Search Through Grants for Public Health in Maine in the U.S.

Foundation Background

The Alleghany Foundation is a private foundation that came about as a result of the sale of a community non-profit hospital to a for-profit hospital. The Alleghany Foundation is a Virginia nonstock corporation exempt from income taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It is managed by a Board of Directors, all the members of which are residents of the community. The Foundation’s ongoing purpose is to provide financial support that primarily benefits worthy activities in the Alleghany Highlands of Virginia.

Purpose

The Foundation seeks applications in key focus areas with the goal of building upon the region’s wonderful assets to provide dynamic opportunities for all its residents. Proposals should contribute to the Foundation’s strategic areas of focus for grant, including the VISION 2025 Initiative.

Strategic Funding Areas of Interest

The Foundation’s priority is to support proposals from organizations that contribute to the following outcomes:

• Economic Transformation – Harness our region’s strengths to develop a vibrant, diverse and higher-wage economy that can compete in the global marketplace.
• Educational Excellence – Seeks to invest with institutions, such as our local public schools and community college to move our school systems forward from “Good to Great.”
• Health and Wellness – Help the residents of the Alleghany Highlands lead healthier lives and access the comprehensive health care they need.
• Community Capacity – Grow local institutions and organizations with the vision, will, wisdom, and skills to work together to build a more prosperous, equitable, just and sustainable community.
• Leadership and Civic Vitality – Develop broad-based inclusive leadership that can sustain a forward-looking agenda for the community.
• VISION 2025 Initiative – A multi-pronged community-led effort for economic revitalization of the Alleghany Highlands of Virginia that is supported in partnerships with The Alleghany Highlands Chamber of Commerce & Tourism, The Alleghany Highlands Economic Development Corporation, and Dabney S. Lancaster Community College, and made up of the following working groups:
  • Real Estate, Utility Development and Marketing to Expand Industry Base
  • Alleghany Highlands Web Store and Small Business Support
  • Corridor Curb Appeal, Gateway and Main Street Enhancement
  • Community Landscaping and Destination Gardens
  • Alleghany Highlands Industrial Heritage and Technology Discovery Center

Catalyst Fund

The Catalyst Fund supports organizations that are using grassroots organizing to advance reproductive justice policy and systems change. By centering efforts led by women of color, Catalyst supports work led by low-income white women, transgender, and gender-expansive people, who together make up the constituencies that experience the greatest reproductive health disparities and the largest barriers to reproductive freedom in the U.S.

Catalyst awards grants directly to grassroots organizations, including matching grants designed to bolster organizations’ efforts to raise new money from other sources. Particular attention is paid to organizations building cross-movement alliances between reproductive justice efforts and other social justice organizations, including labor, environmental and economic justice. Catalyst also awards matching grants to public foundations and women’s funds who make grants to organizations led by women of color and transgender people of color. atalyst grantees are the main participants in Groundswell’s two flagship capacity-building programs aimed at boosting the grassroots power of the field: the Integrated Voter Engagement Program and the Grassroots Organizing Institute. Catalyst has a strong track record of galvanizing new money for RJ from foundations and individual donors. Since Groundswell’s first RJ grants were made in 2008, grantmaking partners and grassroots organizations receiving matching grants have catalyzed $41 million into primarily women of color-led RJ work.

The Catalyst Fund has one primary grantmaking round in the fall of each year.

When identifying groups to support through the Catalyst Fund, Groundswell looks for organizations with:

• A highly engaged and growing membership/constituent base comprised of people directly impacted by the conditions that they seek to transform;
• Organizational leadership that reflects the diversity of this base;
• Clear mechanisms for leadership development;
• The ability to mobilize a base to win concrete policy changes;
• A strategic direction with clear goals and objectives that are driven by the membership/constituency;
• Ability to forge inter- and cross-movement alliances and to work well in coalition;
• Innovation in framing and thought leadership;
• A clear timeline for achieving goals and objectives and organizational capacity to achieve these;
• An integrated racial, gender, and class justice analysis;
• Connections to intermediary support organizations that build the capacity and collective power of the RJ movement;
• A strong track record of policy wins or strong strategy towards future wins; and
• System for measuring the impact of the work, including clearly defined benchmarks for success.

Catalyst provides the following types of support:

The fund provides general operating grants, capacity building grants and project grants, with grant sizes ranging from $20,000-$100,000.

Our Story

We believe entrepreneurs are uniquely placed to transform the world, today and in the future, by using their skills, networks, and resources to tackle huge, seemingly insurmountable problems. However, they often lack the time, tools, or knowledge to direct their charitable giving where it will do the most good.

Founders Pledge exists to bridge this gap. We advise on, facilitate, and maximize the impact of our members’ giving.

In our vision of the future, the value created by technology benefits those who need it most.

Funding Areas

We are particularly interested in work being done in four areas:

• Global health and development:
  • Especially programs that can, in expectation, save a life for under $4,000, avert a DALY for under $70, or double income for one person at a cost of less than $30.
  • Note that this includes interventions that affect economic growth.
  • We don’t necessarily require that grantees be able to point to an RCT in order to demonstrate cost effectiveness.
• Global catastrophic risk:
  • Especially programs that can affect the likelihood of war between great powers, reduce risks from advanced artificial intelligence, or mitigate the possibility that biomedical advances could be used to cause harm.
• Climate:
  • Especially programs that can make a compelling case for advancing an important solution neglected by the large existing climate philanthropy and action effort.
• Animal welfare
  • Mainly corporate campaigns, especially in geographies where other animal welfare charities aren’t working — as well as on novel bets on cellular agriculture and plant based meats, including those that are trying to increase public R&D funding.

How We Can Help

There are three ways we may be able to help:

• We typically make small grants of between $50,000 and $300,000 from our various Funds, though in special cases we would consider larger sums.
• We can recommend much larger one-time grants of up to $5m to large donors.
• We can recommend programs to members on an ongoing basis. Such recommended programs tend to draw in variously-sized donations from Founders Pledge members several times per year.

Hannaford Charitable Foundation

We have a long history of supporting our communities through volunteerism, donations and community leadership. The Hannaford Charitable Foundation is one of many ways we support our communities.

The Foundation's mission is to invest in creating and sustaining healthy communities in our five-state region by providing financial support to nonprofit organizations and programs that focus on improvement of the root causes impacting the quality of life for our customers, associates and neighbors. Our areas of focus for financial support are food, education and health.

Focus Areas for support:

The Foundation supports organizations in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York and Vermont that focus on one of the following core components of healthy communities:

• Food – We support programs with long-term solutions that will ensure safe, stable access to healthy food primarily through regional food banks in the markets we serve.
• Education – We help to deliver strong programs that prepare people through all stages of life for success in education and readiness to enter the workforce.
• Health – We support organizations that provide quality programs focusing on promoting healthy lifestyles and improved care.

In determining which organizations and programs to support, the Foundation considers

• the impact and outcomes to the community
• prior support from Hannaford Charitable Foundation
• relative uniqueness of the program versus others in the community.

