Hearst Foundations' Mission

The Hearst Foundations identify and fund outstanding nonprofits to ensure that people of all backgrounds in the United States have the opportunity to build healthy, productive and inspiring lives.

Hearst Foundations' Goals

The Foundations seek to achieve their mission by funding approaches that result in:

• Improved health and quality of life
• Access to high quality educational options to promote increased academic achievement
• Arts and sciences serving as a cornerstone of society
• Sustainable employment and productive career paths for adults
• Stabilizing and supporting families

Funding Priorities

The Hearst Foundations support well-established nonprofit organizations that address significant issues within their major areas of interests – culture, education, health and social service – and that primarily serve large demographic and/or geographic constituencies. In each area of funding, the Foundations seek to identify those organizations achieving truly differentiated results relative to other organizations making similar efforts for similar populations. The Foundations also look for evidence of sustainability beyond their support.

Culture

The Hearst Foundations fund cultural institutions that offer meaningful programs in the arts and sciences, prioritizing those which enable engagement by young people and create a lasting and measurable impact. The Foundations also fund select programs nurturing and developing artistic talent.

Types of Support: Program, capital and, on a limited basis, general and endowment support

Education

The Hearst Foundations fund educational institutions demonstrating uncommon success in preparing students to thrive in a global society. The Foundations’ focus is largely on higher education, but they also fund innovative models of early childhood and K-12 education, as well as professional development.

Types of Support: Program, scholarship, capital and, on a limited basis, general and endowment support

Health

The Hearst Foundations assist leading regional hospitals, medical centers and specialized medical institutions providing access to high-quality healthcare for low-income populations. In response to the shortage of healthcare professionals necessary to meet the country’s evolving needs, the Foundations also fund programs designed to enhance skills and increase the number of practitioners and educators across roles in healthcare. Because the Foundations seek to use their funds to create a broad and enduring impact on the nation’s health, support for medical research and the development of young investigators is also considered.

Types of Support: Program, capital and, on a limited basis, endowment support

Social Service

The Hearst Foundations fund direct-service organizations that tackle the roots of chronic poverty by applying effective solutions to the most challenging social and economic problems. The Foundations prioritize supporting programs that have proven successful in facilitating economic independence and in strengthening families. Preference is also given to programs with the potential to scale productive practices in order to reach more people in need.

Types of Support: Program, capital and general support

Helping Build Stronger Communities

Mission

The Mission Statement of Vulcan Materials Company states that Vulcan “will be a good corporate citizen in each community in which we operate. We will support and take an active part in public and charitable projects.” Vulcan established the Vulcan Materials Company Foundation in 1988 to assist in carrying out that mission. Because contributions made by the Foundation are corporate-based business dollars, it is essential that they be made in a planned and consistent manner that best serves the combined interests of Vulcan and the communities in which we operate.

Vision

Helping Build Stronger Communities

Support Priorities

The Foundation supports many types of worthwhile organizations that enhance the quality of life in Vulcan’s communities. The Vulcan Materials Foundation focuses on three areas in particular:

• Working with schools;
• Supporting environmental stewardship; and
• Encouraging employee involvement.

Education

A major focus of the Foundation is to play a part in maintaining or improving the quality of life and standard of living through the support of education.

Elementary/Secondary Education

The Foundation will consider proposals that provide public education programs and projects that enhance the quality of learning for all students. The Foundation works to support efforts to improve educational systems and individual schools in Vulcan’s communities by partnering with public schools located in its operating areas. Vulcan has adopted 276 schools in its communities through support from the Foundation. It is Vulcan’s goal to increase the number of its school partnerships every year.

The Foundation is also interested in efforts to encourage young people to develop an interest in math, science and business. The Foundation, therefore, gives consideration to proposals designed to help maintain students’ curiosity and excitement about the world of math and science and to explore the world of industry and business. The Foundation is particularly interested in helping young people and their teachers understand the relevance of math and science to society, and supports efforts to link these subjects to their application in the workplace. The Foundation also will consider programs designed to educate our students about the vital role of business and industry in society.

