Search Through Fairfax County Grants for Nonprofits in Virginia

Background

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

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

Capacity

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

Capital

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

Community

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

What We Fund

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

What stage of growth does DRK Foundation typically fund?

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

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

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

Global Impact Cash Grants

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

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

Social Investment Areas

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

Education Investments

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

What we look for:

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

Economic Empowerment

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

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

We target our support in three interconnected areas:

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

Cisco Crisis Response

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

What we look for:

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

Climate Impact

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

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

Funding comes from the Cisco Foundation and will focus on:

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

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

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

We envision a just, connected, and inclusive Greater Washington community in which systemic racism and its consequences no longer exist. The Meyer Foundation pursues and invests in solutions that build an equitable Greater Washington community in which economically disadvantaged people thrive. We apply a systems approach to achieve a just, connected, and inclusive Greater Washington. This means our work and the work we support seeks to:

• Address the root causes of racial disparities in our region
• Shift the conditions, policies, practices, priorities, culture, and power to create systems that are equitable and inclusive. 
• Build the power and leadership of the people most directly affected by inequity based on the unique context of their experiences.

Core Grantmaking

We partner with organizations and projects that build the power of Greater Washington communities to reimagine, recreate, and reform systems in the pursuit of racial equity and justice.

At the Meyer Foundation, we believe systemic racism has led to our deeply inequitable economy and unjust systems, preventing too many people from accessing prosperity and opportunity. Our social contract–the moral code by which we live–is broken.

Instead, we believe that the social contract should be redefined to become inclusive and race-centered, to support a just economy that works for people most directly affected by racial inequity and injustice, and to improve the relationship between systems and the people they serve. This vision is an important component of the framework for our core grantmaking.

Through our grantmaking, we support work that strives toward a better future–one that is rooted in equity, justice, and our shared humanity and that helps build a more racially just society where everyone in our region can thrive.

What We Support

In addition to our eligibility requirements, organizations or projects seeking funding should:

• Address the root causes of inequity through systems change work. We define systems change as challenging and changing the culture, policies, practices, and priorities that create and perpetuate inequities. These inequities have only been further exposed and exacerbated during the pandemic.
• Build power for purposes of advancing racial and/or economic justice.
• Leverage one or more of these tactics for change:
  • Organizing & Base Building - Organizing is a grassroots method for building relationships and power, particularly among people and communities who have traditionally been excluded from decision making. Organizing may also be referred to as base building—recruiting and retaining a large group of members from impacted communities who participate in and help direct and implement the work of the organization.
  • Advocacy - Any action that speaks in favor of, recommends, argues for a cause, supports or defends, or pleads on behalf of others. It includes public education, regulatory work, litigation, and work before administrative bodies, lobbying, voter education, voter registration, and more.
  • Coalition Building - A coalition is a collection of people and organizations with similar interests working together to influence outcomes around a specific cause. Coalition building is the process by which people and organizations come together to grow their base, coordinate efforts, deploy resources, and provide leadership and guidance to achieve objectives broader than a single organization might accomplish on its own.

• Actively participate in broader organizing, movement, and/or field-building work to advance racial and economic justice in Greater Washington.

What Does Meyer Look for When Selecting Grantee Partners?

We are most interested in how your work and approach align with our strategy and vision. To evaluate Interest Forms or proposals, we look at:

• Building power and leadership: To what extent is your organization or project building and supporting the leadership and power of those closest to the issues and most affected by racial inequities?
• Tactics: How does your organization/project apply one or more of the tactics of organizing and base building, advocacy, and/or coalition building?
• Movement building: How does your organization’s work contribute to broader work in DC, Maryland, or Virginia to advance racial and economic justice?

What Types of Grants Does Meyer Make? 

Meyer awards one-year and multi-year grants for general operations and projects. Meyer’s primary grantmaking strategy is to provide general operating support. We award project-specific grants (including, in a limited number of circumstances, for capital campaigns) when a particular project aligns with Meyer’s goals, but the overall work of the organization does not, or where the organization is based outside of Greater Washington but is carrying out work in the region.

Multi-Year Grants

Organizations that are good candidates for multi-year support are those that most closely align with the approach described above. We are especially interested in multi-year support for:

• Community organizing groups who have: 1) a proven track record building the leadership of people with lived experience in the issue(s) being addressed and 2) the ability to act and make change.
• Coalitions working on multi-year campaigns that address the priorities and/or concerns identified by their constituents.
• Anchor organizations hosting multi-stakeholder coalitions focused on changing policies and institutions that perpetuate racial inequity.
• Emerging organizations that have promising ideas and/or fill a critical gap in movements to shift systems toward racial and economic justice.

