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1889 Foundation Grant

Statement of Identity

1889 Foundation serves as a community leader and funder of initiatives that improve the health of people and communities in Cambria and Somerset Counties.

In line with the World Health Organization, “health” is defined broadly as a “state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” We also endorse the paradigm of “population health” which recognizes that health is strongly influenced by the conditions within which people live. Beyond improving health, 1889 Foundation sees our purpose as “improving lives.”

The Foundation’s resources are targeted to ambitious, innovative initiatives that achieve meaningful impacts. We seek to leverage our grantmaking to bring additional funding resources into the region. We are particularly interested in comprehensive approaches that are formulated by multiple organizations working in partnership. Some grant funding is dedicated to specific issues or approaches that the Foundation identifies as a priority, while other funding is available for applicant-designed initiatives. In either case, we expect the initiative to be based on solid research and sound logic, and to specify the outcomes to be achieved. The Foundation places a high value on accountability, both for itself and for grantees.

The Foundation’s focus on initiatives means that we do not serve as an ongoing source of operating support for the region’s nonprofit organizations. We view our role as fostering the development and initial implementation of new approaches that have the potential for transformational impact. At the same time, the Foundation is committed to improving how organizations throughout the region address the issues that most affect health and well-being. Through our interactive approach to grantmaking, our encouragement of partnering and targeted support for capacity building, we strive to help organizations become more strategic, adaptive and financially sound. We also act as convener to promote stronger systems where agencies are aligned, coordinated and comprehensive in meeting community needs.

Grant Philosophy

1889 Foundation is not a traditional grantmaking organization. Most of our grantees are identified through our work with selected stakeholders and organizations on strategic initiatives and special projects that are closely related to our mission. As a result, we are able to organize our efforts, maximize our funding, and address issues from various approaches with appropriate timing to optimize systemic and sustainable outcomes.

The Foundation’s resources are targeted to ambitious, innovative organizations that achieve meaningful impacts. Our success as a foundation depends on the success of our partners. We have high expectations both for us as a funder as well as for organizations we fund. Applicants should be committed to using the Foundation’s funding to accomplish transformational change to improve our community. Grants are viewed as successful when there is a measurable return on investment.

 Collaborative Partnerships

1889 Foundation has established collaborative partnerships with other granting agencies to assist us in fulfilling our mission. Partnering organizations include the United Way of the Laurel Highlands, Center of Population Health, and Pennsylvania Rural Arts Alliance. If your project or program falls within one of these existing partnerships, we encourage you to apply directly to these granting agencies rather than directly to 1889 Foundation.

About DCNR

Established on July 1, 1995, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) is charged with:

• Maintaining and protecting 121 state parks
• Managing 2.2 million acres of state forest land
• Providing information on the state's ecological and geologic resources
• Establishing community conservation partnerships with grants and technical assistance to benefit rivers, trails, greenways, local parks and recreation, regional heritage parks, open space, and natural areas.

DCNR Mission

DCNR’s mission is to conserve and sustain Pennsylvania’s natural resources for present and future generations’ use and enjoyment.

DCNR Vision

As Pennsylvania’s leader and chief advocate for conservation and outdoor recreation, DCNR will inspire citizens to:

• Value their natural resources
• Engage in conservation practices
• Experience the outdoors

Partnership

The goal of the Partnerships Grant Program is to advance collaborative multi-municipal or large-landscape recreation, conservation, and heritage projects.

Funding is available for partnerships projects that help build local, county, regional, and statewide capacity to better develop and manage resources through the creation and implementation of public planning processes.

Peer Grant

The Peer Program is available to assist municipal entities with hiring a professional consultant to study specialized small-scale issues. 

Up to $18,000 can be made available to hire a peer -- typically a park and recreation professional -- to work in close collaboration with community leaders to develop an action plan.

OSI partners with conservation organizations in the Northeast to assemble networks of protected lands most likely to preserve plant and animal diversity in a changing climate. The Fund supports projects in four focus areas in New England, the mid-Atlantic, and the Central Appalachians offering the greatest opportunity to conserve missing links for resiliency in the overall landscape.

Grant Opportunities

The Fund provides capital grants and loans to qualified non-profits for the acquisition of land or conservation easements on climate-resilient lands, capitalized with a grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Through an in-depth review process, we selected four focus areas in order to target funds most effectively. A fact brochure with maps for each focus area can be downloaded:

Potomac Headwaters – West Virginia & Virginia

Highlands and Kittatinny Ridge – New Jersey & Pennsylvania

Middle Connecticut River – Vermont & Massachusetts

Southern New Hampshire & Maine Forests 

Pennsylvania Environmental Council's Mini-Grant Programs

The Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) and our supporting organization the Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers (POWR) currently administer eight mini-grant programs. Each program is unique with specific goals and objectives but all focus on one or more of the following areas of interest: land and water trails; outdoor recreation; resource protection and conservation; and community engagement.

Pennsylvania Water Trails Program Mini-Grants

PEC works in partnership with the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and the National Park Service to facilitate the PA Water Trails Program. With 29 designated trails across the Commonwealth, the Program brings technical and financial assistance and to the diverse network.

Grants are available on a competitive basis for projects that implement the PA Water Trail Program’s eight guiding principles:

• Partnership, Stewardship, Volunteerism, Education, Conservation, Community Vitality, Diversity, and Wellness & Well-being.

Proposed projects must demonstrate that they will advance program goals such as creating recreational opportunities for all Pennsylvanians on water trails; developing trails that support sustainable use of natural resources; increasing and improving inclusive access to Pennsylvania Water Trails for all; and connecting water trails to land trails or to other culturally significant community assets.

Applicants can request up to $7,000 and project proposals must include a 1:1 match (cash, in-kind, or a combination).

Our Mission

Quest for the Best® strives for a better tomorrow by providing funds and/or services to those who are committed to strengthening the common good of mankind.

The legal professionals of Quest for the Best® provide business and transactional legal services to organizations recognized as tax exempt under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code serving the disadvantaged and enhancing the quality of life in Pennsylvania.

We do not undertake litigation, criminal or intellectual property matters. Each request is reviewed individually, and Quest for the Best® reserves the right to determine if we will accept a matter after review of all facts provided.

Grantmaking Criteria

We consider requests for funding that meet the overall mission and goals of Quest for the Best.

These include initiatives that:

• Include plans for long-term sustainability
• Have secured co-funding
• Support specific programs, projects and equipment

Focus

We focus on the following areas: police and nurse training, education for underserved communities, funding for wildlife and environmental conservation, and humanitarianism, specifically clean water, homelessness, hunger, and support for those suffering through the opioid epidemic.

We welcome bold proposals that align with our 2021-2030 Strategic Plan.

Our Strategic Plan is a roadmap to award more than $1.2 billion from 2021-2030. It is a plan to focus the Foundation’s resources on the most powerful pathways to greater opportunity and prosperity for the people of southwestern Pennsylvania. And to do even more to protect, steward, and activate environmentally sensitive land in southwestern Pennsylvania and across the United States.

Funding Programs

We strive to improve the competitive position of the region; strengthen the vitality of Southwestern Pennsylvania, particularly the City of Pittsburgh and its neighborhoods; and protect important habitats and natural amenities in Western Pennsylvania and across the United States.

• Conservation
  • Wildlife flourishes and people thrive in once-imperiled habitats, through strategic land protection, stewardship, and activation, and sustainable economic development that deploys renewable energy and new technologies that foster livable communities and healthy natural systems.
• Economic Development
  • To help make Southwestern Pennsylvania an engine for economic growth and vitality by investing in the ingenuity and creativity of its population, enhancing individuals’ economic prosperity, and strengthening our sense of community.
• Economic Mobility
  • All children and youth living in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties will be able to access their most promising future.
  • We invest in pathways to opportunity for vulnerable children and youth to overcome the obstacles to achieving economic mobility.
• Health & Well-Being
  • Everyone in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, particularly the most vulnerable, has the opportunity to live a healthy life.
• Organizational Effectiveness
  • Our partners will have the organizational strength and agility to pursue big ideas and take risks in service of accelerating achievement of their strategic priorities.
• Social-Impact Investments
  • The Foundation's social-impact investing enables mission-driven for-profit companies to secure the risk capital, networks and resources they need to develop products, deploy services and address societal issues at the individual and community level.

