Search Through Capacity Building Grants for Nonprofits in Africa in the U.S.

Through our Arts and Culture program, Mellon celebrates the power of the arts to challenge, activate, and nourish the human spirit. We support exceptional creative practice, scholarship, and conservation practices while nurturing a representative and robust arts and culture ecosystem. We work with artists, curators, conservators, scholars, and organizations to ensure equitable access to excellent arts and cultural experiences and support approaches that place the arts and artists at the center of thriving, healthy communities.

Guiding strategies

Three interconnected strategies guide Mellon’s Arts and Culture grantmaking.  

Supporting visionary artists and practitioners and the participatory roles they play across institutions and communities 

Artists reveal our shared humanity and connect us all. We invest in visionary artists and arts leaders whose practices extend beyond their studios or workspaces to catalyze change in our world. We celebrate artist-driven, cross-sector collaborations and acknowledge the dimensional nature of an artist’s work and place in society. 

Supporting exceptional organizations and artists that have been historically under-resourced, including the creation, conservation, and preservation of their artwork, histories, collections, and traditions 

Mellon seeks to engender an understanding of broader histories, narratives, and aesthetic traditions through multi-year support of artists and communities historically subject to disinvestment. Grants seek to ensure the legacies of many instead of few.

Creating scaffolding for experiments with new economic paradigms and institutional models that center equity and justice and creative problem-solving in arts and culture  

Mellon seeds experiments that center and embolden artists to imagine new structures and organizational models that reflect their holistic approach to social change. Mellon provides support for projects that pilot new operating and funding models for individual artists and organizations that foster a more inclusive, nimble, and cooperative sector.

Who We Are

The Creag Foundation is a private grant making foundation established in 2009 in Woodinville, Washington.

The founders of the Creag Foundation believe that meaningful change can only be achieved through hard work, creativity and passion. They also understand the practical mechanisms that allow charitable organizations to succeed and grow. As a group, Creag Foundation principals are dedicated to helping today’s most innovative programs improve the human condition in a wide variety of ways.

Our Focus

The broad purpose of the Foundation is to support the efforts of nonprofit organizations who are innovators in the field of human services. Our particular focus is on smaller organizations that are starting out or established organizations that are looking for funding to take their organization in a new direction.

What We Fund

/ What We Fund

The Creag Foundation is focused on innovation in the industry. We will consider proposals from 501(c)(3) organizations that are finding new ways to address societal issues facing the nonprofit community. Applicants must have held 501(c)(3) status for one year before submitting. If your organization has held 501(c)(3) status for over a year, and your believe that your organization has a new approach to an existing social problem or is addressing a previously unaddressed social issue, you are welcome to contact us and request that we consider your organization for a funding opportunity.

Mission

The DanPaul Foundation will use its resources to help train teachers and parents in early childhood development, protect children from abuse and neglect, stimulate children's personal social responsibilities, and offer them opportunities for enrichment and growth.

The Foundation will also encourage children to be concerned and informed about the environment and the underprivileged, particularly with regard to clean air and water, and adequate housing and nutrition for all.

Beliefs

The DanPaul Foundation believes that children should have ample opportunities for enrichment in their lives, and thus strives to provide many different ways to enrich and expand children's minds through direct programs and monetary support to organizations doing similar work.

We have provided or currently provide grants related to the following program areas:

• Workshops, Conferences, + Seminars: We strive to offer educational workshops, conferences, and seminars for parents and teachers on topics related to early childhood development.
• Student Scholarships: We aim to help students attending post-secondary education institutions by providing need-based and academic scholarships.
• Scientific Endeavors: We desire to advance scientific endeavors which seek to improve the quality of life for everyone in the world.
• Clean Air + Water: We hope to pass on knowledge and practical life skills to youth regarding their personal responsibility to the environment, teaching them about issues surrounding clean air and water.
• Child Advocacy: We believe in protecting children from abuse and neglect and particularly love to support programs that provide education and assistance to children as well as organizations advocating or caring for vulnerable children.
• Homelessness: We want to encourage young people to take a personal interest in seeing that adequate housing and proper nutrition, especially for the underprivileged and homeless, are available.
• Poverty + Neglect: We seek to help those in poverty as well as educate youth about their responsibility to consider the underprivileged and take care of those most in need of life's basic essentials like adequate housing and proper nutrition.
• Refugee Enrichment: We wish to help refugee youth by supporting programs that provide them enrichment and help them transition to life in a new country.