Michael & Susan Dell Foundation Grants

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

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

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

Foundation priorities:

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

Partnerships

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

PNC Foundation

Strengthening and enriching the lives of our neighbors in communities where we live and work.

Vision & Mission

For decades, we have provided resources to seed ideas, foster development initiatives and encourage leadership in nonprofit organizations where imagination and determination are at work enhancing people's lives everyday.

The PNC Foundation's priority is to form partnerships with community-based nonprofit organizations in order to enhance educational opportunities, with an emphasis on early childhood education, and to promote the growth of communities through economic development initiatives.

Foundation Grant

The PNC Foundation supports a variety of nonprofit organizations with a special emphasis on those that work to achieve sustainability and touch a diverse population, in particular, those that support early childhood education and/or economic development.

Education

The PNC Foundation supports educational programs for children and youth, particularly early childhood education initiatives that meet the criteria established through PNC Grow Up Great. Specifically, PNC Grow Up Great grants must:

• Support early education initiatives that benefit children from birth to age five; and
• Serve a majority of children (>50%) from low- to moderate-income families; and
• Adhere to all other standard PNC Foundation guidelines, as outlined on the PNC Foundation website, applicant eligibility quiz, as well as the Foundation policies and procedures; and
• Include one or a combination of the following:
  • direct services/programs for children in their classroom or community;
  • professional development/workforce development for early childhood educators;
  • family and/or community engagement in children’s early learning
• Additional considerations:
  • The grant focus should include math, science, reading, vocabulary development, the arts, financial education, or social/emotional development.
  • The grant recipient, or collaborative partner, should have early childhood education as an area of focus. If the organization’s focus is beyond birth to age five, the specific grant must be earmarked for birth to age five.
  • Incorporate opportunities for PNC volunteers in classroom or non-classroom-based activities.

Economic Development

Economic development organizations, including those which enhance the quality of life through neighborhood revitalization, cultural enrichment and human services are given support. Priority is given to community development initiatives that strategically promote the growth of low-and moderate-income communities and/or provide services to these communities.

• Affordable Housing
  • The PNC Foundation understands the critical need for affordable housing for low-and moderate-income individuals.
  • We are committed to providing support to nonprofit organizations that:
    • give counseling and services to help these individuals maintain their housing stock;
    • offer transitional housing units and programs; and/or
    • offer credit counseling assistance to individuals, helping them to prepare for homeownership.
• Community Development
  • Because small businesses are often critical components of community growth and help foster business development, the PNC Foundation provides support to nonprofit organizations that
    • offer technical assistance to, or loan programs for, small businesses located in low-and moderate-income areas or
    • support small businesses that employ low-and moderate-income individuals.
• Community Services
  • Support is given to social services organizations that benefit the health, education, quality of life or provide essential services for low-and moderate-income individuals and families.
  • The PNC Foundation supports job training programs and organizations that provide essential services for their families.
• Arts & Culture
  • Support is given for cultural enrichment programs benefitting the community.
• Revitalization & Stabilization of Low-and Moderate-Income Areas
  • The PNC Foundation supports nonprofit organizations that serve low-and moderate-income neighborhoods by improving living and working conditions.
  • Support is given to organizations that help stabilize communities, eliminate blight and attract and retain businesses and residents to the community.

The Sidney Stern Memorial Trust is devoted solely to the funding of charitable, scientific, medical and educational organizations.

The Board endeavors to support soundly-managed charitable organizations that give service with a broad scope, have a substantial effect on their target populations, and contribute materially to the general welfare. The Board does not discriminate on the basis of ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation or religion.

About

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

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

Our goal is to match bold ideas with catalytic resources.

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

The Process

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

Sourcing & review

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

Idea shaping & investment support

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

Funding & launch

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

Is Your Idea Audacious?

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

What Makes An Idea Audacious?

Inspire

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

Convince

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

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

Please refer to FAQ for additional guidelines.

Helping Build Better Futures

Our mission is to deliver great value to our customers every day. For over four decades, our deep commitment to the principles of providing value and caring for others has helped define our culture. It extends beyond the walls of our stores, distribution centers, and offices, and into our local communities around the world. The intersection of these principles defines our global community mission:

Deliver great value to our communities by helping vulnerable families and children access the resources and opportunities they need to build a better future.