We welcome proposals that span funding programs.

General Application

The General Application is for proposals that align with our 2021 – 2030 Strategy and one – or several – of our funding programs.

The General Application is our most flexible application option. The General Application does not have deadlines, so you can submit at any time throughout the year. Through the General Application, you can apply for general operating support or project-specific support. You can also seek funding for planning and innovation, implementation, or scaling activities.

Advancing Sustainable Communities

Since 2002, we’ve been empowering local communities with sustainability solutions. Through nonprofit partnerships and sustainability grants, we’ve delivered projects promoting renewable energy, energy efficiency, resource conservation and environmental stewardship.

Mission

"Choose wisely. It's a small planet." That's how it all started back in 1997, when a crew of like-minded folks in Vermont set out on a mission: to use the power of consumer choice and help change the way power is made. Over 20 years later, we’re proud to be a carbon-neutral company that continues to keep sustainability at the heart of everything we do. Join us as we help make the planet a cleaner, greener place to be.

Sustainability Grants

If you’re a U.S.-based nonprofit looking to make a positive environmental impact and you want access to a network of sustainability experts, it’s time to plant seeds of sustainability in your community.

Eligible Sustainability Initiatives

In addition to supporting rooftop solar installation projects, we've expanded our mission to support other sustainability initiatives that include but aren't limited to:

• Clean Transportation
• Education and Awareness
• Energy Efficiency
• Renewable Energy
• Resource Conservation
• Sustainable Agriculture

We’re open to new, creative ideas from nonprofit organizations interested in utilizing and promoting sustainability initiatives.

Selection Process - Impact Measurement

We measure environmental, social and financial impacts:

• Environmental impact calculations consider how the project is more impactful for the planet than the alternative.
• Examples: CO2 prevented (renewable versus traditional generation methods), miles not driven, gallons of water conserved, green space created, pounds of waste diverted.
• Social impact calculations assess how the project will elicit change in the community.
• Examples: results of an email or newsletter story about the project, number of students impacted through curriculum, attendee numbers on sustainability tours.
• Financial impact calculations assess how the project will save your organization money, and how those savings can further support your mission.
• Example: a solar array would save your organization $2,000 per year, resulting in 100 more meals distributed to the homeless or 30 more children receiving free tuition.

Award Amounts

Donation amounts depend on a number of factors, including evaluation of the environmental, social, and financial impact of the donation. Past donations have ranged from $50,000 to $400,000.

Just Born Quality Confections strives to bring sweetness to the communities where we live and work. Our corporate granting program allows us to be a catalyst for change by bringing smiles to our community, nurturing kids, helping families in need, and being a collaborative partner.

When applying for our grants, please know, particular interest will be paid to programs that specifically help underprivileged, underserved, and underrepresented children and families.

Our purpose is to bring sweetness to people’s lives and can only be fully realized by pledging to value all people, all races, all cultures, all religions, all love, all genders and all abilities, because Together We Are Better. As part of our commitment to DEI, we will provide at least 15% of our funds to non-profits with diverse leadership reflecting the communities they serve.

The health and well-being of children and their families is the primary focus of Just Born’s corporate giving program. We make grants in these areas:

Arts and Culture –The arts bring us joy, help us express our values, and build bridges between cultures. They are also a fundamental component of a healthy community. They strengthen us socially, educationally, and economically. Programs supported by our Arts and Culture grants should increase access to the arts, preserve history, and help enhance the overall cultural climate in our community.

Programs supported by our Arts and Culture grants include, but are not limited to:

• Music and art education
• Improving access to the arts
• Participation in visual, theatrical and musical arts
• Conservation of arts and culture
• Art therapy

Education – Providing academic opportunities for youth in our community helps to prepare them for a stable and productive future. Just Born Quality Confections is dedicated to supporting organizations that provide or supplement a high-quality education. 

Programs supported by our Education grants include, but are not limited to:

• Early Childhood Education
• School Readiness
• Early Diagnosis of Learning Disabilities
• Literacy Initiatives – Especially those aimed at reading by a 3rd grade level
• STEM/STEAM Initiatives
• Summer Learning Opportunities
• College Preparatory Programs
• Career Readiness Programs
• Programs that improve & increase academic achievement, school attendance, and positive social behavior
• Inclusion programs

Health and Human Services – Just Born Quality Confections supports programs that strive to meet the basic needs of our vulnerable and/or underserved populations. These programs should promote character building, encourage mental and physical health, create safe neighborhoods, improve food access, improve access to shelter/housing, and promote equitable opportunities for socially and economically disadvantaged children and families.

Programs supported by our Health and Human Service grants include, but are not limited to:

Nutrition and Food Access:

• Programs that increase access to sufficient and nutritious food
• Meal service programs that ensure homebound people have access to nutritious food
• Projects that increase cold storage and handling or that make other modifications necessary to serve more people

Health Care Needs:

• Providing medical care to unhoused populations
• Nurse Family Partnership programs
• Health Education Programs
• Mobile Healthcare Programs
• Mindfulness and Mental Health Initiatives
• Pediatric Therapy Programs – (e.g.: Equine and Developmental therapy…)
• Programs serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities
• Programs enabling older adults to remain independent

Trauma, Abuse, and Safety:

• Programs that support trauma informed practices
• Programs that reduce the long-term traumatic effects of abuse and exposure to community violence.
• Domestic violence programs that provide safe shelter, counseling, legal assistance, and other support services.
• Shelter for those fleeing physical, mental, economic, and sexual abuse.
• Prevention and treatment programs that strive to reduce, and alleviate the effects of, sexual and physical abuse and human trafficking
• Drug education and prevention programs

Community Building and Development – Just Born Quality Confections believes that behind every successful business is a strong community. We support causes that encourage community collaboration and improve the general well-being of our community. Programs supported by Community Building grants should invest in people by increasing skills, knowledge, abilities or well-being, and strengthen community resources.

Programs supported by our Community Building grants include, but are not limited to:

Housing:

• Stable affordable housing for individuals, children, and families
• Emergency Shelter
• Rapid Re-housing programs that include case management, limited financial assistance, job services, and career development
• Housing for veterans, young adults with developmental disabilities, those escaping domestic violence, and other vulnerable populations
• Services that allow young adults with disabilities and seniors to live independently at home

Workforce Development:

• Job-training programs that collaborate with local businesses to educate students on high-priority occupations and career pathways. Particular interest will be placed on programs supporting workforce development in the field of manufacturing.
• Life-skills and job-readiness training
• Hard and soft-skills training
• Paid internship opportunities
• Opportunities for young adults with disabilities who are transitioning from a school environment into the workplace
• Programs to reduce recidivism and encourage job readiness

Financial Literacy and Economic Stability:

• Financial coaching programs to help participants decrease debt, increase savings, and set long-term financial goals.

Environmental, Conservation, and Sustainability – Just Born Quality Confections invests in initiatives that foster sustainable communities. This includes projects that protect threatened ecosystems, preserve the health of our planet, and promote environmental education.

Programs supported by our Environmental, Conservation & Sustainability grants include, but are not limited to:

• Programs to protect and restore our waterways and preserve land
• Opportunities for children to participate in nature-based programming
• Environmental education initiatives
• Waste reduction and recycling programs

About Us

The Foxwynd Foundation comprises dedicated members of the Bentley family residing across the United States. Across numerous years, the family's philanthropic endeavors have catalyzed significant change on both domestic and international fronts, reflecting their deep-rooted commitment to humanitarian causes. This longstanding legacy of giving underscored the imperative to establish a family foundation.

With a diverse and passionate board of members, interests range from supporting domestic violence shelters and children's aid organizations to advancing renewable energy initiatives and safeguarding endangered species.

Today, the Foxwynd Foundation is dedicated to serving as a beacon of hope for communities in need, enhancing access to essential pillars of human dignity and potential, including healthcare, housing, and sustainable environmental initiatives. While presently focused on domestic causes, the foundation aims to expand its impact and secure international funding opportunities by the conclusion of 2024.

