Grants for Women

About The Chatlos Foundation

The Chatlos Foundation proclaims the Glory of God by funding nonprofit organizations doing work in the United States and around the globe. Support is provided to organizations currently exempt by the Internal Revenue Service of the United States.

Philosophy of Giving

Placement of an organization within our categories is determined by the organization’s overall mission rather than the project under consideration.

The Foundation’s areas of interest are:

Bible Colleges/Seminaries

Grants to Bible colleges and seminaries total 33% of Foundation distribution. History has shown grants in this category range in size from $5,000 to $20,000. To assure the Foundation that the philosophy of the institution is consistent with that of the Foundation, potential recipients are asked to sign our Statement of Faith.

Religious Causes

Grants to religious organizations total 30% of Foundation distribution. History has shown that grants in this category range in size from $5,000 to $15,000.

Liberal Arts Colleges

Grants to liberal arts colleges total 7% of Foundation distribution. History has shown that grants in this category range in size from $2,500 to $7,500. Priority consideration is given to private colleges.

Medical Concerns

Grants to medical organizations total 26% of Foundation distribution. History has shown that grants in this category range in size from $5,000 to $15,000.

Social Concerns

Grants to organizations involved in social concerns total 4% of distribution. History has shown that grants in this category range in size from $2,000 to $5,000. This category encompasses secular community programs which provide direct services such as child welfare, vocational training, prison alternatives, concerns for the aged and disabled, and men, women and families in crisis.

Giving Information

Program support remains a current priority for the Foundation.

On an initial basis, the Foundation tends to fund requests for amounts less than $10,000. 

It is important to note that it is not our intention to become a part of an annual budget. We expect the projects we fund to become independent of The Chatlos Foundation. 

Many organizations are worthy of funding, however, our funding is limited. Applicants should understand that rejection of the proposal in no way signals rejection of the proposer. 

The large number of requests we receive causes us to decline many proposals which are worthy of attention and funding. 

The Coca-Cola Company, its global philanthropic arm, The Coca-Cola Foundation, and its regional foundations strive daily to be responsive to the citizenship priorities in the global communities where we live and work. 

At The Coca-Cola Company, we recognize that we cannot have a healthy and growing business unless the communities we serve are healthy and sustainable. As a global beverage company, we have committed ourselves to improving the quality of life in the communities where we do business. Our community investment priorities reflect the global and local nature of our business and focuses on areas where The Coca-Cola Company can make a unique and sustainable difference: women, water and the environment, education and community well-being.

Priority Areas

Empowering Women

Water Security

Protecting the Environment

Enhancing Communities

Educating Scholars

In addition, the Foundation supports many local community programs such as arts and culture, community and economic development programs in the United States, as well as HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness programs in Africa and Latin America.

Our community commitment is shared across The Coca-Cola system. When natural disasters strike, The Coca-Cola Foundation and the entire Coca-Cola system respond to offer emergency relief. Through the Coca-Cola Matching Gifts Program, eligible employees make personal contributions to qualified organizations and The Coca-Cola Foundation matches those contributions on a 2-for-1 basis.

Galesi Family Foundation

We hope to support the work of charitable organizations that apply creative and effective strategies to improve the lives of individuals and communities.

Let us help you make a difference. We provide grants to charities and non-profit organizations that support people, animals, and our society.

Grant Program

The fundamental principal of charitable giving is the cornerstone of the Galesi Family Foundation.

We hope to continue the work of our founders by supporting the efforts of organizations that apply creative and effective strategies to solve social and environmental problems. Of special interest to the board are the treatment and condition of underprivileged children, women, animals and the environment.

NOTE: Organizations that believe they meet these criteria can submit an organizational profile at any time. If your organizational profile falls within our priorities, selection criteria, and funding availability, we will follow up to learn more about your organization. Due to the volume of inquiries, we cannot respond to each organization individually.

Global Fund for Children invests in grassroots organizations around the world to help children and youth reach their full potential and advance their rights.

Our Model

We find.

• We research, explore, and identify innovative groups working with children and youth around the world.

We fund.

• We invest wisely, funding our partners’ life-changing programs for children and youth and keeping a watchful eye on how those funds are put to use.

Together we strengthen.