Our Social Impact Areas

We bring our community relations mission to life around the world by focusing our giving on four social impact areas where we believe we can have the most impact and are critical to helping families and children succeed and thrive.

Basic Needs

We are passionate about supporting nonprofit organizations that help fill critical basic needs such as a warm meal, clean clothing, and a safe place to sleep for vulnerable families.

Education & Training

Our efforts have focused on quality enrichment and extracurricular programs that provide skills, resources, and opportunities to support school and career success for children, teens, and young adults.

Patient Care & Research

We support organizations that deliver services to families and children facing health challenges and life-threatening illnesses.

Empowering Women

We support programs that provide services ranging from help for those fleeing domestic violence, to others that offer education, training, and job placement resources.

Our Mission

Our mission is to continue and further the philanthropic legacy of Gardner Cowles, Jr. and the Cowles family, which includes promotion of education, social justice, health, and the arts.

The Founder

The Cowles Charitable Trust was first established in 1948 by Gardner “Mike” Cowles, Jr. (1903-1985). Born into the Cowles publishing family of Des Moines, Iowa, Mike was the youngest of Gardner Cowles and Florence Call Cowles’ six children. A newspaper editor and publisher by trade, he was committed to his family’s traditions of responsible, public-spirited, and innovative journalism as well as philanthropy. 

The Cowles Charitable Trust supports the arts, education, the advancement of ethical journalism, medical and climate research.

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

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

Our selection criteria include:

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

The Venable Foundation envisions that its philanthropic investments provide essential resources to nonprofit organizations in communities across the country. Guided by the belief that everyone has the right to equitable employment opportunities, healthcare, housing, food, and a vibrant cultural community, Venable grantees ensure that economically disadvantaged people are given the tools they need to thrive.

The average size of a Venable Foundation grant is approximately $10,000. First-time awardees are usually on the smaller end of the spectrum. It is up to the organization to determine what it feels is an appropriate request.

Funding Priorities

Grant support is provided to assist with general operations and projects. Currently, the Venable Foundation’s funding priorities include:

• Human Services
• Legal Services
• Education
• Workforce Development
• Youth Impact
• Health
• Environment
• Arts and Culture

You can learn more about each of these funding priorities below:

Human Services – The Foundation has a strong track record of supporting a breadth of essential human services, including programs that impact people experiencing homelessness and food insecurity, incarcerated and returning citizens, LGBTQ+ and immigrant communities, and those affected by domestic violence and housing insecurity.

Legal Services – We support the delivery of free or affordable legal services in our communities. Pro bono consulting and representation focus on a variety of issues, including domestic violence, housing, immigration, public benefits, and discrimination, among other areas. Legal service nonprofits providing “know your rights” training and other activities are also supported. The Foundation also supports training for youth and adults to ensure diversity and access to careers in the legal profession.

Education – The Foundation supports a wide array of early childhood, in-school, and out-of-school time initiatives that provide in-depth opportunities for learning and engagement to position children for success and level the playing field for economically disadvantaged youth.

Workforce Development – We believe that every individual deserves the opportunity to pursue gainful employment. Thus, we support organizations with the goal of developing the workforce of today and tomorrow. Successful programs recruit and train individuals and place them in relevant jobs so that they can earn a sustainable living wage for themselves and their families. Skill development is focused on low-income, underemployed, and unemployed community members, and on preparing youth for careers after their schooling is complete.

Youth Impact – The Foundation invests in services that impact children in each of our communities. These initiatives ensure economically disadvantaged youth are healthy and safe and have opportunities to thrive.

Health – The Foundation is committed to improving wellness and increasing access to care for economically disadvantaged individuals in the region. Successful organizations and programs work to eliminate barriers to healthcare for all ages and provide accessible and no-stigma testing for a variety of diseases. We support pediatric to geriatric services that address a variety of health concerns.

Environment – We support organizations involved in the preservation of our natural resources and those that are addressing natural or man-made disasters in our target regions. Programs educate communities and work for change on a variety of environmental issues, from wildfires to pollution.

Arts and Culture – The Foundation supports initiatives in the arts that promote deeper public engagement and build up the creative economy, with an emphasis on low-income and underserved communities.

Business Women's Giving Circle

Supporting innovation, entrepreneurship and inventive opportunities for women and girls.