Grant Guidelines and Focus AreasMission StatementThe Jewish Women's Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago seeks to expand and improve opportunities and choices in all aspects of Jewish women and girls' lives through strategic and effective grantmaking. The Jewish Women's Foundation endeavors to empower women as leaders, funders, and decision makers.Overall Considerations

• JWF Chicago funds with a "gender lens" and a "Jewish lens". We are interested in projects that recognize Jewish women and girls have unique needs both because of their gender, and their religious and cultural heritage.
• JWF Chicago is committed to improving the overall status of Jewish women and girls, and funds projects that promote social change by addressing at least one of the indicators described below:
• JWF Chicago considers an organization's holistic support of women and girls, as well as the specific project or program for which you are seeking a grant. This includes the extent to which Jewish women and girls are included among your leadership and in key staff positions.
• JWF Chicago supports organizations through general operating and project specific funding. General operating support will only be awarded to organizations focusing exclusively on promoting social change for Jewish women and girls.

Grantmaking Focus Areas

JWF Chicago funds in four main areas. Prospective grantees are invited to submit project and program proposals that relate to these targeted areas.

Multiyear Grants

Three-year funding open to current JWF Chicago grantees and/or organizations previously funded by JWF Chicago in any of the past three grant cycles (since 2021).

JWF Chicago can award up to three new three-year grants per grant cycle.

JWF Chicago will award:

• up to $20,000 per grant in Year 1
• up to $20,000 per grant in Year 2
• and $15,000 per grant in Year 3

Funding in Year 2 and Year 3 will be contingent on applicant’s progress towards stated benchmarks.

How we decide who receives funds

To decide where funds should go, we consider the organization’s relevance to our Community Promise goals, how the service it offers impacts our community, other support the group receives in the private and public sector, and the community’s general need.

As many typical fundraising avenues disappeared during the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve been especially proactive in reaching out to partners as vital societal needs have only increased across communities.

We receive so many requests, and every category offers invaluable services and activities. Here’s a quick sample of the kinds of organizations that receive assistance.

Five categories of organizations

Our dedicated Social Responsibility team considers requests from five categories of organizations. We award grants and sponsorships on a rolling, year-round basis in support of the following causes:

Health and Wellness

Community organizations and programs that promote mind, body, and financial wellness align very strongly with our corporate and community values. We sponsor races, sports teams, and other wellness programs and initiatives.

Examples of groups who have received support from us include:

• Hospitals and Community Health Centers
• Nutrition Programs
• United Ways
• Community Action Agencies

Community & Economic Advancement

Community spaces that create access to resources for community members of all walks of life get our attention. We want to empower everyone in the community who has ideas that can help make it better.

Examples of groups who have received support from us include:

• Libraries
• Chambers of Commerce
• Affordable Housing
• Public Transportation

Arts & Culture

A vibrant art scene in our communities drives tourism and commerce and serves a higher purpose – fostering understanding, creating empathy, and moving a community forward. We want to support the arts whenever we can.

Examples of groups who have received support from us include:

• Visual and performing arts programs
• Museums
• Historical Societies
• Theaters

Education & Innovation

Investments in education and youth programs create the future of the community. As parents ourselves, we support youth programs that address food insecurity, technology, wellness, and trauma prevention to help children succeed beyond their dreams.

Examples of groups who have received support from us include:

• Education Foundations
• Literacy Programs
• Leadership Development
• Social Entrepreneurship

Environment & Animal Welfare

We all deserve a healthy environment to live in and enjoy, our furry friends included. We work with land trusts, animal shelters, animal agencies and more to make that happen.

Examples of groups who have received support from us include:

• Land Trusts
• Marine Resource Conservation
• Animal Welfare and Rescue

About us

Point32Health Foundation works with communities to support, advocate and advance healthier lives for everyone.

Point32Health Foundation builds on a tradition of service and giving at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan. Our heritage organizations together have invested more than $246 million to support community organizations in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

Together with community, we will advance equity in aging.

We share an unwavering commitment to support communities grappling with growing inequities and changing demographics.

Point32Health Foundation’s equity in aging strategy is guided by the Foundation’s north star, our mission and the core principles of a trust-based approach to philanthropy. Grounded in and responsive to community conditions, we want to be relevant in today’s context, grow as we learn with and from community, and build on the legacy of our predecessor foundations.

Point32Health Foundation advances equity in aging – prioritizing efforts that address systemic inequities. This includes a deep commitment to social and racial justice. We collaborate with and learn from nonprofit organizations, honor those most affected by inequities and recognize their power and position in defining the problem, designing appropriate solutions and describing success.

Our grantmaking

Multi-year, general operating grants are made to nonprofits doing work in aging that addresses equity, especially in communities that have experienced disinvestment and are most affected by systemic barriers. The Foundation team has two grant cycles and brings recommendations to the board two times a year.

What we fund

Point32Health Foundation supports work to advance equity in aging—prioritizing efforts that address systemic inequities and advance social and racial justice.

In 2025, Equity in Aging becomes the lens through which we address the social determinants of health.

Our equity in aging focus recognizes that inequities can accumulate over time, exacerbating health outcomes as we age. We support community organizations working to improve conditions for people affected by disinvestments in their communities and inequitable systems. Equity in aging addresses a growing and unmet need.

We do not define older people. Community organizations define older people in the context of their work. As different lived experiences impact the way we age, the Foundation relies on the experiences of organizations which are more proximate and look to them to define the older population they serve.

Some community lessons and principles that inform our work.

• Systemic inequities cause health disparities
• Health happens in communities where people live, work, play and pray
• Those most affected by inequities are in the best position to define the problem, design appropriate solutions and describe success
• Older people and communities of color are disproportionately affected in a public health crisis
• Collaborations among nonprofit organizations, municipal agencies and others strengthen community response in a crisis

Categories

Within Equity in Aging, we invest in organizations aligned with two categories – social and racial justice and organizing, policy, advocacy and systems improvement.

Submissions

Submission can be made when it works best but please consider the decision timelines of the Foundation Board so that the team has the opportunity for timely conversations.

February 20, 2025 for organizations working in organizing, policy, advocacy and systems change to improve the conditions affecting older adults. Decisions will be announced in June.

September 19, 2025 for organizations working in social and racial justice. Decisions will be announced in December.

Mission Statement

Town Fair Tire Foundation, Inc. (“TFTF”) is a private, not-for-profit philanthropic organization established by Neil Mellen in 2000. The mission of TFTF is to financially support entities and institutions that help people in need of social, health, welfare, educational and other human services throughout New England - Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont and Rhode Island – and beyond.

The Town Fair Tire Foundation is dedicated to helping create and sustain vibrant and healthy communities, families and individuals. To accomplish this purpose, TFTF invests in community-based organizations that promote self-reliance, economic and social advancement, and improved quality of life. The Town Fair Tire Foundation is especially committed to helping individuals and families who struggle daily with the effects of poverty.