The DanPaul Foundation provides grants to 501(c)3 tax-exempt non-profit organizations as defined by the IRS. The Foundation is interested in providing funding to programs that directly serve the health, education, development, and welfare of the world's youth.

Grants range from a few hundred dollars up to $15,000 per calendar year.

Background

Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation seeks to dramatically improve the lives of underserved communities across the globe by supporting scalable, innovative, and impact-first solutions that leverage existing systems and stakeholders. Our goal is to find social entrepreneurs with dynamic products or services that have a proven ability to positively impact the lives of underserved people, and nurture those organizations at the early stages by providing capacity, capital, and community.

Our application process is designed to be open and accessible, and we accept applications year round from across our priority geographies and sectors. Borrowing from our venture capital legacy, we find exceptional entrepreneurs and provide them with: 

Capacity

• The core of DRK’s model is deep and extensive operational and technical support for each portfolio organization, both through dedicated hands-on Board service and specialist capacity-building resources for fundraising, board and organizational development, leadership, financial support, and scaling strategy,

Capital

• DRK provides up to $300,000 USD in either unrestricted grant funding or investment capital over a three-year period, and

Community

• DRK convenes our portfolio and alumni annually, facilitating connections and community. 

What We Fund

DRK Foundation funds early-stage social impact organizations solving the world’s biggest social and environmental problems using bold, scalable approaches.

What stage of growth does DRK Foundation typically fund?

Early stage: Organizations who are early stage, which we define as post-pilot and pre-scale. This typically means: 

• Your program, product or service is already being used in the market or in the field, 
• You have early indication that your model is having its intended impact on the beneficiary populations,
• Your organization is relatively young (ideally between two and five years old, although we will consider both younger and older organizations).

Venture funding: In the case of for profits, we typically support Seed to Series A organizations, and never lead rounds; we also generally but not exclusively refrain from participating in financings exceeding a $15M USD post-money valuation.  

Become a Partner

At the core of our model are our partnerships with courageous, dynamic organizations that are improving the lives of children and youth in the heart of their own communities.

We eagerly look for new groups and individuals to partner with across the globe, based on our regional strategies, and particularly when we launch and expand thematic and regional initiatives. Please explore information about our regional strategies and initiatives in Africa, the Americas, Europe and Eurasia, and Asia.

Global Fund for Children raises all the funds that we use to invest in community-based organizations around the world. We know that organizations spend precious time preparing proposals for prospective funders. We appreciate there are many worthy causes and changemakers that we will not be able to support. As such, we do not ask organizations to submit proposals. We visit organizations in person and build relationships, getting to know possible new partners when we have raised funds. As a first step, we maintain a database of organizations we can get to know if we have just the right opportunity.

Focus Areas

Together with our partners, we are building a future where all young people enjoy equal resources and opportunities in society and can live to their full potential.

Our work advances the rights of children and youth across four focus areas and five regions. We have a deep commitment to courageous organizations that support young people facing poverty, injustice, and discrimination.

We support grassroots organizations that are not afraid to tackle the root causes of poverty with innovative, local solutions. Most offer holistic care to comprehensively address the needs of each child. Many become regional and national leaders in children’s rights—raising awareness, influencing policy, and ultimately impacting thousands of children and youth beyond their doors.

Education

Every child deserves the chance to learn, grow, and dream. We work closely with our partners to make sure children across the world can learn, play, and go to school. We are committed to helping every child reach their potential through equal access to quality education.

Gender justice

GFC and our partners promote gender equity, advance girls’ education, inspire healthy masculinities, support the rights of LGBTQ+ youth, and ensure that young people live free from gender-based violence and exploitation.

Safety and wellbeing

We are committed to ending violence and exploitation of children, to helping young survivors rebuild their lives, and to protecting the mental health and wellbeing of every child and young person.

Climate resilience

Young people are mobilizing to address climate change. They are building resilience in their communities, educating their families and communities, advocating for policy changes, and stewarding the environment. We work with young leaders and youth-led organizations finding real solutions for both people and the planet.

Youth power

Young people are achieving incredible things - creating change in the present and shaping the future. We help young people become leaders and changemakers, making sure they have the opportunities, skills, and confidence to tackle the issues central to their lives and their communities.

