Search Through Grants for Community Service Projects in Maryland in the U.S.

Our History

Aaron and Lillie Straus created the Straus Foundation in 1926 with a focus on rescue and relief of Jewish communities and families throughout the world as well as and connecting children in the Baltimore region to opportunities that could help them build strong and secure futures. Since the Strauses had no heirs, the stewardship of the Foundation was entrusted to the Directors of Reliable Stores Corporation, which Aaron Straus had founded. The Strauses were actively engaged in their philanthropy during much of their lifetime and their mission and vision remains an indelible blueprint for the work of the Foundation.

Today, the Straus Foundation is governed by a Board comprised of descendants of the original corporate Board as well as outside Directors with expertise in various aspects of its community interests.

Our Mission

Aaron and Lillie Straus’ clearly focused philanthropic vision, to give the people of Baltimore protection, education, and opportunity, continues today in a contemporary context. With the Foundation’s long-term support of critical policies and programs, our intention and aspiration remains a reflection of their original vision: to connect families of Baltimore to avenues of hope and opportunity that tap their potential for a more secure future.

Our Approach

In order to maximize the impact of our limited resources, we remain singularly focused on the Baltimore community by shining a light on its unique assets, talent and vibrancy, while continuing to search for solutions for our most entrenched inequities.

We optimize the possibility of impact by taking risks on emerging leaders and community solutions by providing partnership, capital and technical assistance.

When leaders and solutions show promising impact, we will commit funding over a long period of time to promote growth.

Our Priorities

The Straus Foundation has identified the following program areas to serve as a blueprint for our grantmaking. However, we acknowledge that there will be many intersections between all four areas.

Jewish Community Services

The Straus Foundation has deep Jewish roots, and supporting Jewish families will always be a priority. Jewish values, particularly the value of social justice, inform all of our grantmaking. The Foundation’s grantees in this priority area are Camps Airy & Louise, a boys and a girl’s camp in Western Maryland for Jewish children. The camps were started by Aaron and Lillie Straus to provide the values and development of a camping experience to Jewish children from Baltimore and the surrounding area, regardless of their economic background. Today, the camps continue this tradition by providing opportunities for self-growth, life skills, life-long friendships, an appreciation for the natural world, and an affirmation of Jewish identity.

Immigration Advocacy and Services: Making Baltimore a Welcoming City

For close to 100 years, Aaron and Lillie Straus devoted time, resources, and a strategic vision for the health and resettlement of waves of immigrants coming into Baltimore. The understanding was that new Americans would thrive both personally and professionally, with great benefit to the city. 

While this same premise holds true today, with 50,000 foreign-born immigrants living in Baltimore City, immigration policy must be urgently addressed while ensuring legal and social services are delivered upon their arrival.

Access to Quality Health/Mental Health Services: Creating Opportunities for Personal and Community Well-Being

While structural racism, violence and persistent underinvestment in communities have led to many in Baltimore experiencing significant trauma, the people of this city also have immense strength and resilience. With that knowledge, the Foundation strives to connect children and families to early detection and prevention as a strategy to decrease the use of emergency room and other services on the most expensive side of the health delivery system and to make readily available the full array of family planning services. We look to fund opportunities that create culturally competent, community-based access to health services as well as advocacy efforts around rights and reimbursement.

Social Innovation, Leadership and Entrepreneurship

For the last decade, The Straus Foundation has focused on the intersection of social innovation, leadership, and entrepreneurship for the purpose of catalyzing the unique assets and talents of the city of Baltimore. In a short period of time, Baltimore has created a growing ecosystem that attracts and celebrates new leaders seeking more effective, efficient, and sustainable solutions to strengthen the city. We seek to equitably support promising entrepreneurs and their ideas in order to democratize opportunity, provide capital, support technical assistance, and create a new vibrancy in our city.

Alternative Grantmaking

In addition to making grants in its five program areas, The Straus Foundation will, from time to time, make allocations in the following ways:

• Foundation-Driven Initiatives: Specifics Requests for Proposal will be issued for these initiatives, and grants will be made through a competitive process;
• Funding Collaboratives: Straus Foundation dollars will be pooled with other private and public resources for a specific programmatic purpose. The collaborative will then make grants through a competitive Request for Proposal process;
• Loans: The Foundation will occasionally make a loan instead of a grant to an organization for a specific project or programmatic interest. The Foundation does not make loans to individuals or organizations for emergency needs; and
• Program-Related Investments: The Foundation will, on occasion, invest a portion of its corpus for the purpose of meeting a programmatic need as well as receiving a market-rate return on its investment.

Powering our communities is just the beginning. BGE considers it our responsibility to improve the quality of life for people in the communities where we live, work, and serve.