• We advise, mentor, and guide our partners. We build mutual trust, accountability, and enduring relationships. We provide tools for self-assessment. We support and help our partners grow.

We build networks.

• We connect our partners to each other and to national and regional networks. We bring together brilliant minds to share knowledge, fuel advocacy, and build movements of social change.

And when our partners graduate, we stand proud.

• Our greatest joy comes from knowing that we played a part in helping our partners grow strong enough to continue their important work for children without us.

Eligibility Criteria & Selection Guidelines

At Global Fund for Children, we invite you to join our growing grassroots network if you have shown great potential to improve the lives of children and youth who face poverty, injustice, and discrimination. As we embrace learning and collaboration, we hope you will serve as a model and resource for other community-based partners dedicated to the same big goals.

Focus Areas

Together with our partners, we are building a future where all young people enjoy equal resources and opportunities in society and can live to their full potential.

Our work advances the rights of children and youth across four focus areas and five regions. We have a deep commitment to courageous organizations that support young people facing poverty, injustice, and discrimination.

We support grassroots organizations that are not afraid to tackle the root causes of poverty with innovative, local solutions. Most offer holistic care to comprehensively address the needs of each child. Many become regional and national leaders in children’s rights—raising awareness, influencing policy, and ultimately impacting thousands of children and youth beyond their doors.

Education

Poverty and injustice—and the many hardships that accompany them—deny millions of children the opportunity to learn. We promote the right of all children to access high-quality education, regardless of their circumstances.

Worldwide, 124 million children and adolescents are out of school. Millions more who do attend school do not acquire basic skills in mathematics and reading. And every day, conditions beyond their control—gender, ethnicity, economic status, geography, conflict, disaster—force children and youth to drop out. But giving up on them isn’t an option.

At Global Fund for Children, we believe that educating children and youth is the key to building a more peaceful and just society. When we equip young people with education and skills, we unlock their potential to contribute to their families and transform their communities.

We support education from children’s earliest years to secondary school and on through university or vocational training. We place a strong emphasis on girls’ education to address the current and historical disadvantage for girls, improving access and quality and ensuring that girls have safe, girl-friendly places to learn. For refugees, children with disabilities, child laborers, and more, we prioritize inclusive, innovative educational programming that meets children and youth where they are and addresses their unique needs. For older youth, we support life skills, vocational, and entrepreneurship education so that they are empowered to make smart decisions, build financial resilience, and shape their own futures.

Gender Equity

Young people have the right to protect their bodies, raise their voices, and define their futures. But millions are denied these rights every day. We work to ensure that all children—regardless of their gender or their sexual identity—can be safe, learn, lead, and thrive.

Around the world, girls, young women, and LGBTQ youth—particularly those who are ethnic minorities or refugees, live in rural areas, or belong to other highly marginalized populations—face exclusion, violence, and discrimination. Too often, they are left out of decisions that determine their futures. At Global Fund for Children, we defend the right of all children to live free from discrimination and harmful gender-based attitudes and practices.

We believe that investing in girls delivers invaluable returns to the girls themselves, their families, and their communities, while confronting historical inequalities in societies worldwide. In fact, it’s essential to ending poverty and injustice. We also believe that traditional gender norms limit the full range of possibilities for boys and young men.

Through the work of our grassroots partners, we support girls’ education, sexual and reproductive health and rights, redefining masculinity, and the eradication of gender-based violence and harmful traditional practices, including child marriage and female genital mutilation/cutting. Our strategies engage entire communities—including parents, schools, community leaders, and local and national governments —to work collectively toward gender justice. We equip girls with knowledge and skills that will help them lead independent lives and empower them to become agents of change, while ensuring the men and boys in their lives are engaged in building a more equitable world.

We also support programs that specifically address the needs of LGBTQ youth and help them achieve equal rights around the world.

Our grassroots partners provide shelter to LGBTQ youth who are fleeing violence or persecution, run LGBTQ support groups and summer camps, and offer essential health information and services. Our commitment to gender equity also values advocacy on sexual rights and sexual and gender identity, helping to create a safe and welcoming world for all children and youth.

Youth Empowerment

Right now, the largest youth population in history is coming of age, and most of these young people live in the developing world. It’s a challenge—and an opportunity—we can’t ignore.