Solidarity in emergencies

In times of crisis, we are committed to supporting our partners around the world as they respond in their communities. From natural disasters to conflict or health emergencies, our local partners are well-positioned to address emerging challenges. GFC provides emergency grants, technical support, and wellbeing solidarity to our partners as they navigate emergencies impacting their organizations and their communities.

Impact and Learning

Global Fund for Children funds community-based organizations and works closely with them to strengthen their capacity to create change. Our primary impact is on the organizations we support, and by extension, the impact they create with and for children and young people, in their communities.

Every organization has its unique aspirations and approaches, so our work with each organization is unique, tailored, and made possible by trust and understanding of their unique contexts.

We capture global quantitative indicators to capture how organizations change over time, but qualitative stories of change are critical to understanding the impact of GFC’s work. Our impact and learning approach is rooted in feedback, participatory learning reviews, and a commitment to capture only the information GFC and our partners will actually use to deepen our learning and to become more effective in our closely collaborative work.

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.

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.

Climate Impact

Our strategy is to invest US$100 million in Cisco Foundation funds over the next decade to help reverse the impact of climate change, working toward a sustainable and regenerative future for all.

The commitment includes both grant and impact investment funding for early-stage climate innovation. Both categories of support will be focused on bold climate solutions, and the grants side will also concentrate on community education and activation. Grants will go to exceptionally aligned nonprofit organizations, while impact investments will go to highly promising for-profit solutions through the private sector and climate impact funds.

Funding comes from the Cisco Foundation and will focus on:

• Identifying bold and innovative solutions that:
  • Draw down the carbon already in the atmosphere
  • Regenerate depleted ecosystems and broadly support the transition to a regenerative future
• Developing curricular initiatives to spur community engagement that can lead to measurable behavioral change and collective action

We will prioritize organizations that can achieve, measure, and report outcomes such as:

• Reduction, capture, and/or sequestering of greenhouse gas and carbon emissions
• Increased energy efficiency and improved mapping and management of natural resources, such as ecosystem restoration, forest treatments, reforestation, and afforestation that also will help repair our water cycles
• Transition to inclusive, just, coliberatory, and regenerative operating models, ways of being, and ways of organizing economies
• Creation of, and increase in, access to green jobs and job training
• Changes in community and individual behavior that lead to carbon footprint reduction, community climate resilience, and localized roadmaps to a sustainable shared climate future for all

Overview

Google Ad Grants helps nonprofits share their causes with the world. Raise awareness, attract donors, and recruit new volunteers using Google search ads. Google Ad Grants shows your message to people searching for nonprofits like yours.

You’ll receive $10,000 USD of in-kind advertising from Google each month to create text-based ads, and get access to tools to help you build effective campaigns that can display on Google Search when people look for information related to your nonprofit.

L’Aiglon Foundation strives to maximize the impact of its charitable giving over a wide spectrum of organizations and groups. We target our funding in the areas of:

• education;
• environment; and
• cultural arts.

Michael & Susan Dell Foundation Grants

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation only accepts unsolicited proposals for specific areas within the education, family economic stability and childhood health sectors in select countries where we work, namely the United States, India and South Africa.

As a guideline, the foundation does not fund more than 25% of a project’s budget or more than 10% of an organization’s total annual operating expenses.

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation has always recognized the power of providing grants to partner organizations that we knew were already working hard to improve the lives of urban children living in poverty. By aligning with organizations that are already making a difference, we continue to make an immediate impact on the lives of thousands of children.

Foundation priorities:

We fund social enterprises that directly serve or impact children or youth from urban low-income communities in the areas of education, health, and family economic stability (including livelihoods and financial inclusion). These social enterprises may be structured as for-profit or nonprofit entities.

Partnerships

We collaborate with a range of organizations focused on creating opportunities for children and families living in urban poverty, with a deep emphasis on measuring impact. Our funding advances projects already making an impact in education, health, and family economic stability. Through these enduring and long-standing partnerships, we create lasting change together.

About Us

As a family team, we’ve been working together for over 15 years to make happiness possible for underserved communities by promoting basic education, proper nutrition, secure housing, and a healthier environment through our nonprofit organization.

Our Mission

The RNP Foundation is committed to increasing the overall well-being of our neighbors and beyond. As long time meditation practitioners, we believe the path to lasting happiness is through spirituality, but before establishing self-transcendence, an individual must have their basic living, education, nutritional, and environmental needs met. Our mission is to nurture a safer, healthier world in which every person can achieve lasting happiness that spans for generations.