The Business Women's Giving Circle (BWGC) was established in early 2014 with the goal of empowering girls and women of all ages and preparing them for business success by supporting organizations that create connections, opportunities, and confidence.

Since 2014, the Business Women’s Giving Circle awarded more than $520,000 to organizations providing exciting experiences in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), Leadership and Entrepreneurship with measurable impact on the lives of over 3,000 girls and young women in Northern Virginia.

Nonprofit organizations and schools offering charitable and educational services in STEM, Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Mentorship programs to girls and young women in Northern Virginia are eligible to apply.

Semi-Finalist Pitch Week

In November, we hear pitches from our semifinalist grant applicants to develop the slate of grant winners. Each semifinalist presents, or “pitches” their program, and then addresses questions from BWGC members. After the pitches have concluded, the assembled members deliberate, document feedback for the presenter, and develop a recommended slate of grantees which is later presented to the full membership for approval. All BWGC Members will have the opportunity to vote on the slate of grantee finalists.

Calling to Serve

Since its inception in 2016, the Robinson Foundation has sought to demonstrate God’s love through sharing the gifts we have received. We understand the often unspoken hardships and struggles that people in and outside of our community face everyday. As such, our contributions are focused on relieving these hardships for the betterment of our world.

As a family-operated foundation, we pray that our small efforts will not only create immediate change in the lives of our neighbors, but will help set those lives on a course for success in the future. We are thankful for each and every day we have on this earth to use what God has granted us to make a difference.

Areas of Interest

• Animal Welfare
• Children & Families
• Disaster Relief
• Education
• Medical Assistance
• Nature & Wildlife Conservation
• Poverty Relief
• Religious & Spiritual Endeavors
• Veterans' Issues

Grant Considerations

We take many different aspects of applications into account when making grant issuing decisions, however these are some of the high-level questions we ask ourselves during the process:

• How does the organization serve their key audience goals?
• Is the organization fiscally responsible?
• Will a grant have a tangible, meaningful impact?
• Will we see direct results from this grant?
• Does the organization have other financial contributors?

Organizational Resilience Capacity Building Grants

ACT awarded 8 capacity building grants to support organizational resilience. We believe supporting our community means investing in those who care for our community. These grants will support the leaders of nonprofits because we know strong leaders are critical for building organizational resilience, guiding teams through challenges, adapting to changes, and seeing possibilities in times of adversity. ACT also targeted grant support to organizations that align with ACT’s strategic priorities of Supporting Community Voice and Supporting Community & Economic Wellbeing.

FAQs

• A capacity building grant is designed to help a nonprofit develop competencies, strategies, systems, and structures to improve organizational effectiveness and resilience.
• The aim of a capacity building grant is to strengthen an organization to grow its impact and accomplish its mission and goals.
• These grants are meant to aid development at a structural and organizational level, they are not intended to cover general operating expenses nor provide on-going programmatic support.
• When capacity building is successful, it strengthens a nonprofit’s ability to deliver on its mission over time, thereby enhancing the nonprofit’s ability to have a positive impact on lives and communities.

ACT will fund projects focused on investing in leaders, teams and operations to build organizational resilience. Sample requests include:

• Executive, team and/or board member coaching
• Sabbaticals and operational support, including bonus/salary support for interim leadership
• Succession planning
• Planning for resilience – understanding organizational culture, assessing staff burnout and turnover and how to address these challenges
• Planning for right-sizing the organization
• Scenario planning and risk management
• Professional development and training, building team culture and understanding how to work better together

Support Community Voice

• Support and amplify local leadership to ensure groups that have been historically excluded are involved in civic decision making.

Support Community & Economic Well-Being

• Advocacy and Narrative Change – building public support for policies and programs that support Alexandrians
• Career Pathways for Young People
• Housing Access and Affordability
• Economic Mobility – programs and supports that enable families to sustainably address the high cost of living in Alexandria – such as workforce development, entrepreneurship, homeownership, childcare, etc.

Background

The Foundation seeks to be responsive to community issues and needs. Our process is highly competitive and is open to new projects and new organizations. The following summary, Examples of our Grant-Making, is offered to help guide applicants. While this is not intended to be an exhaustive description and may, as appropriate, change over time, we hope that the following will suggest the kind of meaningful work in which the Foundation is seeking to invest.