Higher Education

Higher education will play an increasingly critical role in helping the economy effectively compete in the global market. The Foundation recognizes the invaluable contributions made by institutions of higher learning in educating the nation’s future workforce.

The Foundation will consider proposals from those institutions located in states where the Company has facilities, particularly proposals that focus on science and engineering or improving public education. Although proposals for capital improvements will be considered, the Foundation prefers to fund projects that directly affect the outcome of the educational process, such as scholarships and science and technology programs.

Environmental Stewardship

The Foundation supports the philosophy that economic development and environmental stewardship have common goals. Responsible economic growth provides the resources necessary to be a good steward of the environment, while this stewardship helps to sustain growth.

There are important links between industry, the environment and technological innovation. A society that is better informed about environmental issues will be able to participate more effectively in public policy debates. Grantmaking will focus on organizations and programs that seek to develop an understanding of the connection between environmental stewardship and sustainable development. 

The Foundation will consider supporting those environmental organizations that adhere to fact-based, balanced environmental principles.

Employee Involvement

Vulcan has a history of encouraging its employees to participate in volunteer activities in their communities. We recognize that our workforce offers a unique resource to provide leadership in the communities where we operate. Thus, high priority will be given by the Foundation to proposals from those organizations in which company employees are actively involved, especially in our focus areas of education and environmental stewardship.

Geographic Funding Priorities

In addition to the corporate headquarters, located in Birmingham, Alabama, there are eight Construction Materials divisions. Further, Vulcan has 400* active aggregates facilities located in 22 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands, Canada, and Mexico and the Bahamas. Regarding proposals submitted to the Foundation, first consideration will be given to those organizations that will benefit the communities where Vulcan employees live and work. The Foundation’s giving program is decentralized to spread ownership of the program to a wider base. Because unit managers are directly involved with the communities where they do business, decentralization enables the Foundation to be more informed about, and to better address, local needs. Proposals submitted to the Foundation should be sent directly to the charitable contributions officer in the appropriate geographical area.

* Updated after the acquisition of U.S. Concrete

Walmart’s more than 2 million associates are residents, neighbors, friends and family in thousands of communities around the globe. Walmart works to strengthen these communities through both retail business and community giving, and we support and invest in communities through local giving. The following programs have open application processes with specific deadlines for eligibility and consideration.

Local Community Grants

Each year, our U.S. stores and clubs award local cash grants ranging from $250 to $5,000. These local grants are designed to address the unique needs of the communities where we operate. They include a variety of organizations, such as animal shelters, elder services and community clean-up projects.

Areas of Funding

• There are eight (8) areas of funding for which an organization can apply. Please review the areas listed below to ensure your organization’s goals fall within one of these areas.
• Community and Economic Development: Improving local communities for the benefit of low-income individuals and families in the local service area
• Diversity and Inclusion: Fostering the building of relationships and understanding among diverse groups in the local service area
• Education: Providing afterschool enrichment, tutoring or vocational training for low-income individuals and families in the local service area
• Environmental Sustainability: Preventing waste, increasing recycling, or supporting other programs that work to improve the environment in the local service area
• Health and Human Service: Providing medical screening, treatment, social services, or shelters for low-income individuals and families in the local service area
• Hunger Relief and Healthy Eating: Providing Federal or charitable meals/snacks for low-income individuals and families in the local service area
• Public Safety: Supporting public safety programs through training programs or equipment in the local service area
• Quality of Life: Improving access to recreation, arts or cultural experiences for low-income individuals and families in the local service area

About

The DC Oral History Collaborative (DCOHC) documents, preserves, and celebrates the lived experiences of all Washington, DC residents and communities through oral history. The Collaborative accomplishes this by providing training, mentorship, resources, programs, and funding to current and aspiring oral historians.