Our Pillars

At the RNP Foundation, we’re driven by the five core pillars of our organization: addressing homelessness, promoting better education, caring for the environment, providing nourishment, and fostering a sense of spirituality.

• HOMELESSNESS - We believe that we are all interconnected, so no part of society should be isolated. Therefore, we help combat the issue of homelessness in our community by being a part of the Kern County Homeless Collaborative.
• EDUCATION - We believe in the power of education and the impact it can have. Therefore, we do what we can to make it easier for people in the community to obtain an education.
• ENVIRONMENT - We believe that protecting the environment is imperative to our society. To do this we make sure we invest our resources in people and organizations that promote the well being of our planet.
• NUTRITION - We understand the importance and impact of good nutrition on the mind, body, and spirit. We love this community, so we are committed to the health of the people who live here. We work with a non profit cafe who promotes these beliefs and values.
• SPIRITUALITY - We believe that true happiness is connected to our spirituality. Therefore, once we help provide the basic necessities, such as a home, food, and education, we can focus on our spirituality.

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. 

Mission

Driven by a philanthropic calling to support marginalized communities throughout the world, the Semnani Family Foundation partners with on-the-ground organizations and leverages its resources in a cost-effective and efficient manner that delivers the maximum benefit.

History

Guided by his grandmother Maliheh’s example and teachings, Khosrow Semnani and his wife Ghazaleh established the Semnani Family Foundation in 1993. The foundation’s first grant was issued through CARE International to an orphanage in Romania that cared for newborns affected by HIV. Over the last few decades, the foundation has continued to build upon its mission to empower the disaffected, partnering with a variety of organizations in different countries who can make the greatest impact.

In addition to its global influence, the Semnani Family Foundation established roots within the state of Utah with the founding of Maliheh Free Clinic in 2005 to provide free healthcare to thousands of uninsured people in the Salt Lake City area.

Where We Work

The Semnani Family Foundation focuses primarily on promoting health, education, and disaster relief for marginalized communities all around the world. Driven by a clear mission to adapt and serve at the global level, we have leveraged our resources to make a meaningful impact in the following countries so far:

• Afghanistan
• Bosnia
• Colombia
• England
• Ethiopia
• Ghana
• Guatemala
• India
• Iran
• Kenya
• Madagascar
• Mali
• Mexico
• Pakistan
• Philippines
• Romania
• Somalia
• South Africa
• Tanzania
• Tonga
• Uganda
• United States
• Yemen

At the heart of the Foundation lies a fervent commitment to human welfare, always prioritizing health and the needs of society’s most vulnerable.

About Us

The Skees Family Foundation, a 501(c)3 private charitable foundation, works with nonprofits (NPOs) and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) serving families in need around the world.

The Skees Family Foundation — family helping families — extends self-help to youth and families to end poverty worldwide. We support organizations in the U.S., Africa, Asia, Central and South America, India, and the Pacific to promote job creation and economic development. We value love in action to create equal opportunity for all. And as a diverse multigenerational group with limited time and funds, we believe that we — and you — can change the world for good.

Mission

Skees Family Foundation works to end global poverty by partnering with community-based organizations to create fulfilling jobs and build job readiness through vocational or entrepreneurial training.

Vision

Skees Family Foundation envisions a world in which every person has the opportunity to lead a self-determined, prosperous life.

Values

Equality. Respect. Trust. Solidarity. Boldness. Innovation. Hope.

Motivation

We wish to reach out in love and respect, to share our time and resources and to learn from other families’ resilience in the face of poverty and adversity. We hope, in whatever small and large ways we can, to advance the freedom, safety, health, and happiness of other families.

Goal

Opportunity for all.

Mission-Aligned Grantmaking

Our mission-aligned grants are focused on organizations whose primary work is outside of the United States. We do this for two reasons:

• Given our relatively small grantmaking budget, funding international programs allows each dollar to go further than it would in the U.S, enabling our foundation to have greater impact with our limited resources.
• We support organizations without geographic limitations through our discretionary board and family grants, both in the U.S. and abroad, that our family members are connected to and passionate about.

These grants are typically distributed every three years, and go out at the start of the new year.

Seed Grants

Seed Grants are two- to three-year grants with increasing amounts each year: $2,500 year one, $5,000 year two, and $7,500 year three, if the organization’s self-determined benchmarks are met after year one and year two. These partners are in their “start-up” phase. Eligibility for this seed funding is generally available only to organizations with an annual budget of $250,000 or less, in order to ensure that the funds have a significant effect on the budgets of selected organizations.

