Search Through Grants for Community Centers in Maryland in the U.S.

Overview

Capacity Building Grants assist nonprofits in achieving new levels of effectiveness. Our purpose is to strengthen the leadership and management of Frederick County’s nonprofit organizations by helping them build systems and find resources such as consultants to facilitate the organization’s progress in achieving the goals.

Grants may be awarded for:

Planning activities:

e.g., organizational assessments, strategic planning, fund raising assessment & development, program evaluations, communications/ marketing, or business planning. 

Board and leadership development:

May include activities such as leadership training, defining the role of the board, strengthening governance, assistance with an executive transition, succession and search process.May include activities such as leadership training, defining the role of the board, strengthening governance, assistance with executive transition, succession, and search process.

Strategic Relationships:

providing technical assistance / consultant support to help two or more organizations work through collaboration and strategic restructuring; positioning for merger or affiliation; or business planning for social enterprise.

Internal operations:

improvements to financial management, internal controls and chart of accounts, human resource or volunteer management; or facility planning.

Technology Improvements:

IT capacity through upgrades to hardware and software, networking, websites, and staff training to optimize the use of technology.

What We Fund

Children, Youth, & Families

Organizations or programs that provide enrichment and increased opportunity to children and youth as well as organizations or programs that strengthen families. Programs and activities included are scouting, mentorships, youth leadership, youth community service clubs and job training, parent engagement, college access, academic enrichment, and arts activities.

Health & Human Services

Human Services programs and services that provide basic welfare to help individuals, families, and communities to prevent, alleviate, or better cope with crisis, change, and stress. This includes the following sub-categories: crime and delinquency prevention, legal services, employment/jobs, food, housing/shelter, and women’s issues.

Health services include treatment and rehabilitative programs relating to physical and mental health. Programs and services include but are not limited to the following sub-categories: mental health and crisis intervention, diseases, disorders and related medical disciplines, nutrition, and dental care.

Arts & Culture

Organizations or activities that promote enjoyment or understanding of the visual, performing, folk, or media arts; communication organizations (film, video, publishing, journalism, radio, television); and organizations or activities that promote the appreciation or understanding of historical events. Included are organizations which support artists, performers, entertainers, or writers, art and performing art schools, centers, studios, and historical societies and museums.

Public/Society Benefit

Organizations or programs that contribute to the public good and benefit society including, but not limited to, the following sub-categories: Beautifying public spaces, civic organizations and institutions, community/neighborhood development and improvement, and philanthropy, volunteerism, and grantmaking foundations.

What does this program do?

This program provides affordable funding to develop essential community facilities in rural areas. An essential community facility is defined as a facility that provides an essential service to the local community for the orderly development of the community in a primarily rural area, and does not include private, commercial or business undertakings.

What is an eligible area?

Rural areas including cities, villages, townships and towns including Federally Recognized Tribal Lands with no more than 20,000 residents according to the latest U.S. Census Data are eligible for this program.

How may funds be used?

Funds can be used to purchase, construct, and / or improve essential community facilities, purchase equipment and pay related project expenses.

Examples of essential community facilities include:

• Health care facilities such as hospitals, medical clinics, dental clinics, nursing homes or assisted living facilities.
• Public facilities such as town halls, courthouses, airport hangars or street improvements.
• Community support services such as child care centers, community centers, fairgrounds or transitional housing.
• Public safety services such as fire departments, police stations, prisons, police vehicles, fire trucks, public works vehicles or equipment.
• Educational services such as museums, libraries or private schools.
• Utility services such as telemedicine or distance learning equipment.
• Local food systems such as community gardens, food pantries, community kitchens, food banks, food hubs or greenhouses.

Grant Approval

Applicant must be eligible for grant assistance, which is provided on a graduated scale with smaller communities with the lowest median household income being eligible for projects with a higher proportion of grant funds. Grant assistance is limited to the following percentages of eligible project costs:

Maximum of 75 percent when the proposed project is:

• Located in a rural community having a population of 5,000 or fewer; and
• The median household income of the proposed service area is below the higher of the poverty line or 60 percent of the State nonmetropolitan median household income.

Maximum of 55 percent when the proposed project is:

• Located in a rural community having a population of 12,000 or fewer; and
• The median household income of the proposed service area is below the higher of the poverty line or 70 percent of the State nonmetropolitan median household income.

Maximum of 35 percent when the proposed project is:

• Located in a rural community having a population of 20,000 or fewer; and
• The median household income of the proposed service area is below the higher of the poverty line or 80 percent of the State nonmetropolitan median household income.

Maximum of 15 percent when the proposed project is:

• Located in a rural community having a population of 20,000 or fewer; and
• The median household income of the proposed service area is below the higher of the poverty line or 90 percent of the State nonmetropolitan median household income. The proposed project must meet both percentage criteria. Grants are further limited.

Who We Are

The Creag Foundation is a private grant making foundation established in 2009 in Woodinville, Washington.

The founders of the Creag Foundation believe that meaningful change can only be achieved through hard work, creativity and passion. They also understand the practical mechanisms that allow charitable organizations to succeed and grow. As a group, Creag Foundation principals are dedicated to helping today’s most innovative programs improve the human condition in a wide variety of ways.

Our Focus

The broad purpose of the Foundation is to support the efforts of nonprofit organizations who are innovators in the field of human services. Our particular focus is on smaller organizations that are starting out or established organizations that are looking for funding to take their organization in a new direction.

What We Fund

/ What We Fund

The Creag Foundation is focused on innovation in the industry. We will consider proposals from 501(c)(3) organizations that are finding new ways to address societal issues facing the nonprofit community. Applicants must have held 501(c)(3) status for one year before submitting. If your organization has held 501(c)(3) status for over a year, and your believe that your organization has a new approach to an existing social problem or is addressing a previously unaddressed social issue, you are welcome to contact us and request that we consider your organization for a funding opportunity.

