Search Through Delaware County Grants for Nonprofits in Pennsylvania

Grants

Social impact organizations and leaders often need early investors and additional resources such as thought partnership to try new ways of tackling emerging or persistent problems. They need to be able to take risks, test hypotheses and challenge assumptions.

The Catalyst Fund is Barra’s core grantmaking program.

These grants provide early-stage dollars that enable an organization to test an idea that might not work—yet. Since 1963, we have provided this type of risk capital to nonprofits in the region that are aiming to test a new idea, assess the results, learn from them and share those lessons with others in an effort to advance knowledge and inspire transformative change that strengthens communities.

The Catalyst Fund provides grants that act as risk capital for early-stage, bold approaches that have the potential to result in outsized impact and thriving, equitable communities.

Our Areas of Interest

Our four areas of interest—Arts & Culture, Education, Health and Human Services—help us organize our grantmaking, but we recognize possible overlaps and resist making them rigid lines of work. These areas of interest collectively contribute to creating a stronger and more vibrant community. As such, all projects and initiatives supported by Barra should aim to improve the lives of under-resourced individuals, families and communities.

The Catalyst Fund

There are proven models and best practices that work. And then there are intractable and emerging problems that require a different approach, imagination and fresh, bold thinking.

The Catalyst Fund supports early-stage, novel approaches that have the potential to result in durable, transformative and equitable change, particularly in under-resourced communities.

These timely early-stage Catalyst Fund ideas should:

• Address a precisely defined and timely problem or opportunity
• Demonstrate a break from existing practice
• Be informed by the people most affected by the issue being addressed
• Create outsized impact for communities
• Have the potential to inspire deep change in a field, sector, region or system
• Address the needs of under-resourced communities and/or needs for a vibrant cultural sector in the Greater Philadelphia region
• Stem from a shift in underlying assumptions, often built upon new or emerging evidence or arguments; or, a shift in cultural/social awareness

Connelly Foundation Grant

Inspired by our Catholic heritage, the mission of the Connelly Foundation is to create access for those in need and opportunity for those with vision.

Since its founding in 1955, the Connelly Foundation has been a responsive and proactive grantmaking organization awarding grants to nonprofits in the Philadelphia area that demonstrate outstanding performance in meeting community needs.

Focus Areas

To achieve its mission to create access for those in need and opportunity for those with vision, the Connelly Foundation provides grants toward costs associated with programs, direct services, general operations, and capital projects to nonprofit organizations and institutions working in the following fields:

Education: Promoting Access to and Excellence in PreK-12 Catholic Education 

The Connelly Foundation is committed to helping Philadelphia-area Catholic schools thrive. The Foundation’s grantmaking and signature education initiatives prioritize: 

• Programs that support or improve the academic quality of local Catholic schools 
• Investments in talent that attract, develop, and retain high-quality teachers and leaders in schools and systems 
• Efforts for strategic improvement around enrollment growth and financial sustainability 
• Strategies to increase access to a high-quality Catholic education.

Human Services: Essential Needs and a Path to Stability

The Connelly Foundation’s Human Services grantmaking reflects the compassion of our Founders, John and Josephine Connelly, and their respect for human dignity. Inspired by our Catholic heritage, we seek to alleviate urgent, basic needs through access to food, emergency shelter, clothing, and critical home repair. We strive to create pathways to stability and independence through investments in youth and workforce development.

• Our Human Services Funding Priorities:
  • Basic Needs: Alleviating urgent needs through access to food, emergency shelter, clothing, and critical home repair
  • Investing in Youth: Supporting evidence-based or outcome-focused youth out-of-school time programs
  • Workforce development: Creating pathways to sustainable employment and stability through foundational skill building, entrepreneurship, and workforce development programs

Culture & Civic Life: Rewarding Destinations that Inspire 

In a region where civic and cultural opportunities abound, the primary focus of our "investment" in the arts is to support access and the development and delivery of educational programs.

Grants are awarded to organizations that strive to engage a broad audience and bridge cultural boundaries.  

The Foundation seeks to identify and support sites and projects that provide a deep appreciation of Philadelphia's rich heritage. 

Criteria 

• The degree to which the proposal directly addresses and furthers the Connelly Foundation’s objectives and goals .
• The significance of the problem or need addressed by the proposed program .
• The overall quality of the proposal and whether the organization has made a convincing case that funding to the organization will facilitate more effective and efficient service delivery to constituents
• The history and stability of the organization with regard to board, management, and financial support
• The organization’s track record, prior accomplishments and unique role in providing service to its specific constituencies
• The reasonableness of the prepared budget

Charitable Investments

CSX is proud to support people and organizations that in turn honor those who serve our communities. We offer monetary and in-kind resources to nonprofit organizations advocating for the betterment of our nation’s military members or community first responders, and have additional resources available to support other community efforts.

In Kind Donations

Intermodal Transportation Services

Intermodal transportation services provide applicable organizations with intermodal equipment and rail service throughout the CSX rail network, and afford these organizations an opportunity to reduce or eliminate their transportation spending.

Ideally, intermodal moves work best when freight is moving 500 miles or more. However, the in-kind moves program requires only that freight have an origin and destination within a combined 250 miles’ distance to a CSX intermodal facility.

CSX’s door-to-door product is an ideal solution for the in-kind moves program, as our trained team will pick up your freight at its origin and transport it to a terminal to be placed on an intermodal train. Then, we will pick up your freight at the destination terminal and deliver it directly to its endpoint. The door-to-door network provides service across the Eastern United States with its large nationwide network and trucking capability.

CSX will also work with you to determine the type of equipment that is an ideal fit to transport your freight. CSX has a large fleet of rail-owned containers, as well as an expansive network of channel partners that can provide equipment to fit your needs.