BGE focuses our corporate giving in four areas - building Exelon's future workforce, energy empowerment in our communities, enrichment through local vitality, and equal access to arts and culture. We support and value diversity, equity & inclusion; we try to reflect the communities in which we operate. BGE is proud to support nonprofit organizations and students in our local communities. 

BGE Directs Corporate Giving to Four Key Areas:

We fund programs that deliver measurable, sustainable improvements in the communities we serve. We invest in organizations that have proven track records in these areas:

Building Exelon's Future Workforce

Through our Building Exelon’s Future Workforce focus area, Exelon funds organizations, institutions, and programs that offer Science, Technology, Math, and Engineering (STEM) education and enrichment opportunities for students; scholarship and mentoring support to increase the number of students graduating with college degrees in STEM fields, STEM career and technical education, occupational skills training programs for older youth and adults, and assistance to remove barriers to employment. The following list includes a selection of strategies that Exelon and its operating companies support to build Exelon’s future workforce:

• Out-of-school education & enrichment programs such as summer or after school STEM programs and clubs,
• STEM career exposure opportunities for students such as career fairs and field site visits,
• Novel in-school STEM learning opportunities such as mobile labs and science outreach,
• K-12 STEM teacher training and professional development opportunities,
• STEM classroom resources and lab equipment,
• High school STEM trades career and technical education and training programs,
• Community college-based STEM trade education, training, and apprentice programs,
• Postsecondary scholarships for students majoring in STEM fields,
• STEM career mentoring and tutoring,
• STEM trade occupational skills training programs for adults and older youth, and
• Employment barrier removal assistance services.

Energy Empowerment in Our Communities

Through our Energy Empowerment in Our Communities focus area, Exelon funds organizations and programs that improve the quality of our environment; promote environmental education, conservation, and preservation; develop cleaner sources of energy; protect endangered species; and beautify neighborhoods. Examples of programs that Exelon and its operating companies support through Energy Empowerment grants include, but are not limited to, the following strategies:

• Alternative energy development, installation, and education,
• Vehicle electrification,
• Climate resilience or adaptation initiatives and education,
• Endangered species protection, wildlife conservation, promotion of biodiversity,
• Landscape and watershed conservation, restoration, and preservation,
• Neighborhood beautification and green space initiatives, and
• Environmental and energy efficiency education and outreach. 

Enrichment Through Local Vitality

Through our Enrichment through Local Vitality focus area, Exelon funds a broad range of organizations and institutions that create local employment opportunities, support families, foster resilience, and strengthen communities. Examples of ways in which Exelon and its operating companies support Enrichment through Local Vitality include, but are not limited to, the following strategies:

Anchor institutions such as universities, colleges, hospitals, and other organizations that provide employment opportunities, economic benefits, and enrichment in communities,

• The establishment and promotion of business districts,
• Projects carried out through community development corporations,
• Community-based programs and nonprofit organizations,
• Emergency preparedness programs, resiliency hubs, and resources that promote public safety,
• Programs that increase local economic investment and employment opportunities, and
• Local Chambers of Commerce.

Equal Access to Arts and Culture

Exelon believes that our lives are enriched and our communities are strengthened through individual interactions and collective experiences with the arts. Through our Equal Access to Arts and Culture focus area, Exelon funds cultural institutions with broad public exposure and programs designed to make arts and culture more accessible to a wider and more diverse audience. Exelon and its operating companies support a broad range of programs that promote Equal Access to Arts and Culture, including, but not limited to, the following strategies:

• Arts education and enrichment for all ages carried out through schools, community programs, arts institutions, and other organizations,
• Community-based exhibition spaces such as galleries, theaters, performance spaces, and specialty museums,
• The acquisition and exhibition of culturally and locally relevant arts content, and
• The establishment and promotion of theater and arts districts.

Background

Background

During their lifetimes, Leonard and Helen R Stulman made generous gifts to the Jewish community, the arts, and medical organizations. They established the foundation during their lifetimes and stipulated that after the year 2000, when Mr. Stulman died, the foundation would make contributions in the fields on mental health, health, and aging.

Typical Grants

• Range from $25,000 to $150,000

Guidelines

The Leonard and Helen R. Stulman Charitable Foundation supports work in four areas of interest. Ninety five percent (95%) of funding from The Leonard and Helen R. Stulman Charitable Foundation is reserved for programs in greater Baltimore and the State of Maryland.

The foundation will make a limited number of new grants each year to projects that address specific interests or issues.

Research as to causes and treatment of mental illness and services for people with mental illness and their families.

Within this area, special interests include:

• Promoting recovery and participation in community life for people with serious mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression
• Increasing access to mental health treatment for underserved populations. Strategies of interest include integrating mental health care into community and primary care settings and providing services to minority communities, including those with limited English proficiency
• Increasing the adoption of evidence-based practices in treatment settings

Initiatives for an older adult and aging population and programs for geriatric medicine.