An essential theme underlying the Town Fair Tire Foundation’s approach to giving is to “pay-it-forward” -- respectfully asking those who benefit from grants to pay the kindness forward to others in need. TFTF’s ultimate objective and mission is to promote positive change in the lives of those less fortunate to an exponential degree.

The Town Fair Tire Foundation performs its mission by funding proven or unique approaches from not-for-profit 501(c) (3) organizations.

What We Do

Town Fair Tire Foundation, Inc. (TFTF) is dedicated to helping create and sustain vibrant and healthy communities, families and individuals. To accomplish this purpose, TFTF invests in local community-based organizations that promote self-reliance, economic and social advancement and improved quality of life. 

TFTF is committed to helping individuals and families who struggle daily with the effects of poverty. Our initiatives are highly grassroots in nature, with the goal of giving back to the local and community levels.

TFTF’s ultimate objective is to promote positive change in the lives of those less fortunate and create greater societal good through the thousands of organizations we support across the region.

An essential theme underlying Town Fair Tire Foundation’s approach to giving is to pay it forward - respectfully asking those who benefit from grants to pay the kindness forward to others in need when they are able.

World Future Fund Grant

Our planet is a world out of balance. We are borrowing from the future at a pace unprecedented in history. There needs to be a giant change in direction. We need to start building for a real future. We are interested in working with and funding groups that have a similar commitment. Our grant program is aimed at areas where other organizations may be better organized than we are, so a grant is more efficient that a WFF program.

The World Future Fund is a non-profit organization that has been set up to do research and to educate people about the need for a greater commitment to investment in the future. We have been in business since 1995 and have been monitoring long term trends.

Priorities

A key goal is creating a sane society here at home in America. This means creating a social democratic society with basic government services that protect the people. America is nothing short of social chamber of horrors among developed states with astronomical levels of child poverty, millions in jail and no universal health insurance.

We are committed to the creation of a social democratic society like Germany or Norway. A particular priority is the creation of a system which places labor union representatives on corporate boards.

We must matter more in our communities.

We contribute to the strength and health of our communities through the Bangor Savings Bank Foundation and Corporate Giving. Together the Bank and its Foundation invested more than $2 million into the community in the form of nonprofit sponsorships, grants and partnership initiatives last year.

Making a significant and meaningful difference:

The Bangor Savings Bank Foundation's role is to focus philanthropic efforts on initiatives that will make our communities more prosperous, more livable, and more vibrant. With a growing endowment and strong support from the Bank, the Foundation is poised to truly impact its focus areas in workforce and economic development.

Grant Guidelines

The Foundation considers applications for grants ranging from $2,000 up to $25,000. For all proposals received, we have a preference to support projects and initiatives that do the following:

• Include a strategy for leveraging other resources and support.
• Produce cost-effective results which can be measured and evaluated.
• Provide incentive for the private and public sectors to work together in community problem solving.
• Encourage coordination with other efforts and do not duplicate programs in the community.
• Advance innovative and long-term strategies that will address recognized needs.
• Demonstrate an ability to obtain future funding if it will be needed.

Areas of Giving

Priority Giving

The Foundation focuses its philanthropic efforts on improving the vitality of Northern New England's regional and statewide economies through economic and workforce development in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.

Additional Areas of Giving

While our primary outreach and resources will be dedicated to the priority areas listed above, in recognition of the many needs in our communities, the Foundation will continue to lend support to applications in the following areas:

• Education
• Initiatives that raise student readiness, academic success, achievement and aspirations at the primary, secondary, and post-secondary levels, including but not limited to STEM education initiatives.  
• Social and Civic Services
• Activities directed at improving quality of life in the communities we serve.
• Culture and Arts
• Initiatives supporting organizations that meet community needs, expand arts and cultural programming, or provide education.
• Health and Wellness
• Programs essential to the underlying medical care of a community, including initiatives focusing on physical and mental health and wellness for people of all ages. 

Our Vision

We envision an education system that keeps its promise to all students. That’s why we invest in the ideas and energy of education leaders and entrepreneurs who are advancing innovative solutions that expand the definition of what works. 

There’s a better way to advance education through philanthropy — one that is more equitable, more collaborative, and more courageous–and we’re proving it every day.

Learning Solutions Grant Program

Overview

Empowering students to read and write is fundamental to their ability to learn across subject areas and communicate with others. Building students’ math abilities, from early math skills through algebraic thinking, enables them to make sense of the world around them, analyze complex topics, and solve problems. Together, literacy and numeracy reinforce each other and create a foundation for students to build success in and beyond school – preparing young people to achieve their goals, participate in society, and live happy, healthy lives. 

Foundational literacy and numeracy are especially important now, as students are faced not just with higher expectations, but also unprecedented levels of unfinished learning caused by pandemic-related school closures and the resulting life and mental health challenges that followed. There is a critical need for innovation to increase student access to inspiring and effective K-8 reading and math experiences.

What We’re Looking For

NewSchools will invest in learning solutions that accelerate K-8 reading and math growth by unlocking the power of research and instructional expertise. We will invest in tools, content, and models that address the following critical opportunities:

• Engaging and empowering students to build critical skills, such as reading comprehension and algebraic thinking, that set a foundation for learning and success 
• Supporting teachers and families to deliver grade-level and differentiated instruction that meet a range of student needs
• Leveraging generative AI to increase access to research-based instruction and personalized learning

Cross-Cutting Priorities

Across our portfolios, we seek solutions that:

• Leverage generative artificial intelligence to improve teaching and learning
• Embrace learning that happens outside of school, and support students in achieving college and career success
• Enhance teaching and learning for students with learning differences within and beyond our three main focus areas

Program Areas

The Sam L. Cohen Foundation is a private, grantmaking foundation based in South Portland, Maine.  The Foundation funds in five program areas:

Arts and Culture

Enriching community life with music, dance, theater, visual arts, and creative writing.

We invest in organizations and programs that stimulate imagination, provide access to the arts and arts education, and foster community through the arts. We are especially interested in educational programming for low-income and underserved youth audiences that celebrates creativity and provides meaningful experiences with the arts. We support organizations that create and present performances and programs in southern Maine.

Civic and Community

Strengthening the social and economic fabric of underserved communities.

We are committed to supporting and improving the quality of life in southern Maine by ensuring individuals have access to opportunities to engage in civic life. To promote economic security and well-being, the Foundation invests in organizations that are working toward systemic change through public policy for social benefit. We are currently involved in and support the Immigrant and Refugee Funders Collaborative.

Education

Because education is the single most important investment a community can make.

We believe that access to educational opportunities is the key to a successful life. Our grantmaking spans the entire continuum of pre-K through college and adulthood, as we focus on providing opportunities for underserved populations in the areas of youth development, leadership, and enrichment. We collaborate with other funders, advocates, and experts in efforts that address school readiness and attendance, grade-level proficiency, high school graduation rates, and post-secondary enrollment and completion. We participate in or support several collaborative initiatives including: Portland ConnectED, The Campaign for Grade Level Reading, Count ME In, Maine Early Childhood Funders Group, Summer Learning Initiative, Right from the Start, and the Maine Resilience Building Network.Health and Human Services

Helping organizations expand access to help vulnerable and low-income people.