Railroad Equipment and Materials

CSX occasionally donates materials, supplies and used railroad equipment based on availability. The online in-kind application can be used to request the donation of railroad-related items, including retired rail cars when available. Please note that rail, rail ties and spikes are not available for donation or purchase. Applicants will be contacted if the requested item becomes available within 90 days of their online submittal. At that time, arrangements will be made to transfer possession of the requested item. All applicants will be asked to re-submit their application at a later date if the requested item does not become available within the 90-day period.

Immediate Response Action Fund

Goals

Important and urgent needs of women and girls are now arising more frequently than anyone could have predicted. As a result, we created the Immediate Response Action Fund (IRAF) in 2017 to quickly distribute funds to organizations to address those needs as they arise. The IRAF grant application and evaluation processes allow WOMEN’S WAY to assess urgent situations more thoroughly and quickly, and determine how to respond most effectively. IRAF funds are restricted grants designated to respond to a specific event, opportunity, or challenge.

Funding

The Fund will provide one-time small grants up to $10,000 for a grant period of up to 12 months. If approved, the grant will be processed in no more than 10 business days after receipt of application.

Mission

The mission of the Independence Foundation is to build leadership, provide services, and encourage systems and cultural change through the support of organizations in the fields of healthcare, human services, legal aid, and the arts. The Foundation invests in people and programs that protect, improve and enrich the life experiences of residents of the Philadelphia and its surrounding Pennsylvania counties, with a focus on the vulnerable and excluded. Its work is based on the belief that a region that promotes physical well-being, provides equal access to justice and services, and appreciates the value of the arts will thrive for generations to come.

Independence Foundation primarily provides unrestricted funding to nonprofits to best help them achieve their missions. Our general operating support offers flexibility to our grantees by allowing funds to be used when and where they’re most needed. 

Funding Initiatives

Arts And Culture

Independence Foundation believes in bolstering the well-being of the region by supporting a variety of opportunities for involvement and participation in the arts. The arts can bind people through shared experience and understanding. Art plays a transformative role in society, one that enriches community and connects people. The Foundation supports programs in the arts that enhance the common artistic spirit through creation or performance. 

Programs which connect the arts with non-traditional participants and increase both access to and awareness of the arts, are of special interest. The Foundation awards general operating grants aimed at strengthening organizations by supporting creative work and administrative capacity, based on community involvement, artistic merit, and leadership in the field. With the exception of organizations currently funded, we do not give grants to dance, music, media arts or broadcasting, museums or historical societies, though we do continue to fund individual artists in some of these disciplines through our Fellowships in the Arts.

Health Care

Independence Foundation believes that high quality, comprehensive primary care and related services result in better health, improved quality of life, reduction in health disparities, and lower costs to the health care system. 

Funding within the health care initiative focuses on the following: 

• Existing nurse-managed health care centers undertaking capacity building projects to expand and/or improve the provision of primary care and related services
• Programs that support health policies and/or infrastructure for nurse-managed and other safety net providers
• Projects designed to inform health care-related planning
• Clinical, community, and/or educational programs designed to improve the health of older adults 

Human Services

Independence Foundation believes that the health of a community can only be as strong as the well-being of its citizens. Our region faces many challenges and continually changing demographics have contributed to increased demand for services, while local and federal funding for these services has declined. Community-based organizations fill in the gaps by providing much needed outreach and support.

The Foundation supports organizations that provide direct services to people who do not ordinarily have access to them for the most basic of needs. The current Human Services funding agenda focuses primarily on programs that address the following areas:

• adequate food and food distribution
• affordable housing and access to shelter by homeless persons
• services which support independence for people living with disabilities

Legal Aid

The Independence Foundation is committed to the support of free legal services for the underserved of the Philadelphia region. Grants provide core operating support to strengthen the administrative capacity and the direct service programs of those agencies that deliver critical legal services.

Agencies funded under the Public Interest Legal Aid Initiative address civil legal issues confronting individuals from diverse populations who do not traditionally have adequate access to legal representation, including the indigent, the elderly, the disabled, and the homeless.

Reentry, Recidivism & Restorative Justice 

The Foundation funds community-based organizations doing the following - either by directly assisting individuals, or working to change systems that cause or contribute to the harm addressed:  

• Providing supports to families and individuals involved with and affected by the criminal justice system
• Working to reduce the number of people who imminently face incarceration or a return to prison
• Providing resources to formerly incarcerated individuals that help them become integrated and contributing members once they are released back into society
• Working to reduce harm to families and neighborhoods caused by incarceration

Our Mission

Quest for the Best® strives for a better tomorrow by providing funds and/or services to those who are committed to strengthening the common good of mankind.

The legal professionals of Quest for the Best® provide business and transactional legal services to organizations recognized as tax exempt under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code serving the disadvantaged and enhancing the quality of life in Pennsylvania.

We do not undertake litigation, criminal or intellectual property matters. Each request is reviewed individually, and Quest for the Best® reserves the right to determine if we will accept a matter after review of all facts provided.

Grantmaking Criteria

We consider requests for funding that meet the overall mission and goals of Quest for the Best.

These include initiatives that:

• Include plans for long-term sustainability
• Have secured co-funding
• Support specific programs, projects and equipment

Focus

We focus on the following areas: police and nurse training, education for underserved communities, funding for wildlife and environmental conservation, and humanitarianism, specifically clean water, homelessness, hunger, and support for those suffering through the opioid epidemic.

Our Mission

Quest for the Best® strives for a better tomorrow by providing funds and/or services to those who are committed to strengthening the common good of mankind.

The legal professionals of Quest for the Best® provide legal services to Pennsylvania organizations recognized as tax exempt or seeking tax exempt status under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, with priority offered to nonprofit organizations located in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

We do not undertake litigation, criminal or intellectual property matters. Each request is reviewed individually, and Quest for the Best® reserves the right to determine if we will accept a matter after review of all facts provided.

Legal Services Grants

With over a century of combined experience, the attorneys and paralegal at Quest for the Best® are prepared to serve your nonprofit with all its legal needs.