Within this area, special interests include:

• Supporting services and initiatives to enable senior citizens to remain in their own communities as they age
• Meeting unmet health and mental health needs

Programs engaged in health care treatment and prevention as well as those involved in medical research.

Within this area, special interests include:

• Improving the prevention and management of chronic disease
• Increasing access to care for disadvantaged populations

Introduction to the Chesapeake Bay Trust

The Chesapeake Bay Trust (Trust) is a nonprofit, grant-making organization dedicated to improving the bays, streams, rivers, forests, parks, and other natural resources of our local systems, from the Chesapeake to the Coastal Bays to the Youghiogheny River. The Trust, supported in large part by Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay License Plate and partnerships with other regional funders, engages and empowers diverse groups to take actions that enrich natural resources and local communities of the Chesapeake Bay region. Since 1985, the Trust has awarded over $190 million in grants to municipalities, nonprofit organizations, schools, and public agencies throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.What this fundsThe Environmental Education Grant Program funds programs and initiatives in Maryland that advance environmental literacy and result in students having the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and motivation to take informed and responsible actions to protect and improve the environment.Project Types and Funding Availabilityhe Trust has made available $290,000 for this grant program in Fiscal Year 2026. Individual applications may be submitted for amounts detailed below.Track 1 Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE) ImplementationApplicants may request up to $40,000 per year for up to three years for projects that focus on piloting (one-year requests) or embedding systemic (multiyear requests) MWEEs into school district’s curriculum. The MWEE model integrates best practices of environmental education pedagogy where students investigate local environmental issues through classroom and outdoor experiences, engage in problem-solving, and take action to address their issues through projects and civic engagement.Track 2 Environmental Literacy Capacity BuildingApplicants may request up to $40,000 for the 2025 school year (March 2026 – August 2027) for district or state-wide environmental literacy capacity building and collaboration efforts that advance environmental literacy, especially MWEEs, within school district(s).For requests $10,000 and under, consider applying for a Trust Youth Environmental Education Grant. 

Abell Foundation Grants over $10,000

The Abell Foundation is dedicated to the enhancement of the quality of life in Maryland, with a focus on Baltimore City. The Foundation is committed to improving the lives of underserved populations by supporting innovative, results-oriented efforts to solve systemic social, economic, and environmental problems. Our areas of interest are education, workforce development, health and human services, community development, criminal justice and addiction, environment and arts.

In an attempt to be responsive to the changing needs of the community, the Foundation approaches its grantmaking by: 

• responding to unsolicited requests for funding that are initiated by organizations and institutions, and demonstrate a high-priority need and a measurable impact; 
• requesting that an organization or institution submit a proposal for a special program if its purpose furthers the Foundation's goals; and
• initiating programs that address key issues that reflect community-wide needs and show promise of impacting the quality of services and effecting long-term systemic change.

The Foundation seeks to address complex challenges to break through the cycles of urban poverty by supporting efforts to identify solutions that are both innovative and results-oriented. 

Areas of Interest

Within these areas, the Foundation provides seed funding, support for ongoing community programs and services, general operating support, and funding for capital projects, research, and program-related investments.

Education 

The challenge to Baltimore City’s leadership is to provide its children, the vast majority of whom qualify for free and reduced meals, with access to high-quality educational options from birth through college and/or career. The Foundation has a strong commitment to the PreK-12 public education system in Baltimore and its educational partners. With a focus on increasing achievement for city students, the Abell Foundation supports efforts to provide quality instruction in all content areas, provide a broad portfolio of effective schools, create successful transitions to and through college and work, increase family engagement, and promote literacy enrichment. In recognition of the pivotal role of quality teaching and school leadership, the Foundation also supports teacher and principal recruitment and retention efforts as well as leadership development strategies. After-school and summer programming with an academic orientation have received ongoing support to help fill gaps in school-day offerings. The Abell Foundation is committed to supporting children and youth who are educationally vulnerable while also preserving educational options that serve advanced learners.

Workforce Development

In recognition that a competent, skilled workforce is essential to the economic health and growth of Baltimore City, the Abell Foundation supports job-skills training that enables low-income, unemployed and underemployed job seekers to secure jobs that pay family-sustaining wages. Priority is given to programs that link hard-to-serve job seekers with employment, that promote job retention for at least one year of employment, and that enhance opportunities for low-wage workers to improve their skills and move into higher wage jobs.