Priorities

• Healthcare
  • We support programs dedicated to assisting domestic violence victims, abuse survivors, and the protection of women's rights.
• Environmental Projects
  • We prioritize funding projects with a clear, measurable impact rather than initiatives with broad or abstract objectives. For example, we are more inclined to support tangible activities such as tree planting over programs like conservation education. Additionally, our focus is on building partnerships with organizations that are nonpartisan and refrain from engaging in lobbying activities.
• Housing
  • We are committed to funding established programs that address critical needs, including supporting shelters, preventing homelessness—particularly among children through initiatives such as orphanages—providing or establishing housing facilities, offering housing assistance to prevent eviction, and creating employment opportunities for individuals in need.

Health and healing for our society and planetThe Audrey Hillman Fisher Foundation is committed to caring for our communities through investment in big ideas that advance the arts, education, human services, and the environment. The Foundation has a targeted focus in Pittsburgh, Pa., Santa Barbara, Calif., and a small number of legacy partnerships in Squam Lakes, N.H.PrioritiesIn Pittsburgh, Pa. and Santa Barbara, Calif., the Audrey Hillman Fisher Foundation emphasizes the arts, education, and human services. The Foundation encourages big ideas and projects from new organizations that fit exclusively into these geographic areas. In the Squam Lakes, N.H. area, the Foundation focuses almost exclusively on conservation, environmental education and access through a small number of legacy partners.

EQT Foundation

EQT is proud to be a part of the many communities where we operate, live and work. We believe strongly that giving back is a responsibility, and we’ve stayed true to that belief since the EQT Foundation was established in 2003 as a dedicated resource for financial, in-kind and volunteer support to communities touched by our business.

Since its inception, the EQT Foundation has awarded more than $74 million to nonprofits throughout the operational footprint of EQT Corporation. We are committed to supporting the education and training of children and adults; the development of diverse, livable communities; and preserving our natural environments.

The EQT Foundation believes in meaningful engagement with the communities it calls home and takes great pride in being a responsible and responsive corporate citizen. The EQT Foundation focuses its resources on areas that have a direct effect on the stability of communities and, in turn, contribute to the success of its business operations in those areas.

Funding Priorities

The EQT Foundation’s funding strategy endorses organizations and programs that directly impact the community and its residents. The Foundation supports nonprofits that demonstrate positive, needed, and trusted impacts throughout their community with special attention given to proposals grounded in analysis that demonstrate creative approaches to addressing critical issues.

The EQT Foundation also seeks evidence of:

• Geographic setting that aligns with EQT Corporation’s business locations;
• Ability to manage available resources effectively; and
• Outreach that gains solid public recognition and support for the nonprofit, its programs and sponsors.

The Foundation’s funding priorities are:

Community Enrichment

Encourage the development of diverse, safe, healthy, and sustainable communities, which can help to retain residential, commercial and economic growth.

Examples: Food banks, libraries, farmers markets, arts & music programs, community festivals & initiatives

Education & Workforce

Promote proficiency in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) topics for youth, as well as training programs to create a future skilled workforce.

Examples: In-school STEM-based curricula, computer and science camps, project-based learning, teacher professional development, career planning and preparation

Environment

Support the preservation of natural resources, and educate children, residents, and businesses to employ conservation techniques to minimize adverse impacts on the environment.

Examples: community gardens, watershed conservation, environmental education, preservation and restoration of green spaces

Vision and Focus Areas

We commit to creating a vibrant, equitable and just Pittsburgh region that supports everyone – regardless of race, identity or circumstance – to thrive and fulfill their potential.

Under our strategic plan, we strive to strengthen our focus on community and the positive impact that can be achieved through our grantmaking. Our current areas of focus are: Basic Needs, Equity and Social Justice, Arts and Culture, Economic Mobility and Environmental Action. From time to time, we have special grant-making opportunities related to specific regions or to issues such as juvenile justice or senior care. 

The Pittsburgh Foundation is committed to helping the communities we serve become equitable and vibrant places where everyone can thrive. We align our grantmaking with resident’s dreams for themselves, their families and their communities and prioritize support in the five focus areas listed below.

Basic Needs

We seek to improve the stability of low-income people by supporting direct assistance to obtain food, housing, health care, mental health supports, child care, education and employment.

Across our basic needs grantmaking, we are committed to expanding knowledge of, improving access to, and improving coordination among local resources and human services.

• Food Access: We seek to support programs and services that assist low-income individuals and families to obtain enough food.
• Child Care: We seek to ensure equitable access to quality child care.
• Education: We strive to ensure access to high-quality in-class education as well as culturally-responsive,  out-of-school time programs.
• Mental and Physical Health: We aim to support the mental and physical health needs of residents by ensuring access to quality, affordable and culturally responsive services.
• Housing: We seek to support or fill gaps in a county-wide eviction prevention system, and help support those living in transitional housing and/or facing unexpected loss of housing.
• Employment: We seek to support youth and adults who experience significant barriers to employment.

Equity and Social Justice

We seek to support civic participation and community organizing to achieve policy changes.

Our equity and social justice grantmaking places strong emphasis on leadership by individuals who have been directly impacted by systemic injustice, as we believe that they are best positioned to propose solutions that remove barriers that impeded their ability to thrive.

• Civic Participation
  • Voter Engagement: We seek to support the ability of the nonprofit sector to engage historically underrepresented populations and communities that have documented low voter turnout.
  • Access to Information: We seek to support public media  outlets and other platforms that produce professional, regionally focused, fact-based news coverage and information.
• Community-Driven Solutions
  • Protect Basic Needs:  We seek to support grassroots organizations and resident-informed initiatives that address barriers that prevent families from being able to meet their basic needs and thrive.
  • End Mass Incarceration:  We seek to uplift and provide resources for community-led efforts to change policies and practices that result in over-policing and over-incarceration.
  • Youth Justice:  We are interested in supporting intervention and prevention activities that support youth who have any involvement with the criminal and juvenile justice systems.

Environmental Action

We seek to protect the health of our communities and the preservation of our environment.

Our environmental action grantmaking prioritizes support for projects, initiatives and collaborations that center communities in environmental decision-making and amplify the intersectional nature of working to protect the health of our communities and the preservation of our environment. We recognize that environmental issues span beyond geographic borders. While we will continue to prioritize projects serving residents of Allegheny County, we will also consider on a case-by-case basis projects that work across the southwest Pennsylvania 12-county region.

• Equitable Access to Land, Water, and Air: To promote equitable access to land, air and water, we seek to support community-centered conservation and stewardship of natural resources.
• Learning and Action: We seek to address the harms of chronic pollution and mitigate future impacts, translate research into action to protect the health of communities and their environments and support resident voice in environmental decision-making in their communities.

Arts and Culture

We seek to strengthen small-to-mid-sized arts organizations and support individual artists by fostering a diverse, healthy and just arts ecosystem. 

• Small-to-Mid-Sized Arts Organizations: Small and Mid-Size Arts Organizations face disparities in their ability to access resources.
• Support for Careers and Lives of Individual Artists: Through this funding to individual artists, the Foundation hopes that the Pittsburgh region will be exposed to the breadth of human experience and the unparalleled talent the region has to offer.

Economic Mobility

We seek to reduce the wealth gap in Allegheny County.

• Access to Post-Secondary Education: We seek to support programs that enable students to earn college credit while in high school; admissions navigation support and academic and financial counseling; re-engagement strategies for students who have stopped attending school; and supports for non-traditional students.
• Career Advancement: We are interested in supporting organizations that offer technology training with career potential. 
• Entrepreneurship: We are interested in efforts to increase entrepreneurship.
• Homeownership: In 2025, applications for the Homeownership focus area will be by invitation only.