Digital Equity Planning Grants 

Connect Humanity’s Digital Equity Planning Grants support communities to establish a holistic plan of action to achieve their digital equity goals.

As part of the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act (IIJA), the US Government established Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) and the Digital Equity Act (DEA). Together these programs provide $45 billion+ to support unserved and underserved communities to access the broadband, devices, and skills they need to participate fully in our digital world. Many of these communities currently lack the time, resources, and technical know-how to design the broadband plans they need to receive this funding. 

That’s why Connect Humanity supports low-income communities and communities of color to create Digital Equity Connectivity Plans. This process will identify the community’s digital needs and create a robust plan to meet them. The broadband networks that result will provide families and businesses with the reliable, affordable connectivity they need, leading to economic development, social mobility, and healthier communities.

A plan for better broadband

Efforts to bring better broadband to a community must start with a clear plan. This program provides grantees with funding and expertise to establish a holistic Digital Equity Connectivity Plan which will help them secure the partnerships and financing they need to advance internet access in their communities — and will be critical whether or not they receive government funding. We’ll tailor our support to meet you where you are, but typically we’d expect to partner with you to:

• Assess your community’s digital needs: to understand the current broadband market, where the gaps are, and the barriers to digital equity that need to be addressed.
• Create a network design: to define the technical requirements, operating and ownership model of the network.
• Build a business plan: with a sustainable revenue model, clear funding options, and a community engagement strategy.

Funding

Planning grants are a partnership effort between the community, the connectivity provider, external consultants, and Connect Humanity. The resulting Digital Equity Connectivity Plans are meant to support a community to pursue further funding for their networks and digital skills. For communities that have not completed much or any planning, more resources will be needed.

The full scope of our planning grants range from $10,000 to $120,000. This is dependent on the needs of the community. For example, while some communities have allocated public funding to support this work, others will need support for the full planning process.

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.  

Maryland's OHCQ's Health Care Quality Accounts (HCQA) Grants Program is funded by receipt of civil money penalties imposed by OHCQ on nursing homes or assisted living facilities for serious noncompliance with regulations. The funds are used to support activities that improve the quality of life of individuals who reside in Maryland's nursing homes and assisted living facilities. 

Applications for grants are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year. Grant amounts vary, dependent upon the availability of funds and the number of approved applications. 

About CMP Funds

A CMP is a monetary penalty the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) may impose against nursing homes for either the number of days or for each instance a nursing home is not in substantial compliance with one or more Medicare and Medicaid participation requirements for long-term care facilities. A portion of CMPs collected from nursing homes are returned to the states in which CMPs are imposed. State CMP funds may be reinvested to support activities that benefit nursing home residents and that protect or improve their quality of care or quality of life.

Funding Uses

The following examples of allowable uses of CMP funds are not all-inclusive. Please see the Allowable and Non-Allowable Uses of CMP Funds download for more information. CMP funds may be used for:

• Assistance to support and protect residents of a facility that closes or is decertified
• Time-limited expenses incurred in the process of relocating residents to home and community-based settings or another facility when a facility is closed or downsized pursuant to an agreement with the state Medicaid agency
• Projects that support resident and family councils and other consumer involvement in assuring quality care in facilities
• Facility improvement initiatives, such as joint training of facility staff and surveyors, or technical assistance for facilities implementing quality assurance and performance improvement programs
• Training to improve quality of care
• Activities to improve quality of life, foster social interaction, and movement and minimize loneliness
• In-person visitation aids

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.

For more than 20 years, The Baltimore Life Companies have viewed community involvement as our responsibility, not only through financial support of local organizations, but through our employees’ commitment to volunteerism. To further demonstrate our belief in good corporate citizenship, Baltimore Life has established a community grants program to help nonprofit organizations enhance the quality of life in communities—Delaware, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington, D.C., West Virginia, and the surrounding communities—where our employees live and work.

Grants of up to $500 will be awarded to multiple organizations. Our grants program is a continuation of Baltimore Life’s long-standing tradition of giving back to our communities.

Purpose

The Grants for Organizations (GFO) program provides annual operating grants to organizations that produce or present the arts to the general public through public programs or services. The purpose of the GFO program is to strengthen the vitality and sustainability of Maryland’s cultural organizations to maintain a strong and stable arts infrastructure in the State of Maryland.

Description

General Operating Grants (GOG)

GOG provides operating support to nonprofit organizations whose purpose is producing or presenting the arts through public programs or services. Applicants must be arts organizations, organizations whose mission/purpose is producing or presenting the arts through public programs or services, such as art museums, orchestras, galleries, theaters, arts centers, etc.

Arts Program Grants (PRG)

PRG provides arts program support to nonprofit organizations whose primary purpose is other than producing or presenting the arts, but who provide ongoing public arts activities through public programs. The mission of these organizations is not specifically dedicated to the arts but they do have ongoing arts programming. These are considered non-arts organizations for MSAC purposes. Examples include: community centers, churches, non-art museums, libraries, universities, etc. These organizations may apply for an Arts Program Grant for the costs of their ongoing arts activities produced or presented for general audiences through public programs. Units of local government, colleges, and universities are also eligible to apply. 

Artistic Categories

Eligible organizations may apply for a single GFO grant per year in only one of the artistic categories listed below. Organizations should select the artistic category that most closely characterizes the predominant activities of their organization.  GFO grants are awarded in the following artistic categories:

• Dance
• Folk and Traditional Arts
• Literary Arts
• Multi-Discipline A
• Multi-Discipline B
• Music
• Music C
• Theater
• Visual Arts/Media A
• Visual Arts/Media B
• Service*

*Those organizations that fall in the “Service” category will answer alternative questions noted within the application

About the Foundation

Jesse W. Couch lived a life of zeal, honor, and dedication to the betterment of his community. The Couch family now humbly stewards the foundation he created to carry on his legacy of service for future generations. We believe that impact is best accomplished through partnerships with local organizations that know the people and communities they serve. We invest in and support efforts to protect the environment, further conservation and preservation initiatives, and save historical architecture that preserves community heritage. We also support initiatives that promote wellness and mental health and organizations seeking to provide and further education for all communities.

