances research and exemplary models that increase student engagement in learning and prepare students for college and career. We make grants to:

• organizations conducting research to identify the impact of quality afterschool programs on children, youth and families;
• national nonprofit groups with expertise in research-based practices that include: digital media and learning; science, technology, engineering and math (STEM); music and the arts; and service learning; and
• organizations supporting initiatives to test and expand research-based models/approaches in education and afterschool.

Note: While we’re open to new ideas and projects, funding for unsolicited requests is very limited.

Education - Graduating High School College & Career Ready

We strive to increase high school graduation and college and career readiness outcomes for youth, particularly those in low-income communities.

Every high school student should graduate prepared for work, military service or further education.

How it Works

Mott aims to create a culture in which students have both the aspiration and ability to pursue college or career training after high school graduation. We support promising college and career readiness strategies that help students complete high school prepared to succeed in college, careers and life.

To succeed in life, young people need to acquire a well-rounded education that builds both academic knowledge as well as nonacademic skills. High-quality college and career readiness programming can help young people develop these competencies. In addition to college and career awareness, quality programming can help students develop skills and behaviors associated with success in both educational and employment settings.

Building on our longtime support for community schools and afterschool programs, the Mott Foundation is identifying and filling key gaps for students most in need. Many of the strategies and model approaches that have emerged from our grantmaking not only provide important educational opportunities and supports that assist youth, but also strengthen schools and communities.

To this end, our grantmaking focuses on two outcomes: expanding high-quality college and career readiness programming in afterschool settings, and broadening adoption and investment in innovative strategies, particularly children’s savings accounts. Through these efforts, the Foundation seeks to ensure that more youth have opportunities to develop the knowledge, skills and behaviors to be successful in the 21st century.

Currently, our grantmaking is carried out within two objectives:

Expanding Quality Programs

Our funding supports efforts to expand quality college and career readiness programming within the afterschool infrastructure.

We make grants to:

• national nonprofit groups that provide technical assistance and/or regrant funds to state and local groups to support best practices and professional development opportunities that build the capacity of afterschool programs to implement effective college and career readiness strategies.

Advancing Innovations

Our funding seeks to advance effective models that help youth develop the behaviors, mindsets and learning strategies needed to succeed in school and life.

We make grants to:

• nonprofit organizations operating model programs that serve as examples for emerging initiatives;
• national and state-level organizations working to incorporate and embed innovative strategies and practices into relevant networks and systems that serve young people; and
• organizations working at the state and local level to advance public policies that enable scaling and sustainability of innovative strategies and practices.

Global Impact Cash Grants

Cisco welcomes applications for Global Impact Cash Grants from community partners around the world who share our vision and offer an innovative approach to a critical social challenge.

We identify, incubate, and develop innovative solutions with the most impact. Global Impact Cash Grants go to nonprofits and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that address a significant social problem. We’re looking for programs that fit within our investment areas, serve the underserved, and leverage technology to improve the reach and efficiency of services. We accept applications year-round from eligible organizations. An initial information form is used to determine whether your organization will be invited to complete a full application.

Social Investment Areas

At Cisco, we make social investments in three areas where we believe our technology and our people can make the biggest impact—education, economic empowerment, and crisis response, the last of which incorporates shelter, water, food, and disaster relief. Together, these investment areas help people overcome barriers of poverty and inequality, and make a lasting difference by fostering strong global communities.

Education Investments

Our strategy is to inclusively invest in technology-based solutions that increase equitable access to education while improving student performance, engagement, and career exploration. We support K-12 solutions that emphasize science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) as well as literacy. We also consider programs that teach environmental sustainability, eliminate barriers to accessing climate change education, and invite student engagement globally to positively affect the environment.

What we look for:

• Innovative early grade solutions using the internet and technology to bridge the barriers preventing access to education for underserved students globally.
• Solutions that positively affect student attendance, attitudes, and behavior while inspiring action by students to improve learning outcomes, whether they participate in person, online, or in blended learning environments. 
• Solutions with high potential to replicate and scale globally, thereby increasing the availability of evidence-based solutions that support student-centricity, teacher capacity in the classroom, and increased parental participation to help students learn and develop.

Note: Cisco does not provide direct funding to schools.

Economic Empowerment

Our strategy is to invest in early stage, tech-enabled solutions that provide equitable access to the knowledge, skills, and resources that people need to support themselves and their families toward resilience, independence, and economic security.

Our goal is to support solutions that benefit individuals and families, and that contribute to local community growth and economic development in a sustainable economy.