Generally, the Foundation looks to support work that improves the lives of DC-area residents, with a particular emphasis on vulnerable and underserved individuals. We encourage organizations that provide comprehensive services and work towards systemic change, which addresses all levels of, and all who are affected by, the issue. The goal is that all in the region become self-sufficient and lead healthy, fulfilling lives. We search for nonprofits that also employ effective partnering and show cultural competence in engaging effectively with communities and people of various cultures and socio-economic backgrounds. On occasion, the Foundation invests directly in strengthening the nonprofit sector by helping current grantees to build organizational capacity and by supporting advocacy and other efforts.

Grants are made in five program areas:

Arts and Humanities

The Foundation recognizes the intrinsic value of the Arts and Humanities, as well as their power to innovate and create social change. The funds distributed support an array of artistic disciplines, as well as organizations that promote the humanities. These nonprofits demonstrate the depth and breadth of their initiatives, including how to meaningfully engage communities that have been historically underrepresented in the Arts and Humanities.

Community Services - The Community Services portfolio includes, but is not limited to:

• Community Development
  • The Foundation seeks to ensure access to safe housing and economic development across the region. These awards support affordable housing production and preservation, services for people experiencing homelessness or housing instability, programs to address wealth disparities, as well as civic engagement and volunteerism.
• Children, Youth and Families
  • Grants in this area help young people improve their academic performance, gain employment, develop relationships with trusted adults and make connections to the larger community. The Foundation prioritizes programs that promote youth voice, empowering young people to advocate for change within their schools and communities.
• Justice
  • The Foundation seeks to ensure access to justice for all individuals in order to create a more equitable region. These grants support civil legal aid, services to survivors of violence, efforts to help people stay out of the criminal justice system and advocacy for system reform.
• Workforce Development
  • The Foundation supports organizations that focus on specific fields and career pathways as well as those that concentrate on broader job- and career-readiness.
• Capacity Building
  • The Foundation supports capacity building organizations that improve the sustainability, quality and impact of nonprofits in the region.

Education

The Foundation recognizes that a high-quality and equitable education system can reduce barriers to opportunity and transform lives. These grants aim to ensure that from the first day children enter an early childhood setting, to the day they receive a technical certificate or a degree, they are receiving an education that is founded in strong relationships, responds to their unique needs, and equips them with the skills they need to thrive and succeed in life.

Environment

The Foundation strives to restore and protect our region’s natural resources so that all individuals can have equal access to clean water, air and land. These grants focus on the restoration and protection of local parks, the Anacostia and Potomac rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Grants to environmental education and stewardship programs for people of all ages create greater awareness of the dangers of an unhealthy environment and the need to protect open natural spaces.

Health & Wellness

The Foundation takes a holistic view of health and wellness to ensure that across the region people of all ages can live healthier lives, regardless of income or zip code. These grants include healthcare provision and supportive services, food and nutrition, as well as coalition building and advocacy.

Centene Charitable Foundation

Successful corporate citizenship happens when companies invest in the local organizations that know their communities best. The Centene Foundation works with our local partners on initiatives that focus on inclusion, the whole person and community development.

Vision

Centene’s purpose is transforming the health of the community, one person at a time. The Centene Foundation is an essential part of how we pursue this purpose. We achieve measurable impact for the communities we serve through partnerships and philanthropy efforts that invest in initiatives with holistic approaches to dismantling barriers to health.

Areas of Focus

Reflecting Centene’s commitment to the needs of those who rely on government-sponsored health care and to addressing social determinants of health and health equity, preference will be given to initiatives in three distinct areas of focus.

• Healthcare Access
• Social Services
• Education

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.

Ameriprise Financial Grantmaking

At Ameriprise Financial, giving back is deeply rooted in our culture. We’ve initiated positive change in the communities where we live and work for more than 120 years. We believe our community involvement enables us to actively live our values. Through grant making, volunteerism and employee and financial advisor gift matching programs, we support a diverse group of over 6,000 nonprofits across the country.

Focus Areas

Awarding grant dollars to nonprofits is one way we strengthen our communities and help individuals on a path to financial independence. To ensure we're meeting the needs of our communities and making an even greater collective impact, we focus on three key giving areas when awarding grants.

Volunteer engagement is a priority across all focus areas:

The engagement of Ameriprise employees and financial advisors is a critical component of our philanthropy. Whether it’s serving on a nonprofit board, engaging friends, clients and community members in volunteering or providing skills-based support, our relationships with nonprofits go deep. For this reason, we give priority across all focus areas to applications where there is active volunteer engagement of Ameriprise advisors and employees. 