Incorporation Assistance.

• Name Search
• Incorporation
• Obtain Tax ID Number
• Draft By-Laws

Tax Exempt Assistance

• Assist with 501(c)(3) Application
• Sales Tax Exemption Application

Employment

• Personnel Manuals and Policies
• Employment Contracts
• Laws on Hiring

General Legal Consultation

• Charitable Registration Guidance
• Contract Review
• Board of Directors’ Roles and Responsibilities
• Develop Policies and Procedures

Independence Public Media Foundation

The Independence Public Media Foundation connects creators, industry experts, community organizations, and philanthropists to support community-driven media-making and storytelling. We’re committed to transforming the Greater Philadelphia region into a hub for community-owned media, redefining the role of community in philanthropy, and evolving to best meet the needs of the people we serve.

Community Voices Fund

About the Fund

Independence Public Media Foundation's (IPMF) Community Voices Fund supports creative, community-centered media and media-making across Greater Philadelphia..

Grant Awards

The Community Voices Fund will award one-year, non-renewable project grants at three different amounts:

• Level 1: $10,000
  • Typically geared toward new or smaller-scale projects, community engagement, or experimentation.
• Level 2: $20,000
  • Generally seeks to support larger-scale projects or collaborations that result in innovative media that builds stronger networks and collective power.
• Level 3: $30,000
  • Will support existing programs to expand, evolve, or deepen their work focused on movement building or new, larger-scale projects that result in innovative media that builds stronger networks and collective power.

Please consider what level of funding works best for your proposed project and the scale of the work. Proposals will only be considered for the level of funding you request, so be sure to make a strong case for that tier and your project's budget. Historically, the average Community Voices grant has been $20,000. 

The Black Community Leaders Fund fortifies Black-led nonprofit organizations serving Black communities in Greater Philadelphia. The goal is to build the resilience of Black-led nonprofits serving Black communities, ensuring they have stable leadership, operations and finances so they are better able to respond to and rebound from unexpected challenges. The Fund defines a Black-led nonprofit organization as having a chief executive or board chair who identifies as Black and a demonstrated commitment to Black leadership throughout the organization. Black-serving organizations meet the needs of a predominately Black constituency (51% or more).The Fund supports:

• Greater stability in nonprofit internal leadership, finances and operations;
• Stronger capability of nonprofits to assess their impact on communities served; and
• Broader ability of nonprofits to weather challenges.

Ultimately, Black-led, Black-serving nonprofits will be adequately resourced to deliver services to residents, contributing to a more vibrant, equitable Greater Philadelphia.

Our Mission

Land O'Lakes, Inc. and the Land O'Lakes Foundation are dedicated to serving the rural and urban communities where our cooperative has members owners, employees, and facilities. Support is focused on organizations dedicated to Hunger Relief, Advancing Education, and Community Vitality.

Region Grants Program

The Region Grants Program is specifically for Land O’Lakes dairy communities in the East and West Regions of our member footprint. The purpose is to improve the vibrancy of the regions where our member-owners are located.

Funds are awarded through two grant rounds: Hunger Relief and Community Vitality.

Funding

• $125,000 total is awarded to both the East and West regions per grant round.
• Total annual program investment is $500,000.
• Organizations may apply for grants ranging from $1,000 to $20,000.
  • Generally, between 10-20 grantees are funded per grant round.
  • Average grant award is between $5,000 to $10,000.
• Funds are for local programs or projects supporting Land O’Lakes member-owner rural communities and their populations.

Region Grants Open Grant Round: Community Vitality

Organizations committed to strengthening community resources and opportunities, especially in rural areas:

• 4-H, FFA, and ag education programs
• Schools and educational institutions
• City improvement projects
• Fire/Ambulance departments
• Local United Way chapters
• Economic development programs

The Honorable Phyllis W. Beck Public Interest Law Fellowships

The Honorable Phyllis W. Beck Public Interest Law Fellowship program enables some of the best and brightest law school graduates to come to the Philadelphia area and obtain employment with a local organization that provides free legal services to the underserved.

About the Fellowship

Renamed in 2024 in honor of the former Chair of the Board of Directors of the Independence Foundation, the Honorable Phyllis W. Beck, the Public Interest Law Fellowships were originally established in 1996. Through the fellowship program, the Foundation funds the compensation and employment benefits for accomplished young lawyers who have decided to direct their considerable talents to public interest service.

Program Description

Fellows work for a sponsoring legal services organization serving the disadvantaged whose work has been funded previously by Independence Foundation. The Foundation requires that the focus of all Fellowship work be on direct representation of disadvantaged clients. The Foundation also assists the Fellows in repayment of their often substantial educational loans.

Project Development

Fellowship applicants must identify a sponsoring organization (must be a public interest law firm funded by the Independence Foundation - currently the Foundation funds these public interest law firms). Together with the sponsoring organization the applicant will develop the project. A potential sponsoring organization must be a civil legal services organization serving the disadvantaged and must have its principal office in Philadelphia, Delaware, Montgomery, Bucks, or Chester County, Pennsylvania. 

A project typically consists of a new substantive area of legal practice or type of legal service which is consistent with the sponsoring organization’s overall mission but in which the organization has generally not previously engaged. For example, an Independence Foundation Fellow at the Legal Clinic for the Disabled provided focused legal services to disabled men and women who were victims of caregiver, domestic or other abuse (a new area for them). In rare instances Fellowships are granted to support public interest law projects that do not involve developing a new area of practice but rather consist of the development of a new approach that more effectively, innovatively and comprehensively delivers a type of legal service the organization has previously attempted to provide. For example, an Independence Foundation Fellow at SeniorLAW Center expanded and improved on the organization’s ability to serve financially and physically abused senior citizens by delivering legal services to these clients in their own homes and by engaging in extensive community education to help these seniors avoid abusive situations.  