Types of Grants

Recognizing that nonprofits need flexible support that allows them to adapt to changing community needs, we offer applicants the opportunity to apply for two types of grant support:

• Project/Program Support:  Funds are used to develop and/or implement a specific set of programmatic activities. These grants are usually time-bound and aimed at achieving specific goals and milestones.
• General Operating Support: Funds can be used at the discretion of the organization to cover any costs necessary to carry out its mission. This means that the grant award can be used to cover day-to-day activities or ongoing expenses such as administrative salaries, rent and office supplies, etc., as well as for program costs, software and hardware purchases, and professional development

Our Priorities

We will prioritize funding for organizations that reflect one or more of the following:

• Primarily serve communities disproportionately impacted by poverty.
• Have a demonstrated commitment to addressing the historical and present-day impact of social injustices on the specific communities it serves.
• Have an established history in the communities in which it works.
• Are representative of the communities it serves, including but not limited to, leadership and staff who have lived experience in the community issues that it addresses.
• Meaningfully integrate the experience and perspectives of the communities that it serves in the design, implementation, evaluation and/or decision-making process for its strategies and/or programs.

Funding

Generally, grants will be awarded for no more than two years due to limited availability of funds. One-year grants generally range from $10,000 to $75,000. Two-year grants will generally not exceed $150,000.

In limited situations, proposals that align with one or more of our grantmaking focus areas and with grantmaking priorities, and that clearly demonstrate the need and potential impact, may be considered for a larger grant. Organization leaders should have a conversation with a program officer before submitting a request for more than $150,000.

Pittsburgh Foundation

Established in 1945, The Pittsburgh Foundation is one of the nation’s oldest community foundations and as of 2022 is the 18th largest of more than 750 similar foundations across the United States.

As a community foundation, its resources comprise endowment funds established by individuals, businesses and organizations with a passion for charitable giving and fulfilling the Foundation’s mission of improving quality of life for all in the region.

Foundation-Directed Grantmaking

The Pittsburgh Foundation is committed to helping the communities we serve become equitable and vibrant places where everyone can thrive. We align our grantmaking with resident’s dreams for themselves, their families and their communities and prioritize support in the five focus areas: Basic Needs; Equity and Social Justice; Environmental Action; Arts and Culture; and Economic Mobility.

Duration: Generally, grants will be awarded for no more than two years due to limited availability of funds.

Amounts: One-year grants generally range from $10,000 to $75,000. Two-year grants will generally not exceed $150,000. Actual grant amounts are determined based on staff review of each individual application and consideration of the funding available at the time the application is received.

Environmental Action

Our environmental action grantmaking prioritizes support for projects, initiatives and collaborations that center communities in environmental decision-making and amplify the intersectional nature of working to protect the health of our communities and the preservation of our environment. We recognize that environmental issues span beyond geographic borders. While we will continue to prioritize projects serving residents of Allegheny County, we will also consider on a case-by-case basis projects that work across the southwest Pennsylvania 12-county region.

Environmental Action Grants: Learning and Action

All people have the right to live in a safe and healthy environment. To address past harms and mitigate future impacts, we seek to translate research into action to protect the health of communities and their environments and build agency within these communities.

The Foundation is interested in supporting the following:

• Community-engaged participatory research and citizen science activities that seek to increase environmental health safety and climate literacy.
• Cross-sector partnerships that advance systems changes to improve environmental health outcomes, protect the environment and share decision-making power with community members.
• Advocacy initiatives that advance policies that protect health and preserve the environment.
• Grassroots and youth organizing efforts that advance environmental priorities in the region (for example, clean energy, transportation, food systems, economic transition of coal-impacted communities).

The Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy is a global environmental nonprofit working to create a world where people and nature can thrive.

Our Mission

To conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends.

Connectivity, Climate, Communities Fund

To make the highest possible impact on the climate and biodiversity crises, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is committed to advancing solutions and supporting partners throughout the Appalachians to connect and conserve vital wildlife habitat, build resilience to the impacts of climate change, and generate new job and recreation opportunities for communities.

Approximately one-third of the U.S. population lives in or within 100 miles of the Appalachians, including an estimated 36 million people that rely on the region for sources of drinking water. The landscape contains the world's largest remaining expanses of temperate broadleaf mixed forest and provides habitat to a wide diversity of plants of animals, many of which are listed as rare, threatened, or endangered. Conserving this landscape is critical for nature and for the people that live and work there.

However as climate change drives ecosystem instability, plants and animals are shifting their ranges northward, and people are having to find ways to adapt to complex and intertwined challenges. TNC and many others have been working to conserve vital Appalachian habitats for decades. Now we must ramp up our efforts and coordinate with partners across the Appalachians for maximum impact.

To succeed in these efforts, TNC’s Connectivity, Climate, Communities Fund offers two grant programs for conservation and community organizations, municipalities, Federally Recognized Tribal Nations, and local and state agencies in the Appalachians who are working to protect and conserve this region:

• The Resilient and Connected Appalachians Grant Program
• The New York Climate Resilience Grant Program

Resilient and Connected Appalachians Grant Program

The Resilient and Connected Appalachians Grant Program provides grants of up to $100,000 for fee and easement acquisition projects throughout the Appalachians.

Equitable Conservation and Community Benefits

Conservation organizations are increasingly acknowledging the importance of incorporating social equity in their missions, partnerships, and projects and evolving how they work to have better outcomes for people and nature.

TNC defines community benefits as the positive outcomes that directly result from or are included within conservation projects as experienced by local communities and people. This is particularly important for historically marginalized communities, communities with limited access to nature, communities experiencing heightened impacts of climate change due to systemic underinvestment and poor infrastructure, and Indigenous communities. 

RCA program funding will support projects that demonstrate meaningful community engagement, work with those historically excluded from conservation, and lead to a fairer distribution of benefits for people and communities.

Some examples of community benefits include improved and greater access to nature, protection of drinking water sources, recreational and resource-based economic opportunities, flood mitigation, engagement in cross-cultural initiatives, or protection of lands that will meet community-defined conservation needs. We encourage projects with meaningful community benefits that are integrated with the land protection goals.

Project Evaluation

Projects will be evaluated  according to their capacity to deliver land protection outcomes aligned with the program goals, including:

• Location:
  • the project is located within TNC’s Appalachians Program boundary and is in or near a mapped focal area.  Projects outside of focal areas will also be considered.
• Resilience:
  • the percentage of the total project area that is part of the Resilient and Connected Network.
• Connectivity:
  • adjacency to protected lands or other attributes that will lead to landscape connectivity over time (e.g., the project is a necessary acquisition for advancing a local or regional plan that aims to protect a critical conservation corridor).
• Collaboration:
  • evidence of engagement with other organizations, community groups, or local governments (including, but not limited to, shared funding).
• Community:
  • project elements that directly engage and or benefit people, especially vulnerable or marginalized communities.
• Timeline:
  • the project will close within 12 months from the start of the grant agreement term.
• Feasibility:
  • likelihood that the project will close and the costs seem reasonable.

About the Community Foundation

The Adams County Community Foundation was incorporated in 2007 to succeed the Adams County Foundation, an organization founded in 1985 when a group of members led by Jack Phillips inspired their Rotary Club of Gettysburg to action. Adams County Foundation operated for 22 years. During that time the Foundation acquired six separate Charitable Funds totaling $500,000 and distributed $120,000 to Adams County charities. The Community Foundation is a public 501(c)(3) organization.

The purpose of the Adams County Community Foundation is to inspire people and communities to build and distribute charitable funds for Good, for Adams County, for Ever. The Community Foundation’s assets are managed by an investment manager and consultant, hired by the Board and overseen by the Investment & Finance Committee. From these investments, grants are distributed to local charities through several competitive grant making and scholarship application opportunities. With an 18-member Board of Directors, Adams County Community Foundation serves as a good steward of the monies of our donors and demonstrates accountability, transparency, confidentiality, compassion, inclusiveness and excellence in its work.

Across the country, community foundations offer their citizens an opportunity to become philanthropists, investing in causes they care about with certain assurances. They are assured that the charitable fund they create will be permanent and will forever meet the needs that are relevant to their original intent and the communities’ needs. They are assured that the community foundation will be good stewards of their charitable investments, selecting and maintaining good fund managers at reasonable cost with performance benchmarks in place. Because it is the community foundation’s responsibility to know the community, donors are also assured that only qualified charities will receive grants and that the grants they receive will be used for the good purposes for which they were intended. Finally, donors are assured that their name or the name of a loved one will live on through their fund.