We encourage our Seed Grantees to use these grants for internal capacity building, but we do not place formal restrictions on the funding. By fostering the growth of small organizations that align with our mission, Seed Grants enable our foundation to support and work with social entrepreneurs building early-stage ventures.

About

The Audacious Project is a collaborative funding initiative catalyzing social impact on a grand scale. Every year we select and nurture a group of big, bold solutions to the world’s most urgent challenges, and with the support of an inspiring group of donors and supporters, come together to get them launched.

Housed at TED, the nonprofit with a long track record of surfacing ideas worth spreading, and with support from leading social impact advisor The Bridgespan Group, the funding collective is comprised of several respected organizations and individuals in philanthropy.

Our goal is to match bold ideas with catalytic resources.

• We encourage the world’s inspirational changemakers to dream bigger than ever before.
• Help shape their best ideas into viable multi-year plans.
• Present those solutions in a compelling way to potential supporters.

The Process

Every year, The Audacious Project works with proven change-makers to surface their best, boldest ideas for tackling global problems.

Sourcing & review

Projects are sourced from public applications and a global network of partners and donors. They are narrowed down to a group of finalists whose ideas are representative of a broad range of geographies and issue areas while elevating leaders with proximity to the communities they serve.

Idea shaping & investment support

Each finalist project goes through a rigorous ideation, due diligence, and investment support process, to ensure their proposal is achievable and compelling.

Funding & launch

Finalist projects are presented privately to groups of donors and are then publicly unveiled at TED. Funded projects then pursue their plans and share regular updates on key milestones reached with donors and the public.

Is Your Idea Audacious?

• Are you a changemaker with a bold vision?
• Are you a non-profit with an experienced team equipped to receive large scale philanthropic support?
• Is your idea a proven concept that aspires to create a better world?
• We look for ideas that cover a wide range of issues, from global health and climate change, to social justice and education.

What Makes An Idea Audacious?

Inspire

• Transformative vision
  • Your idea should capture a bold vision for tackling one of the world's most urgent topics.
• Creating a better world
  • It is your opportunity to take a giant leap forward; you may be tempted to think incrementally, but remember for it to be bold, your idea should offer significant, enduring impact.
  • This vision should bring us much closer to your version of an ideal world in a matter of years rather than generations.
• Innovative and original
  • There should be a unique aspect or creative element to your approach that challenges convention or status quo or changes the narrative for the greater good.

Convince

• Proven concept
  • There should be evidence that the idea will have impact based on a track record of past success, a demand from those that would be affected, and justified confidence that results can be sustained in the future.
• A bold vision that has clear outcomes
  • There should be a sense of where you will be at the end of a multi-year funding term and the strategy, resources and timeline required to achieve it. We want to hear about the changes that would take place because of your idea, not just the components that go into implementing it.

• Established support
  • You and your capable and confident team have the backing of a nonprofit, NGO, or institution (or is part of a collaboration between multiple such entities). This organization should be able to receive philanthropic funds and have the core infrastructure necessary to support the work. (Note: Past projects have had an annual operating budget of $1 million or more.)

Please refer to FAQ for additional guidelines.

Our Mission

The Tony Robbins Foundation is a nonprofit organization created to empower individuals and organizations to make a significant difference in the quality of life of people often forgotten.

We’re dedicated to creating positive changes in the lives of youth, seniors, the hungry, homeless and the imprisoned population, all who need a boost envisioning a happier and deeply satisfying way of life. Our passionate staff, generous donors and caring group of international volunteers provide the vision, inspiration, and resources needed to empower these important members of our society.

Grants

Dedicated to meeting challenges within the global community, creating solutions and taking action, The Tony Robbins Foundation provides monetary donations to various organizations around the world. Funding requests are evaluated on an ongoing basis. We look for organizations that align with our mission to empower individuals and organizations to make a significant difference in the quality of life of those often forgotten.

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.

Gupta Family Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, USA. Our mission is to support organizations that provide focused intervention in the lives of people who have been disadvantaged in some way to help them become self-reliant. We take a very broad view of “disadvantage” to include anything that holds a person back from realizing their potential, such as poverty, physical or mental disability, social alienation, etc. The foundation also supports relief agencies that serve people affected by emergencies such as natural disasters.

