NOTE: The Philip L. Graham Fund follows a two-step application process. Organizations interested in applying for funding must submit a Letter of Inquiry through an online application system prior to one of the several deadlines each year. The Fund does not accept paper applications. Within 30 days of each Letter of Inquiry deadline, all applicants will be notified of their application status and select applicants will receive an invitation to submit a full proposal.

Philip L. Graham Fund Grant

Named for the late Publisher of The Washington Post and President of The Washington Post Company (now Graham Holdings Company), the Philip L. Graham Fund devotes its resources to the betterment of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The Fund awards several million dollars in grants annually to groups providing educational, health, community enrichment, and arts programs and services to communities in and around Washington, D.C.

What We Support

Understanding the broad and changing needs of the communities in and around Washington, D.C., the Philip L. Graham Fund is dedicated to supporting organizations that provide a wide array of direct services to individuals and families. The Fund awards grants across four focus areas and a geographically vast area that includes 10 counties in Virginia and Maryland as well as the District of Columbia.

The Fund is always looking for innovative and efficient organizations to support. Over the past several decades, the Fund has invested tens of millions of dollars in the physical infrastructure, information technology, and transportation needs of local nonprofit organizations. The Fund’s five-member board prefers to fund requests for one-time projects or expenses, but does occasionally award grants for program and general operating expenses.

In 2017, the Philip L. Graham Fund awarded $4.1 million in grants to 138 organizations across Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. Twenty grants went to first-time grantees. Together, grants in the Health & Human Services and Education focus areas represented 84% of the Fund’s giving last year.

Focus Areas

From its inception, the Fund’s mission has been to use its resources for the betterment of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. In the past, the Fund also worked to foster improvements in the fields of journalism and communications. Grantees include large, regional organizations as well as small, community-based groups; all share a commitment to our community.

Health & Human Services

The Health & Human Services segment of the Fund’s portfolio is the largest portion of the Fund’s giving and includes a wide array of services designed to ensure everyone in the greater metropolitan area has access to the tools necessary for healthy and productive living. Nonprofits providing shelter, food, medical care, and workforce development programs to members of our community are a high priority for the Fund as well as efforts to increase access to fresh foods, legal services, routine primary care and dental visits, and comprehensive behavioral health services for children and adults.

Education

The Philip L. Graham Fund is committed to supporting efforts to advance and expand educational offerings for children and adults in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The Fund gives high priority to programs that improve public education and adult literacy.

Arts & Humanities

From its earliest days, the Philip L. Graham Fund has supported both large and small arts organizations in and around Washington, D.C. Many of the city’s largest and most innovative theater companies, museums, dance companies, and arts education programs can trace their earliest funding back to the Graham Fund. The Fund remains committed to supporting longstanding organizations devoted to bringing high-quality and unique programs to the community and to seeking out new organizations bringing fresh ideas and offerings to the metropolitan area. The Fund is specifically interested in arts programming that shows a clear intersection with one of the Fund’s other focus areas.

Community Endeavors

Recognizing the importance of Washington, D.C., to the nation and the world, the Fund considers requests from institutions that tell the stories of our country’s history, values, and accomplishments and strengthen the greater metropolitan community as a whole. This includes support for a broad spectrum of organizations, such as institutions of national significance located in the metropolitan area, improvement of local parks and playgrounds, and efforts to help our community through programs that strengthen families and neighborhoods.

The Impact Fund awards recoverable grants to legal services nonprofits, private attorneys, and small law firms who seek to advance justice in the areas of civil and human rights, environmental justice, and poverty law. Since being founded in 1992, the Impact Fund has made more than 700 recoverable grants totaling more than $8 million for impact litigation. 

Social Justice

The Impact Fund provides grants and legal support to assist in human and civil rights cases. We have helped to change dozens of laws and win cases to improve the rights of thousands. The cases we are funding allege that:

• In Orange County, California there are currently 13 gang injunctions under effect, which disproportionately affect young men of color.
• In Chicago, Illinois, the city’s homeless shelter program is inaccessible to people with disabilities.
• In Springfield, Oregon, the city and its police department used excessive force during a Black Lives Matter protest.
• In Maine, the state fails to safely monitor the prescription and administration of powerful psychotropic medications to foster youth.
• In Missouri, a Medicaid agency fails to arrange for in-home nursing services for children with medically complex conditions.
• In Montana, voter suppression laws disadvantage young adults and give priority to gun owners.
• In Vancouver, British Columbia, the police perpetuate systemic discrimination against Indigenous people through bureaucratic measures.
• In West Virginia, incarcerated individuals do not receive adequate medical and mental health care, and jails do not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