The Adams County Community Foundation is a member of the Council on Foundations and the Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations. The Community Foundation achieved certification under National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations®, overseen by the Council on Foundations. These standards attest to the Community Foundation’s adherence to sound practices not only in its financial management, but in all facets of its operations.

Adams County Fund for the Environment

In recognition of Earth Day, the Adams County Community Foundation created the Adams County Fund for the Environment with initial support from donors interested in making environmental stewardship a shared community value in Adams County, Pennsylvania.

Objectives

The Fund’s grantmaking will support environmental education and local environmental projects.

• Grants that aim to educate our community around environmental issues, like climate science, renewable energies and protecting our waterways.
• Grants that support boots on the ground local projects like tree planting, litter pick-up, and recycling.

Funding

Currently up to $5,000 per year per nonprofit organization.

The Beginning

Nora Roberts, best-selling author, created the Nora Roberts Foundation in 2001. In the beginning, the goal of the foundation was to support literacy, children, the arts, and other humanitarian efforts. Over the years, the focus of the foundation shifted, and now includes social justice and the environment.

Mission Statement

As we believe literacy is a human right, we have made supporting literacy organizations our highest priority. In order to create a beautiful, equitable, and safe world, we also support organizations focused on the arts, children, social justice, and the environment.

FAQ

Our average grant is $5000. For first time grant seekers, we recommend asking for $3,000 - $5,000. You can also ask for less than $3,000.

The board usually makes granting decisions based on the programming offered by an organization. If the general operating expenses, salaries, and paper clips are needed for the programming then we generally approve funds for gen op use. Your application should be focused on a project or programming. Final decisions about how the funds can be used would happen after approval of a grant.

Our History

Colcom Foundation is rooted in a philanthropic tradition that supports important causes whether or not they are embraced by popular culture. For example, the Foundation’s benefactor was among the most generous supporters of women’s reproductive freedoms long before the majority of Americans supported these rights. Colcom continues this legacy by promoting a public dialogue on ecologically sustainable immigration policy. Additionally, the Foundation supports physician aid-in-dying and individual autonomy at the end of life.

The Foundation’s work in southwest Pennsylvania reflects its deep roots in the region; efforts focus on remediating environmental damage from a history of heavy industry and supporting the region’s rich cultural heritage.

Colcom Foundation’s funding interests include:

Local Environment

Colcom Foundation supports environmental and conservation projects in southwestern Pennsylvania.

• Advocacy
• Land Conservation
• Education and Media
• Conservation Research
• Stewardship
• Trails
• Waste Cleanup and Diversion
• Youth

Local Community

Colcom Foundation supports projects that enrich and improve quality of life in southwestern Pennsylvania.

• Arts and Culture
• Community and Economic Development
• Education
• Health and Human Services
• Leisure and Recreation

Our Mission

The Scherman Foundation invests in the economic, political, and cultural transformation necessary for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to reclaim and build power. 

Our Strategic Framework

We believe that investing in cultural, political, and economic transformation together advances justice to realize our vision. We support organizations working at the intersections of these transformation areas inside our strategic framework. This framework is the foundation of our more specific and evolving program priorities.

• Economic Transformation
  • Our focus on economic transformation acknowledges that the root causes of economic inequity are linked to white supremacy and racial injustice and that the economic well being of BIPOC individuals and communities is critical for liberation.
  • We support organizations that focus on:
    • Strategies and models that provide BIPOC communities with greater access to capital, assets, and opportunities
    • Economic stability and security for BIPOC individuals and families
    • Advocating for more equitable economic systems through policy reform, institutional changes, and increased transparency
• Political Transformation
  • We believe that those who have been excluded must lead the way in dismantling current political structures and creating new, inclusive, and reflective democratic processes.
  • We support organizations that focus on:
    • Work and priorities that are driven by BIPOC communities
    • Forging multi-racial coalitions working toward racial justice
    • Reforming political structures and processes to make the political system more accessible and accountable to BIPOC communities
    • Increasing the participation of BIPOC communities in democratic processes and decision-making at all levels
• Cultural Transformation
  • Recognizing the crucial role of culture in advancing justice, we support organizations that harness storytelling, expression, and artistic activism to drive systemic change.
  • Our focus is on collaborative narrative change strategies, innovative storytelling frameworks, and equitable media accessibility.
  • We support organizations that focus on:
    • Public Narrative Change: Combating misinformation and harmful stereotypes through investments in journalism, local news outlets, and nonfiction narratives
    • Artistic Expression: Supporting the creativity and work of BIPOC artists and communities without imposing agendas or conditions and transforming the field to do the same
    • Artivism: Using art as a tool for organizing grassroots movements and collective action, including funding on-the-ground storytelling and public art projects

General Criteria

We consider the following general criteria in our grantmaking process.

• Organizations that are accountable to or directed by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities.
  • While we prioritize BIPOC leadership, our main focus is on organizations where BIPOC communities have clear influence and decision-making power over the organization's strategy, direction, programmatic work, and finances.
• Organizations that are intersectional in their work and practices.
  • Intersectionality recognizes that individuals hold multiple identities, shaping their experiences with power.
  • We look for organizations that demonstrate a deep understanding of intersectionality in their mission, programs, and practices; center the voices and experiences of those most affected by multiple forms of oppression; and address the interconnectedness of racial justice with economic status, gender, LGBTQ+, and/or disability justice as well.
• Organizations that work with others to build movements toward racial justice.
  • Movement-building is the long-term process of organizing and empowering individuals and organizations to collectively work towards systemic change and a shared vision.
  • We look for organizations and coalitions that reflect key characteristics of movement building including an authentic mass base; grassroots leadership; a shared ideology or narrative; broad coalition-building; and strategy to create and sustain structural change beyond specific organizations or campaigns.
  • The Foundation supports organizations focused on organizing and advocacy, while our Arts funding includes a wider range of approaches

Environmental & Climate Justice Program

Over the next 20 years, and likely beyond, climate chaos will be a primary driver of economic, social, cultural, and political change in the U.S.  But while transformation is inevitable, a Just Transition one that replaces fossil fuel systems that drive racial and economic inequality with structures that are decentralized, equitably distributed, and democratically controlled—will only be achieved through grassroots climate organizing and movement-building that embodies racial justice.

Climate change disproportionally harms Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, whether it is adjacency to noxious fossil fuel facilities that drive sky-rocketing asthma rates, the poisoning of Indigenous peoples’ lands, or the ocean inundation of unprotected communities already suffering from climate-driven heat waves. In New York, these harms will be increasingly exacerbated by climate-driven immigration, pitting one historically oppressed group against another. This reality is central to the environmental and climate justice movement. It is also the movement’s strength because frontline communities of color are the natural leaders to build economic, cultural, and political power in the fight to shape climate transformation. Local and state based community organizations and mass-based coalitions embody the intersectionality, first-hand knowledge, and determination rooted in lived experience that informs and drives systemic change.  

Funding Priorities

New York Regional Focus

The Foundation will focus its support on New York City and State in order to seek synergies with grantees in its other programs, facilitate deep staff engagement and support of the field, and take advantage of the moment. The state and city are at dramatic climate policy tipping points, positioned to demonstrate that a transition to climate sustainability is inextricably interwoven with the fight for racial justice. Having won historic legal commitments to a Just Transition—the CLCPA, Local Law 97, etc.—our grantees are working to defend those wins and fight for aggressive implementation. 

In order to leverage regional synergies (and confront regional challenges), the Foundation will continue to fund a limited number of grassroots groups in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Local Frontline Organizations and Allies

The Foundation funds multi-issue, BIPOC, community-based organizations, or coalitions of such groups, with a primary focus on racial justice and climate sustainability, from democratically controlled renewable energy projects and local/state policy to local climate resiliency and green jobs. These groups approach climate through the lens of local needs and concerns of historically oppressed communities. They are not first and foremost focused on emissions reductions (the usual measure of climate strategies) but on intersectional approaches such as asthma and PEAK plant transition; community self-sufficiency and solidarity through renewable energy microgrids and resilient, community-controlled community infrastructure; and the creation of energy efficient housing and green jobs. This complex intersectionality requires the Foundation to vet groups on the viability of their goals and strategies and on the authenticity of their community roots, power building, and accountability.

