Faith-based Grants

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

NOTE: The Boards meet 10 times a year and applications are reviewed in the order they are received on a rolling basis with no deadlines. The Board will review up to thirty-five (35) applications per meeting. ​

Mission

The mission of the Henry E. Niles Foundation is to help in the nurturing and uplifting of people in need. The Foundation strives to support humanitarian efforts, including faith-based endeavors, that:

• strengthen education including special education, literacy and others; 
• fight economic hardships through self-help opportunities;
• enhance public health and sanitation on a global basis.

Primary Program Interests

The Board is currently highlighting the following areas:  

Education – Included in this interest area are primary, secondary and higher education for those motivated individuals who are unable to obtain the benefits of quality education without assistance.

Economic Self-Sufficiency – This program area includes but is not limited to: job training, the encouragement and support of entrepreneurialism, mentoring, and micro-credit initiatives.

Health & Independence – Special interests here include medical and public health assistance for the elderly, the poor, the disadvantaged and the disabled.

Guiding Principles & Considerations

• Favors programs addressing long-term solutions to the causes of problems, as distinguished from programs that simply treat the symptoms.
• Added emphasis on programs and organizations that address the intersection of its various program interests.
• Encourages pilot initiatives that test new program models.
• Particular interest in organizations that promote collaborative efforts among groups and organizations.
• Qualities sought by the Foundation in its grantee organizations are: effective and dynamic personnel; passionate leadership; a bias against bureaucracy; prudent management & governance practices; and commitment to results and overall assessment of program impact.

Grants range from $2,500 up to $50,000. In unique circumstances, the Foundation does consider a more significant grant for a program having a major impact in one or more of its areas of interest.

NOTE: Organizations should submit a letter of introduction through our online platform. The letters of introduction will be reviewed by the Advisory Circle in the fall. 

Mission & Values

Life Comes From It is a first of its kind grantmaking circle where decisions over funding are made by people heavily steeped in restorative justice, transformative justice and indigenous peacemaking. We seek to grow the movement for adopting restorative, transformative, and peacemaking practices throughout our society. We have come together around a shared vision of addressing harm through community solutions, without reliance on incarceration and punitive systems.

We aim to strengthen the foundation of restorative, transformative, and peacemaking practices led by people of color.

Our Mission

Life Comes From It is a grantmaking circle. We support grassroots movement-building work rooted in lived experience and relationships for restorative justice, transformative justice, and indigenous peacemaking.

Funding Values & Criteria

We aim to support projects, organizations and collaborations that embody these values:

• Commitment to working towards replacing criminalization and incarceration with alternative approaches to address violence and repair harm rooted in community solutions
• Prioritizing peacemaking development and indigenous initiatives led by Native people
• Rooting the work in the community’s own culture(s), language(s), place(s), faith(s), and belief system(s) so it reflects the people that engage in it
• Guided by the wisdom of people, families and communities of color
• Commitment to anti-oppression practices
• Supporting the creation of new thinking and language that is holistic, intersectional, interdependent, and liberatory
• Promoting and sustaining collective leadership, collaboration and partnership
• Living the values of the work internally and externally to build community and heal harm within and against communities
• Intergenerational inclusivity - people of all generations: youth, adults, elders are encouraged to apply​

What We Fund

We invite requests for funding projects and collaborations led by people of color that focus on restorative justice, transformative justice, indigenous peacemaking and land based healing. 

With one grant cycle a year, we make small grants up to $25,000 to organizations. Most grants will be one-time grants, though there may be exceptions. To receive a grant, you need to be a 501c3 organization or be fiscally sponsored by a 501c3. If you are neither, we can help connect you to fiscal sponsors.

There are two categories:

• Individual Projects
• Networks, Convenings and Collaborations that enhance movement building

Below are a few examples to give you a sense of the types of projects and collaborations we aim to support. They are not meant to limit your ideas. Please be expansive in your project or convening idea. 

Examples of Individual Projects:

• Build an alternative approach to justice in your local community: e.g. create a community conflict transformation site in a local neighborhood
• Devote time to facilitate transformative justice or community accountability processes that include ways to connect people to systemic issues: e.g. a long term process that addresses sexual harm in a community without relying on the state
• Develop a restorative justice (community conferencing) youth diversion program in collaboration with local schools, faith-based organizations, community organization, courts or police
• Implement a peacemaking or restorative justice project in your local school
• Communicate clearly about what you do so as to draw people in, e.g. put up a website about your work, or create a short documentary that helps you convey the power of this work and can be used by others in the movement
• Make your restorative or transformative organization's work sustainable, e.g., fund your own health insurance, pay yourselves for the first time, or build your infrastructure and cover operating expenses

Examples of Convenings, Networks or Collaborations that enhance movement building in restorative justice, transformative justice and indigenous peacemaking:

• Convene leaders regionally or nationally who are doing similar work to you to deepen the network, share practices, and/or take action on a shared goal
• Initiate a long-term regional collaboration between community members, activist organizations and systems partners to create a paradigm for community accountability and safety
• Connect peacemakers from across the nation to share a vision for indigenous peacemaking
• Convene activists from the three fields supported by this fund together to get to know and learn from each other, which in some places may be for the first time
• Develop a regional truth telling project about historical or current harms​

Funding

In 2021, the Life Comes From It advisory circle chose 40 new projects from among hundreds of applications to receive grants up to $25,000, with more than $1M granted so far. 