Annual Grant Focus

Each year, we seek to partner with and support non-profit organizations making an impact in the focus areas listed here.  The focus areas for 2025 are:

• Animal Wellbeing: We are dedicated to helping nonprofit organizations that nurture compassion and respect for all living animals. We must have animal-focused organizations that advocate for animal rights and provide humane treatment across all spectrums.
• Early Childhood Education: We are looking for schools that are providing young children with a creative and balanced approach to education. Things we love in early childhood curriculums:
  • Life Skills
  • Collaboration With Their Peers and Teachers   
  • Having Fun   
  • Montessori Teachings   
  • Project Based Teachings   
  • Diversity   
  • More Time Outside   
  • Less Screen Time
• Teachers: Teachers are essential to providing children with the best possible education. We must invest in their future and are always looking for teams that help them succeed in educating future generations.
• Get Outside: Being outside can improve memory, fight depression, lower blood pressure, and more! We support organizations that facilitate and encourage more outdoor activities that help create healthier communities. 

The Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth, and Victim Services administers the STOP VAWA Program under the authority of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women, to encourage the development and strengthening of effective, victim-centered law enforcement, prosecution, and court strategies to combat violent crimes against women in the State of Maryland. The STOP VAWA Program, the largest portion of the Violence Against Women Formula Grant Program funding, is distributed among victim-centered law enforcement, prosecution, courts, and nonprofit victim service providers. It also supports criminal justice entities in holding offenders accountable.

History

In 2006, the Violence Against Women Act was reauthorized and amended to statutorily require the STOP VAWA Program to allocate its funds in the following rations: 25% to law enforcement, 25% to prosecution, 30% to nonprofit, non-governmental victim services, and 5% to court entities; with the remainder of up to 15% to be allocated at the State’s discretion.

Furthermore, changes to the Violence Against Women Act specifically require the State to recognize and meaningfully respond to the needs of underserved populations and ensure that monies are set aside and distributed equitably to fund linguistically and culturally specific services for underserved populations. Hence, per the 2005 Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization, 10% of the victim service allocation must be distributed to linguistically and culturally specific community-based organizations.

In 2013, the Violence Against Women Act reauthorized and amended the STOP VAWA Program to require that 20% of total funds allocated across two or more allocations (excluding discretionary) must meaningfully address sexual assault, including stranger rape, acquaintance rape, alcohol or drug-facilitated rape, and rape within context of an intimate partner relationship.

Program Areas

Since our founding, we have awarded more than $60 million in grants to nonprofit organizations throughout the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Today, we award approximately $2.5 million in grants each year across five program areas:

Arts & Humanities

Our founders valued arts and humanities for the well-rounded education it brings to humanity and the role it can play in strengthening a community.

Today the Foundation supports performing, visual and instructional arts programs in the community.

Catholic Activities

The Catholic faith and the Catholic Church community were of central importance to our founders – it was their lives. Mr. and Mrs. Knott responded to the needs of the clergy both out of gratitude for the compassion their own family had received, and a desire to support the work of men and women of integrity whom they saw serving the needs of the broader community. They supported the development of clergy and lay leaders to strengthen the Catholic Church, the reputation of the Catholic Church, and the Catholic community.

Our founders’ devotion to the Catholic faith and support of the Catholic Church has its roots in family history. Mr. Knott’s grandmother died young, and his own mother and aunt were raised and schooled by the School Sisters of Notre Dame. That act of kindness made a huge impression on Mr. Knott and he felt indebted to repay their generosity. Mr. Knott desired to support the Catholic Church in part because of what the Church had done for his family, and also because of the role that faith played in his life.

The Foundation honors this legacy by supporting organizations and programs that espouse the values and doctrines of the Catholic Church. Through our focus on Catholic activities, we support churches, faith communities, religious orders, retreat houses and spiritual centers.  

Education

• Catholic Schools and Private Schools
• Private colleges and universities

Henry and Marion Knott, our founders, believed that education was the key to success. They sought to support both students who were excelling academically and students who had limited access to opportunity. They believed that hard work combined with access to a quality education was the foundation from which all people could succeed in life.

Mr. and Mrs. Knott prioritized Catholic education both because of their personal faith and because they valued both the character development it nurtured in students and the moral stability it provided to the community. And though they primarily supported Catholic education, their interests were not exclusive. They sought to support the greater Baltimore community by providing opportunity to motivated students in and outside the Catholic faith.

When investing in education, Mr. Knott had high standards for schools and students alike. He supported schools that were producing leaders, and that were well-run institutions. He expected that schools would be financially sound, have excellent academics, and show successful outcomes for students. His expectation was that students, after benefitting from educational opportunity, would emerge as active citizens, ready to give back and become leaders in their communities.

Today, the Marion I. and Henry J. Knott Foundation continues our founders’ commitment to education by prioritizing Catholic education. We also support special needs schools, private colleges and universities, out-of-school-time programs, and other education-related activities that provide opportunity for students and produce lasting outcomes within the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

Health Care

Our founders raised a family during an era where good medical care was hard to come by. Hospitals were just beginning to be built as pillars within communities and were not as accessible as they are today. Mr. and Mrs. Knott saw the potential that accessible, quality care had for strengthening the community, and they were also empathetic towards the strife that illness and death causes in a family.

During his lifetime, Mr. Knott used his business acumen and builders experience to purchase and then donate land to Johns Hopkins for their west campus expansion, as well as to other institutions. He knew that having world class medical facilities would bring recognition and strength to the Baltimore community.