The Foundation provides targeted support for mass transit work. The city and region are uniquely shaped by the benefits and inequities of mass transit. These systems intersect with issues of economic access, health inequities, affordable housing, and, of course, climate. While almost all of the ECJ program’s grantees work at least tangentially on transportation issues, the Foundation funds a core group of grassroots organizing, advocacy, and policy groups and campaigns working exclusively for equitable mass transit.

The Foundation also supports a limited number of policy, legal, and technical support organizations allied with, and accountable to, frontline groups and coalitions.

National Climate Justice Groups

The Foundation will support a limited number of national Climate Justice groups distinguished by the following characteristics:

• A strong grassroots base in New York BIPOC communities, primarily through affiliations
• The capacity to both support and amplify New York climate justice groups
• An intersectional approach addressing racial, political, and economic justice in addition to climate
• A cohesive racial justice narrative built with other organizations and community partners

About DCNR

Established on July 1, 1995, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) is charged with:

• Maintaining and protecting 121 state parks
• Managing 2.2 million acres of state forest land
• Providing information on the state's ecological and geologic resources
• Establishing community conservation partnerships with grants and technical assistance to benefit rivers, trails, greenways, local parks and recreation, regional heritage parks, open space, and natural areas.

DCNR Mission

DCNR’s mission is to conserve and sustain Pennsylvania’s natural resources for present and future generations’ use and enjoyment.

DCNR Vision

As Pennsylvania’s leader and chief advocate for conservation and outdoor recreation, DCNR will inspire citizens to:

• Value their natural resources
• Engage in conservation practices
• Experience the outdoors

Project Types for ATV and Snowmobile Trails:

All-Terrain Vehicle and Snowmobile projects include the planning, acquisition of land, development, rehabilitation, maintenance, purchase of equipment for maintenance and construction, and development of educational programs related to ATV and/or snowmobile trails and facilities. Funding comes from the ATV Management Restricted Account and the Snowmobile Management Restricted Account as authorized by Act 97 of 2016. 

Acquisition

• ATV and Snowmobile Land Acquisition Projects involve the purchase of fee simple title or perpetual easement to real property for subsequent development of ATV or snowmobile trails and facilities.

Planning

• ATV and Snowmobile Planning Projects examine the feasibility of developing trails and facilities for ATV or Snowmobile activities.

Development, Rehabilitation, or Maintenance

• ATV and Snowmobile Development Projects construct new and rehabilitate and maintain existing ATV or snowmobile trails and facilities.

Equipment Purchase

• ATV and Snowmobile Equipment Purchase Projects involve the purchase or lease of equipment to be used exclusively for the maintenance or construction of ATV or snowmobile trails and facilities.

Educational Programs

• ATV and Snowmobile Educational Program Projects involve the development and operation of educational programs that promote safety and environmental protection as those objectives relate to the use of ATVs or snowmobiles.

The Edna W. Andrade Fund -- a Donor Advised Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation -- is pleased to announce the availability of grants for local or national museums or nonprofit art organizations to benefit visual fine artists from Greater Philadelphia.

The fund was established through the estate of Edna Andrade. Edna Andrade was a leading Philadelphia teacher and artist who was associated with the Op Art movement of the 1960's.

Grants will be awarded in amounts ranging from $5,000 to $25,000. 

The purpose of the fund is to benefit visual fine artists from the Greater Philadelphia area by providing funds for the following:

• For grants to local or national museums or other charitable organizations that request funding for the purchase or commission of works of art by specific artists from the Greater Philadelphia area
• For grants to local or national museums for the funding of one-person exhibitions of specific artists from the Greater Philadelphia area
  • The Greater Philadelphia area is defined as Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties in Pennsylvania and Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Mercer counties in New Jersey.
• For grants to nonprofit organizations as fiscal agents for individual artists or groups of artists from the Greater Philadelphia area who propose to start or are engaged in continuing educational, cultural, humanitarian or environmental projects.

Passion Grants

Thanks to visionary donors over time, Passion Grants support a broad range of impact areas including human services, the environment, human rights & inclusion, the arts, early child development, and projects in Eastern Lancaster County.

The John J. Snyder Fund is a distinct type of passion grant that supports the preservation of historical buildings. This fund has a separate application form and evaluation criteria

Passion Grant Funds

Human Services

• Grant range $10,000 - $32,000
• For home health or custodial care for people impacted by illness or disability.

• Grant range $10,000 – $27,200
• Dollars from this fund now supplement grants offered by the Lancaster County Homelessness Coalition through its Homelessness Services Joint Funding program. 

Eastern Lancaster County

• Grant range $10,000 - $29,000
• For community projects based in Eastern Lancaster County. Specifically Eastern Lancaster County (ELANCO), Pequea Valley, and Conestoga Valley School Districts

Environment

• Grant range $10,000 – $32,400
• Supports environmental protection, conservation, and education.

Human Rights/Inclusion

• $15,000 available, grant range $7,500 – $15,000
• Supports programs that fight hate and bigotry while promoting social justice.

Visual Arts

:

• $15,000 available, grant range $10,000 - $36,400
• Provides support to visual arts programs in Lancaster County, with a preference given for those that serve underrepresented or underserved groups in our community.

Performing Arts

:

• Grant range $10,000 - $36,400
• Supports performing arts programs in the Lancaster County community, with a preference given for those that serve underrepresented or underserved groups in our community.

Infant, Toddler, and Preschool Children

• Grant range $10,000 – $25,000
• Supports early childhood development from birth to age five.

There is an often quoted parable that tells of two people fishing downstream who are startled to see a person floating down the river, struggling for life. Working together, the fisher folk pull the person to safety but shortly after they notice another person crying for help. Again, they pull the person to safety. Other community members hear what is happening and rush to help. As the fisher folk tire, volunteers take their place, and the community works together all day and all night to safely pull more and more people from the river. The next morning the community members have a new idea—we need to go upstream and find out why so many people are falling in the water. Upon walking upstream, the community members find that people are drawn to the edge of a cliff to look at the river and its beauty. Unfortunately, there is no safe way to do this and many of them fall. The community members return and report the number of people who have fallen into the river due to the lack of a protective barrier on the cliff. In response, the community builds a wall behind which people may safely view the water. Some still fall, but there are far fewer.

Funding Priorities

• The Greater Harrisburg Community Foundation (GHCF) UPstream grant opportunity seeks to improve our area communities by supporting existing or new “upstream” systems, interventions, programs, or projects that attempt to create positive social change by addressing a problem at its source rather than managing its “downstream” symptoms.
• This grant opportunity is open to singular or collective nonprofit organizations whose proposals will serve the GHCF service area of Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lebanon, and/or Perry Counties and the Dillsburg Area of Northern York County.
• GHCF UPstream is available to organizations of all sizes, budgets, and reaches.
• The number of grant awards will be dependent upon the quantity of qualified applicants and funds sought.