Environmental Justice

The Impact Fund provides grants to support local litigation for environmental justice. These are often cases no one else will support. The cases we are funding allege that:

• In downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin the proposed expansion of a highway will divide the region's Black, Asian, and Latine neighborhoods and bring pollution and ill health.
• In North Dakota, the five-month closure of a highway in response to the Dakota Access Pipeline protests disproportionately affected the livelihoods and health of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe members.
• In Ontario, Canada, mercury contamination of the English-Wabigoon river system causes catastrophic environmental and health impacts for the Grassy Narrows First Nation.
• In Sacramento, California, the county government and Sacramento Area Sewer District violate the Clean Water Act by discharging raw sewage into the Delta, the Sacramento River, and the American River.
• In Fresno, California, the city’s efforts to streamline industrial development fail to protect vulnerable neighborhoods from adverse environmental and public health impacts.
• In the Eastern Coachella Valley in California, 1,900 residents of the Oasis Mobile Home Park suffer from arsenic-laced drinking water, wastewater contamination, and overcharging for utilities.

Economic Justice

The Impact Fund provides financial and other forms of support to cases fighting for economic justice. From workers' rights to consumer protection for vulnerable populations, impact litigation is a powerful tool to hold corporations accountable. The cases we are funding allege that:

• In San Diego, California, vehicle ordinances target homeless vehicle owners even when no adequate housing alternative exists.
• In Minneapolis, Minnesota, the city and county destroy the property of homeless individuals and employ forced evictions from public spaces.
• In Miami, Florida, insurance companies discriminate against a nonprofit community development corporation renting to tenants with Section 8 rental subsidies.

The mission of Qlarant Foundation is to improve the health of individuals and communities.

Helping to improve the health of individuals and communities.

Our organization was founded more than 45 years ago to improve health care and human services for all. That important work continues today. As a not-for-profit, Qlarant Foundation remains focused on reinvesting in our people and resources to better support our clients’ missions — rather than be beholden to stockholders.

Grants and funding. Because we are committed to improving health, Qlarant Foundation provides charitable grants to many organizations seeking to improve health equity, awarding grants up to $50,000 per organization annually. We prioritize grants based on a project’s potential to improve access to care and quality of health services for individuals and communities.

Requests for Proposal

The Qlarant Foundation is the mission arm of Qlarant, a company with more than 45 years of experience in improving quality in organizations – and the quality of life for the people they serve.

Qlarant Foundation awards grants to eligible nonprofit organizations that work to improve healthcare for individuals and communities through measurable outcome improvement projects. These projects include service, demonstration, education and clinical programs producing high-impact results on health outcomes. Funding is prioritized based on a project’s potential impact on healthcare improvements and access for individuals and communities, particularly the uninsured and under-served population.

Award Size and Duration

Customarily, grant awards are for one year with the potential for additional funding in subsequent years. These awards may be up to $50,000. Funds are released on a periodic basis and reports must be submitted and approved before checks are issued.

Dr. Sheldon Goldgeier Award

To honor the memory of our long-time board member and supporter, Dr. Sheldon Goldgeier, we wish to set aside one grant for pulmonary issues. Therefore, this RFP is also specifically soliciting proposals for a program particular to pulmonary and/or lung disease, i.e., but not limited to smoking cessation, emphysema and chronic bronchitis. A high priority will be given to applications that reach underserved populations

Funding Priorities - How We Prioritize Programs to Award

Our focus is on a program that demonstrates improved health care quality with clear goals and measurable outcomes. Priority areas include programs that:

• Improve access to health care services to the unserved and under-served
• Improve understanding of health issues
• Demonstrate improvement through measurable outcomes of stated goals

Types of programs the Qlarant Foundation might fund include those that:

• Improve healthy lifestyles and quality of life
• Increase access to culturally and linguistically appropriate care
• Implement consumer centered care and decision making
• Improve dissemination of education and health related information
• Improve patient safety

NOTE: Application deadlines

• October 1 - January 31: Applications accepted during this time period for organizations focused in the following areas: 
• Health care and medical research 
  • Children’s medical, heart disease, and Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
• Churches & Religion
• February 1 - May 31:  Applications accepted during this time period for organizations focused in the following areas: 
• Education 
  • Institutional scholarships (need-based awarded to and by colleges and universities)
• At-Risk Youth & Families
  • Abused, neglected, and disadvantaged children; adoption & foster care; victims of domestic abuse; and homelessness
• International humanitarian aid 
• June 1 - September 30: Applications accepted during this time period for organizations focused in the following areas: 
• U.S. military personnel and family support
• Animal Welfare & Advocacy
• Food Pantries & Feeding Programs

Mission

The mission of the Gratis Foundation is to support programs in the fields of education, health care and medical research, humanitarian services, abused and neglected children, and assisting U.S. Military personnel and their families. It is the intent of the foundation to award grants based on achievement, excellence, significance, or leadership in a specific field or charitable endeavor.