We target our support in three interconnected areas:

• Skills development to help job seekers secure dignified employment and long-term career pathways in technology or other sectors, including environmental sustainability/green jobs.
• Inclusive entrepreneurship with small businesses as engines of local growth as well as high growth potential start-ups as large-scale job creators nationally and internationally, in technology or other sectors, including environment sustainability/green businesses.
• Banking the unbanked through relevant and affordable financial products and capacity building services.

Cisco Crisis Response

We seek to help overcome the cycle of poverty and dependence and achieve a more sustainable future through strategic investments. We back organizations that successfully address critical needs of underserved communities, because those who have their basic needs met are better equipped to learn and thrive.

What we look for:

• Innovative solutions that increase the capacity of grantees to deliver their products and services more effectively and efficiently
• Design and implementation of web-based tools that increase the availability of, or improve access to, products and services that are necessary for people to survive and thrive
• Programs that increase access to clean water, food, shelter, or disaster relief and promote a more sustainable future for all
  • By policy, relief campaigns respond to significant natural disaster and humanitarian crises as opposed to those caused by human conflict. Also by policy, our investments in this area do not include healthcare solutions.

Community Partnership Award

Mission Statement

The Mutual of America 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.

The Mutual of America Community Partnership Award annually honors the outstanding contributions that nonprofit organizations, in partnership with public, private and other social sector organizations, make to society.

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.

Why is Resilia offering microgrants?

Since our founding in 2016, Resilia has supported more than 2,300 nonprofit organizations. We launched our microgrants program in 2021 to expand our commitment to our community and offer additional support during these challenging times. Microgrants are only part of Resilia’s ongoing commitment to supporting the sector with resources and capacity-building! 

Resilia is democratizing technology and leveling the playing field for nonprofits of all sizes. 

NOTE: Normally we also support projects in the environment and health areas, but we found that those funding areas had received extra support over the past few years. Therefore, we are only reviewing proposals in education and poverty alleviation for this funding cycle. We will again be supporting projects in the environment and health funding areas in future years. Current grantees may submit requests for continued funding for the project we funded in 2020 – 2021 regardless of the funding area.

Our Mission

The mission of the Tomberg Family Philanthropies is to support well run and effective programs that make a difference in the areas of poverty alleviation, the environment, health and education. Our focus is on supporting projects that help their recipients build capabilities themselves that will last far beyond the end of the specific project.  

We agree with the Nobel Committee that “every single individual on earth has both the potential and the right to live a decent life.”

Our Grants

We make grants to organizations working in the areas of: 

• education,
• the environment,
• health, and
• poverty alleviation.

We look for funding opportunities such as pilot programs, support of new programs, capacity building, evaluations, Etc. that allow us to make a larger difference with limited funds than would be possible otherwise.

We take a ‘pilot’ to mean a first delivery of a new program or offering, intended to serve as a test of the program; test results from the pilot inform the decision to continue delivering the program as is, or with changes.

We normally can only offer support for up to three years for each program we fund.

National Environment

Program goals: to mitigate climate change; make communities more resilient to climate change; protect public health from the hazards of toxic chemicals and pollutants; and preserve biological diversity.

Grants are made to promote more environmentally sustainable, resilient, and just communities that:

• Mitigate climate change by:
• promoting energy efficiency and alternative sources of energy for buildings;
• shifting to electric or low-emission vehicles and greater use of mass transit;
• promoting a smarter, more resilient grid and distributed (on site) generation;
• reducing emissions from existing fossil fuel-powered facilities and extraction activities; and
• establishing regional programs, performance standards, and regulations that help reduce emissions.
• Make communities, especially the most disadvantaged, more resilient to a changing climate by:
• creating infrastructure that reduces storm-water run-off and absorbs storm surges;
• protecting shoreline communities by conserving or enhancing natural barriers;
• encouraging more sustainable building design and land use through policy reforms; and
• better planning and preparation for weather-related emergencies, especially for low-income and other vulnerable residents.
• Protect public health from the hazards of toxic pollutants by:
• supporting targeted scientific research that can be used to develop policy;
• promoting safer chemical and heavy metal policies and practices, especially for infants, children and other vulnerable people;
• eliminating toxic chemicals from products through market campaigns focused on retailers and manufacturers;
• enhancing protections for low-income communities near polluting facilities; and
• minimizing the hazards of new and expanded fossil fuel extraction on nearby communities.
• Preserve biological diversity through habitat conservation by:
• establishing, enhancing, and monitoring wildlife migration corridors; and
• supporting functional connectivity between fragmented habitat that enables species to move and live safely.