The foundation evaluates and awards annual and multi-year grants ranging from $5,000 to over $250,000 (USD). Our focus is on funding smaller organizations all around the world that are led by individuals with a deep personal commitment to their missions. 

Our selection criteria include:

• Mission alignment
• The organization is run by the founder or, if not, by a successor who embodies the original inspiration, passion and commitment of the founder.
• At least 90% of grant monies reaches the intended beneficiaries.
• The organization is non-sectarian, i.e.,
  • It does not, directly or indirectly, support or condone the proselytization of any religion,
  • It is not supported by or affiliated to a religious organization.

Mission Statement

The Zimmer Family Foundation is a small foundation located in Sarasota, Florida for the purpose of supporting religious, educational and social programs…locally, nationally and internationally…that bring help and hope to the less fortunate, primarily by seeding short-term pilot projects that have the potential of self-support.

Background

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is taking bold leaps to transform health in our lifetime and pave the way, together, to a future where health is no longer a privilege, but a right.

We have set three ambitious goals for our work:

• Economic Inclusion for Family Wellbeing
• Equitable and Accountable Public Health and Healthcare Systems
• Healthy and Equitable Community Conditions

Making progress toward those Generational Goals requires changing the systems that underpin our society. Currently, those systems create and uphold inequity by placing more value on some lives than others, based on race, class, and other factors. To create a more equitable future, we must identify and dismantle structural racism in our systems. We must create space for health practitioners, community leaders, and researchers to rethink the way our systems work, dream up new possibilities, and put one foot in the future to anticipate opportunities or roadblocks that future may bring.

Through our Ideas for an Equitable Future team, we support visionary thinkers—scientists, anthropologists, engineers, technologists, creatives, and others—who are imagining what the world might look like in the next 10 to 100 years.With our funding, they explore how those futures may unfold in ways that could slow down or speed up our collective efforts to dismantle structural racism and improve health equity.

By applying this future-facing lens, our grantees are uncovering how emerging social, cultural, scientific, technological, environmental, and economic trends and forces could shape the future of health for everyone. They are also discovering and experimenting with cutting-edge ideas that have the potential to tear down barriers to health and wellbeing and reinvent our systems so that they work better for us all.

The Lawrence Foundation is a private family foundation focused on making grants to support environmental, human services and other causes.

The Lawrence Foundation was established in mid-2000. We make both program and operating grants and do not have any geographical restrictions on our grants. Nonprofit organizations that qualify for public charity status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or other similar organizations are eligible for grants from The Lawrence Foundation.  

Grant Amount and Types

Grants typically range between $5,000 - $10,000. In some limited cases we may make larger grants, but that is typically after we have gotten to know your organization over a period of time. We also generally don’t make multi-year grants, although we may fund the same organization on a year by year basis over a period of years.

General operating or program/project grant requests within our areas of interests are accepted. In general, regardless of whether a grant request is for general operating or program/project expenses, all of our grants will be issued as unrestricted grants.

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.”

Funding Areas

This funding cycle we will again be accepting applications in all four of our funding areas, which are:

• Education
• Environment
• Health
• Poverty Alleviation

Conservation, Food & Health Foundation Grant Program

The Conservation, Food and Health Foundation seeks to protect the environment, improve food production, and promote public health in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Types of Support

The Foundation supports projects and applied research that:

• Generate local or regional solutions to problems affecting the quality of the environment and human life;
• Advance local leadership and promote professional development in the conservation, agricultural, and health sciences;
• Develop the capacity of local organizations and coalitions; and
• Address challenges in the field. 

The Foundation funds applied research, pilot projects, new initiatives, training, and technical assistance, rather than ongoing support for programs that are already well underway. An important goal for the Foundation is to provide seed money to help promising projects, organizations, and individuals develop the track record they need to attract major foundation funding in the future.  

Fields of InterestThe following are examples of the Foundation’s areas of interest within the fields of conservation, food, and health, and are not meant to be exclusive.

• Conservation: Conservation grants promote environmental conservation through field research, projects, and advocacy that:
  • Protect biodiversity and preserve natural resources.
  • Help mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.
  • Build the scientific and technical capacity of local conservation organizations and promote local, regional, and international partnerships.
  • Increase engagement between scientists, local communities and organizations, and decision-makers.
  • Partner with indigenous communities and local people.