We believe providing support to historically and systemically disadvantaged individuals and communities is a compelling focus. Today’s social, economic, and political challenges require it. Our goal is to assist in increasing the number of people who are self-sufficient and lead healthy, productive lives. Our giving consistently targets access to healthcare, including prevention services, health support services, and ensuring food security. We currently are involved in and support the Maine Oral Health Funders Group.

Jewish Culture and Traditions

"Tzedekah"- the act of giving help to others

We participate in the Jewish community in southern Maine through support of institutions and programs that provide and preserve Jewish education, tradition, and culture. We partner with organizations that celebrate and promote Jewish art and creativity as well as agencies and synagogues who serve the vulnerable members of the Jewish community.

Funding

The Sam L. Cohen Foundation will consider responsive grant requests for amounts up to $50,000; however, the average grants size awarded is less than $15,000.

Roy A. Hunt Foundation

In the early 1900s, Roy A. Hunt worked his way up from mill clerk to president of Alcoa, the company his father helped found. After establishing The Hunt Foundation in 1951, he established the Roy A. Hunt Foundation in 1966 as an endowed resource so that future generations could be involved in charitable giving as a family. (The foundations merged in 1994).

Two generations of Hunt family members now serve as Trustees, annually granting approximately $3.4 million in the United States and abroad.

Since inception, our mission has been to support organizations that strive to improve the quality of life through proposals invited by the trustees and through the Foundation’s four main special initiatives. The Roy A. Hunt Foundation values the quality work of its partner organizations, strives to make an impact in many facets of the community – from building stronger networks for healthy, thriving neighborhoods to working toward a greener, cleaner environment – and believes in the importance of strong leadership, community-driven partnerships, and innovative ideas.

Environment

Vision: Living in Harmony

We envision a natural environment that is understood and respected as a web of interconnections of which human beings are a part, where people live in harmony within the Earth’s ecological systems, where biodiversity is preserved as an integral component of economic and technological progress, and where human impact on Earth serves to maintain sustainable processes.

Mission

To protect natural resources and ecosystems in the United States, we support sustainable solutions to altering root causes of environmental damage and encourage education for consumers and decision makers.

Objective

To promote strategic activities that create incentives for environmentally responsible decisions in the private sector.

Priorities

Climate and Energy – To reduce the consequences of climate change in the United States, primarily through:

• Increasing the affordability and use of cleaner and renewable energy sources, and
• Reducing demand for carbon-intensive energy sources and carbon-intensive goods and services

Toxics and Waste – To reduce damage to the environment and human health caused by the manufacture, use, and disposal of consumer and industrial products. Typical strategies include green chemistry, sustainable design, sustainable manufacturing, and product stewardship.

Clean Water – To protect and restore the quality of freshwater, coastal, and nearby oceanic areas of the United States.

Types of Foundation Support

The Environment Committee will consider grant requests of between $25,000 and $75,000 for specific projects or programs that improve the environment at a multi-state, national, and/or systems level. Typical costs funded include project management, contracted services, education and outreach programs, applied research, and innovations that could lead to public policy solutions.

About The Award

The Burroughs Wellcome Fund aims to stimulate the growth of new connections between thinkers working in largely disconnected fields who might together change the course of climate change’s impact on human health. In the three years between Fall 2023 and Summer 2026, we will dedicate $1M to supporting small, early stage grants of $2,500–$50,000 toward achieving this goal.

We are mainly but not exclusively interested in activities that build connections between basic/early biomedical scientific approaches and ecological, environmental, geological, geographic, and planetary-scale thinking, as well as with population-focused fields, including epidemiology and public health, demography, economics, and urban planning. Also of interest is work piloting new approaches or interactions toward reducing the impact of health-centered activities, such as developing more sustainable systems for health care, care delivery, and biomedical research systems.

Another area of interest is preparation for the impacts of extreme weather and other crises that can drive large-scale disruptions that will immediately impact human health and the delivery of health care. Public outreach, climate communication, and education efforts focused on the intersection of climate and health are also appropriate for this call. This program supports work conceived through many kinds of creative thinking. Successful applicants include academic scientists, physicians, and public health experts, community organizations, science outreach centers, non-biomedical academic departments, and more.

Please see FAQs for additional guidelines.

The Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund supports projects in Coös County, NH and bordering communities in the United States and Canada that focus on community revitalization.

Championing the North Country

One of the largest permanent rural philanthropies in the U.S. is strengthening communities and spreading economic opportunity.

Grantmaking Goals

The vision of the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund is “to serve as a resource for the people of Coös County and neighboring communities in New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont and southern Québec to forge their own pathways to well-being and cultivate a region that thrives.” The Tillotson Fund serves as a stable and consistent source of support for the people of the region to:

• Create and enhance opportunity;
• Preserve and uplift the historical and cultural assets that make the region unique;
• Hold the confidence and capabilities to foster strong communities and healthy rural landscapes.

What We're Funding

Individual and family well-being

Goal: Support individuals and families to meet their essential needs and achieve well-being.

• Meet essential needs for individuals and families.
• Strengthen systems of care.Community resiliency

Healthy workforce ecosystem

Goal: Strengthen the capacity of local employers to maintain and/or grow their operations, build and retain a dynamic workforce, stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship, ensure business continuity and plan for the future.

• Attract and retain the workforce.
• Establish workforce housing solutions.
• Help companies and employees build skills and systems for sustained success.
• Link employers and employees to financial supports.
• Increase access to affordable quality childcare.

Environmental stewardship

Goal: Address the impacts of climate change by investing in mitigation and adaptation strategies, stewardship of natural resources, and efforts that foster human connection to the natural environment.

• Be good stewards of the land, air, forests, waterways and wildlife.
• Encourage/support responsible tourism and recreation.
• Build and enhance sustainable food systems.
• Promote, sustain and scale energy efficiency, clean energy and green building.
• Implement climate smart forestry solutions.

Resilient communities

Goal: Support initiatives that build trust, belonging and connection and lead to stronger, more resilient communities.

• Empower youth.
• Convene, collaborate, celebrate.
• Build skills, knowledge and approaches to advance equity.
• Support community builders and change agents.
• Revitalize population hubs and preserve cultural and historical assets.
• Improve civic health.
• Strengthen municipal capacity and leadership.

Grant amount

Local Grants Program applications may request up to $20,000 for one, two or three years.

History

The Davis Family Foundation is a public charitable foundation established by Phyllis C. Davis and H. Halsey Davis of Falmouth, Maine, to support educational, medical and cultural/arts organizations located primarily in Maine.

The Foundation was established following Mr. Davis' retirement as President and Chairman of Shaw’s Supermarkets, Inc. Their overriding goal for the Foundation was simple and straightforward: “to make grants where they will do the most good and where our gifts make a real difference.” The Foundation has provided more than $63.5 million in grants since its grantmaking activities began in 1986.