GHCF UPstream welcomes creative and strategic solutions that seek to address the source of systemic issues within the communities you serve. Applicants may seek support for ANY “upstream” project, program, or intervention that best meets the needs of the population to be served. Examples of upstream projects include, but are not limited to: access to quality education, access to a safe and healthy environment; life skills training; materials that increase accessibility or improve an individual’s self-sufficiency; availability of reliable and safe transportation that improves an individual or group’s ability to grow, learn, or address a key need; animal spay/neuter clinics; early health screenings; job training and placement; support of basic needs that work to support an individual or group’s ability to grow, learn, or address a key need. The principal focus of GHCF UPstream is the support of any grant application that best presents upstream solutions to any area of community need. In addition, GHCF is empowered by a range of special funds which serve to collectively strengthen our area communities through shared themes and also welcomes upstream applications that address:

• Education: Early childhood education; education & development programs for children & youth; educational programs serving adults
• Environment & Parks: Environmental stewardship; horticulture & the arts; health & environment; park beautification & improvement
• Health & Wellness: Health & human services; programs and projects focusing upon: cancer awareness and/or research, dental care for those in need, HIV & AIDS, individuals with debilitating or terminal illness, Individuals with intellectual disabilities, prevention of head and/or spinal cord injury, purchasing of devices that improve accessibility
• Homelessness & Hunger: Programs & projects addressing homelessness & hunger
• Mental Health: Counseling for children with terminally ill family members; guidance, counseling, or programming that includes guidance and/or counseling for youths; programs and projects that address mental health
• Seniors: Programs & projects serving older adults
• Communities of Focus: Programs and projects that benefit residents of Millersburg, a borough of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. Disaster relief & human services that serve the communities of Lebanon City, PA and Cressona, PA. Projects to enhance Camp Hill Borough parks provided by youth organizations such as Scout programs or other youth organizations; programs & projects that focus upon or nurture access to early childhood education within Camp Hill.
• Please note: each community of focus is supported by special funds and parameters established by caring community members and is specific to the respective community.

Attention Prospective Arts Applicants! – The Greater Harrisburg Community Foundation recognizes the artistic, cultural, and economic value of the arts and is pleased to offer funding opportunities for the arts through The Arts for All Partnership, a collaboration between the Greater Harrisburg Community Foundation and the Cultural Enrichment Fund. This unique collaborative funding initiative aims to improve the efficiency of arts grant funding and increase the overall impact of grant funding for arts programming in our communities. Prospective grant applicants whose project is centered upon the arts and access to the arts, will be best served by seeking funding support through The Arts for All Partnership rather than GHCF Upstream.

Background

Every community faces unique barriers that require collaborative solutions to thrive. The Dow Promise Program supports educational and economic challenges Black youth and adults face in the United States by addressing community-identified needs and advancing equitable opportunities. Through grants of up to $10,000 towards social, economic or environmental initiatives, Dow Promise not only fosters a thriving community, but a shared future.

Since 2000, this annual competitive program has committed to uplifting communities in which Dow operates by supporting their needs and investing in positive social change for long-term success.

Richard King Mellon Foundation

Since 1947, the Richard King Mellon Foundation (Foundation) has funded visionaries with bold ideas to advance prosperity in Southwestern Pennsylvania, and environmental conservation across the United States. The Foundation’s 2023 year-end endowment was $2.9 billion, and its Trustees in 2024 disbursed nearly $155 million in grants and program-related investments.

The Foundation focuses its funding on six program areas: Conservation; Economic Development; Economic Mobility; Health & Well-Being; Organizational Effectiveness; and Social-Impact Investments. All six programs invest in transformative, evidence-informed solutions that align with the Foundation’s strategy and contribute to positive change.

Innovative Wood Products and Value Chains

The Richard King Mellon Foundation seeks proposals that support innovation in wood products; strengthen associated value chains; and/or encourage deployment of these materials. The cumulative intent is to accelerate the use of novel wood products across the built environment and among consumers, with attendant benefits to conservation and economic development.

RFP responses may address product development; certification and commercialization; market and value chain strengthening; deployment of new technologies in demonstration projects; and other scalable projects with the potential to secure and enhance the benefits of innovation in innovative wood products.

The Foundation has a particular interest in projects that demonstrate a clear nexus with rural economic development in areas with conserved natural resources and landscapes.

ABOUT ROOTED IN JUSTICE

“Rooted in Justice” is a funding program designed to help amplify youth voices and actions in the environmental and food justice movements.  Rooted in Justice supports community-based organizations and groups that manage established, youth-led, urban greening programs within a justice framework as a core part of their work, with two-year grants of $25,000/year.  

Rooted in Justice recognizes the importance and undeniable right of every young person to have the ability to develop their own relationship with the environment, be it through growing food, spending time with nature, creating community green spaces, or becoming environmental stewards. Rooted in Justice also honors the power and possibilities that arise when young people collectively work to be change-makers in their communities.

Rooted in Justice supports organizations, groups, collectives, and programs that work with young people between the ages of 12 to 20 in youth-led programming for communities or cultures which have historically or currently experience:

• A lack of access to land or nature;
• Agricultural oppression and/or neglect;
• Food apartheid; and/or
• Other forms of injustice based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics and disability.

Rooted in Justice awards a small number of grants each year with applications due in the fall and decisions made the following spring. Final grant decisions are recommended to the Cedar Tree board via a participatory grantmaking process with outside reviewers who have experience in youth-led urban greening, as well as food or climate justice programming. So far the program has awarded multi-year grants to 21 organizations and one-time grants to 10 additional organizations since 2021. 

Definitions

Rooted in Justice grants support organizations or programs that include all four of the elements described below: social justice, youth-led, urban greening, and cohort-based youth work. We articulate our understanding of those terms below in an effort to provide a guide for prospective organizations to use in determining whether their program is a good fit. However as we continue our work towards questioning and dismantling some of our preconceived notions, we recognize that these are not finite definitions and encourage prospective applicants who still feel their work may be a good fit to describe in their proposals why this is the case.  

Social Justice-Based Programs

Programs dedicated to creating equitable outcomes for communities directly affected by different aspects of injustice by:

• Sharing and redistributing power and resources;
• Amplifying voices and leadership;
• Tackling root problems through ongoing engagement and collaboration to find solutions, organize against oppression of all kinds and create mechanisms for change; and
• Developing a critical analysis with youth and community members.

Youth-Led

The development of youth leadership skills is a core part of programs funded by Rooted in Justice. Young people have the opportunity to play a role in the planning and decision-making for their program and may help shape the internal workings of the organization. Examples of youth-led programs include programs where participants: 

• Managing a portion of their programming budget;
• Co-facilitating program activities, meetings and gatherings;
• Shape their own programming and/or organizational strategic planning;
• Have regular and end-of-program opportunities to provide program feedback and evaluation; and
• Have opportunities for personal and/or professional growth within the program and organization.

Urban Greening

For the purpose of this grant we define “urban greening” as any activity that creates a mutually beneficial relationship between city dwellers and their environments. Programs that are a strong fit for Rooted in Justice will have many opportunities for youth to be outdoors.  Project settings can include, but are not limited to: 

• Urban and aquaponic farms
• Greenhouses and rooftop gardens
• Community gardens, green spaces, and rain gardens
• Composting sites
• Land conservation efforts
• Urban forests
• River or other water restoration  

Cohort-Based Youth Works

Rooted in Justice looks to fund organizations that build community with cohorts of youth through intentional, recurring programming. This grant is intended to support programs that offer youth significant learning and leadership opportunities as a group and as individuals. Priority will be given to organizations that have program infrastructure that supports a cohort of youth over time.  Drop-in programming, one-time conferences, or individual internships are not a good fit for Rooted in Justice.  

Youth Budgeting

As part of grant proposal, all Rooted in Justice grantees must share a plan to allocate a portion of the grant funds for youth participants to manage. What do we mean by this? We ask applicants to specifically set aside some amount of grant funds for youth to allocate to priorities of their choosing.  For example, youth participants can use their allocated funding to:

• Fund an entrepreneurial endeavor;
• Design the brand or swag for their group;
• Hire a speaker or outside expert to teach a new skill;
• Purchase supplies for a community-based art project;
• Host a celebration for their families, friends and neighbors;
• Pay for transportation to programming, special events, or conferences; and/or
• Any other youth-led activity the group may find beneficial.

Use of Funds

Rooted in Justice funding must be used for project support of existing youth led, urban greening, social justice work and associated general operating expenses. Operating expenses can include anything from program costs like staff salaries and youth stipends to organizational sustainability needs like major equipment purchases and leadership/staff training. If your organization’s entire mission is youth led, urban greening, social justice work, the Rooted in Justice grant can be general support. 

Funding

Two Year Grant

• Rooted in Justice Grant awards are two-year grants of $25,000 per year.
• After the initial two year grant, grantees may be eligible for a third year of funding at the same or lower level through a simple renewal process.
• In the 2025-2026 grant cycle, the Cedar Tree Foundation expects to support 4 organizations with multi-year grant awards.