• Food: Grants in the food and agriculture program area focus on research-based projects that build capacity for self-sufficiency and resilience to climate change, strengthen local food systems, and support healthy nutrition through projects that: 
  • Enhance food security.
  • Develop and promote sustainable agricultural practices
  • Build the capacity of small-scale farmers.
  • Advance farmer research and research partnerships.
  • Develop environmentally sound and affordable approaches to control pests and diseases affecting important local food crops.
  • Promote indigenous food sovereignty and knowledge systems.
  • Address challenges of uptake and scalability through new methods of extension, education, and technology transfer.

• Health: The Foundation supports efforts that test new ideas and approaches that promote public health, with a special emphasis on reproductive health and family planning and their integration with other health promotion activities. It favors community-level disease prevention and health promotion projects and efforts that help strengthen regional and country public health systems over disease diagnosis, treatment, and care provided by clinics, hospitals, and humanitarian aid programs.
  • Activities that help increase capacity include applied research, program development, technical assistance, and training projects that:
    • Promote reproductive health and family planning.
    • Address issues related to mental and behavioral health.
    • Address issues relating to pollution and environmental health.
    • Increase the understanding of zoonotic and neglected tropical diseases.
    • Address issues relating to nutrition and health.

Key Priorities

In all of its areas of interest, the Foundation gives priority to projects that have the potential to advance the field, build local capacity, promote replication, influence public opinion and policy, affect systems change, and benefit people beyond the immediate project and its local context.

Funding

There is no minimum or maximum grant size. It is anticipated that most grants will fall in the $25,000-$50,000 per year range.

Grants are made for a one- or two-year period. Second-year funding is conditional on the provision of a satisfactory progress report, interim financial report, and work plan. Renewal requests for projects that were not originally approved as a multi-year project may be considered, but require a new application.

Grant awards are made twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall, with applications due several months prior.  The Foundation will consider only one proposal from an organization in any calendar year.

The FAWCO Foundation Development Grant

The purpose of the program is to fund projects that can make an immediate impact and lead to success for the people they support. The assistance offered should be direct, with a goal of sustainability.

Through The Foundation, FAWCO Member Clubs and FAUSA have been aiding worthy and reputable charitable projects around the globe for over 50 years. Some clubs are working “hands-on” with their projects while others make financial contributions or donations of goods. The Development Grants provide the financial assistance that can help the recipients achieve their goals.

The Foundation encourages FAWCO clubs to nominate grassroots organizations that receive little to no sponsorship or support from other sources.

Grant Categories

Education

For projects:

• promoting literacy and supporting academic studies,
• that build or provide classrooms, libraries or general learning facilities for disadvantaged women/children, 
• that provide training designed to lead to economic and social empowerment for women and girls.

Human Rights

For projects:

• providing vocational training, teaching practical skills, promoting social entrepreneurial initiatives for at-risk/marginalized population groups,
• addressing the critical problems of violence, food and shelter, healthcare, education, poverty, advocacy, human trafficking, prostitution, refugees, including all those impacted by economic, political or other forced migration,
• promoting cultural understanding

Global Issues

For Projects:

• that fall within any of the FAWCO focus areas with which we align our Development Grants i.e., Education, Environment, Health or Human Rights.
• that recognize club’s local charities often overlooked on the world stage, 
• that take place in the nominating club's home country.

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.

 Underwriting Community Well-being: Peace Building Ventures

NextWorldNow (NWN) holds that world communities can work together in an informed and personal way, leveraging technology and resources, to improve the well-being of participants in each community. 

Our Aim

We invest in and support community development projects requiring modest capital. We fund projects that are owned by the local community, whose social impact and return on investment can be measured, and whose success can be sustained. In the spirit of innovation, we aim for a diverse "portfolio" of projects and geographies to spread creative solutions. 

We work to discover and apply best practice social investment models on a small scale personal level. Our process invites ongoing direct connection with the sponsored community rather than an anonymous one-time donation. We believe it is possible to invest in projects that increase the wellbeing of communities while avoiding unintended harm. We operate with minimal overhead and a goal of funneling nearly 100% of grant resources to the intended community project.   

NextWorldNow Community Investments (NWN) works with individuals, communities, and other organizations to make this happen. We invite communities with project ideas to submit their requests for funding. We study the requests and make funding decisions. We welcome scale-able partnerships with other organizations on joint projects. We invest in solutions built to last, looking beyond short term fixes to address long standing problems. We continue to refine our process as we learn more about what works and what does not. NWN is a non profit private foundation with United States 501 (c) (3) status.  