Grant Opportunity

This grant opportunity funds community organizations and individuals to produce public humanities projects from EXISTING oral history collections in the archives. Potential projects may focus on neighborhoods, social organizations, political history, labor, faith-based groups, cultural trends, historic events, or other themes that draw on one or more collections of oral histories. All projects must be thematically focused on Washington, DC and must benefit the residents of Washington, DC. Potential projects may include: exhibitions, performances, listening stations, written research, film/video, curricula for K-12 and higher education, websites, and computer applications based on and directly using existing oral history collections. Selected partners will work with staff from the DC Oral History Collaborative throughout their projects.

Funding Scope

This grant funds individuals, community groups, and nonprofits which propose projects that bring existing oral history interviews about Washington, DC’s life, history and culture out of libraries, archives, and personal collections, and into the public view. Proposals must identify which oral history collections will be used, where they are located, how those oral history interviews will be accessed, which audience(s) the project will reach, and which theme, focus, or research question they aim to illuminate.

This grant funds proposals which:

• Clearly indicate which EXISTING oral history interviews will be used to create the public project, where they can be found, and how they will be accessed;
• Do NOT propose creating a new oral history project for use in an interpretive work;
• Demonstrate a deep understanding of the subject matter to be explored and the expected primary audience for the project;
• Describe, in detail, how audiences or users will engage with the proposed public project or event; and
• List an advisor or team member who is knowledgeable about the proposed subject matter.

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.

Syringe Access Program

Since 1992, the Comer Family Foundation has provided support to harm reduction-centered syringe access programs (SAP) to improve the health and wellness of people affected by drug use. These programs provide free sterile syringes, education, and often community wraparound services to reduce opioid overdose and the transmission of HIV and viral hepatitis.

Funding Priorities:

• Organizations in geographic areas in which access to sterile syringes can be dramatically improved
• Organizations serving areas in which policy improvements can have local, state, and/or national impact
• Organizations serving areas with higher HIV/AIDS and HCV prevalence, injection drug use prevalence, overdose incidence
• Organizations led by and for Black, Indigenous, and people of color
• Organizations led by people who use drugs
• Organizations with limited funding available for harm reduction
• Organizations actively developing local and community financial support
• Statewide strategic partnerships

Types of Funding Available:

• General operating funds including harm reduction supplies
• Program development, education, and mobilization
• Staff development and technical assistance

Length of Funding: Single-year grants

Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation Grant

The Foundation will consider requests to support museums, cultural and performing arts programs; schools and hospitals; educational, skills-training and other programs for youth, seniors, and persons with disabilities; environmental and wildlife protection activities; and other community-based organizations and programs.

Advance Cross-Sector Partnerships for Adolescents

Is your organization working with others in your community to help adolescents build relationships, explore their identities, and prepare for college or careers? Do you work with young people who struggle with transitions to adulthood because of structural factors such as poverty and homelessness? Are you using innovative strategies to offer learning and development opportunities beyond the traditional classroom? If so, The Wallace Foundation would love to hear from you and learn more about your important work.

Wallace is seeking expressions of interest from groups of organizations that are working together to promote youth development, are seeking financial support to strengthen their work and can help us determine new directions for our Learning and Enrichment programs. Pending approval from our Board, we will invite selected organizations to submit a proposal for a one-year grant beginning in March 2023.

We seek not individual organizations, but groups of organizations working together in formal or informal partnerships to support adolescent youth development. We could fund, for example, a partnership between a school district, the community’s office of health and human services and an out-of-school time intermediary to work with community partners to support unhoused adolescent youth’s physical, mental and educational needs. Each group of organizations selected will receive grants averaging $200,000 for a year of work, as well as access to other supports such as peer learning and technical assistance.

Wallace has three goals for this effort:

• To support innovative partnerships that serve youth and strengthen the communities in which they reside;
• To learn about those partnerships’ strengths, challenges, and opportunities for improvement; and
• To use what we learn during this period – which we are referring to as an exploratory phase – to inform the design of future Wallace initiatives.

Participation in this exploratory phase will neither guarantee nor prohibit participation in any new initiatives, should they come to fruition.