According to the United Nations, 89% of the world’s youth live in developing countries. At the same time, youth unemployment is on the rise. And work alone does not mean prosperity: nearly 40% of working youth live in poverty. Together, these challenges pose an enormous threat to our global economic and political stability—unless we seize the opportunity.

By investing in young people, we advance youth rights and work to transform the youth “bulge” into a powerhouse of innovation, opportunity, and social change.

At Global Fund for Children, we empower thousands of youth by equipping them with the skills and knowledge they need to lead lives of dignity, purpose, and economic stability. Our approach involves engaging young people who are also the least likely to have access to mainstream education and training, including girls, refugees, young people with disabilities, and youth engaged in hazardous work.

But economic opportunity is only part of the picture. We prioritize programs that advance young people’s political and civil participation and rights; that amplify youth voices, increase their decision-making powers, and raise awareness of their rights and needs; and that empower young people to educate and inspire their peers to act.

Freedom from Violence and Exploitation

All children deserve to grow up free from danger and harm—yet millions are threatened by war, trafficking, violence, and abuse. For survivors and children at risk, we work to bring safety and dignity to their lives.

Children and youth who live outside of mainstream society—and who are therefore most at risk of violence and exploitation—are often overlooked. Physical, psychological, and sexual abuse happen behind closed doors; poverty and inequality make children more vulnerable to sex and labor trafficking; war and community violence uproot children and youth from their homes and families. Their physical and psychosocial well-being is threatened. And too often, cultural norms make it acceptable to ignore their suffering.

Not on our watch. Global Fund for Children is dedicated to creating systemic change to end violence and exploitation for children and to help young survivors rebuild their lives.

Our grassroots partners provide protection and holistic care to trafficked children, migrants and refugees, child laborers, and survivors of sexual abuse and exploitation. They work to secure children’s legal identities—a critical step toward ensuring children’s safety and access to social services. They prevent future abuses by educating the public, training service providers, and combating harmful cultural norms and practices. And by pushing for better laws and policies to protect children and youth, they contribute to a growing movement that will not accept anything less than safety and security for every child.

NOTE: NCF accepts letters of inquiry year-round, and conducts three rounds of grantmaking each year. There are no deadlines for Letters of Inquiry — LOIs are accepted on a rolling basis and are reviewed by NCF staff within 60 days.

The Nathan Cummings Foundation is a multigenerational family foundation, rooted in the Jewish tradition of social justice, working to create a more just, vibrant, sustainable, and democratic society. We partner with social movements, organizations and individuals who have creative and catalytic solutions to climate change and inequality.

Our Focus

Pursuing Justice. For People + Planet. The Nathan Cummings Foundation is a multigenerational family foundation, rooted in the Jewish tradition of social justice, working to create a more just, vibrant, sustainable and democratic society through our grantmaking in the United States and Israel.

We focus on finding solutions to the two most challenging problems of our time – the climate crisis and growing inequality – and aim to transform the systems and mindsets that hinder progress toward a more sustainable and equitable future for all people, particularly women and people of color.

Climate Change + Inequality

Climate Change

From the Paris climate agreement to Puerto Rico, the world has declared the climate crisis one of the greatest challenges in our history. It will take all of our ingenuity and resolve to build an inclusive clean economy that lifts people out of poverty and moves everyone, especially those on the front lines, out of the devastating path we now face. We will address the climate crisis from an equity perspective and hold accountable the entrenched interests that have left our nation’s infrastructure and communities vulnerable and have stalled the energy and economic transformation we need. We’ll invest in solutions at the local, state and national level and join forces with diverse, enlightened leaders to chart a new course for a sustainable future.

Inequality

Millions of Americans face overwhelming obstacles shaped by social hierarchies of race, ethnicity, gender, income, education level or zip code, which restrict their opportunities. In order to address inequality, we will invest in work that reduces implicit bias and discrimination in our public policy, systems and markets. We are particularly concerned about the effects of criminal justice policies and practices on the economic security of hard-working families. With our partners, we seek new and effective pathways to improve quality of life for people and level the playing fields of opportunity. We challenge ideas, policies, practices and systems that perpetuate racial and ethnic stereotypes, criminalize people in poverty, and make it possible for a few to hold a vastly disproportionate share of the nation’s income, wealth and assets.