Today the Foundation continues our founders’ commitment in health care by supporting compassionate care needs of families and their caregivers. We concentrate on programs that provide curative, preventative, rehabilitative, and palliative care, as well as patient support services.

Human Services

Mr. and Mrs. Knott both came from humble beginnings and did not grow up wealthy. As a result, they had sincere compassion for others in need. Mrs. Knott, whose parents died when she was a young teen, had incredible compassion for people undergoing hardships in life. Mr. Knott started out driving a tomato truck, then spent time learning about construction, and eventually launched his own building business. He was given opportunities that changed the trajectory of his own life, and he wanted to do the same for others. They both believed in supporting people who wanted to help themselves and get ahead, and they hoped it would engender in them a spirit of giving and opportunity to pass on to others. 

While they prioritized creating opportunity for people, our founders weren’t above meeting basic needs. While living on their family farm and after having achieved success, they worked the land and donated the fruits of their labor to those in need. At another time, Mr. Knott’s children recalled their father being particularly happy. Reportedly he had just gone to a coat manufacturer to buy out the remaining inventory at the end of season, and was on his way to donate the hundred or so coats to Catholic Charities to give to the homeless.

Compelled by their own life experiences and their faith, our founders had sincere compassion for the poor, the hungry, the sick, and in particular for women, children and families in crisis.

The Foundation continues this support by meeting many human service needs within the community. Our grants touch numerous areas -- from helping to meet people’s basic needs, to housing and homelessness, to workforce development, to family and children’s services.

Projects

Within these Program Areas, we currently fund the following projects:

• Capital expenses
• Development
• New and/or ongoing programs
• Operating expenses
• Technology

Funding

Our work in these areas includes distinct funding opportunities: 

Grants

We generally award grants under $100,000 but remain open to opportunities for greater impact with larger sums. 

Discretionary Grants

We provide a limited number of discretionary grants on a rolling basis throughout the year. These grants, most often ranging in amounts from $500 to $2,500, are designed to diversify our grantmaking options as well as enhance our responsiveness to community needs.  

Mission

The Joseph Robert Foundation is a small Pennsylvania private foundation whose primary purposes are to provide financial support for the arts, animal welfare, and the environment. Our main geographic focus is the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S., but in special cases we may provide support to organizations located outside this area.

We are interested in awarding grants to non-profit organizations addressing significant issues of interest to our Board. We are especially interested in supporting smaller, local organizations that have fewer resources and more limited objectives, although we may also help fund regional or national organizations having specific program or project objectives. Both general operating and project/program support is available.

We welcome first-time grant seekers, support applications from prior grant recipients, and reach out to find eligible organizations that share our goals and interests.

What We Fund

Arts

We believe strongly in the power of the arts to transform both individuals and communities and are committed to reinforcing the importance of the arts as a vital component of our culture. In challenging political times such as these, the role of the arts is too often overlooked, or even denigrated. We want to play our part in asserting the value of the arts by encouraging artists to take risks, explore new possibilities, and reach out to both new and familiar audiences. By nurturing creativity and innovative thinking, we can help artists make an impact on the world around them.

While we are supportive of all forms of creative expression, the interests of the Foundation are primarily in the visual arts. We will also look favorably upon interdisciplinary projects/programs with a visual arts component, or an arts program/project that would further the goals of either of the other of the Foundation’s areas of interest.

Animal Welfare

The plight and circumstances of animals, whether domestic, farm or wild, are areas of deep concern to the Foundation. We are interested in rescuing, protecting, rehabilitating, and providing homes and sanctuaries for the non-human inhabitants of this planet. We are especially interested in helping organizations that identify and provide resources for animal populations in underserved communities. We are also interested in helping with programs that train and educate wildlife rehabilitators and other animal rescue workers.

Environment and Sustainable Resources Management

With ever increasing attacks on the environment and environmental protection, it is critically important to protect and preserve our natural resources, open lands, forests, oceans, waterways, watersheds, and green spaces. The Joseph Robert Foundation is primarily interested in supporting smaller, local organizations that can have a direct impact on their communities, whether through education or through sustainability projects. We may also be interested in contributing to larger organizations that provide essential services to protect and safeguard the environment from threats of all natures.

Grant Period

The normal grant period will be one year, starting from the date the award has been granted. When appropriate, grantees may reapply for Joseph Robert Foundation funding upon the submission of a final report at the end of the funding period.

Grant Amount

Most grant awards to organizations will be under $10,000. First-time grant awards will be limited to $5,000 or less, unless there are compelling circumstances. Determination of the grant amount will be made based on organizational and/or program/project budgets, scope of proposal, organizational qualifications, and overall application quality. Grants to individuals will be limited to $2,000 or less, with sources of matching and in-kind funds considered.  

Grant Type

Organizations may apply for general operating (GO) and/or program/project funds, but larger organizations are limited to applying for program/project funding.

Individual applicants may only apply for project funds.

United Way of Central Maryland

United Way of Central Maryland promotes equity, creates opportunity, and improves lives. Our 95 years of service to the people of Greater Baltimore have taught us what it takes to change our region for the better. We are proud to be a source of support, compassion, and hope for people who work hard but still can’t make ends meet. We strengthen families and communities by taking on systemic challenges and increasing access to basic needs - health, housing, economic advancement, education, and more. United Way’s grantmaking supports programs and initiatives in Baltimore City and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, and Howard Counties.

Neighborhood Grant

The 2024 Neighborhood Grant is an opportunity for organizations with total annual operating budgets of $500,000 or less to receive $2,500 to $10,000 in funding to carry out community-centered projects that are resident-driven, connect community members and create impact in Central Maryland. Eligible organizations can apply to implement projects that:

• Inspire Community Connections
• Empower Local Leaders
• Build Vibrant Neighborhoods

The Maryland Environmental Trust in partnership with Maryland State Highway Administration and Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) presents Keep Maryland Beautiful grants. Grants through the Keep Maryland Beautiful (KMB) program help volunteer-based, nonprofit groups and communities develop environmental education projects, litter removal, and solve natural resource issues in urban and rural areas.