The submission period is open and reviewed on a rolling basis. Organizations can submit a letter of introduction through our online platform, letting us know a bit about your organization and how you would use a potential grant from us. The letters of introduction will be reviewed by the Advisory Circle in the fall. After which, we will reach out for more information if we need it.

NOTE: Applications may be submitted at any time during this funding cycle, open from Feb 1 to the deadline above. Please note that applications will only remain active in our system for 90 days, and at the end of this period they will be automatically rejected.

Guidelines

Local Community grants range from a minimum of $250 to a maximum of $5,000. Eligible nonprofit organizations must operate on the local level (or be an affiliate/chapter of a larger organization that operates locally) and directly benefit the service area of the facility from which they are requesting funding.Organizations may only submit a total number of 25 applications and/or receive up to 25 grants within the 2019 grant cycle.

The Runaway and Homeless Youth (RHY) Program’s Street Outreach Program (SOP) provides street-based services to runaway, homeless, and street youth who have been subjected to or are at risk of being subjected to sexual abuse, prostitution, sexual exploitation, and severe forms of human trafficking in persons. These services, targeted in areas where street youth congregate, are designed to assist such youth in making healthy choices and providing them access to shelter as well as basic needs, including food, hygiene packages and information on a range of available services.

The Administration for Community Living (ACL) awarded a cooperative agreement to the team of the Oasis Institute, Caregiver Action Network (CAN), USAging, and Altarum Institute. This team has launched a national program, called Community Care Corps, to foster innovative local models in which volunteers assist family caregivers, older adults, and adults with disabilities with nonmedical care in order to maintain their independence.

This unprecedented, new program is a great leap forward in helping seniors, adults with disabilities, and family caregivers with much-needed non-medical assistance.​

Grants are awarded to local organizations across the country to establish, enhance, or grow model volunteer programs. Community Care Corps volunteers perform non-medical tasks, provide companionship, and relieve over-burdened family caregivers. These services are a tremendous benefit to older Americans and their family caregivers.

Community Care Corps helps countless families and will have a lasting impact not just on the families and individuals served, but also on those who serve their community as volunteers.​

NOTE: Before being invited to apply for an Impact Grant, a Concept Note with a cover letter must be submitted.

Versacare Foundation

We are an independent foundation which has been serving Seventh-day Adventist ministries and a select few other humanitarian efforts with financial grants since 1990. We are a self-funded lay organization, and our board is comprised of both lay Adventists and present and former Adventist church employees, all committed to furthering the Kingdom of God and to restoring the “image of God” in those in need. 

Versafund Grant Program: Impact Grant

The Versafund Grant Program offers three levels of potential funding.

• Impact Grant: $40,001 to $100,000

The Impact Grant is offered by invitation to applicants implementing proven successful practices as well as organizations demonstrating creativity and innovation in the delivery of services that meet the needs of individuals or groups.

Project Priorities: Versacare Foundation funds projects that address the following needs:

• Church community engagement
• Disadvantaged or underserved communities
• General education and science education
• Health and wellness
• Humanitarian efforts
• Social justice
• Women and children’s efforts
• Youth and young adults

Versacare Foundation

We are an independent foundation which has been serving Seventh-day Adventist ministries and a select few other humanitarian efforts with financial grants since 1990. We are a self-funded lay organization, and our board is comprised of both lay Adventists and present and former Adventist church employees, all committed to furthering the Kingdom of God and to restoring the “image of God” in those in need. 

Versafund Grant Program: Catalyst Grant

The Versafund Grant Program offers three levels of potential funding.

• Catalyst Grant: $2,500 to $10,000

The Catalyst Grant is Versacare Foundation’s smallest grant. It is designed to give programs and projects a financial boost as needed. It is also for applicants not accustomed to applying for grants who may find the information required by the typical grant application process daunting.

Project Priorities: Versacare Foundation funds projects that address the following needs:

• Church community engagement
• Disadvantaged or underserved communities
• General education and science education
• Health and wellness
• Humanitarian efforts
• Social justice
• Women and children’s efforts
• Youth and young adults

Versacare Foundation

We are an independent foundation which has been serving Seventh-day Adventist ministries and a select few other humanitarian efforts with financial grants since 1990. We are a self-funded lay organization, and our board is comprised of both lay Adventists and present and former Adventist church employees, all committed to furthering the Kingdom of God and to restoring the “image of God” in those in need. 

Versafund Grant Program: Venture Grant

The Versafund Grant Program offers three levels of potential funding.

• Venture Grant: $10,001 to $40,000

The Venture Grant is designed to assist projects and programs in reaching clearly stated goals and objectives. It is also intended to help projects and programs become self-sustaining. Venture Grant applicants are expected to provide information based on objective assessments of their programs. 

Project Priorities: Versacare Foundation funds projects that address the following needs:

• Church community engagement
• Disadvantaged or underserved communities
• General education and science education
• Health and wellness
• Humanitarian efforts
• Social justice
• Women and children’s efforts
• Youth and young adults