Project Guidance

Education projects

Ideal education projects

• Are innovative, inspirational, and based on research
• Involve educators in both design and execution
• Strive to make a meaningful impact:
  • Transforming the learning experience or post-academic outlook for specific learners
  • Inspiring systemic change in Maine education

Medical projects

Ideal medical projects:

• Solve systemic medical issues through programs or initiatives backed by evidence. The project should be scalable, replicable and ultimately sustainable independent of grant funding
• Are unique and not ongoing and/or managing care

Cultural/Arts projects

The Foundation seeks Cultural/Arts Projects that will create an engaging and/or informative cultural/arts experience for Maine community members, or preserve important cultural and historic elements of Maine in a manner that reflects best practice.

Ideal cultural/arts projects:

• Are unique and not ongoing
• Increase/expand access to year-round residents of Maine
• Support an organization's strategic goals as defined in a strategic plan
• Include multiple funding sources

Background

McGraw Foundation, headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, makes annual grants to not-for-profit organizations.  The Foundation’s areas of interest involve the fields of conservation, educational programs at all levels, and human services. Occasionally, grants are made in other areas such as health, medical research and cultural.

Grant requests are suggested to be within a range of $2,000 to $10,000. Grant recipients and amounts will be determined by several criteria. Naturally, availability of funds is a key factor.

The Foundation will occasionally make large grants ($25,000 or more) to support unusually promising efforts in any of its areas of interest. Innovative research, special education, and/or other activities will be considered if the Foundation’s support would assist an effort or a project in making a significant impact.

Areas of Focus

Education: Higher

The Foundation has been a pioneer in support of environmental education at the highest level by establishing three chaired professorships. 

Education: Elementary & Special

McGraw Foundation supports a wide array of organizations that focus on assisting the education and advancement of children as well as adults. McGraw Foundation also makes grants to elementary schools and organizations involved in all areas of special needs education. Funding in this arena has encompassed many organizations that provide services such as after-school tutoring, special education, and adult literacy.

In addition to F.A.I.T.H., McGraw Foundation also makes grants to elementary schools and organizations involved in all areas of special needs education. Funding in this arena has encompassed many organizations that provide services such as after-school tutoring, special education, and adult literacy.

Human Services

Since 1949, McGraw Foundation has been concerned with helping people in need. While the emphasis is on organizations serving children, funding also extends to people of all ages.

Children's issues such as these have been supported throughout the years:

• child welfare
• foster care and adoption
• family counseling
• enriching summer camps
• crisis intervention

Funding for quality-of-life issues for people of all ages has included:

• developmental disabilities
• health clinics
• domestic violence
• housing and homelessness
• job training and continued support
• seniors needs

Health & Medical 

Since its inception, McGraw Foundation has made grants in the health and medical fields.  Health and medical funding has included:

• specific medical research
• rehabilitation
• support programs for patients and their families
• medical attention for people without health insurance
• palliative care and hospice organizations

Civic & Cultural

Complimenting it's main focus on education and the environment, McGraw Foundation has supported some of Chicago's distinctive cultural and arts organizations.

Areas of interest include zoological societies' animal conservation, public communication, musical organizations, and civic organizations' promotion of science and the general welfare of society.

Mission

The mission of the Doree Taylor Charitable Foundation is to support charitable organizations that:

• Provide relief to people in need of basic provisions (including food, housing, shelter) 
• Promote the humane care of animals
• Provide health care services for the underserved
• Conduct Public radio or television

People in Need

Applicants in this area should demonstrate that the program or service they offer clearly meets a basic need of an underserved population, which may include low-income people, youth who are court-involved, homeless families, or homebound seniors. These examples are for illustration purposes only.  For organizations with annual (cash) revenues of $5 million or less, we encourage general operating support requests.

Humane Care of Animals

The Taylor Foundation has a partnership with the Maine Community Foundation’s Belvedere Fund in the area of animal welfare. Within the animal welfare priority, we will consider capital requests.

Health Care

Within the area of health care, the Foundation will entertain requests for oral health services, mental health services, or physical health care services. There is a priority for programs that can demonstrate they are effectively serving underserved populations. Small, one-time capital or equipment requests may be included within project budgets.

Public radio or television

There is a strong priority for larger public television or radio organizations. From time to time, the Foundation may make grants to smaller, community-based public access radio or television stations.

Environment

The Foundation’s priority is for programs that have both an environmental impact as well as a demonstrably positive impact in one of the Foundation’s other priority areas. For example, a river-bed restoration project that also preserves a species and/or improves the quality of water to a low-income area.

Colleges and universities

Support for colleges and universities will be considered on a case-by-case basis, but must include a focus on at least one of the Foundation’s other priority areas. Special consideration will also be granted to colleges or universities in the geographic priority areas. Colleges or universities interested in applying are strongly encouraged to contact the Foundation’s listed Bank contact before submitting an application.

About School-Based Healthcare Solutions Network (SBHSN).

Utilizing a unique framework of funding systems offered by the Department of Health and Human Services, managed care organizations, health insurers, and private donors, SBHSN promotes a system of care model (Coaching Model℠) offering a mix of evidenced-based intervention, prevention, and care coordination services to children in grades K-12. The Coaching Model aims to expand quality mental healthcare access on public school campuses and improve children's social, emotional, behavioral, family, and wellness outcomes.

School-Based Mental Health Implementation Grant

In response to the growing number of students who need mental health counseling, the School-Based Healthcare Solutions Network (SBHSN) is accepting applications from Local Education Agencies (LEA), Public and Private Universities, State and local Colleges, Charter School Management Companies, Public Schools, Charter Schools, and Non-Profit Organizations (501c3) to implement and expand mental health program services on local school campuses. Grantees will receive direct funding and reimbursement to support the following activities: 

• Expanding access to School-Based Social and Emotional Learning (SEL).
• Coordinating mental healthcare services with school administration and staff. 
• Delivering mental healthcare services and coordinating academic-support activities to students with a history of attendance, behavior, and poor academic performance.

FUNDING

5-Years, renewable based on meeting performance goals 5-year award ceiling is $5,500,000.

Grant Guidelines

For application-based grants, the Betterment fund’s minimum annual grant is $10,000. The maximum annual grant usually does not exceed $35,000. The average annual grant, whether for multiple years or a single year, is $15,000-$20,000. Three years is the maximum period of time the Betterment Fund will consider for a multi-year grant. The largest grants tend to be made to applicants with a successful history of grant management with the Betterment Fund

Current Grant Priorities

Education, health, conservation and community support are our primary grant categories. We also recognize that certain projects transcend these categories and have defined a number of “cross-sector” areas.

Community Support

We favor community-wide programs or regional systemic approaches to issues to improve well-being within the following current priority areas:

• Downtowns
• Basic Human Needs:
• Legal Protections

Proposals less likely to be funded include individual school programs, programming supplementary to the curricula of schools, and construction projects. Any funding of scholarships at Maine colleges and universities is done only at the initiative of the trustees rather than in response to grant requests.