Citizen Stewardship Grant

Open spaces, engaged citizens, and healthy environments in our communities increase the quality of life for all. Recognizing this, Maryland Environmental Trust, Forever Maryland and the Maryland Department of Transportation annually award Keep Maryland Beautiful Community Stewardship Grants to schools, nonprofits, and other community organizations that are working to eliminate local environmental problems, encourage stewardship of the environment, and educate community members. The Community Stewardship Grants honor the legacy of Bill James, who drafted the legislation that founded Maryland Environmental Trust, and Margaret Rosch Jones, former executive director of the Keep Maryland Beautiful Program.

Community Stewardship Grants of up to $5,000 are awarded to schools, nonprofits and other community organizations whose missions are centered upon directly engaging community members (especially children and young adults) in environmental education and stewardship. These grants also support organizations that are demonstrating active engagement as defenders of the environment by developing innovative solutions to local environmental problems. Proposed projects should activate citizens and encourage stewardship through education and outreach while elevating awareness of local environmental problems and working to reduce them.

The objectives of the grants are:

• To inspire and empower young people to become caretakers of their local environment and community through hands-on, project-based learning
• To support and encourage the ongoing work of organizations that have been active in educating fellow community members about environmental issues such as litter prevention, local stewardship and beautification, or other local and statewide environmental issues
• To help community organizations identify and eliminate the root causes of local environmental issues, rather than just their consequences
• To encourage thoughtful consideration of local land use and development that preserves natural capital
• To preserve natural areas and create a sense of place in communities

Helping to improve the health of individuals and communities.

Qlarant Foundation is the mission arm of Qlarant, a company with over 50 years of experience in improving quality in organizations – and the quality of life for the people they serve.

Qlarant Foundation awards grants up to $50,000 per organization. Funding is prioritized for grassroots organizations and is based on a project’s potential impact on healthcare improvements and access for individuals and communities, particularly the uninsured and under-served population.

Established in 2003, Qlarant Foundation awards grants to eligible 501(c)(3) organizations that work to improve healthcare for individuals and communities through measurable outcome improvement projects. These projects include service, demonstration, education and clinical programs producing high-impact results on health outcomes. Funding is prioritized for grassroots organizations and is based on a project’s potential impact on healthcare improvements and access for individuals and communities, particularly the uninsured and under-served population.

Funding is prioritized for grassroots organizations and is based on a project’s potential impact on healthcare improvements and access for individuals and communities, particularly the uninsured and under-served population.

Award Size and Duration

Grant awards are for a one year period. These awards may be up to $50,000. Funds are released on a quarterly basis and reports are required.

Funding Priorities – How we prioritize programs to award.

Qlarant Foundation prioritizes funding for grassroots organizations whose submitted projects detail potential impact on healthcare improvements and access for individuals and communities, particularly the uninsured and under-served population.

Priority areas often include programs that:

• Improve access to health care services to the unserved and under-served
• Improve understanding of health issues
• Demonstrate improvement through measurable outcomes of stated goals
• Improve healthy lifestyles and quality of life
• Increase access to culturally and linguistically appropriate care
• Implement consumer centered care and decision making
• Improve dissemination of education and health related information
• Improve patient safety

Folklife Network

Folklife Network grants fund organizations serving as regional folklife centers in Maryland. Grants are administered through Maryland Traditions and support activities that identify, document, support, or present the living cultural traditions of Maryland’s diverse communities.

History

The Folklife Network is a formal granting program growing from recommendations by folklife artists, folklife specialists, and other cultural workers during program revision activities facilitated by MSAC in 2019. The need for a Folklife Network granting program is based on foregoing long-term and short-term collaborations between Maryland Traditions program and organizations supporting the traditional arts in Maryland.

As a family foundation in Pittsburgh, PA, our philanthropic traditions are well rooted in our continued support of organizations that foster transformative programs which best serve the local community as a whole in the areas of arts and culture, education, environmental, health and medical, human services, and religion.

Even though the Snee-Reinhardt Charitable Foundation encompasses many broad areas of concern, or categories, there is no one area deemed more important than the next. Nevertheless, the Foundation has found it beneficial underwriting grants that are tangible in nature or serve a higher number of individuals within the community and surrounding areas. The Foundation continually aids organizations that are endlessly striving to serve the community in various ways such as improving social conditions, expanding education, and working to better the environment.

Category Definitions

The Snee-Reinhardt Charitable Foundation’s Board of Directors has designated several areas of concern comprised of specific intentions.

• Arts/Culture: Performing arts, humanities, media and communications, multipurpose museums, public broadcasting, and historical preservations.
• Education: Promotional programs for elementary, secondary and vocational systems, colleges/universities, graduate programs, adult and multipurpose libraries.
• Environmental: Support of natural resources, beautification programs, pollution control, environmental education, and horticultural/botanical programs.
• Health/Medical: Rural health care, crisis intervention, special programs in health centers, and prevention/treatment of specific diseases.
• Human Services: Youth development and recreation, disaster relief, employment training/ placement, multipurpose agencies, and abuse prevention.
• Religion: The theological education and ecumenical programs as well as the mission of many churches, synagogues, and religious charities.
• Miscellaneous: Because every grant cannot be included into a category, the Snee-Reinhardt Charitable Foundation permits grants for animal welfare, community development, sports, camps, fire and police departments and economic development as miscellaneous grants.  

About CFAAC

Our mission is to inspire and promote giving in Anne Arundel County by connecting people who care with causes that matter.

CFAAC is a tax exempt, 501(c)(3), publicly supported philanthropic organization with the long term goal of building permanent funds that provide support to local nonprofit organizations through grants and special projects.

Established in 1998, CFAAC is one of the largest funders of nonprofit organizations in Anne Arundel County. CFAAC distributes nearly $2.3 million in grants each year to a variety of nonprofit organizations. 