The Foundation works with nonprofit organizations, employers and public agencies to identify and support effective workforce initiatives and to link them to public and private funding. The Foundation also works with nonprofit organizations to increase job seekers' access to needed services, including literacy services, transportation, substance abuse treatment, and services for ex-offenders. Finally, the Abell Foundation seeks to strengthen program and policy initiatives that support low-income families and enhance wages. These initiatives include increasing access to income supports such as the earned income tax credit and benefits such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Health & Human Services

The health of a community can only be as strong as the well-being of its citizens. Through grants awarded in this area, the Abell Foundation seeks to address societal issues associated with economic insecurity, access to health care, family planning, domestic violence, children's health and well-being, hunger and homelessness. The Foundation also supports legal services and advocacy programs promoting access to health and mental health services, a stronger child welfare system, resources for current and former foster youth, and a comprehensive system of services for the homeless. Finally, the Foundation supports programs that provide opportunities for low-income families to live in quality housing in good neighborhoods throughout the region.

Community Development

The Abell Foundation encourages initiatives that attract resident investment in neighborhoods, promote sustainability, increase economic development opportunities and nurture entrepreneurial talent to increase the livability of neighborhoods, the number of residents, the number of jobs and the size of the tax base. As successful households are key to neighborhood health, the Foundation supports efforts to remove barriers preventing residents from stabilizing household finances and invests in community-led projects to improve energy efficiency, increase fresh food access, enhance neighborhood amenities and reclaim neighborhood green space. In addition, the Foundation maintains an interest in programs that tie the economic health of Baltimore City to the region and state through housing mobility, regional planning and environmental stewardship.

Criminal Justice and Addiction

High levels of substance abuse and related crime in Baltimore City are causing high rates of incarceration and a significant deterioration in the quality of life in communities throughout the city. In recognition that drug addiction is a complex disorder that touches every aspect of an individual’s life, the Foundation seeks to increase access to substance abuse treatment and supportive services such as housing and job training for uninsured and drug-addicted individuals living in Baltimore. The Foundation works to increase the impact and effectiveness of treatment services through cutting-edge research and support of innovative service models designed to reach underserved populations.

In addition, the Foundation supports programs and initiatives that increase public safety and reduce rates of repeat criminal behavior (recidivism). Emphasis is placed on initiatives that address the barriers facing the returning ex-offender, particularly including efforts to provide transitional housing and the necessary wraparound services to support a successful return to the community. Finally, the Foundation supports efforts to reform the criminal justice system, reduce violence, and achieve juvenile justice. 

Environment

Protection and preservation of Maryland’s abundant natural resources is critical to promoting a healthy and sustainable environment, society and economy in the state. Partnering with the public and private sectors, the Abell Foundation supports programs aimed at promoting air and water quality, preserving undeveloped land, and protecting the Chesapeake Bay, in Baltimore and across the state. The Foundation supports efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change, with a particular focus on the development of renewable energy. In all of its work in support of a cleaner and healthier environment in Maryland, the Foundation seeks to ensure environmental health and justice in underserved communities. 

Arts

In recognition of the overall economic health of a city, the Foundation seeks funding opportunities to strengthen existing cultural arts organizations and emerging arts groups, with a focus on those working to provide programming for underserved communities in Baltimore. The Foundation looks for initiatives that help attract artists to live and work in Baltimore, use the cultural arts to improve student academic achievement, and stabilize and revitalize neighborhoods.

Background

The Dresher Foundation is a family foundation, founded in 1989 by Jim and Virginia Dresher. The foundation has a strong history of philanthropic efforts and partnerships in Harford County, Maryland. Committed to inspiring hope in community life, the Dresher Foundation supports nonprofit organizations whose programming addresses health, education, human service needs, and civic and cultural opportunities.

Funding Priorities

Human Services

The Dresher Foundation supports programs that provide basic services that enable individuals and families to improve their quality of life, including food, housing and employment opportunities.

Health

The Dresher Foundation supports organizations that improve health and well-being including programs that address behavioral health, healthy lifestyles, dental care and special needs populations.

Education

The Dresher Foundation supports programs that provide enrichment and increased opportunity to children and youth, including summer camps and community youth programs. Funding for public and private schools is restricted to institutions that have a current relationship with the Foundation.

Civic & Culture

The Dresher Foundation supports civic and cultural organizations that contribute to a vibrant community with projects such as beautifying public spaces, cultural activities, and enjoyment of the arts.

Please refer to FAQ for additional guidelines.

Who We Are

The France-Merrick Foundation concentrates its grant making within the state of Maryland with a primary focus on the Greater Baltimore area.

The Foundation favors one-time, project-oriented requests which have defined beginnings and endings, as opposed to annual giving or ongoing operational support. Funding is targeted to organizations that already demonstrate the ability to sustain their work and are looking to the Foundation to provide one-time funding to enhance the organization’s ability to fulfill its mission over time. The Foundation’s funding is aimed at increasing capacity of organizations to have a positive impact on lives and communities.

Many of the Foundation's grants support new construction or renovations of existing buildings. In capital grant making, special attention is given to sustainable building practices and energy conservation measures incorporated into the project. High priority is placed on demonstration of financial sustainability and good business practices, including audited statements.