Education

We believe that every Maine resident is entitled to an education which equips the individual to lead a satisfying, productive and economically independent life, and we are interested in funding broad-based educational policy initiatives to that end. Please see “Health” and the Cross-Sector areas of “Early Childhood” and “Economic Development” for initiatives related to education in those areas. More particularly we fund:

• Educational Quality
• Adult Education
• Arts Education
• Higher Education Aspirations

Proposals less likely to be funded include individual school programs, programming supplementary to the curricula of schools, and construction projects.

Conservation

Perpetuating a balanced, dynamic relationship between the natural and built environments in the three-million-acre corridor between the White Mountain National Forest and the Moosehead Lake region is of particular interest. To that end we sponsor the following initiatives within the extensive and varied landscape which covers most of Oxford, Franklin and Somerset counties:

• Preservation of special places, particularly those identified by the local communities, along the spine of the Appalachian Trail and in the Maine West and High Peaks Regions.
• Support of the responsible development of working forests and agriculture.
• Preservation and restoration of threatened natural habitats.
• Opportunities for traditional Maine recreation in the target region.
• Support of water quality preservation of lakes, rivers and ponds.

Occasionally we may fund projects of land trusts and environmental organizations located in the other rim counties, but we focus primarily on the Western Maine counties listed above.

Health

We are currently focusing our Health grants in the following areas:

• Maine Public Health Policy
• Oral Health
• Increasing Educational Opportunities for Health Careers
• Community Health Projects
• Substance Use Disorder

Please note that projects focused primarily on physical activity and healthy eating should be submitted under our cross-sector “Moving Communities to Health.”

Proposals that are not as likely to be funded include medical research, projects relating to a single disease, actual delivery of medical treatment and capital construction or equipment purchases

Cross-Sector Areas

We have identified these areas as being particularly susceptible to consideration under more than one of our traditional priority categories.

Economic Development

We recognize that the expansion of Maine’s economy will advance other areas of Betterment Fund concern. We particularly support the following programs:

• Entrepreneurship
  • Programs that promote scalable entrepreneurship, particularly in rural areas.
  • Areas of particular interest include women- and minority-owned businesses and improved coordination of existing entrepreneurship and economic development efforts, including with educational initiatives.
  • The development of careers and businesses in the trades is also of interest.
• Agricultural Capacity
  • Improvements to the competitiveness and long-term viability of Maine farms and farmers by providing technical support and improving access to distribution and markets.
• Tourism
  • Promotion and development of quality tourism as an engine for economic opportunity in the mountain and forest regions, with particular preference for the Western Mountains region.
• Broadband
  • Support of planning and implementation projects to increase access to broadband in local communities of Oxford, Franklin, Somerset, and northern Cumberland Counties, conditioned upon local municipal and/or nonprofit community entities’ commitment of resources to such projects.

Creative Economy

The Betterment Fund is primarily interested in regional and statewide strategies promoting the economic enhancement of communities through arts and culture.

Early Childhood

The Betterment Fund has prioritized improvement of the education, health, and general well-being of Maine’s youngest children, from before birth through preschool age. Our focus in this area is funding the development of best practices for the physical, mental, and psychosocial health and development of young children. We support policy work that leads to the adoption of state or federal policies to achieve these outcomes and the establishment and maintenance of the broad infrastructure to carry out this work. We also are interested in the development of an economically viable and accessible system of childcare for working families. We are unlikely to make grants to individual school or childcare center programs.

Moving Communities to Health

Of interest are community-scale initiatives taking advantage of natural and other qualities inherent in the community’s locale and promoting the participation of its residents in active recreation and other activities (such as healthy eating) conducive to healthy lifestyles and prevention of illness. Essential elements of this priority include:

• A demonstrated connection to individuals’ physical and/or mental health; and
• Initiation by and for the residents of an identified geographic-based community (as opposed to individuals with common interests or attributes drawn from more disparate geographic areas).

Philanthropy

The Betterment Fund embraces opportunities to collaborate with other state-wide philanthropic organizations that seek to improve grant-making and support charitable activities in Maine. In addition to making grants, the Betterment Fund supports and participates in a number of funder groups around specific issues.

Grant Guidelines and Focus AreasMission StatementThe Jewish Women's Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago seeks to expand and improve opportunities and choices in all aspects of Jewish women and girls' lives through strategic and effective grantmaking. The Jewish Women's Foundation endeavors to empower women as leaders, funders, and decision makers.Overall Considerations

• JWF Chicago funds with a "gender lens" and a "Jewish lens". We are interested in projects that recognize Jewish women and girls have unique needs both because of their gender, and their religious and cultural heritage.
• JWF Chicago is committed to improving the overall status of Jewish women and girls, and funds projects that promote social change by addressing at least one of the indicators described below:
• JWF Chicago considers an organization's holistic support of women and girls, as well as the specific project or program for which you are seeking a grant. This includes the extent to which Jewish women and girls are included among your leadership and in key staff positions.
• JWF Chicago supports organizations through general operating and project specific funding. General operating support will only be awarded to organizations focusing exclusively on promoting social change for Jewish women and girls.

Grantmaking Focus Areas

JWF Chicago funds in four main areas. Prospective grantees are invited to submit project and program proposals that relate to these targeted areas.

Annual Grants

One-year funding open to all applicants that meet JWF Chicago’s overall eligibility requirements as described below.

• There is no predetermined number of Annual Grants.
• JWF Chicago considers organizations for funding on a year-to-year basis.
• Previous funding does not guarantee continued funding.
• The minimum Annual Grant award is $15,000. There is no maximum grant amount.
• The average Annual Grant ranges between $20,000-$25,000.

The Gladys Brooks Foundation was created under the will of Gladys Brooks Thayer of New York. 

Its purpose is to provide for the intellectual, moral and physical welfare of the people of this country by establishing and  supporting non-profit libraries, educational institutions, hospitals and clinics.

Scope of Grants Considered

The Foundation will consider major grant applications for innovative projects in the fields of libraries, education, hospitals and clinics.

Grants for Libraries 

Grant applications will be considered generally for resource Endowments (print, film, electronic database, speakers/workshops) capital construction and innovative equipment. Projects fostering broader public access to global information sources utilizing collaborative efforts, pioneering technologies and equipment are encouraged.

Grants for Educational Institutions

Grant applications from universities, colleges and secondary schools will be considered generally for:

• educational endowments to fund scholarships based solely on educational achievements, leadership and academic ability of the student; 
• endowments to support fellowships and teaching chairs for educators who confine their activities primarily to classroom instruction in the liberal arts, mathematics and the sciences during the academic year;
• erection or endowment of buildings, wings or additions thereto of buildings, and equipment for educational purposes;
• capital equipment for educational purposes.

Grants for Hospitals & Clinics

Grant proposals from hospitals and clinics where the proposal addresses a new health need, an improvement in the quality of health care or reduced health costs with better patient outcomes will be considered generally for:

• endowments for programs;
• erection or endowment of buildings, wings of or additions to buildings;
• capital equipment.