Meeting Basic Needs

At Ameriprise Financial, we help clients achieve financial security and peace of mind. That’s satisfying, meaningful work. We also help the people in our neighborhoods who struggle to meet basic needs such as where their next meal comes from, where they’ll sleep tonight or how they’ll find a higher wage job. We’re here to help them through the three platforms of our Meeting Basic Needs focus area.

Consideration is given to applications addressing the following: 

• Hunger
• Food banks, food shelves and food pantries, daily meal programs or meal services for the homebound
• Hunger-relief programs targeted to meet the special needs of children, ethnic populations or veterans
• Food programs run by nonprofits where hunger is not their sole focus, for example a youth meal program at the YWCA or a backpack program run by a Boys & Girls Club
• Shelter
• Emergency shelter, including youth homelessness
• Transitional housing, permanent supportive housing and efforts to end chronic homelessness
• Housing-first models (programs quickly providing housing and then addressing needed services)
• Achieving and maintaining home ownership, repair and maintenance efforts helping keep seniors, veterans and other populations in their homes 
• Adult Self-Sufficiency: Programs serving adults age 21 and older that help address the following areas:
• Basic hard and soft skills that help adults achieve economic and family stability
• Basic financial and budgeting skills
• Increase employability and wages, including work readiness and job transitions
• Employment of disabled adults

Supporting Community Vitality

We believe communities should be strong, healthy and resilient. We want livable places for all, where neighbors look out for one another, cultural events are well-attended and people pull together in times of crisis and joy. We work to create economic vitality and cultural enrichment through the following areas of focus.

Consideration is given to applications addressing the following: 

• Community Development
• Neighborhood revitalization
• Economic development
• Strengthening and supporting small businesses and nonprofits through technical expertise
• Cultural Enrichment
• Arts education
• Access for underserved populations
• Diverse artists and performances that spark topical community conversations 

Volunteer Driven Causes: Ameriprise employees and financial advisors are outstanding volunteers who serve in teams and also as individuals bringing personal skill-sets to nonprofits. Volunteering is part of the culture at Ameriprise and we are proud to support communities through contributions of both service and financial resources. 

Funding for Volunteer-Driven Causes is determined by current Ameriprise volunteerism. In general, funding is in proportion to the size of the Ameriprise volunteer team supporting a nonprofit. A team may include employees, financial advisors and/or staff or a combination of any Ameriprise volunteers. 

About

We are an all-volunteer women’s collective giving organization working to fuel the work of nonprofits addressing unmet needs in our community, particularly those that result from systemic racism and structural inequity. We aim to create and sustain a diverse community of dynamic women committed to building bridges across the wide demographic divides in the Washington, DC area and to empower women as philanthropists and leaders. Since 2021, we have awarded over $550,000 in funds to nonprofit organizations on the front lines of change in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

Focus Areas

• Arts & Culture
  • Includes projects that foster greater exposure to or participation in the arts, expand arts education, or use art as a medium for creative expression.
  • Priority will be given to programs that target residents in underserved communities that have lacked access to quality arts programs.
• Environment, Preservation & Recreation
  • Includes projects that focus on improving or preserving the natural and/or built environments; promoting environmental justice, fighting climate change, and/or conserving natural resources; creating, restoring, or revitalizing recreational facilities or spaces; and enhancing community safety, particularly in communities which disproportionately lack green space and access to natural resources, recreational facilities, and safe communities, due to disinvestment and inequitable development.
• Education
  • Includes projects that expand or improve learning opportunities for students of all ages who lack access to a quality education, including projects focused on providing early childhood education, language and literacy skills training, and tutoring and mentoring, as well as programs focused on improving high school graduation rates and or enrollment in higher education, especially for populations that have experienced systemic racism or discrimination, including returning citizens and immigrant communities.
• Family
  • Includes projects that support the lives of individuals, children, families, and seniors, especially but not limited to immigrant communities, the LGBTQ+ community, and people of color, focusing on housing, living wage, food insecurity, job skills training, and other basic needs.
• Health and Wellness
  • Includes projects that address access to health care and that seek to improve the physical or mental health of people who experience discrimination, including people of color, the disabled, and incarcerated individuals and returning citizens, as well as projects that foster healthy living habits and holistic wellness.

Funding

We require all proposals to include a plan and budget utilizing the full $100,000 award.

You may submit a proposal in excess of the Impact100 DC grant amount as long as:

• you are clear about where funds to cover the remaining costs are expected to come from, and
• your proposal budget clearly specifies what portions of the total project budget the Impact100 DC grant will fund.