With support from local donors, we have created a permanent endowment whose earnings will be used to reinvest in the community year after year. As the endowment grows, so will our ability to provide support for community projects that need our attention. 

We are committed to increasing access to high quality capacity building training for nonprofit professionals to ensure more effective and efficient nonprofits in the county. 

History of the Fund for Anne Arundel

One of CFAAC’s primary goals is to increase the dollars that the foundation has available to strategically align grantmaking with the most critical needs in the county. The Fund for Anne Arundel is a fund created to help meet critical needs and improve the quality of life for all county residents, now and in the future.

As federal, state, and local funding support for nonprofits continues to decline for countless reasons, individual donors and community foundations are being called on, now more than ever, to fill the gaps so that nonprofits can continue to provide essential community services.

In 2017, CFAAC was awarded a $300,000 Challenge Grant from the Deerbrook Charitable Trust to begin building the Fund for Anne Arundel. In 2018, CFAAC Board Trustee, Jim Humphrey added another $150,000 to the challenge, which effectively turned this opportunity into a 3:1 match! To date, CFAAC has raised over $600,000 to support the Fund for Anne Arundel.

In the summer of 2019, a committee of community leaders and CFAAC Board of Trustee members and staff, convened to develop a strategic and comprehensive grantmaking approach to meet the needs of Anne Arundel County. Through a review of the most recent community needs assessment, the committee determined that the first focus area for grantmaking will support nonprofit organizations that address the needs of children in Anne Arundel County.

Fund for Anne Arundel

The Fund for Anne Arundel was created to help meet critical needs and improve the quality of life for all county residents, now and in the future. The Fund for Anne Arundel will make grants to programs that prioritize the health of children and families. This includes access to physical, mental, and behavioral health programs.

Examples include, but are not limited to, programs that:

• Ensure equitable access to comprehensive primary health care services for children that are family-centered, coordinated, compassionate, and culturally competent,
• Foster healthy social and emotional development and support positive parent-child relationships,
• Improve caregiver understanding of what it means to support optimal child health, as well as social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development,
• Promote an understanding of and treatment for improved mental health, focusing on loneliness, anxiety, depression and/or suicide prevention,
• Encourage regular preventative health, developmental, and behavioral screenings to learn about and celebrate developmental milestones, identify any delays and challenges early, and provide families with supports and services as needed so all children stay on track for success,
• Support families in accessing healthy food, nutrition education, and other resources.

Maryland Nita M. Lowey 21st CCLC Grant

The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) administers the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) grant program to assist local education agencies (LEAs), non-profit agencies, city or county government agencies, community and faithbased organizations, institutions of higher education, and for-profit corporations in the State to provide activities outside of school hours that provide opportunities for academic enrichment which include providing instructional services to help students, particularly students who attend low-performing schools, to meet State and local student academic achievement standards in core academic subjects, such as language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies.

Offer students a broad array of additional services, programs, and activities, such as youth development and engagement activities, substance abuse and alcohol prevention, service-learning, violence prevention, counseling, art, music, recreation, and technology education that are designed to reinforce and complement the regular academic program of participating students.

Offer families of students served by community learning centers opportunities for literacy instruction and related educational development.

Funding

• Range of Grant Award:
  • Minimum Award: $50,000
  • Maximum Award: $400,000

Huddle Up for Health Grant 

Focused on providing awareness and support to the community by addressing health disparities, the "Huddle Up for Health" program initiative stems from the decades-long partnership between the Baltimore Ravens and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (CareFirst). The program continues the ongoing community wellness and health equity initiatives established by the two organizations, while broadening focus to include other health challenges individuals face throughout Maryland. In its second year, the Huddle Up for Health program will award a grant to a chosen Maryland nonprofit organization to build new programming or enhance current initiatives centered around mental health support and awareness.

Maryland Agricultural Education and Rural Development Assistance Fund (MAERDAF) Grant

The Maryland Agricultural Education and Rural Development Assistance Fund (MAERDAF) provides grants to rural-serving nonprofit organizations that promote statewide and regional planning, economic and community development, and agricultural and forestry education. Also eligible are rural community colleges that provide enhanced training and technical assistance to support agricultural and small businesses. The Fund’s goal is to increase the overall capacity of rural-serving nonprofit organizations and community colleges to meet a multitude of rural development challenges and to help them establish new public/private partnerships for leveraging non-state sources of funding. The Rural Maryland Council (RMC) serves as the administrative agency in receiving the applications and disbursing the grants to the successful applicants.

Focus Topics

• Agriculture & Forestry:
  • Agricultural Education
  • Regional Food System Development
  • Forest Industry Development
• Energy:
  • Combined Heat Power
  • Energy Efficiency
  • Biomass
• Rural Broadband:
  • Rural Broadband Expansion Efforts, including municipal broadband
  • Digital Inclusion Programs
• Youth Engagement & Leadership Development:
  • Career Technology Centers
  • Youth Enrichment Programs, including summer programming
• Economic Development:
  • Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Development
  • Education & Workforce Development
  • Regional Marketing Efforts & Tourism Projects
• Community Development:
  • Rural Transportation
  • Housing repairs
  • Housing counseling
  • Poverty Alleviation Efforts

The Rural Maryland Prosperity Investment Fund (RMPIF) Grant

Overview

The objective of the Rural Maryland Prosperity Investment Fund is to help raise the overall standard of living in rural areas to a level that meets or exceeds statewide benchmark averages by 2030 while preserving the best aspects of a pastoral heritage and rural way of life. Resources provided to the Fund are designed to facilitate significant targeted investments in important economic and community development programs and promote regional and intergovernmental cooperation. These investments will also enable local and regional public and nonprofit organizations to leverage additional non-state financial and human resources to facilitate the realization of sustainable rural development objectives.