Overview

Pennsylvania has two coastal areas: 112 miles of coastline along the Delaware Estuary and 77 miles of coastline along Lake Erie:

• Delaware Estuary – Lies within Bucks, Philadelphia and Delaware counties. The coastal zone also contains islands, marshes and shorelands of tributary streams that are tidally influenced. The combined facilities of the Delaware Estuary comprise the largest freshwater port in the world. 
• Lake Erie – Located within Erie County and includes the shorelines of major tributaries. The coastal zone also extends to the middle of the lake, to the boundary with Canada and inland an average of 1.4 miles. The Lake also contains Presque Isle Bay and is one of the state ports for international shipping. 

In order to safeguard these resources from future adverse impacts, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, acting through the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), developed a unified approach to act as trustee to conserve and maintain the natural resources of Pennsylvania’s coastal regions known as the Pennsylvania Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP). The CZMP was finalized and approved in September 1980, under the authority of the Federal Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) of 1972, through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce. DEP’s Compacts and Commissions Office manages the Coastal Resources Management (CRM) Program in the two defined coastal areas within Pennsylvania.

As a result of the adopted CZMP, annual grants are provided to DEP by the Office for Coastal Management (OCM), NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce.

Grant awards are used to implement the CRM Program and provide a grant-in-aid program if sufficient funds permit. Monies are dispersed to fund projects within the coastal zone and coastal non-point pollution boundaries, such as planning, design, engineering, education, outreach, construction, acquisition and research as authorized by Section 306A of the CZMA, as amended. 

Coastal Zone Focus Areas 

Program policies were developed to further the goals and objectives of the CRM Program: 

Primary Focus Areas 

• Coastal Hazard Areas: Includes Lake Erie bluff recession, shoreline erosion, wave action and coastal flooding, including flooding from projected sea level rise and storm surge.
• Fisheries Management: Involves activities supporting ecologically and economically important fisheries and their habitats.
• Wetlands: Involves the protection, enhancement, and creation of coastal wetlands to maintain benefits for wildlife habitat, flood control, water quality, water flow stabilization and environmental diversity (biodiversity).
• Public access for recreation: : Includes efforts to meet the public need for boating, fishing, birding, walking, picnicking, sightseeing and other recreational pursuits associated with waterfronts.
• Historic sites and structures: Preservation, restoration and enhancement of coastally significant historic sites and structures within the coastal zones.
• Port activities: Development and enhancement of coastal port infrastructure.
• Energy facilities siting: Proper siting of energy-producing facilities to protect fragile coastal ecosystems.
• Intergovernmental coordination: Includes intergovernmental efforts to protect Pennsylvania’s coastal resources, especially the quality of air and water.
• Public involvement: Increase awareness, provide information and create opportunities for public participation in a variety of coastal issues.
• Ocean resources/biodiversity:  Includes efforts directed toward the research, study, and/or management of non-native (invasive) aquatic or terrestrial plant and/or animal species.

Activities that protect coastal waters from nonpoint source pollution resulting from marinas and recreational boating, urban activities, hydro-modifications, agriculture and other nonpoint sources are eligible for funding.

Project Eligibility

CZ grants may be applied to a wide variety of studies, plans, designs, research, acquisition and construction projects pertaining to one or more of the established program policies, which guide the competitive selection process.

Examples of some typical project proposals are as follows: 

• Efforts to educate the public regarding issues of environmental protection, non-point source water pollution, protection of coastal resources or efforts to promote such action to the public. 
• Preparation or revision of local comprehensive plans, zoning ordinances, sub-division regulations and special ordinances containing provisions in support of CRM Program policies. 
• Plans, studies or other projects to improve port facilities and infrastructure, future use of coastal ports or providing public access for recreational use of docks, piers and wharves. 
• Improving resource management and environmental protection programs at the state or local level, including disseminating information or providing technical assistance to coastal communities and the public. 
• Plans, studies or projects that enhance economic development within the coastal zone, including activities to help economically revitalize under-used coastal and/or port facilities.
• Studies for interpretation and enhancement of coastal features and habitats and restoration and preservation of historic coastal sites and structures. 
• Land acquisition of coastal properties, including real estate appraisals, to improve or provide for public recreational access or open-space preservation.
• Preparation of designs, engineering plans and specifications for coastal recreational sites owned or legally controlled by a ‘government’ applicant. 
• Low-cost (defined by NOAA as no more than a total project cost of $400,000) construction projects for recreational access facilities or for rehabilitating significant historic buildings and structures located within the designated coastal zones. *Note: rehabilitation work on buildings and structures should be supported by a structural feasibility study, architectural assessment, engineering plans or similar planning products included as part of the application. If awarded, grantee must wait for NEPA approval from NOAA and notification from DEP. 

A $75,000 grant limit is generally imposed on any single project. Applicants with proposals requesting more than $75,000 in grant funding should discuss funding alternatives with CRMP staff before submitting an application.

Project Requirements

• Be environmentally sound and consistent with current state, regional, county and local ordinances and plans. 
• Obtain applicable federal, state and local permits and/or approvals for all construction projects before any construction may commence.
• Obtain concurrence of any municipal government whose approval is required for project implementation, via letter of support or resolution, if the applicant is a non-governmental agency.
• Benefit the public at large and may not be for the purpose of private gain, benefit or profits.
• Be made available and useful to all members of the general public; therefore cannot be for exclusive use of any particular group of persons.
• Be accessible to persons in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
• Be constructed on public property and open to the public.

Our Mission

The William Penn Foundation is committed to expanding access to resources and opportunities that promote a more vital and just city and region for all.

Arts and Culture Programming

WPF aims to support projects and programs that connect more Philadelphians to high-quality arts and culture experiences, reflect the cultural diversity of the region, and contribute to its vibrancy. We are most interested in prioritizing performances, exhibitions, and other arts and culture projects in which participants see themselves and their communities and experience joy, affirmation, and a sense of belonging.