Program areas

• Animal Welfare & Advocacy
• At-Risk Youth & Families
• Churches & Religion
• Education
• Food Pantries & Feeding Programs
• Health Care & Medical Research
• International Humanitarian Aid
• U.S. Military Personnel & Family Support

Program limitations 

Supports programs in the fields of education, health care and medical research, humanitarian services, abused and neglected children, and assisting U.S. Military personnel and their families.

States served 

• District of Columbia 
• Florida 
• Massachusetts 

The Wawa Foundation provides financial grants on a local, regional and national level ensuring that our commitment extends from the local communities Wawa serves to the regional footprint Wawa occupies in the mid-Atlantic and Florida. Only registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations operating in Wawa’s six-state area are eligible to apply. Organizations must fall into The Wawa Foundation’s three key areas of focus: Health, Hunger and Everyday Heroes. To learn more, review our Criteria for Success.

Wawa Foundation Financial Grants

Our submission windows for grants over $2,500 will be the months of January, April, July and October. Qualified organizations can submit grant requests and Letters of Inquiry during those timeframes. Requests will be reviewed and organizations will receive a response before the next grant submission window opens.

Areas of Focus

Health

The Wawa Foundation will provide funding to organizations committed to saving and improving lives in the communities Wawa serves. Specifically, The Wawa Foundation will support organizations dedicated to Championing Life-saving Research & Care for People in Need by:

• Providing grants to hospitals with a focus on pediatric institutions
• Funding research
• Supporting care and comfort Initiatives

Hunger

The Wawa Foundation will play a leading role in hunger relief in the communities Wawa serves. To achieve this, we will support programs that enable us to Lead Hunger Relief Efforts by:

• Providing food donations to local pantries daily through Wawa Share
• Improving access to food through financial grants
• Enabling Feeding America Food Banks to reach more communities through annual in-store campaigns

Heroes

The Wawa Foundation is committed to Supporting the Heroes Making a Difference Every Day by:

• Showing appreciation and care to our military, veterans, first responders and other heroes in our local communities
• Enhancing the education and mentoring of at-risk youth in grades K-12.
• Supporting heroes through crisis response, blood drives, and volunteering

Mission

AIDS United’s mission is to end the HIV epidemic in the United States.

In the ongoing work for social justice and true equity, ending the HIV epidemic in the United States is our chosen role. We’ve seen firsthand how the intersectionality of social injustice, discrimination and health care disparity impacts those living with HIV, and we believe alleviating this struggle is a pivotal step toward our national well-being.

Vision

AIDS United envisions a time when all people, governments and organizations commit to ending the epidemic and strengthening the health, well-being, and human rights of everyone impacted by HIV.

We envision a world with an ambitiously holistic definition of human rights.

We must expand the conversation about those of us impacted by HIV to account for and address the intersectionality of health disparities, social injustice, white supremacy, racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia and every kind of inequity.

Harm Reduction Futures Fund

The Harm Reduction Futures Fund (formerly the Syringe Access Fund) is a collaborative grantmaking initiative that seeks to reduce the health, psychosocial, and socioeconomic disparities experienced by people who use drugs (PWUD). The Harm Reduction Futures Fund invests in evidence-based and community-driven approaches to prevent the transmission of both HIV and viral hepatitis, reduce injection-related injuries, increase overdose prevention and reversal efforts, and connect people who use drugs to comprehensive prevention, treatment, and support services.

The Harm Reduction Futures Fund will award grants this Round to three kinds of organizations:

• syringe services programs providing direct services,
• harm reduction organizations supporting multiple syringe service programs providing direct services, and
• harm reduction organizations conducting community advocacy activities focused on legalizing or strengthening syringe services programs and other health interventions for PWUD at the local, state, or federal levels.

Purpose

The primary goal of the Harm Reduction Futures Fund is to provide core support for programs that demonstrate:

• an ability to provide high quality syringe and other drug user health services to one or more identified communities, and/or
• an ability to conduct local-, statewide-, or national-level policy advocacy initiatives that demonstrate concrete objectives and activities to expand access to community-based syringe distribution.

The Harm Reduction Futures Fund seeks to identify and support organizations across intersecting movements to enhance and coordinate services for people who use drugs. It supports and funds organizations that are led by and/or meaningfully involve and serve networks of people who use drugs, including in the design, delivery, and evaluation of services. In Round 14, the Harm Reduction Futures Fund will prioritize support for programs that are led by and serve Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC), as well as those in jurisdictions of high need and low resources. Other compelling factors may include the leadership of current or former sex workers; prevalence of HIV, viral hepatitis, and other blood-borne pathogens in a community; injection drug use prevalence; opioid use; overdose incidence; availability of local funding; and areas in which policy improvement can have local, state, and/or national impact.