The Fund will serve the interests of the entire State by:

• Encouraging the increase of entrepreneurial activity and commerce and a balanced economy in the State;
• Relieving conditions of unemployment and underemployment in rural areas;
• Assisting in the retention of valuable farm and forest land for productive use by present and future generations;
• Promoting intergovernmental cooperation and public sector/private sector partnerships in and between rural and other areas;
• Enhancing the deployment of housing, transportation, water, wastewater, and broadband communications infrastructure and services in rural areas;
• Supporting rural commercial center redevelopment and community revitalization efforts; and
• Generally promoting the health, happiness, safety, employment opportunity, and general welfare of the residents of each of the rural counties and municipal corporations of the State

Funding

There is no maximum grant amount designation; however, the Board is optimally looking to fund up to seven to eight infrastructure projects.

Overview

The objective of the Rural Maryland Prosperity Investment Fund (RMPIF) is to help raise the overall standard of living in rural areas to a level that meets or exceeds statewide benchmark averages by 2030, while preserving the best aspects of a cultural heritage and rural way of life. Resources provided to RMPIF are designed to facilitate significant targeted investments in important economic and community development programs and promote regional and intergovernmental cooperation. These investments will also enable local and regional public and nonprofit organizations to leverage additional non-state financial and human resources to facilitate the realization of sustainable rural development objectives. The Fund will serve the interests of the entire State by:

• Encouraging the increase of entrepreneurial activity and commerce and a balanced economy in the State;
• Relieving conditions of unemployment and underemployment in rural areas;
• Assisting in the retention of valuable farm and forest land for productive use by present and future generations;
• Promoting intergovernmental cooperation and public sector/private sector partnerships in and between rural and other areas;
• Enhancing the deployment of housing, transportation, water, wastewater, and broadband communications infrastructure and services in rural areas;
• Supporting rural commercial center redevelopment and community revitalization efforts; and,
• Generally promoting the health, happiness, safety, employment opportunity, and general welfare of the residents of each of the rural counties and municipal corporations of the State.

Infrastructure

Infrastructure improvement – from traditional public facilities like roads and sewage treatment plants to such increasingly important amenities as workforce housing – are vital to healthy, flourishing communities. For instance, about half of the State’s major sewage treatment facilities and 90 percent of small community wastewater systems are located in rural areas, and many of these are experiencing difficult problems associated with aging collection and treatment infrastructure.

Rural regional infrastructure projects would provide matching grants for projects that involve two or more units of local government and are related to broadband, water, wastewater, transportation, workforce housing, and commercial/industrial facilities up to 25 percent of the total project cost. Workforce housing is defined as housing targeted to 80 to 120 percent of median income of the community in which the employees work. Other potential projects could include GIS services to modernize and improve utility infrastructure data and renewable energy facilities such as biomass, solar or wind electricity or thermal heat generators.

Overview

The objective of the Rural Maryland Prosperity Investment Fund (RMPIF) is to help raise the overall standard of living in rural areas to a level that meets or exceeds statewide benchmark averages by 2030, while preserving the best aspects of a cultural heritage and rural way of life. Resources provided to RMPIF are designed to facilitate significant targeted investments in important economic and community development programs and promote regional and intergovernmental cooperation. These investments will also enable local and regional public and nonprofit organizations to leverage additional non-state financial and human resources to facilitate the realization of sustainable rural development objectives. The Fund will serve the interests of the entire State by:

• Encouraging the increase of entrepreneurial activity and commerce and a balanced economy in the State;
• Relieving conditions of unemployment and underemployment in rural areas;
• Assisting in the retention of valuable farm and forest land for productive use by present and future generations;
• Promoting intergovernmental cooperation and public sector/private sector partnerships in and between rural and other areas;
• Enhancing the deployment of housing, transportation, water, wastewater, and broadband communications infrastructure and services in rural areas;
• Supporting rural commercial center redevelopment and community revitalization efforts; and,
• Generally promoting the health, happiness, safety, employment opportunity, and general welfare of the residents of each of the rural counties and municipal corporations of the State.

Rural Entrepreneurship Development

Between one-third and two-thirds of any economy’s growth is attributable to entrepreneurial activity. Finding ways to transform the resourcefulness, innovation and self reliance that is so often found in rural communities into growing, innovative businesses is a challenge many rural economic development professionals are increasingly embracing as an effective and important strategy for growing the tax base, expanding economic opportunities, and creating sustainable local economies.

Because of the strong correlation between a high level of entrepreneurship and high economic growth, rural entrepreneurship may well be the best economic development option for communities where citizens are typically poorer, older and more isolated from markets than their urban or suburban counterparts.

Traditional economic development strategies that tend to focus on recruiting larger companies to relocate their operations to the region may not work in rural communities which often do not have the infrastructure or skilled or low-wage labor force necessary to attract or keep big employers. Focusing more on helping existing businesses grow and new businesses start offers better long-term prospects for many rural areas.

The Rural Maryland Prosperity Investment Fund will promote entrepreneurship and assist efforts that provide training and technical assistance to the entrepreneurs who can help build prosperous and sustainable rural communities by creating jobs, raising incomes, creating wealth and improving the quality of life.

Rural entrepreneurship development would provide grants for entrepreneurial development activities of rural serving nonprofit organizations and higher education institutions. Entrepreneurship, a key economic development strategy, supports existing rural business sectors (including agriculture and tourism), as well as innovation in technology and other economic development areas. We strongly encourage building partnerships with rural and urban businesses and entrepreneurs. 

Grant Amount

Grant Awards Are Subject To Funding Availability. There is no maximum grant amount; however, the Grant Review Board would optimally fund eight entrepreneurial projects in FY2026. Past and current RMPIF grantees are eligible for an FY2026 grant if they have met all the requirements of their previous grant agreements, including reporting deadlines.