Mission

The Lloyd G. Balfour Foundation was established in 1973. The Foundation's 3 primary focus areas reflect Mr. Balfour's strong affinity for the employees of the Balfour Company, his commitment to the city of Attleboro, Massachusetts, and his lifelong interest in education. Specifically, the Balfour Foundation supports:

• Educational scholarships to employees of the Balfour Company, as well as to their children and grandchildren
• Organizations serving the people of Attleboro, with special consideration given to those organizations that provide educational, human services and health care programming for underserved populations
• Educational organizations that serve New England

Focus Area

Educational Organizations

The Foundation's educational funding is generally focused on organizations or programs that provide support for underserved or under-represented populations to prepare for, access and succeed in higher education, including 2-year and 4-year institutions.

It is clear that Mr. Balfour was interested in supporting students for successful completion of college. As such, the Foundation focuses its grantmaking in the New England area on programs that support college readiness, access, and success. The Foundation is most interested in programs that support students all the way into and through post-secondary credential attainment (2- or 4-year credentials). Programs within institutions of higher education aimed at attracting, supporting, and retaining (through successful completion) under-served and under-represented populations are also of interest. In this area, we will consider applications that request scholarship funds, if those scholarships are part of a broader set of services and supports.

Background

The Morton-Kelly Charitable Trust was established in 1988 by Joan Morton Kelly and her mother, Mildred Duncan Morton, to facilitate their philanthropic activities.

Foundation Program Areas

The overarching interest of the Morton-Kelly Charitable Trust is to connect people and place through the arts, culture and the natural environment in Maine. Program Areas reflect how communities, organizations and individuals can cultivate creative expression and a sense of responsibility towards one another and to the lands and waters around us. Proposals may be for operating support or specific projects and may be of local or statewide benefit. Across all programs, community connection is paramount.

Program Areas of interest to the Trust are Arts, Culture and Historic Preservation and Environmental Initiatives.

Arts, Culture and Historic Preservation

The Trust is interested in community arts and cultural programs, cultural facility improvements, historic preservation projects and celebration of the diverse cultural heritage of Maine.

Arts and culture programs and organizations help foster vibrant communities, creative expression, inspiration and build community connections. Community cultural centers and preservation of historic sites and resources can enhance downtown and community revitalization efforts and be a cornerstone of community arts and cultural life. The Trust is also interested in programs that expand cross-cultural understanding of the unique and layered histories of Maine and contemporary expressions of culture and heritage.

The Trust’s Arts and Culture Program Area welcomes operating support or project proposals that meet any of the following goals:

• Access to the arts, creative expression and community cultural programs
  • Priorities include:
    • Access to arts experiences of all kinds, arts education for all ages, and performances and programs that serve Maine communities and residents.
    • Visual and performing arts programs in Maine museums, public libraries, historical societies and other cultural organizations.
    • Both urban and rural programs that reflect local needs and bring community members together, including lectures, exhibits and special events.
    • Projects and programs that serve diverse populations and cultural experiences including Black, Indigenous and people of color in Maine.
• Facility improvements for community cultural centers and historic preservation projects that contribute to community vitality
  • Cultural facility improvement priorities include:
    • Structural, health, safety, public access or energy efficiency improvements.
    • Technology upgrades and other renovation needs.
    • Small venues in rural or underserved areas where few other resources are available, and which contribute to community revitalization.
• Historic preservation projects that contribute to community vitality
  • Priorities include:
    • The restoration and conservation of significant historic structures such as those listed on the National Register, or have documented importance through Tribal Historic Preservation Departments or are a known community landmark.
      • The Trust will support structural improvements and building systems (such as electrical service) rather than maintenance, painting or short-term repairs.
    • Preservation projects may also include restoration of significant material cultural resources.
    • Applicants are strongly encouraged to provide a letter indicating that the Maine Historic Preservation Commission or appropriate Tribal Historic Preservation Office is aware of the project, and that work is being conducted to appropriate preservation standards.
• Celebrate the diverse cultural heritage and multiple histories of Maine
  • Priorities include:
    • Programs that build community connection, celebrate the diverse cultural heritage of Maine communities and elevate the unique experiences of Black, Indigenous and other under-represented groups.
    • Efforts that build bridges within communities to elevate cultural histories of place, expand awareness, cultural connection and share learning.

Environmental Initiatives

The Trust is interested in environmental initiatives that protect ecological values, water quality and ecosystem health through land conservation, stewardship, education and research programs. The Trust is interested in supporting organizations that promote positive relationships with nature including scientific, ecological and cultural perspectives. The Trust is also interested in expanded efforts to conserve culturally significant lands for Wabanaki communities.

The Trust’s Environmental Initiatives Program Area welcomes proposals for operating support or projects that meet any of the following goals or related priorities:

• Provide equitable access to outdoor experiences and nature-based education
  •  Priorities include:
    • Programs that offer outdoor experiences and nature-based education for youth and community members to inspire care and responsibility for the environment.
    • Programs that provide safe, inclusive spaces for youth and others to develop appreciation for nature, science and the social and cultural dimensions of land and place.
    • Programs that benefit BIPOC and underserved communities.
• Enhance environmental stewardship.
  • Priorities include:
    • Support of the growing stewardship responsibilities of conservation groups in light of development pressures, climate change and greater public use of conserved lands and waters.
    • Support of staffing, programs and partnerships for stewardship, education and community engagement.
• Advance new approaches for land conservation
  • Priorities include:
    • Partnerships, tools and relationships for conservation that emphasize equity and inclusion.
    • Land conservation that protects biodiversity or provides access to lands and waters for recreation, education and restoration.
      • Organizations requesting funding for land acquisitions should include a funding plan for the project.
    • Building capacity for the protection, stewardship and management of culturally significant lands for Wabanaki lifeways and culture.
• Promote restoration and improvement of water quality in coastal and inlandwatersheds
  • Priorities include:
    • Applied science and research for the restoration and management of ecosystems, especially the coastal and inland waters of Maine.
    • Relevant research and education for water quality and habitat improvement.
    • Addressing climate change impacts on coastal and aquatic resources.
    • Initiatives that use science, policy and community engagement to improve and restore natural resources and ecosystems.

Funding

Up to $20,000 in grant funding may be requested.

The Elizabeth M. Pfriem Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation established in March 2015 and based in Rye Brook, New York.

Elizabeth M. Pfriem was the daughter of a Polish immigrant coal miner moves with her family at the end of World War II from the dying coal mines of Scranton, Pa., to the prospect of a better life in the prosperous city of Bridgeport. When you talk about business impact and philanthropic influence in Bridgeport, Mrs. Pfriem’s legacy is to be admired with the likes of P.T. Barnum and industrialist Frank D’Addario. She went about her business quietly yet her impact was wide and loud that benefited school kids, neighborhoods, social service organizations, medical facilities and the Barnum Festival for which she served as ringmaster, the only woman to occupy that role in its 70-year history. 