Funding for Professional Development

• Each Rooted in Justice grantee organization also has access to an additional $6,000 to support professional development opportunities identified by each organization.  Half of these funds must be used to directly support the professional development of youth. 
• Rooted in Justice grantees can request reimbursement from this professional development fund to attend conferences, hire consultants, purchase equipment or software that increases organizational capacity, or participate in any activities that strengthen youth programming or justice practice of program providers in support of their youth development programming. The funds set aside for youth professional development can be used for youth exchanges or youth participation in conferences and other professional development opportunities directly for youth.  

Community Professional Development Calls

• Cedar Tree works with grantee partners to assess their professional development interests and facilitates on-line gatherings of staff or youth for skill shares, trainings, and networking opportunities.
• These network calls will likely happen 2-3 times per year. 

Overview

Pennsylvania has two coastal areas: 112 miles of coastline along the Delaware Estuary and 77 miles of coastline along Lake Erie:

• Delaware Estuary – Lies within Bucks, Philadelphia and Delaware counties. The coastal zone also contains islands, marshes and shorelands of tributary streams that are tidally influenced. The combined facilities of the Delaware Estuary comprise the largest freshwater port in the world. 
• Lake Erie – Located within Erie County and includes the shorelines of major tributaries. The coastal zone also extends to the middle of the lake, to the boundary with Canada and inland an average of 1.4 miles. The Lake also contains Presque Isle Bay and is one of the state ports for international shipping. 

In order to safeguard these resources from future adverse impacts, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, acting through the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), developed a unified approach to act as trustee to conserve and maintain the natural resources of Pennsylvania’s coastal regions known as the Pennsylvania Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP). The CZMP was finalized and approved in September 1980, under the authority of the Federal Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) of 1972, through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce. DEP’s Compacts and Commissions Office manages the Coastal Resources Management (CRM) Program in the two defined coastal areas within Pennsylvania.

As a result of the adopted CZMP, annual grants are provided to DEP by the Office for Coastal Management (OCM), NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce.

Grant awards are used to implement the CRM Program and provide a grant-in-aid program if sufficient funds permit. Monies are dispersed to fund projects within the coastal zone and coastal non-point pollution boundaries, such as planning, design, engineering, education, outreach, construction, acquisition and research as authorized by Section 306A of the CZMA, as amended. 

Coastal Zone Focus Areas 

Program policies were developed to further the goals and objectives of the CRM Program: 

Primary Focus Areas 

• Coastal Hazard Areas: Includes Lake Erie bluff recession, shoreline erosion, wave action and coastal flooding, including flooding from projected sea level rise and storm surge.
• Fisheries Management: Involves activities supporting ecologically and economically important fisheries and their habitats.
• Wetlands: Involves the protection, enhancement, and creation of coastal wetlands to maintain benefits for wildlife habitat, flood control, water quality, water flow stabilization and environmental diversity (biodiversity).
• Public access for recreation: : Includes efforts to meet the public need for boating, fishing, birding, walking, picnicking, sightseeing and other recreational pursuits associated with waterfronts.
• Historic sites and structures: Preservation, restoration and enhancement of coastally significant historic sites and structures within the coastal zones.
• Port activities: Development and enhancement of coastal port infrastructure.
• Energy facilities siting: Proper siting of energy-producing facilities to protect fragile coastal ecosystems.
• Intergovernmental coordination: Includes intergovernmental efforts to protect Pennsylvania’s coastal resources, especially the quality of air and water.
• Public involvement: Increase awareness, provide information and create opportunities for public participation in a variety of coastal issues.
• Ocean resources/biodiversity:  Includes efforts directed toward the research, study, and/or management of non-native (invasive) aquatic or terrestrial plant and/or animal species.

Activities that protect coastal waters from nonpoint source pollution resulting from marinas and recreational boating, urban activities, hydro-modifications, agriculture and other nonpoint sources are eligible for funding.

Project Eligibility

CZ grants may be applied to a wide variety of studies, plans, designs, research, acquisition and construction projects pertaining to one or more of the established program policies, which guide the competitive selection process.

Examples of some typical project proposals are as follows: 

• Efforts to educate the public regarding issues of environmental protection, non-point source water pollution, protection of coastal resources or efforts to promote such action to the public. 
• Preparation or revision of local comprehensive plans, zoning ordinances, sub-division regulations and special ordinances containing provisions in support of CRM Program policies. 
• Plans, studies or other projects to improve port facilities and infrastructure, future use of coastal ports or providing public access for recreational use of docks, piers and wharves. 
• Improving resource management and environmental protection programs at the state or local level, including disseminating information or providing technical assistance to coastal communities and the public. 
• Plans, studies or projects that enhance economic development within the coastal zone, including activities to help economically revitalize under-used coastal and/or port facilities.
• Studies for interpretation and enhancement of coastal features and habitats and restoration and preservation of historic coastal sites and structures. 
• Land acquisition of coastal properties, including real estate appraisals, to improve or provide for public recreational access or open-space preservation.
• Preparation of designs, engineering plans and specifications for coastal recreational sites owned or legally controlled by a ‘government’ applicant. 
• Low-cost (defined by NOAA as no more than a total project cost of $400,000) construction projects for recreational access facilities or for rehabilitating significant historic buildings and structures located within the designated coastal zones. *Note: rehabilitation work on buildings and structures should be supported by a structural feasibility study, architectural assessment, engineering plans or similar planning products included as part of the application. If awarded, grantee must wait for NEPA approval from NOAA and notification from DEP. 

A $75,000 grant limit is generally imposed on any single project. Applicants with proposals requesting more than $75,000 in grant funding should discuss funding alternatives with CRMP staff before submitting an application.

Project Requirements

• Be environmentally sound and consistent with current state, regional, county and local ordinances and plans. 
• Obtain applicable federal, state and local permits and/or approvals for all construction projects before any construction may commence.
• Obtain concurrence of any municipal government whose approval is required for project implementation, via letter of support or resolution, if the applicant is a non-governmental agency.
• Benefit the public at large and may not be for the purpose of private gain, benefit or profits.
• Be made available and useful to all members of the general public; therefore cannot be for exclusive use of any particular group of persons.
• Be accessible to persons in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
• Be constructed on public property and open to the public.

Environmental Education Grants

Each year, Pennsylvania invests in its schools, colleges and universities, county conservation districts, nonprofit organizations and businesses to improve environmental literacy among youth and adults. Administered through DEP, the Environmental Education Grants Program provides funds to support a wide range of environmental education projects including meaningful, hands-on programs for students, teacher training workshops, and community conservation projects for adults.

Priorities

Climate Change

Education projects to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and negative impacts of climate change including floods, changes to groundwater, pests, disease, agricultural disruptions, and potential threats to human health.

Water

Education programs promoting effective ways to reduce non-point source and source water pollution to improve water quality.

Environmental Justice

Education programs designed to empower and engage residents and officials of Environmental Justice communities (as defined by the U.S. Census) in developing meaningful solutions that address local environmental issues and public health concerns.

Grant Award Amounts

The Department of Environmental Protection's Environmental Education Grants Program provides funding for education projects that foster an understanding of natural world functions and cultivate critical thinking and actions that promote environmental protection and sustainable resource management.

Two types of awards are available for projects addressing the Environmental Education Grants Program Priorities:

Mini Grants of up to $5,000 may be awarded for local (school, county, municipality or other defined area) environmental education projects. Mini-grants are strongly encouraged, but not required, to form project partnerships and include a project match (Cash or In-Kind). 

General Grants: General grants are being offered at two funding levels: 

• General Grants (Level I): From $5,001 up to $30,000 may be awarded for implementation of large-scale, regional or statewide environmental education projects. 
• General Grants (Level II): From $30,001 to $65,000 may be awarded for non-formal environmental education programs designed to widely engage teachers and youth at the county, state and national levels.
• Teachers and students from at least 60 Pennsylvania counties must directly participate in the project.
• Additionally, the project must demonstrate that at least 30% of program participants are members of an Environmental Justice Community .