Match Requirement

Applicants must secure a minimum 25% cash match funds from non-state sources for the entire project proposed in the application. Federal funds are considered matching cash funds. A stronger cash match will result in a higher score on the grant evaluation. RMPIF funds will not be released until proof of a match is submitted.

Changes and Unused Funds

Only very minor changes in scope are allowed after a grant has been awarded. Some project timelines can also be modified. Unused grant funds must be returned to the Rural Maryland Council no later than July 15, 2026. 

MD Rural Health Care Grant

The objective of the Rural Maryland Prosperity Investment Fund is to help raise the overall standard of living in rural areas to a level that meets or exceeds statewide benchmark averages by 2030, while preserving the best aspects of a pastoral cultural and rural way of life. Resources provided to the Fund are designed to facilitate significant targeted investments in important economic and community development programs and promote regional and intergovernmental cooperation. These investments will also enable local and regional public and nonprofit organizations to leverage additional non-state financial and human resources to facilitate the realization of sustainable rural development objectives. The Fund will serve the interests of the entire State by: 

• Encouraging the increase of entrepreneurial activity and commerce and a balanced economy in the State;
• Relieving conditions of unemployment and underemployment in rural areas;
• assisting in the retention of valuable farm and forest land for productive use by present and future generations;
• Promoting intergovernmental cooperation and public sector/private sector partnerships in and between rural and other areas;
• Enhancing the deployment of housing, transportation, water, wastewater, and broadband communications infrastructure and services in rural areas;
• Supporting rural commercial center redevelopment and community revitalization efforts; and,
• Generally promoting the health, happiness, safety, employment opportunity, and general welfare of the residents of each of the rural counties and municipal corporations of the State.

Health Care

Health care access and delivery is a major problem in the State’s rural areas. Residents often need to travel great distances to seek health care services due to health workforce shortages. This problem is in primary care, and is particularly acute in specialty care such as surgical specialties, dentistry, mental health and other medical specialty areas. 

Eligible health care projects will range from health care planning, to health program implementation and evaluation, and will include projects pertaining to the following:

• Improving access to health and medical/dental care:
  • Tele-medicine and telehealth networking
  • Transportation
  • Programs that focus on planning and/or coordination of health care
  • Programs that address rural population health needs
  • Programs that ensure health care insurance and treatment enrollment
  • Programs that implement and measure accomplishment of components of the state’s rural health plan
• Recruitment and retention of health care providers:
  • Programs to aid recruitment of health care providers
  • Rural residency programs in primary care and medical/surgical specialties and dentistry
  • Housing projects to support rural rotations of medical students/ health professions students
  • Pipeline programs for health care workers
• Behavioral and Mental health:
  • Substance abuse, including alcohol, opioids and prescription drugs
  • Depression and counseling, suicide prevention
  • Domestic abuse and violence 
• Programs that implement and measure components of the Maryland Rural Health Plan:
  • Access to care:
    • reduce barriers/remove gaps – primary care, specialists, behavioral health, oral health, and urgent/emergency facilities
  • Care coordination:
    • explore mechanisms to link health care consumers to services and improve coordination and collaboration between health care providers
  • Health literacy and health insurance literacy:
    • explore ways to increase individual health literacy and health insurance literacy of consumers
  • Outreach and education:
    • work with community-based services and health care infrastructure to provide outreach and education to citizens on relevant and emergent health issues
• Chronic disease prevention and management:
  • Health education on diabetes, obesity, heart disease, cancers prevalent in rural Maryland, hypertension/high blood pressure
  • Disease management programs
  • Research and treatment of health impacts on minority populations, and in particular, prenatal care
• Oral and Dental health 

Special FY2024 RMPIF Health Care Addition: Projects to support the Rural Nonemergency Medical Transportation Pilot Program

Current healthcare research indicates that one out of five healthcare appointments are missed due to lack of reliable transportation (Syed, 2013). Research indicates that there are as many as 73,000 to 82,000 adult Marylanders who miss at least one or more medical appointments each year. Compared to the rest of the U.S. population, the transportation disadvantaged, the target population, is poorer, more female, includes more minority population groups and suffers more disease co-morbidity. 

About if, A Foundation for Radical Possibility

if, A Foundation for Radical Possibility envisions an equitable and just region and nation in which Black people and people of the global majority live powerfully, abundantly and beautifully in healthy, self-determined communities free of social, economic and ideological violence.

We achieve our vision by centering the leadership and expertise of Black people and people of the global majority in the Washington, DC region who live at the sharpest intersection of systems of oppression, in particular race, class and gender identity. We build relationships to transform how philanthropic, nonprofit and government resources are deployed to disrupt institutions and structures that perpetuate anti-black racism and other intersectional discriminatory harms. We share power and decision-making and we support organizations that build the people’s power to demand and achieve justice. We take risks that others are not willing to take and we are comfortable seeding bold ideas and sparking innovation. We speak our truth and support platforms for communities to tell their own truths, and we heal ourselves and facilitate healing in our communities.

Within this framework, if is embedding community engagement in its Board structure, grantmaking and capacity building programs, communications, and healing justice work.

Funding Priorities

if will provide funding support for organizations that are:

• committed to racial equity and are operationalizing it
• undertaking community organizing or community engagement, and
• undertaking advocacy.

if will support the organizing of low-income patients/clients, workers, community members, immigrants, and others. if will also support community-based organizations and nonprofits that use advocacy strategies with a racial equity lens at the local, state and regional levels.

Advocacy for local, state, and regional policy change and systems reform is essential to achieve the change we envision. if defines advocacy as efforts to create local, state and regional policy change and systems reforms that benefit Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian/Pacific Islander, and people of color communities in the Washington, DC region. Activities could include community engagement and organizing among residents in low-income neighborhoods, development of policy recommendations, policy implementation and monitoring, budget and policy analysis, coalition or network building, convenings, stakeholder engagement and collective problem solving among diverse groups, campaigns, media and communication.