We are requesting proposals for 1-3-year projects that will increase opportunities for people across the region to engage with a range of high-quality arts and culture experiences. This funding opportunity is for activities beginning in or after February next year and will focus on inclusive and equitable opportunities shaped by deep and enduring community relationships. Project teams will be deeply rooted in the community they seek to serve and have a history of inclusive and community-centered practices. After reviewing proposals, WPF will conduct site visits and gather additional information from a limited number of applicants.

Applicants that propose projects in partnership with other applicants will be considered on their individual merits. The Foundation recognizes that making significant progress on the objective is difficult and values partnerships that leverage complementary strengths, resources, and expertise for the mutual benefit of the applicants and their communities.

Objective

This specific Request for Proposals (RFP) was created to help organizations to advance the following objective:

• Provide access to arts and culture experiences that are intentionally designed to engage a community or audience.

Arts and culture programs, projects, and experiences can provide a wealth of benefits for individuals and communities. By participating in experiences and programming that are designed for them – whether performances, exhibitions, or hands-on opportunities to make art – we believe that people across the region will experience joy, beauty, and deeper appreciation for different cultures. To ensure more Philadelphians connect to arts and culture, we are supporting dynamic projects that seek to create culturally relevant and accessible ways for people across the region to engage with arts, culture, and their communities.

The Foundation recognizes there are many ways that organizations and communities can contribute to advancing this objective. A project may focus on any or multiple artistic disciplines and include a range of activities as long as those activities provide access to high-quality arts and culture experiences that center equity, inclusion, and the needs, interests, and experiences of its intended beneficiaries. Proposals may have a small geographic focus or may seek to provide programming on a citywide scale.

Funding

WPF has a total of $3 million available to advance this objective at this time. WPF values diverse approaches from various organizations and communities to address the objective. We aim to attract and fund a range of projects. There is no minimum or maximum amount of funding that projects may request but the most competitive proposals will likely be those with total grant requests under $600,000 (for 3 years). The grant amount requested should be proportionate with the scope of the project and the contribution that the project will make to the overall objective.

About Our Grants

Impact100 Philadelphia provides high-impact grants that support a nonprofit organization’s core mission. Our goal is to address unmet needs in the Philadelphia region and raise the profile of smaller nonprofit organizations. Impact100 grant funds may be spent on necessary infrastructure, staff salaries, primary programs or services, or other expenses that strengthen an organization and enhance its ability to do its core work. 

A central question in our application is Why now? We ask applicants why this juncture in particular is the time that a $100,000 grant will have a large impact on the organization.

Our Focus Areas are Arts & Culture, Education, Environment, Family, and Health & Wellness.

Arts and Culture:

Promote, develop, and enhance artistic expression and creative thinking through culturally diverse art or art education, utilizing varied media and art forms such as exhibitions, performances, or some other method.

Education:

Teach, inform and educate individuals or specific groups, addressing equitable access to create or advance future opportunities for children and/or adults on a wide range of issues and causes.

Environment:

Improve, preserve, and protect community public spaces or natural resources providing equitable access while promoting a just, safe, healthy and sustainable world.

Family:

Strengthen and enhance the lives of children, older adults, and all families to achieve a better life and a healthy, secure future.

Health & Wellness:

Empower wellness as a way to strengthen and improve the mental and physical well-being of communities and people of all ages.

Policies

The W. W. Smith Charitable Trust is a private foundation which makes grants primarily for three specific purposes. With few exceptions, grants are limited to organizations within Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties as well as the City of Camden, New Jersey.

Mission

Ensuring basic human needs, supplementing higher education scholarships, supporting maritime education/maritime heritage preservation, and enabling basic medical research in the areas of heart disease, cancer and AIDS.

Vision

Helping organizations and individuals achieve their goals, 

Basic Needs

The Trust awards grants to nonprofits that provide direct assistance to those in our community who are in need of food, clothing or shelter. We prioritize requests that benefit disadvantaged and vulnerable children and older adults who reside within the five county Greater Philadelphia region (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties) or the City of Camden, NJ. The Trust monitors basic needs trends in the region to help us reassess and adjust our grantmaking.

W. W. Smith funds efforts to provide food, clothing, or shelter assistance for children and older adults in the five-county Greater Philadelphia area (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Philadelphia counties) or the City of Camden, NJ.

Funding Duration & Award Size

• Grants are awarded for a one (1) year term.
• Organizations that receive three (3) consecutive years of funding must then wait two (2) years before being eligible to reapply. We make this determination based on the calendar year of your notice of award.
• The minimum award is $5,000.
• There is no maximum award limit. Grants typically range from $10,000 to $40,000. Higher-dollar awards are possible for certain projects. Please contact the Grant Administrator when planning your grant request amount.

Goals

The Visionary Leadership Fund is a separate endowment managed by the Valentine Foundation. Created in 2005, this endowment provides a dedicated source of funding for leadership development for women executives and aspiring leaders in organizations that improve the lives of women and girls in the Greater Philadelphia region. The Fund for Visionary Leadership enhances these organizations and creates positive social change by making valuable leadership training accessible to those working in the non-profit sector with the goals of:

• Supporting the Effectiveness of Current Women Leaders
• Developing the Next Generation of Women Leaders
• Fostering a Community of Women Leaders

The Valentine Foundation envisions a society in which all women, and girls, and non-binary individuals thrive. We encourage submissions from women executive and aspiring leaders from groups that have historically been under-represented in leadership roles.

Our definition of “women and girls” includes anyone who is cis-gender or trans woman/girl, or non-binary.

The groups we focus on who have historically been under-represented in leadership roles include, but are not limited to, those who are Black, Indigenous, People of Color, LGBTQ+, and/or People with Disabilities.

Our grantmaking goal is to close the gender, racial, ethnic, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, and other equity gaps in non-profit leadership. We do this by actively funding the leadership development of as many current women executive and aspiring leaders from groups that have historically been under-represented in leadership roles as possible, within our means and mission.