Focus Areas

Civic and culture

Since its inception, the Foundation has had a consistent commitment to supporting the region’s civic and cultural vitality believing that is a key component for a healthy, livable community. Within the civic arena, priority is placed on projects that reinforce civic pride amongst residents, improve livability for residents, promote Baltimore as a strong and vibrant city, and help attract tourism to Baltimore.

Within the cultural realm, grants provide cultural experiences that enrich residents’ lives, bring people together, revitalize public spaces, help communities thrive, and make the metropolitan area a desirable place to live. Many of the cultural grants seek to achieve the dual purposes of showcasing creativity and contributing to strengthening community development and engagement. The Foundation is interested in growing the economic impact of arts and culture through promoting greater collaboration amongst cultural organizations, assisting in facility and infrastructure improvements, supporting creative industry growth, and expanding audiences. The Foundation also wants to drive new residential and tourism activity to Baltimore through efforts that enhance the region’s external reputation as a creative hub. At the same, The Foundation recognizes the need to invest in existing cultural assets to enhance the character of neighborhoods and to build a sense of community connection, assisting in resident retention and community engagement.

Community and economic development

The Foundation has a history of supporting neighborhoods and communities with a legacy focus on East Baltimore. The foundation prioritizes workforce development, economic development and neighborhood stabilization

The Foundation is interested in supporting workforce development efforts that expand training and skill development for low-income, underemployed and unemployed workers. Programs that support youth in job readiness and skills are of particular interest. Programs with strong ties to growing industries offering employment opportunities with career ladders and family sustaining-wages are preferred.

Economic development grantmaking is directed towards projects that create new job opportunities. The Foundation wants to support efforts that attract, strengthen and retain businesses and residents in neighborhoods within the Greater Baltimore community.

Neighborhood stabilization funding is focused on strengthening and sustaining safe, economically diverse, inclusive and connected communities, through urban planning, transportation and infrastructure improvements. The Foundations hopes to contribute to building community by creating or enhancing programs and spaces that support individuals, families and act as stabilizing forces in local neighborhoods.

Environment

The Foundation has been dedicated for decades to supporting organizations that are involved in preserving and protecting the waters and natural areas in the State of Maryland. The continued increase of carbon and other greenhouse gases in our atmosphere is leading to global changes in our climate. Recognizing the global scale of climate change, the Foundation is acting locally by preserving and restoring habitats and ecosystems that promote the health, biodiversity, and resilience of the Chesapeake Bay, prioritizing areas threatened by the effects of climate change. A newer interest is to support solutions that enable Baltimore City and the region to reduce our climate impact and increase the community's resilience to the negative effects of our changing climate. As we focus as a Foundation on ways to make the greater Baltimore area stronger and more vibrant, we know that environmentally sound and forward thinking solutions are needed to ensure a healthy future for our community. The Foundation is interested in investing in new ways to reduce our community's carbon footprint, while planning for adaptation, to ensure our related interests in housing, community revitalization, and health, among other community investments, will continue to have the desired impact.

Education

The Foundation’s education funding is its largest area of focus, representing over 40% of annual grants. The Foundation supports K-12 public education, independent private school education and higher education, including these priority areas of interest:

Public: The Foundation supports projects directed toward improving educational quality and equity in Baltimore City with the understanding that education is a prerequisite to a strong civil society and an employed workforce—two keys to a better Baltimore. Specifically, as it relates to K-12 outcomes in public education, the Foundation is focused on three specific areas: (1) improved literacy as the foundation of all other learning, (2) effective socio-emotional learning and trauma interventions in schools and (3) enhanced career readiness education resulting in graduates who possess the academic, technical and job readiness skills necessary to succeed and advance in the workforce.

Private: The Foundation funds independent private schools for both capital projects and scholarships. The scholarship support is intended to help increase diversity and inclusion as well as provide positive educational experiences to qualified students, regardless of income.

Post-Secondary Student Success: The Foundation aims to increase the number of students who access and complete two- and four-year colleges and universities – especially low-income and working class, first generation, and underrepresented students in the Greater Baltimore area. One way to accomplish this is reducing cost as a barrier to college entry and completion. The Foundation’s funding has already provided over $9 million to 19 universities supporting students throughout Maryland, benefitting approximately 160 students a year. We are also interested in other non-scholarship, innovative ways to help students attend and thrive in post-secondary education programs. Since college completion is the goal, the Foundation is interested in boosting the number of students who graduate and find jobs as well as creating successful pathways that connect K-12, post-secondary education, and employment.

Anchor Institutions: The Foundation has always been interested in the role that colleges and universities play in their surrounding communities. More explicitly than in the past, the Foundation aims to leverage the intellectual and economic capital of higher education anchor institutions to positively impact their surrounding communities by assisting with strong community engagement, neighborhood revitalization, local hiring, career pathways and other economic development partnerships.  