Mission

We partner with communities, providing resources for projects defined by local leaders to improve the lives and well-being of the people in the community.

Vision

We see a world where every person has the basics for well-being: clean water, good food, housing, health care, safety, education, social activity, and jobs. We know that the current state of the world represents many unmet needs. Despite the size of the need which seems unlimited, we choose to act. We believe that small change leads to bigger change and is a preferred option to a default acceptance of the status quo.

Why This Program

We hold that we are connected with one another in the world community. Like thousands of individual cells connected within a single body shaping its health, the actions of individuals within the world community effect the wellbeing of all. Discomfort in a part of our collective body impacts the whole and serves as a source for other downstream social ills. This program is designed for individuals who share a view of a larger self, have decided that they have enough means to live comfortable lives, and want to share their resources with others in a creative and smart way.

Our Values

The following core values inform our mission and guide our actions as investors:

• Respect: We believe the community should decide what the community needs   
• Optimism: We believe that good outcomes can be the rule, not the exception, based on disciplined and continuous effort
• Innovation: We challenge ourselves and our collaborators to think creatively     
• Leverage: We expect that a smart investment process will grow resources, not waste them  
• Accountability: We deliver what we promise and avoid promising more than we can deliver. 
• Efficient: We are careful managers of resources
• Life Affirming: We enjoy being alive and want the same opportunity for all  
• Enlightened Compassion: We care for the well-being of others without neglecting care of self   

How We Work

NextWorldNow learns about community based projects that need more resources to meet their goals. We connect with the leaders, learn about their work, and decide which projects to invest in. Investments may include time spent supporting a project, in-kind resources, and financial grants. We invite community proposals. We rate the likely success and the impact of the project – such as how many people will benefit. We look for people and groups who have new ideas for old problems. We prefer to invest in a variety of geographic locations and issues in order to learn more about the world and its people. We may take on projects that are beyond our funding means by seeking like organizations to partner in the investment. 

What are our target investments?

Consistent with our mission, we are interested in supporting many types of community programs: 

• Civic Participation
• Education
• Effective Development 
• Environmental Mediation – Water, Sanitation, Deforestation
• Health Care Access and Treatment
• Human Rights
• Peace and Human Security
• Shelter
• Smallholder Productivity and Food Security
• Sustainable Markets/Livelihood

Mission 

To provide grants to qualified 501(c)(3) organizations supporting education, animal welfare, medical research, and human services.

Foundation Information

The John and Maria Laffin Trust was created under the Will of Valentina Laffin in honor of her parents. The Trust provides support for education at the college and university level, animal welfare, medical research, and human services. Ms. Laffin died on March 19, 1985. She was a lifelong resident of Los Angeles, California.

Grant Guidelines

The John and Maria Laffin Trust awards grants to organizations supporting education, animal welfare, medical research, and human services, as follows:

• 20% Education Funds shall be granted to educational institutions at the college and university level in the Los Angeles City and County areas that are dedicated to maintaining and raising the standards of scholastic excellence.
• 30% Animal Related Funds shall be granted to animal welfare organizations or foundations within Los Angeles City and County that are demonstrably dedicated to the preservation and humane placement of abandoned and/or homeless small domesticated animals.
• 25% Medical Research Funds shall be granted to medical research organizations that do not exclude from consideration any alternative or seemingly radical and/or controversial treatment that the American Medical Association may currently oppose.
• 25% Human Services Funds shall be granted to humanitarian organizations to alleviate human misery, suffering, and starvation in any part of the world.

Our Mission

The Hansen Family Foundation provides opportunities to domestic, international, secular, and non-secular organizations that support the American way of life, which is defined by the principles of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” 

Causes

Children

The Hansen Family Foundation supports causes dedicated to helping children both home as well as abroad. Learn More

Education

The Hansen Family Foundation believes that a decent education should be made available to everyone, young or old, the world over. Learn More

Animals

The Hansen Family Foundation believes in helping those who cannot speak on their own behalf. Learn More

Environmental

The Hansen Family Foundation is dedicated to preserving the world we all share. Learn More

Humanitarian

The Hansen Family Foundation views the plight of our fellow man as an opportunity to actively engage and effect change. Learn More

Arts & Culture

The Hansen Family Foundation supports all forms of artistic and cultural endeavors. Learn More