Characteristics of Visionary Leadership

The Valentine Fund for Visionary Leadership is committed to advancing, encouraging, and developing visionary leadership skills in both aspiring and executive-level women nonprofit leaders. The Fund understands visionary leadership, apart from management and executive authority, to include the following characteristics:

• Demonstration of innovation and entrepreneurial vision: (Takes initiative, is not risk averse, seeks new solutions, partnerships, tries alternative approaches)
• Credibility: (Demonstrates knowledge of issues from the standpoint of content and policy. Demonstrates capacity for strategic synthesis of knowledge and practice).
• Demonstration of the capacity to influence others with or without the formal authority or title.
• Demonstration of the capacity to respect followers, promote their voices, and protect their interests.
• Exhibition of generosity: Shares knowledge, power, and resources in the interest of an aim.
• Demonstration of life decisions and actions consistent with a set of core values and ethics.
• Demonstration of effectiveness. Achievements, even if modest, that reflect intelligence, creativity, vision, advocacy, and a healthy balance of outrage and optimism.
• Ability to think expansively about long term challenges
• Seeks new solutions

Funding

A total grant pool of $40,000–$45,000 will be awarded to successful applicants.

Our grantmaking goal is to close the gender, racial, ethnic, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, and other equity gaps in non-profit leadership. We do this by actively funding the leadership development of as many current women executive and aspiring leaders from groups that have historically been under-represented in leadership roles as possible, within our means and mission.

Our definition of “women and girls” includes anyone who is cis-gender or trans woman/girl, or non-binary.

The groups we focus on who have historically been under-represented in leadership roles include, but are not limited to, those who are Black, Indigenous, People of Color, LGBTQ+, and/or People with Disabilities.

Please refer to FAQ for additional guidelines.

Funding Priorities

The Foundation for Delaware County (the Foundation) is pleased to announce the 2025 Impact Grants competitive grantmaking cycle.

While we make some grants from donor-advised funds as well as restricted and specialized funds, the grants awarded through this competitive grant process will advance the Foundation’s mission to ensure an equitable, vibrant future for Delaware County by promoting generosity, inspiring participation and partnership across our communities, and improving the quality of life for all.

For the 2025 Impact Grant cycle, the Foundation will consider awarding grant funds to organizations that address several of the Social Determinants of Health including community and economic development, health, hospice and homecare, housing, and youth development. These priorities reflect changes made by our board following a five-year evaluation of our Impact Grants.

Foundation Impact Grants Funding Priorities for 2025:

• Cancer Survivors
  • The Foundation will consider awarding grants to organizations that provide education and supportive services to assist cancer survivors living in Delaware County. Unfortunately, multi-year grants are not available for this funding priority.
• Community and Economic Development - The foundation will consider awarding strategic investment grants to enhance community and economic development strategies in Delaware County. This could include arts and culture initiatives that are catalysts for community and economic development. In addition, the foundation will support impact assessments and other strategic planning efforts to attract public/private investments to support an increase in affordable housing and the supply of stable housing in low-income communities.
• Health - 
  • Behavioral Health. the Foundation will consider awarding grants to organizations providing education, prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, supportive services, or advocacy to assist families and children living in Delaware County experiencing mental health and substance use disorders in Delaware County.
  • Children’s Health and Nutrition. the Foundation will consider awarding grants that support efforts to expand and improve services for low-income children and their families living in Delaware County, including advocacy efforts, primary preventive care, lead screening, asthma treatment, immunizations, oral care, nutrition, vision care, and developmental services.
  • Food Security: the Foundation will consider awarding grants to organizations that strengthen the emergency food safety net in Delaware County by enhancing food availability, quality, variety, and/or cultural appropriateness, and by coordinating emergency food services.
  • Maternity and Prenatal/Postnatal Care: the Foundation will consider awarding grants that expand quality services to vulnerable mothers and infants living in Delaware County, including early entry into prenatal care, routine prenatal and postpartum care, pregnancy spacing, supportive services, and advocacy efforts that decrease maternal mortality and infant mortality/morbidity and increase early childhood growth and development.
  • Preventive Health Care: The foundation will consider awarding grants to organizations that improve/expand preventive health care services to low-income and vulnerable children in Delaware County.
• Hospice and Home Healthcare - The Foundation will consider awarding grants to organizations providing hospice and home healthcare services for people who are low-income who have disabilities, and vulnerable seniors in Delaware County. Unfortunately, multi-year grants are not available for this funding priority.
• Housing - The Foundation will consider awarding strategic investment grants to support advocacy efforts, initiatives, and projects that increase access to or the supply of safe, adequate, and affordable housing for Delaware County residents.
• Youth Development - Education
  • Early Childhood Education and Development: the Foundation will consider awarding grants to support early childhood programs that promote and advocate for early development (formally and informally) from birth to age six.
  • Elementary and Middle School: the Foundation will consider awarding grants to support programs and initiatives that provide academic support to elementary and middle school-age students. This effort can include out-of-school-time (OST) academic programs.
  • Vocational and Job Training: the Foundation will consider awarding grants to organizations that help prepare youth for further education and successful careers. This effort can include specific classes offered to learners to train for a job or career.
  • Youth Development: The Foundation will consider awarding grants to support advocacy efforts, initiatives, interventions, and collaborations that enhance protective factors and reduce risk factors, promote positive outcomes, and prepare young people to reach their full potential.

Types of grants to be funded

There will be a limited number of multi-year grants (up to 3 years) available.

Organizations can apply for only ONE grant per year or a multi-year period.

Types of grants that will be considered:

• Core Support: Available to previous Grantee Partners serving Delaware County and working in one or more of the Foundation's funding priorities outlined above
• Program or Project Support:  Available to nonprofits serving Delaware County to start, advance, operate, expand and/or improve programs or projects working in one or more of the Foundation's funding priorities outlined above 

Core Grant Program

In 2021, The Nelson Foundation developed and committed to a new strategic direction centered on racial equity and social justice. As a result, the Foundation has overhauled its grantmaking practices and processes to be more equitable and to reduce the burden on applicants. The new core grant program launched January 1, 2023 and is detailed below.