Many Hands Grants

Since 2004, Many Hands has granted more than $2.5 million to nonprofit organizations serving women, children, and families in socioeconomic need in the Washington, DC area. We currently make four grants each year, including one in each of four focus areas: economic empowerment, education, health, and housing. Of the four annual grantees, one receives the Many Hands $100,000 Impact Grant, and three receive Many Hands Partner Grants, the value of which is dependent on annual fundraising. In 2022, each Partner Grant was $67,000. 

Many Hands provides unrestricted funding (which may be used for operating, program, or capital expenses) to well managed and financially viable local organizations that operate effective programs and services. Successful applicants will be able to describe how a Many Hands grant will have an impact on organizational and/or programmatic capacity that leads to an increased ability to help the intended beneficiaries.

Focus Areas

Our grantmaking supports area nonprofits that serve women, children, and families in socioeconomic need through programs in the areas of economic empowerment, education, health, and housing.

Economic Empowerment

The Economic Empowerment Committee seeks to fund organizations that work to improve the economic security and financial well-being of women, youth (ages 14-25), and families in the areas of:

• Job readiness 
• Entrepreneurship
• College/post-secondary success
• Financial literacy
• Adult literacy
• English language proficiency
• Eliminating barriers to work (including legal, transportation, and childcare)

Education

The Education Committee seeks to fund organizations that work to improve educational opportunities and outcomes for children and families in the areas of:

• Early childhood education and development 
• School readiness
• K-12 education
• Academic support and enrichment (including tutoring, mentoring, arts, and after-school or out-of-school time programs)

Health

The Health Committee seeks to fund organizations that work to improve health and safety outcomes for women, children, youth, and families in the areas of:

• Healthcare access 
• Healthcare services and treatment
• Mental health and emotional support
• Substance abuse treatment/prevention (including family supports)
• Public safety (including domestic and community violence prevention)
• Hunger and food security
• Wellness
• Aging

Housing

The Housing Committee seeks to fund organizations working to support women, youth, and families facing homelessness or housing instability in the areas of:

• Homelessness prevention, including emergency rental or utility assistance 
• Emergency, temporary, and transitional housing and shelters
• Permanent or semi-permanent housing
• Housing with wraparound services
• Homeownership services

Supporting Critical Need in Northern Virginia

The Community Investment Funds are the signature grant cycle managed by the Community Foundation in which funds are invested in organizations serving the Northern Virginia community in the areas of child and youth development, education, health, mental health and aging, military personnel and their families, and poverty relief.

The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia conducts an annual grant cycle through the Community Investment Fund. Nonprofit organizations providing services in Northern Virginia are invited to apply.

The Community Foundation will accept requests in the following categories.

• Aging
• Arts
• Child & Youth Development
• Education
• Environment
• Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Fund
• Lamond Fund to Benefit Children and Youth in Alexandria and Fairfax County
• The Latino Engagement and Achievement Fund (LEAF)
• Mental Health
• Military Personnel & Their Families
• Safety Net Fund

The Foundation

When Herb Block died in October 2001, he left $50 million with instructions to create a foundation to encourage the art of editorial cartooning and to support charitable and educational programs that help promote and support the causes he championed during his 72 years of cartooning. The Foundation is committed to defending basic freedoms, combating all forms of discrimination and prejudice and improving the condition of the poor and underprivileged.

Pathways Out of Poverty

This program will focus on helping needy young people and adults gain a quality education. For projects serving youth, The Herb Block Foundation seeks proposals which focus on improving student achievement and healthy development of young people. Projects may include in-school and community-based educational programs, after-school activities, and mentoring programs. Programs designed to increase high school graduation rates are encouraged to apply.

For projects serving adults, The Herb Block Foundation seeks proposals to provide literacy education and GED preparation, and to offer vocational training and job placement.Grants in the range of $5,000 to $25,000 will be considered. Grants will be considered for one year's funding.

Environment Fund

The Environment Fund launched in 2018 as a component fund of the Permanent Fund for Northern Virginia.

The mission of the Environment Fund is to protect, restore and improve the natural environment of Northern Virginia, thereby enhancing the health and quality of life of its citizens and the economy of the region.

Fund Goals

• Support and encourage collaboration among nonprofits, businesses, governments, educational institutions, and private philanthropic donors to promote actions that will have a beneficial effect on the health of the natural environment and local economy.
• Support public awareness and public education about protecting the natural environment and the impact of public and private actions on the natural environment.
• Support the efforts of citizen engagement that helps improve and protect the natural environment.