Health and human services

The Foundation’s grants in this area often assist people that face multiple disadvantages, and funding has evolved to support programs that focus on helping individuals improve their own lives. Funding in this area has grown over time, and has been especially informed by the Foundation’s work in East Baltimore.  

The Foundation is specifically interested in improving health and wellness, with a focus on prevention and population health. Furthermore, the Foundation is focused on increasing access to care for disadvantaged populations and strengthening health care provision in community based settings. Due to the Foundation’s concurrent interest in community development, the Foundation also supports anchor health institutions in improving neighborhoods around their hospital with dual health and community development benefits.

Due to its dual interests in health and human services, the Foundation funds programs that ensure people will have access to sufficient and nutritious food. The Foundation funds community food banks, and the organizations they partner with, to effectively process and distribute goods to those in need. The Foundation also prioritizes increasing access to fresh produce and proteins in the community and nutrition education to contribute to healthier eating.

The Foundation has seen the importance of housing as it relates to many issues of poverty and therefore funds effective strategies that move families out of homelessness through placement into long-term housing with the necessary supportive services, such as rapid re-housing, permanent supportive housing and creation of new affordable housing.

The Foundation also provides capital and other one-time capacity building grants focused on improving or expanding programs and services for individuals with physical, emotional, mental, or cognitive disabilities, ensuring that those with disabilities can receive needed services in the community.

Historic preservation

The Foundation’s focus on historic preservation is firmly grounded in Robert G. Merrick’s original interest in the built environment and his belief in the value and importance of preserving the best from the past. The Foundation funds projects aimed primarily at restoring and maintaining sites and properties of historical and architectural significance in the Baltimore region and in Maryland. It is the Foundation’s intent that these historical assets spur economic development, and teach people about the history of their communities. The Foundation also hopes that future generations experience and discover their own connections to these historical places through innovative and engaging preservation and education efforts. The Foundation will invest in projects that strengthen the capacity of the regional preservation movement. When possible, the Foundation will give priority to projects that positively impact community development and contribute to environmental sustainability, thereby connecting to some of the foundation’s other giving areas.

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

Guidelines

Grants from National Trust Preservation Funds (NTPF) are intended to encourage preservation at the local level by supporting on-going preservation work and by providing seed money for preservation projects. These grants help stimulate public discussion, enable local groups to gain the technical expertise needed for preservation projects, introduce the public to preservation concepts and techniques, and encourage financial participation by the private sector. A small grant at the right time can go a long way and is often the catalyst that inspires a community to take action on a preservation project. Grants generally start at $2,500 and range up to $5,000.

Eligible Activities

National Trust Preservation Fund grants are awarded for planning activities and education efforts focused on preservation. Grant funds can be used to launch new initiatives or to provide additional support to on-going efforts.

Planning: Supporting existing staff (nonprofit applicants only) or obtaining professional expertise in areas such as architecture, archaeology, engineering, preservation planning, land-use planning, and law. Eligible planning activities include, but are not limited to:

• Hiring a preservation architect or landscape architect, or funding existing staff with expertise in these areas, to produce a historic structure report or historic landscape master plan.
• Hiring a preservation planner, or funding existing staff with expertise in this area, to produce design guidelines for a historic district.
• Hiring a real estate development consultant, or funding existing staff with expertise in this area, to produce an economic feasibility study for the reuse of a threatened structure.
• Sponsoring a community forum to develop a shared vision for the future of a historic neighborhood.
• Organizational capacity building activities such as hiring fundraising consultants, conducting board training, etc.

Education and Outreach: Support for preservation education activities aimed at the public. The National Trust is particularly interested in programs aimed at reaching new audiences. Funding will be provided to projects that employ innovative techniques and formats aimed at introducing new audiences to the preservation movement, whether that be through education programming or conference sessions.

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.  

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.

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.

The American Water Charitable Foundation is an independent, 501(c)(3) private foundation, supported by the shareholders of American Water. The Foundation’s Board of Trustees, composed of officers and leaders of American Water or its subsidiaries, review Foundation programs, guidelines, and distribution of funds.

Applications will be accepted in the following states served by American Water, in addition to its Military Service locations: California, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

The Water and Environment Grant Program will be awarded to help fund innovative, community-based projects that:

• improve, restore or protect the watersheds, surface water and/or groundwater supplies
• promote water conservation
• improve equitable access to water-based recreation in underserved communities 

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.

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.

The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) is administering three separate Community Safety Works grant opportunities to improve the livability and economic potential of Maryland communities through targeted investments in crime prevention that impact community safety.

Community Safety Works Grant: Facility and Community Improvement

Eligible requests will be for physical projects and community services that make a facility or a community managed open space safer for residents and visitors to those properties and/or support community-led cleaning and greening activities.