The core grant program provides multi-year, general operating support to organizations serving young people and their families and communities in the Greater Philadelphia Region in an effort to eradicate racial inequity and social injustice. Core grants are awarded as three-year grants with a grant size of $60,000 ($20,000 paid annually).

BACKGROUND

The GSK IMPACT Awards program honors up to ten local nonprofit organizations in recognition of their exceptional achievements, overall excellence, and best practices in contributing to a healthier Greater Philadelphia Region. Individual Awards are $50,000 in urestricted funding. To be eligible, the minimum annual gross revenue for 501(c)(3) nonprofits is $100,000, the maximum is $5,000,000.

GSK is proud to continue its partnership with the Philadelphia Foundation to administer this awards program. The GSK IMPACT Awards is one of several charitable programs GSK offers in the United States as part of its commitment to building healthier communities and a healthy America.

CHALLENGE

Much of what influences our health happens outside the doctor's office – in our communities. Factors such as access to healthy foods and recreational spaces undeniably contribute to our health. Where we are born, raised, live and work matters to our health; yet too many individuals are living in communities that are hazardous to our health.

SOLUTION

The more we understand the connection between our health and our community, the more we can improve it. GSK is a global biopharma company with a purpose to unite science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together. GSK goes beyond discovering, developing and delivering new medicines and vaccines and addresses health challenges where they often start – in our communities.

PROCESS

GSK and the Philadelphia Foundation staff review nonprofit registrations and invite eligible organizations to complete the application process. We work together to select 15 finalists. Virtual site visits are managed and conducted by Philadelphia Foundation staff. A panel comprised of local community health experts and GSK representatives evaluate the finalist applications and site visit reports to select up to ten winners.

The Edna W. Andrade Fund -- a Donor Advised Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation -- is pleased to announce the availability of grants for local or national museums or nonprofit art organizations to benefit visual fine artists from Greater Philadelphia.

The fund was established through the estate of Edna Andrade. Edna Andrade was a leading Philadelphia teacher and artist who was associated with the Op Art movement of the 1960's.

Grants will be awarded in amounts ranging from $5,000 to $25,000. 

The purpose of the fund is to benefit visual fine artists from the Greater Philadelphia area by providing funds for the following:

• For grants to local or national museums or other charitable organizations that request funding for the purchase or commission of works of art by specific artists from the Greater Philadelphia area
• For grants to local or national museums for the funding of one-person exhibitions of specific artists from the Greater Philadelphia area
  • The Greater Philadelphia area is defined as Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties in Pennsylvania and Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Mercer counties in New Jersey.
• For grants to nonprofit organizations as fiscal agents for individual artists or groups of artists from the Greater Philadelphia area who propose to start or are engaged in continuing educational, cultural, humanitarian or environmental projects.

Our Mission

Land O'Lakes, Inc. and the Land O'Lakes Foundation are dedicated to serving the rural and urban communities where our cooperative has members owners, employees, and facilities. Support is focused on organizations dedicated to Hunger Relief, Advancing Education, and Community Vitality.

Region Grants Program

The Region Grants Program is specifically for Land O’Lakes dairy communities in the East and West Regions of our member footprint. The purpose is to improve the vibrancy of the regions where our member-owners are located.

Funds are awarded through two grant rounds: Hunger Relief and Community Vitality.

Funding

• $125,000 total is awarded to both the East and West regions per grant round.
• Total annual program investment is $500,000.
• Organizations may apply for grants ranging from $1,000 to $20,000.
  • Generally, between 10-20 grantees are funded per grant round.
  • Average grant award is between $5,000 to $10,000.
• Funds are for local programs or projects supporting Land O’Lakes member-owner rural communities and their populations.

Region Grants Open Grant Round: Hunger Relief

Organizations committed to fighting food insecurity and increasing food accessibility:

• Food banks
• Food shelves/pantries
• Prepared meals and meal delivery services
• School meal programs
• Community gardens and local food systems

Art Works

Founded in 2021 by Forman Arts Initiative and Philadelphia Foundation, Art Works is a joint $3 million grant program designed to support Philadelphia arts and cultural organizations and artists working in partnership with BIPOC and other underserved communities.

Art Works accepts applications from local cultural nonprofit (or fiscally sponsored) organizations with annual operating budgets between $250,000 and $5 million as well as individual artists with a commitment to incorporating community perspectives into their work.

• Four Philadelphia-based artists will be selected annually to receive two-year grants of $25,000 per year. Grants can be used freely by artists. Some artists may wish to use the grant to support the development of new work while others may use it to pay for living or studio expenses. Artists will be chosen based on how closely their work aligns with Art Works’ programmatic goals.
• Four community-based organizations will be selected annually to receive two-year, unrestricted grants ranging from $75,000-$150,000.  Organizations will be chosen based on how closely their work aligns with Art Works‘ programmatic goals.

In addition to the awarded funds, all grantees will have access to experiential professional development workshops and pro bono professional consulting services designed to provide strategic and tactical support on a range of topics including legal, marketing, communications, budgeting and finance, among others.

Art Works also provides grantees the opportunity to host co-operative education students from Drexel University to support programs and operations.

These placements, administered by Drexel’s Lenfest Center for Cultural Partnerships, are designed to provide students with meaningful work experience in the arts and culture sector. 

The W. W. Smith Charitable Trust is a private foundation established by Mr. William Wikoff Smith with a mission to help organizations and individuals achieve their goals, hopes, and dreams. Through the Medical Research program, the Trust makes grants funds available for eligible scientists to conduct basic research addressing Heart Disease, Cancer, or AIDS.