We encourage initiatives that cut across these program areas, especially those focused on smart growth, sustainable agriculture and regional food systems, and sustainable production.

International Environment

Each year, we make only two or three international grants to U.S. organizations that are building the capacity of government, academic institutions, private sector entities, and nonprofits to:

• Protect biodiversity;
• Improve environmental health; and
• Reduce greenhouse gases around the world.

Our Mission

Delta believes data is powerful and anyone should be able to use it for change in their community. We partner with non-profits and communities all over the world to build technical capacity that generates positive social impact.

Background

Delta Analytics is community of 90+ data scientists, economists, analysts, and software engineers seeking to leverage their data skills for the welfare of the community. While our primary background is in the private sector, we apply our skill set to facilitate progress in the nonprofit world. We find the data questions of the social sector fascinating and address them with an eye towards high impact and sustainability.

Delta Data Grants

Every year, Delta Analytics partners skilled data scientists, engineers and analysts with nonprofits around the world for free. We provide a wide range of data-related services catering to non-profits big and small. Very few projects are straightforward but all start off with a question. Where is my funding coming from? How did my free after-school mentoring program impact test scores? How many people have we reached in the past 6 months?

Armed with a clear question, we can decide what services best illuminate an answer. That is why we start off with an application -- we want to work with nonprofits who have a well-defined sense of what they want to achieve. Our potential services are described in more detail below.

Data Management

If you have data but are unsure what to make of it, we can help transform the data into something meaningful. We can set up data management systems that let you pull important insights from the information at your fingertips.

Data Analysis

Delta can run statistical analysis to help assess impact on measurable variables. For instance, we can tell an environmental organization how much waste it has reduced per dollar spent.

Marketing Metrics

Understanding who you work with is crucial to maximizing your influence; Delta can analyze data to help you categorize your market. For example, we can track characteristics of donors, clients, or volunteers, and provide insights on the demographics of stakeholders.

Data Visualization & Presentation

Delta creates engaging graphs, charts, and tables to help you visualize data. These can be utilized for internal processes or to show off your organization's impact to the world.

AARP Community Challenge

The AARP Community Challenge provides small grants to fund quick-action projects that can help communities become more livable for people of all ages. In 2023, the AARP Community Challenge is accepting applications across three different grant opportunities, two of which are new this year.

Flagship Grants

The flagship AARP Community Challenge grants have ranged from several hundred dollars for smaller, short-term activities to tens of thousands of dollars for larger projects. Since 2017, AARP has funded projects ranging from $500 to $50,000 with an average grant amount of $11,900 (83 percent of grants have been under $20,000.) AARP reserves the right to award compelling projects of any dollar amount.

We are accepting applications for projects that benefit residents — especially those age 50 and older. Projects can:

• Create vibrant public places that improve open spaces, parks and access to other amenities
• Deliver a range of transportation and mobility options that increase connectivity, walkability, bikeability, and access to public and private transit
• Support housing options that increases the availability of accessible and affordable choices
• Ensure a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion while improving the built and social environment of a community;
• Increase digital connections by expanding high-speed internet and enhancing digital literacy skills of residents
• Support community resilience through investments that improve disaster management, preparedness and mitigation for residents
• Increase civic engagement with innovative and tangible projects that bring residents and local leaders together to address challenges and facilitate a greater sense of inclusion
• Improve community health and economic empowerment in support of financial well-being and improved health outcomes

NEW! Capacity-Building Microgrants

By combining $2,500 grants with additional resources — such as webinars, AARP Livable Communities publications, cohort learning opportunities and/or up to two hours of one-on-one coaching with leading national organizations — this new grant opportunity will benefit residents (especially those age 50 or older) in the following categories:

• Walkability: Implement a walk audit to assess and enhance the safety and walkability of a street or neighborhood with support from America Walks, using the AARP Walk Audit Tool Kit.
• Community Gardens: Start or enhance a community garden with support from 880 Cities, using the new AARP publication Creating Community Gardens for People of All Ages.

NEW! Demonstration Grants

By supporting demonstration efforts that encourage the replication of promising local efforts, this new grant opportunity will benefit residents (especially those age 50 and older) by:

• Advancing solutions that build capacity towards transportation systems change. This opportunity for grant funding of approximately $30,000 to $50,000 per project is sponsored by Toyota Motor North America.
• Implementing accessory dwelling unit (ADU) design competitions that increase public understanding of this housing option and encourage the implementation of ADU supportive policies. This opportunity for grant funding will provide approximately $10,000 to $15,000 per project.