These include but are not limited to:

• Surveillance tools such as lighting, cameras and technology that increase visibility of vulnerable spaces.
  • Networks of cameras and license readers should include monitoring plans and partnerships with law enforcement and other relevant public agencies.
• Auto and pedestrian circulation improvements to create natural and man-made environments via landscaping, fencing and other means to better control pedestrian and vehicular traffic.
  • Examples include site fencing and alley gating.
• Improving opportunities for “eyes on the street,” including the removal of barriers to sight lines (such as trimming overgrown trees/shrubs), opening up closed off spaces, improved lighting and renovating public spaces/playgrounds to draw regular visitors and family activity.
• Reinforcing community ownership, solidarity, and pride, through clean and beautified streets, sidewalks, and signage.
  • Removing blight and signals of blight (such as litter, graffiti, and bulk trash dumping) and instead creating “markers” of community pride and ownership such as signs, gardens, new trees, other plantings and upgraded public spaces.
• Contracted cleaning services to maintain and clean improved open spaces.

The minimum grant request is $10,000 and the maximum grant request amount is $25,000.

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.

Operating Assistance Grant

The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development is committed to assisting Maryland’s local governments and nonprofit organizations build capacity to achieve their community revitalization and economic development goals. Operating Assistance Grants include funding for Technical Assistance and Main Street Improvement Program Grant.

The Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) program assists local governments and nonprofits with operating costs associated with local housing and community revitalization efforts. The activities that funds are being requested for should be completed within one year.

Eligible Activities

Grants can be used for operating expenses only. Operating costs can include salary, professional services contracts, technology costs, or other costs related to administering the Technical Assistance Grant program. The requested funds should support projects and/or activities that align with the goals and outcomes of the applicant’s annual work plan and contribute to the transformation strategy of the community. All projects and/or activities should be completed within one year; a funding match is not required. 

Capital project costs are not supported through TAG; however, other DHCD programs do support capital costs, such as State Revitalization Programs​.

Additional consideration will be given to initiatives that address the overarching priorities of the Moore-Miller Administration, including ensuring that all those who want to live in Maryland can do so. In addition, priority consideration will be given to those projects and places that reflect the core objectives of MD DHCD, including to create great, lovable places and to right the wrongs of the past. Great places – lovable places– result from consistent targeted investment in locally-driven and inclusive community reinvestment plans.

Our Mission

Land O'Lakes, Inc. and the Land O'Lakes Foundation are dedicated to serving the rural and urban communities where our cooperative has members owners, employees, and facilities. Support is focused on organizations dedicated to Hunger Relief, Advancing Education, and Community Vitality.

Region Grants Program

The Region Grants Program is specifically for Land O’Lakes dairy communities in the East and West Regions of our member footprint. The purpose is to improve the vibrancy of the regions where our member-owners are located.

Funds are awarded through two grant rounds: Hunger Relief and Community Vitality.

Funding

• $125,000 total is awarded to both the East and West regions per grant round.
• Total annual program investment is $500,000.
• Organizations may apply for grants ranging from $1,000 to $20,000.
  • Generally, between 10-20 grantees are funded per grant round.
  • Average grant award is between $5,000 to $10,000.
• Funds are for local programs or projects supporting Land O’Lakes member-owner rural communities and their populations.

Region Grants Open Grant Round: Hunger Relief

Organizations committed to fighting food insecurity and increasing food accessibility:

• Food banks
• Food shelves/pantries
• Prepared meals and meal delivery services
• School meal programs
• Community gardens and local food systems

About

The Preservation Leadership Forum of the National Trust for Historic Preservation is a network of preservation leaders — professionals, students, volunteers, activists, experts — who share the latest ideas, information, and advice, and have access to in-depth preservation resources and training.

Henry A. Jordan, M.D., Preservation Excellence Fund - Mid-Atlantic States

The National Trust for Historic Preservation's Henry A. Jordan, M.D., Preservation Excellence Fund provides funding to deserving organizations demonstrating commitment to the protection of natural and cultural resources in the Mid-Atlantic region.

The Jordan Preservation Excellence Fund was established in November 1996 in recognition of Dr. Jordan’s distinguished service to the National Trust and his visionary leadership of the national preservation movement. Applicants can apply for up to $5,000.

The fund awards programs and activities that:

• Facilitate positive dialogues between the diverse interests of historic preservation, land conservation, business development, transportation, and government in a search for common ground in protecting the environment
• Stimulate the development of local and state policies that protect the cultural landscape and its resources
• Heighten public awareness of or increase involvement in issues relating to the livability and sustainability of communities
• Encourage innovative partnerships and approaches to open space conservation and historic preservation

Community Investment Tax Credits support 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations by awarding allocations of State tax credits for use as incentives to attract contributions from individuals and businesses to benefit local projects and services.