Medical

The Trust awards grants for basic medical research primarily related to heart disease, cancer, and AIDS. Funding is limited to nonprofit institutions such as universities, hospitals, and research centers located in the five-county Greater Philadelphia region (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties) or the City of Camden, NJ. Scientists and research faculty with appointments at the aforementioned institutions are encouraged to apply through their associated institution.

The Trust identifies and funds research projects that are unique and meritorious. We invest in promising researchers having the potential to attract larger-scale awards (e.g., NIH, NSF, AHA) subsequent to Trust support.

Research proposals are peer reviewed by a medical advisory committee comprised of prominent scientists at institutions located outside our geographic funding area. These reviews help guide Trust funding towards projects capable of having a direct influence upon the fight against heart disease, cancer, and AIDS.

Circuit Trails

By 2035, add 75 miles to the Circuit Trails System.

Trails connect people to the outdoors and each other, positively impacting physical and mental health and well-being. They provide an option for non-motorized transportation, and they enhance economic development, making neighborhoods more attractive places to live and work. Trails make life better for the region’s residents.

Greater Philadelphia is home to the Circuit Trails, a regional network of hundreds of miles of multi-use trails that is growing in size each year. One of America’s largest trail networks, the Circuit currently includes more than 411 miles of trails, and the goal is to connect more than 850 miles across urban, suburban, and rural communities in nine counties in Pennsylvania and New Jersey by 2040.

Over the past 10 years, our grants have supported the addition of 100 miles of Circuit Trails. We’ve also supported the formation of an active, engaged, and cohesive Circuit Trails Coalition, comprised of nearly 65 nonprofit organizations, foundations, and agencies all working together to advance the completion of the network. It is their outreach, education, and advocacy that has led the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) to designate the Circuit Trails as the official transportation infrastructure in the region. The Coalition also works to ensure that equity concerns are fully incorporated in trail planning, development, and use.

In order to continue the success of the Circuit Trails, we are focusing on adding additional miles to the trail system.

We recognize that there are many ways that organizations and communities can contribute to the Circuit Trails. We are seeking to support projects and programs that organizations in Philadelphia believe will be most effective in making progress on the objective above.

We measure our progress on this objective via DVRPC’s tracking of Circuit Trail miles added annually.

Art and Change Grant

The Art and Change Grant (ACG) provides grants of up to $2,500 to fund art for social change projects by women, trans, and/or gender nonconforming artists and cultural producers living in Greater Philadelphia.

The grant is project-based and open to artists and cultural producers working in any medium, including traditional and nontraditional as well as multimedia and experimental forms.

Change Partner

Leeway believes art for social change work happens through relationships — working with others collaboratively, often in community. Because of this, we ask artists to submit an application together with a Change Partner that affirms your grounding in a community-based process. Change Partners cannot benefit financially from the grant.

A Change Partner is:

• someone the applicant has built a relationship with who is a member of the community that the project seeks to engage or in which it takes place; or
• a person, organization, or business that has a connection to the project in some form.

Eligible Change Partners can live within or beyond the Greater Philadelphia Area and may include mentors, editors, art spaces, theaters, nonprofit organizations, dance studios, radio stations, production companies, etc. – or anyone who can support the project.

Your Change Partner Form must be completed and signed by your Change Partner.

Art for Social Change: What We Mean

Leeway supports artists and cultural producers involved in art for social change that positively affects and engages communities and audiences. Creating social change must be integral to the ideas, beliefs, and goals that are woven throughout your art and your process of creating and sharing your art.

IMPACT OF ART WITH VISION

Art for social change is art with a vision and an intentional analysis. It is an artistic or creative cultural practice that may operate in traditional or nontraditional mediums, modes, or disciplines.

Art with a vision impacts people in many ways. It can:

• Raise consciousness
• Alter how we think about ourselves, our society, or our culture
• Create a vision of a more just world
• Be a tool or strategy for organizing and movement building
• Preserve or reclaim traditional cultural practices using your artistic practice as a form of resistance or empowerment
• Create space for expression and build a sense of community
• Challenge racism, classism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ageism, ableism, or other oppressions
• Question mainstream culture and beliefs
• Shift or transform the perception of power and/or privilege and the dynamics associated with justice, equality, and/or accountability
• Value healing justice practices focused on strengthening communities, not just individuals
• Engage and utilize a reciprocal process — where there is teaching and learning simultaneously and the consent for engagement is mutual, as is the benefit for yourself as an artist and the community you are engaging

Social Change Intent/Vision

We ask you to identify at least one but no more than three social change categories that best describe the intent or vision behind your project. There is no correct or incorrect way to choose; you should pick one that resonates with you as the core intent or vision of your work. You will have an opportunity to define further what that vision is for you in question 3 of the application.

• Cultural preservation/restoration
• Decarceration
• Demilitarization
• Disability justice
• Economic justice
• Environmental justice
• Feminism
• Housing justice
• Immigration justice
• Indigenous sovereignty
• LGBQA social movements
• Racial justice
• Transgender justice/gender self-determination

Advocacy Unrestricted Grants 

Advocacy Unrestricted Grants are available on a competitive basis for nonprofits that dedicate majority/ significant portion of their work to systems advocacy and community organizing efforts that seek to reform laws, policies, regulations, and institutional practices impacting marginalized and low-income communities in Greater Philadelphia.

Funds may be used for all mission-related activities including education, coalition building, capital campaigns, service delivery, operational costs, and lobbying and political activities (in accordance with IRS allowances for nonprofits).

Successful applicants have clearly defined the community benefitting from their efforts and are operationalizing equity at all levels of the organization including Board and operations, as well as in their advocacy/organizing strategy and tactics. Additionally, organizations can demonstrate operational excellence, long-term impact, and short-term outcomes; utilize creative strategies and tactics to achieve campaign victories; and have a track record of policy and system reform success in Greater Philadelphia.

Types of Projects Funded

Funds may be used for all mission-related activities including education, organizing, coalition building, contributions to capital campaigns and endowments and operational costs.