The Elizabeth M. Pfriem Foundation is dedicated to improving the human condition by supporting public charities that provide education, health services, food security, and safe, affordable housing, primarily focusing on the greater Bridgeport, Connecticut area. The foundation's mission centers on facilitating provisions that help vulnerable populations, especially children and families in need. It supports organizations that align with its goals of enhancing education, healthcare, food access, and housing safety. The foundation is committed to sustainable, high-impact programs that address community needs, particularly in Bridgeport.

Foundation Grants

Grants are made by invitation only to 501(c)(3) public charities that demonstrate fiscal responsibility, strong leadership, and innovative programs poised for growth. The Elizabeth M. Pfriem Foundation considers organizations that fit our funding criteria and align with our mission statement. The Foundation reviews Letters of Inquiry on an ongoing basis. Applications received after the deadline date will be considered for the following year.

Our Beginnings

SeedMoney is a Maine-based 501c nonprofit helping US and global food garden projects to thrive through grants, crowdfunding assistance and free garden planning software.

SeedMoney is the new name for what was formerly called Kitchen Gardeners International (KGI), a nonprofit founded in 2003. Over the past three years, our emphasis has gradually shifted from helping home gardeners towards offering financial and technical support to a wide variety of public food garden projects. These include community gardens, school gardens, food bank gardens, homeless shelter gardens and senior gardens, to name just a few.

Mission

SeedMoney improves the health of people, local communities and the planet by empowering public food gardens and farms to start up and thrive. We work with a variety of local partners including school gardens, community gardens, food bank gardens, community farms, as well as other nonprofits. We offer our partners training in online outreach, access to custom-built user-friendly online crowdfunding technology, cutting-edge garden planning software and grants ranging from $100 to $1000. In doing so, we enable communities and projects in need to become more self-reliant in terms of their food and their funding.

SeedMoney Challenge

The SeedMoney Challenge is a group crowdfunding competition open to any public food garden project located anywhere in the world.  Each year, we offer challenge grants to diverse food garden projects through a 30-day crowdfunding challenge.  Participating projects include youth gardens, community gardens, community farms and food bank gardens. Participants keep 100% of what they raise and compete for challenge grants of $100 to $1000. The more funds a project raises, the larger the grant it qualifies to receive. 

The grants we offer are on a sliding scale. The size of a grant a project can receive depends on how much it is able to raise over the 30-day period compared to other projects participating in the challenge. This year, we will be offering a total of 432 grants ranging from $100 to $1000.

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Housing Assistance Council (HAC), with To Be Done Studio, are excited to announce the Request for Applications to the Citizens' Institute on Rural Design (CIRD). Rural communities are invited to submit applications to receive design support and technical assistance to host a virtual and on-site local Design Workshop (if local public health guidelines allow) or participate in the Design Learning Cohort.

About CIRD

The Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design (CIRD) is a leadership initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Housing Assistance Council. Focusing on communities with populations of 50,000 or less, CIRD’s goal is to enhance the quality of life and economic viability of rural America through planning, design, and creative placemaking.

CIRD is intended to empower local citizens to capitalize on unique local and regional assets in order to guide the civic development and future design of their own communities. The CIRD program goals include:

• Building design capacity in rural communities to plan comprehensive revitalization strategies;
• Introducing creative placemaking, arts, culture, and design strategies as drivers of economic development in rural America;
• Facilitating a network of rural communities for design idea exchanges and peer learning; and
• Preparing communities to be ready and competitive for arts- and design-related state and federal funding opportunities.

Since 1991, the Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design (CIRD) has provided design assistance to more than 100 rural communities in all regions of the United States, empowering residents to leverage local and regional assets in order to guide the civic development and future design of their own communities. 

The CIRD program consists of two different opportunities via a single application:

Opportunity 1) Local Design Workshops

Up to four (4) communities will be selected to participate in an on-site rural Design Workshop. (Based on timing and in accordance with local health guidance, this workshop may be a hybrid virtual and in-person program.) With support from a wide range of design, planning, and creative placemaking professionals, the workshops bring together local residents and local leaders from non-profits, community organizations, and government to develop actionable solutions to a specific design challenge. Examples of potential design challenges include but are not limited to:

• Historic preservation and adaptive reuse of community buildings
• Designing quality affordable housing that supports livable and equitable communities; including housing and other amenities that support young people, families, and/or the elderly and aging in place
• Creating public or civic spaces that support and integrate cultural expression and local identity and/or play and active recreation
• Developing recreational trails for mobility, active transportation, and economic development
• Redesigning Main Street as a local street versus state highway/thruway
• Designing spaces and places that improve access to healthy food and local food systems
• Leveraging Main Street or local businesses for economic development, including branding, wayfinding, façade improvements, and streetscape design
• Integrating cultural identity into the built environment to drive heritage tourism.

Selected communities will receive additional support including customized follow-up support leading up to and after the workshop as well as access to and web-based resources, webinars, and peer learning through the Design Learning Cohort.

Opportunity 2) Design Learning Cohort

Up to fifteen (15) rural communities will be selected to participate in a Design Learning Cohort. Rural community leaders from government, non-profits, local business, and civic organizations are invited to:

• Participate in virtual trainings and sessions on design, planning, community engagement, facilitation and fundraising techniques;
• Connect and exchange design ideas with peers from other rural communities in the cohort
• Receive technical assistance and coaching from experienced design professionals tailored to their particular community design challenge; and
• Receive support in navigating funding opportunities to make their community’s vision a reality;
• Applicant organizations can indicate on their application if they only want to participate in the Design Learning Cohort (and not be considered for the hybrid local Design Workshop opportunity).

Both opportunities within the CIRD program connect rural residents and community leaders with resources and ideas for developing locally driven solutions to community design challenges.

PARTICIPATION BENEFITS 

Local Design Workshop Communities

• Four(4) communities will be selected to do a deep dive into a pressing design challenge that is impacting their community. Each workshop includes:
  • $6,000 stipend to the host community for workshop staff time and related expenses
  • A tailored virtual design process working with a dedicated resource team, including goal setting, and online sessions with design experts to assist with project visioning and advancement toward implementation
  • Potential site visit from a local/regional designer, if local public health guidelines allow.
  • A Design Book and action plan following the workshop, with project-specific design and planning recommendations, created by the CIRD resource team
  • Ongoing technical assistance related to project 
  • Design Workshop communities will have access to all events and opportunities offered to the Design Learning Cohort.

Design Learning Cohort

Up to 15 communities from the applicant pool will be invited to participate in the Design Learning Cohort. The opportunity allows up to four (4) leaders from each selected community to participate in virtual training in design, planning, community engagement, and facilitation techniques; engage with peers from rural communities; and receive support in navigating funding opportunities to make their vision a reality. The Design Learning Cohort opportunity includes roughly a dozen engagements, specifically:

• A series of online learning sessions led by nationally recognized field experts, tailored to engage cohort members and activate peer learning
• A series of public webinars and private breakout sessions that connect cohort members to design experts
• Technical assistance through office hours, one-on-one coaching, optional in-person convenings, and online resources
• Additional opportunities to socialize and share best practices and experiences with rural peers from around the country.