In 2025, applications will be accepted from nonprofit organizations that offer an educational program in the area(s) of:

• Conservation
• Energy Efficiency
• Sustainability
• Watershed Management
• Workforce and Climate

Funding Focus Areas:

• Community Wellness Programs: Evidence-based programs aimed at improving population health.
• Behavioral Healthcare: Programs addressing behavioral health and substance abuse.
• Oral Healthcare: Services for vulnerable and underserved populations.
• Primary Healthcare Clinics: Investment in clinics within PHF service areas to assess availability and impact.
• Access to Prescription Medications: Initiatives to increase access to medications for underserved populations.
• Food Programs: Projects providing fresh, nutritious food to underserved areas (e.g., distribution hubs, storage, community gardens).
• Health Insurance Assistance: Support with accessing Medicaid and other health insurance programs affected by post-COVID government cutbacks.
• **Capacity Building: Projects that strengthen the organizational capacity of nonprofits, including strategic planning, board development, hiring consultants, IT/technology, training, and staff development.

The Foundation is dedicated to providing financial assistance to organizations committed to improving our world. Solutions to the problems of today's world still lie in the values of innovation, practicality, hard work, and compassion.

The Foundation considers applications for grants in the following areas:

• Education
• Social Service
• Health care
• Civic and cultural
• Environmental

The categories above are not intended to limit the interest of the Foundation from considering other worthwhile projects. In general, the Foundation guidelines are broad to give us flexibility in providing grants.

The majority of our grants are made in the U.S. However, like Dr. Scholl, we recognize the need for a global outlook. Non-U.S. grants are given to organizations where directors have knowledge of the grantee.

Disrupting Structural Issues Impacting Infant & Maternal Health in the Greater Washington Region: Request for Letters of Intent

The Developing Families Maternal Health Fund is pleased to announce a grant opportunity for nonprofit organizations focused on addressing the structural factors impacting infant and maternal health across Greater Washington – specifically in Washington, DC; Prince George’s County, MD; Montgomery County, MD; and the cities of Alexandria and Fairfax, the town of Vienna, Arlington County, and the areas of Fairfax and Prince William counties in Virginia east of Route 123. 

Goals

The goals of this funding opportunity are to:

• Address structural barriers to maternal and infant health, including those related to healthcare access, economic stability, housing, and social support systems.
•  Promote health equity by supporting community-driven solutions that tackle the root causes of disparities.
• Enhance collaboration between healthcare providers, community-based organizations, policymakers, and residents to create sustainable, impactful solutions.
• Support long-term systemic change by building capacity within local organizations and advocating for policies that improve maternal and infant health outcomes.

Focus Areas

Proposals that focus on the following priority areas will be considered:

Scope

The Community Foundation is looking to support respondents who successfully address the following requests: 

• Demonstrate a commitment to addressing structural inequities impacting maternal and infant health, particularly in communities that are disproportionately affected by health disparities.
• Be able to demonstrate measurable outcomes and sustainability of their proposed interventions.
• Provide a logic model that shows how the funding supports will address structural inequities impacting maternal and infant health that would lead to improved health outcomes. 

Community Partnership Award

The Mutual of America Foundation Community Partnership Award recognizes outstanding nonprofit organizations in the United States that have shown exemplary leadership by facilitating partnerships with public, private or social sector leaders who are working together as equal partners, not as donors and recipients, to build a cohesive community that serves as a model for collaborating with others for the greater good.

Each year, the Mutual of America Foundation sponsors a national competition in which hundreds of organizations demonstrate the value of their partnership to the communities they serve, their ability to be replicated by others and their capacity to stimulate new approaches to addressing significant social issues.

Six organizations are selected by an independent committee to receive the Community Partnership Award.

• The Thomas J. Moran Award is given to the national award-winning program and includes $100,000 and a documentary video about the program.
• The Frances R. Hesselbein Award is given to a partnership that is addressing social challenges in more than one community, or which demonstrates the potential to be replicated in other communities. This recipient receives $75,000.
• Four other organizations are named Honorable Mention recipients for their programs, and each receives $50,000.

Since its inception in 1996, the Community Partnership Award has recognized 262 partnerships from cities and towns across America. Like so many of our clients working in the nonprofit community, Mutual of America is dedicated to having a direct, positive impact on society.