Community Investment Tax Credits complement other State funding programs which offer resources to assist communities with revitalization efforts. As part of an annual, competitive application process, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations apply to the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development for tax credit allocations. The Community Investment Tax Credit program has leveraged nearly $27 million in charitable contributions to approximately 700 projects across the State.

Businesses and individuals that donate $500 or more to a qualified organization’s approved project(s) can earn tax credits equal to 50% of the value of the money, goods or real property contribution. These tax credits are in addition to the deductions on both Federal and State taxes as a result of the charitable contribution.  Visit GIVE Maryland for information on specific projects and donate now to nonprofits that have available tax c​redits.

Individuals and businesses must use the tax credits against taxes owed for the year in which the contribution was made and may not be used retroactively for taxes from a prior year. An​y individual or business contemplating making a donation is encouraged to consult with their accountant or tax professional for information about their specific tax benefits.

Projects typically involve activities such as:

• Education and Youth Services
• Housing and Community Development
• Job and Self-Sufficiency Training
• Enhancing Neighborhoods and Business Districts
• Arts, Culture and Historic Preservation
• Economic Development and Tourism Promotion
• Technical Assistance and Capacity Building
• Services for At-Risk Populations

Additional consideration will be given to initiatives that address the overarching priorities of the Moore-Miller Administration, including ensuring that all those who want to live in Maryland can do so. In addition, priority consideration will be given to those projects and places that reflect the core objectives of MD DHCD (listed below), including to create great, lovable places and to right the wrongs of the past. Great places – lovable places– result from consistent targeted investment in locally-driven and inclusive community reinvestment plans.

• Investments in designated Engaging Neighborhoods, Organizations, Unions, Governments and Households (ENOUGH) areas, addressing the community conditions surrounding children in poverty, enriching community assets and services for youth.
• Investments in designated Just Communities, transforming neighborhoods into thriving communities where all Marylanders, regardless of background, have access to fair housing, and economic stability and opportunity, righting the wrongs of the past.
• Increased housing production, including mixed-income, middle market and affordable housing.
• Increased household and generational wealth building, such as through homeownership, legacy homeowner renovations, and small business development.
• Accelerated elimination of vacant properties, particularly in Baltimore City.

The Corrine and Henry Bower Memorial Foundation is a Pennsylvania-based private charitable trust with an annual giving amount around $35,000. The foundation primarily funds wellness, education (middle school electives), general support, and visual arts programs, making a few grants per year.

The foundation’s grants are administered through a Distribution Committee that pre-selects applicants to apply by directed invitation. Funding is regionally focused, serving the City of Philadelphia and selected surrounding counties in Pennsylvania, as well as some areas in Ohio, New Jersey, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, West Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC.

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.

The Ruth Danley and William Enoch Moore Charitable Fund is a private grantmaking foundation based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, established in 1992. It focuses primarily on philanthropy and voluntarism, with an emphasis on charitable and educational purposes.

The fund specifically supports K-12 education for Native American children living on reservations, aiming to improve educational opportunities in these communities.

The foundation administers grants primarily to select regions based on donor preferences, including Pittsburgh and various counties in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Maryland, Washington DC, and West Virginia.

Our Mission

Land O'Lakes, Inc. and the Land O'Lakes Foundation are dedicated to serving the rural and urban communities where our cooperative has members owners, employees, and facilities. Support is focused on organizations dedicated to Hunger Relief, Advancing Education, and Community Vitality.

Region Grants Program

The Region Grants Program is specifically for Land O’Lakes dairy communities in the East and West Regions of our member footprint. The purpose is to improve the vibrancy of the regions where our member-owners are located.

Funds are awarded through two grant rounds: Hunger Relief and Community Vitality.

Funding

• $125,000 total is awarded to both the East and West regions per grant round.
• Total annual program investment is $500,000.
• Organizations may apply for grants ranging from $1,000 to $20,000.
  • Generally, between 10-20 grantees are funded per grant round.
  • Average grant award is between $5,000 to $10,000.
• Funds are for local programs or projects supporting Land O’Lakes member-owner rural communities and their populations.

Region Grants Open Grant Round: Community Vitality

Organizations committed to strengthening community resources and opportunities, especially in rural areas:

• 4-H, FFA, and ag education programs
• Schools and educational institutions
• City improvement projects
• Fire/Ambulance departments
• Local United Way chapters
• Economic development programs

The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development is pleased to announce availability of the Catalytic Revitalization Tax Credit, a credit of up to $15 million. The purpose of the credit is to rehabilitate certain eligible properties formerly owned by the State or federal governments​, for the purposes of driving economic and community development. This credit is authorized under §6–901 of the Housing and Community Development Article of the Laws of Maryland.

Impact Grants

The Community Foundation of Frederick County is accepting applications for Impact Grants. Nonprofits providing programs that impact health and human services, historic preservation, the arts, agriculture, civic causes, animal welfare, education, youth programs, and more should apply.