Funding

AIDS United expects to provide one-year cash grants to a total cohort of 12 to 19 organizations.

• Direct Service organizations are invited to submit proposals for $10,000 to $25,000 for one year.
  • AU anticipates 5-10 programs will receive funding
• Multi-Program Support organizations are invited to submit proposals for $25,000 to $40,000 for one year.
  • AU anticipates 1 program will receive funding
• Harm Reduction organizations with Advocacy projects are invited to submit proposals for $10,000 to $25,000 for one year.
  • AU anticipates 1 program will receive funding

Note: For new applicants, a letter of inquiry is required before submitting a full proposal by the deadline above. 

About the Trust

The Alexander and Margaret Stewart Trust provides support for innovative scientists researching cancer and for exceptional non-profit organizations striving to improve the quality of life for children and for people with cancer residing in the District of Columbia.

Mission

The Trust is committed to:

• Improving the health and well-being of children in Washington, DC
• Providing compassionate treatment and care of DC residents with cancer
• Solving the complexities of cancer by supporting innovative research

Vision

• Healthy children in every neighborhood of Washington, DC
• Compassionate cancer treatment and care for economically disadvantaged residents of the District
• Discovery of safe, effective methods to detect, treat, and, ultimately, cure diseases known as cancer

What We Support

The Stewart Trust funds Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organizations in the areas of pediatric and cancer care, and scientists seeking to make breakthroughs in cancer research.

Pediatrics

The Stewart Trust focuses its support on serving children who are physically or mentally ill or handicapped and reside in the most disadvantaged and vulnerable neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. The Trust grants fund programs and organizations that improve quality of life for these children, as well as programs that prevent common childhood diseases. Examples of grantees/initiatives include:

• Community Health Centers
• Neonatal Care programs
• Early medical interventions that benefit childhood education
• Pediatric speech, occupational, and physical therapy
• Support for pediatric mental health

Cancer Research

The Stewart Trust supports promising early-career scientists seeking cures for cancer exclusively through our Pew-Stewart Scholars for Cancer Research program.

A collaboration between the Stewart Trust and the Pew Charitable Trusts, this innovative program provides grants to young scientists who are disrupting and advancing the field of cancer research through new approaches in genetics, structural biology, and related fields.

Applicants are nominated annually by NCI-designated Cancer Centers in the U.S., and selected by a Pew-Stewart Committee of nationally-recognized cancer scientists.

Cancer Care

The Trust also supports cancer treatment for low-income populations in Washington, D.C.

Delaplaine Foundation, Inc., is a private family foundation based in Frederick, Maryland, dedicated to the enrichment of communities and families within Maryland, nearby states and the District of Columbia by supporting programs to strengthen the arts and sciences, historical preservation, educational advancement, spiritual enlightenment and well-being.

What We Support

We are committed to strengthening communities and families through the support of non-profit organizations whose missions are closely aligned with our own, related to the cultural arts, educational advancement, health, human services, historical preservation, and spiritual enlightenment. Approximately 70% – 75% of our grant funding is awarded annually in Frederick County with the balance distributed in other parts of Maryland, to nearby states, the District of Columbia, and even some discretionary national and international grants have been funded. Eligible applications must be a nonprofit organization as recognized by the IRS as a tax-exempt public charity under Section 501(c)3 and 509(a) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Cultural Arts

The arts enrich the quality of life for everyone and elevate the quality of life in the communities where they exist. Delaplaine Foundation supports cultural organizations that bring performances and exhibits to the public, and provide arts education experiences to those who may not otherwise have such access.

Education

Delaplaine Foundation is committed to the support of students, educators, academic programs, and institutions through the funding of educational initiatives, tuition assistance programs and operational support.

Health

Delaplaine Foundation is committed to helping meet the physical, mental and behavioral health needs of individuals, families and communities, ensuring that quality health care is accessible to all.

Historical Preservation

Delaplaine Foundation believes strongly in the importance of history and preservation for present and future generations. Learning from the past helps us to best respond to the present and prepare for the future. For this reason, we support historical programming, as well as archival and structural preservation.

Human Services

Delaplaine Foundation supports non-profit organizations whose programs and services provide critical support and enhance the quality of the life for children, youth and adults.

Spiritual Enlightenment

Delaplaine Foundation values spiritual enlightenment, which we believe positively impacts and deeply enriches the quality of life for everyone and the community-at-large.