Our Approach

From our voice, to our grants and our investments, we are using all of our resources to achieve our mission. We are in the business of changemaking, not just grantmaking.

• Investing in Bold Leaders
• Our grantees and Fellows are courageous leaders willing to work in new ways, forge unusual and powerful alliances, and push breakthrough ideas that make the ‘impossible’ possible.
• Using All of Our Assets
• We are committed to leveraging 100% of our assets toward our mission through impact investing and active ownership strategies.
• Raising Our Voice
• How we do our philanthropy is as important as what we do with our philanthropy. We are using our voice, strengthening fields and expanding our networks to increase our impact.

The Foundation’s four focus areas together form an integrated framework to advance a healthy planet and democracy.

Racial + Economic Justice

We work to reverse generations of concentrated wealth and racialized power and patriarchy to get to the root causes of inequality and inequity. To advance racial and economic justice, we stand with groups like Color of Change, who speak out for and with those who are marginalized and criminalized. We’re building power, income and wealth for working people through our partnership with organizations like the National Domestic Workers Alliance and the Workers Defense Project.

Funding Overview

NCF supports strategies that challenge policies that criminalize low-income people and people of color, stripping families and communities of their humanity and stability. We invest in leaders, organizations and coalitions working to expand economic opportunity and racial justice by eradicating institutional practices steeped in racial hierarchy, discrimination and implicit bias. We partner with those building pathways to greater economic security, inclusion and mobility for all people by promoting business ownership, wealth and asset-building for people in socially and economically excluded communities. Advancing a truly just society requires creative problem solving along with a diverse set of approaches. Strategies that center and elevate the voices, stories and leadership of directly impacted people, along with the use of art, religious or ethical traditions, are critical to fostering positive cultural shifts toward inclusion and pluralism.

Funding Focus

Specifically, we support innovative ideas, strategies, and programs that:

• Increase Income: Improve working conditions for the most vulnerable communities — people of color, women, immigrants and persons with justice-involved backgrounds – to ensure that all work is fair, safe and equitable.
• Build Wealth: Build assets and wealth that lead families to greater economic security and mobility, advancing racial, gender, ethnic and economic justice.
• Disrupt Mass Incarceration: Support critical interventions that reimagine our criminal justice system and overturn policies that disproportionately target low-income people, women and communities of color.
• Reduce Debt: Support necessary interventions at the intersection of increasing income, building wealth and disrupting mass incarceration — recognizing that the issue of debt (who is burdened and who pays) is central to efforts working to achieve greater economic and racial justice.

Inclusive Clean Economy

We support a just transition to an inclusive clean economy where prosperity and a healthy environment go hand in hand. Partners like the Climate Justice Alliance, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, Jobs to Move America and the NAACP Environment and Climate Justice Program are advocating for solutions that bring the environmental and economic benefits of addressing climate disruption and energy use to frontline communities first, not last.

Funding Overview

We support bold leaders who strive to create an inclusive clean economy, sparking an energy and economic transformation that reduces harmful carbon emissions in replicable, scalable and equitable ways. Achieving this requires nurturing a more diverse and inclusive movement that both builds power for frontline communities, and shifts narratives from ones that undermine a clean inclusive economy to ones that feature more voices and hold those in charge accountable. We support investments and multi-sector collaborations that spur sustainable development, inclusive wealth building and job creation. Philanthropic capital is critical, and we work to direct it to underfunded parts of the movement.

Funding Focus

Specifically, we will support innovative ideas, policies and programs that:

• Build Power: Engage broad and diverse constituencies, mobilize resources and strengthen the movement by supporting frontline leaders advocating for a just and inclusive clean energy economy.
• Shift Narratives: Amplify religious, cultural, business and community stories and demonstrate that resolving the climate crisis and a sustainable economy go hand in hand.
• Demonstrate Solutions and Change Market Behavior: Support models that deliver replicable and scalable climate and clean energy sector benefits concurrently with living wage jobs and inclusive wealth building opportunities.

Corporate + Political Accountability

We activate investors and businesses as allies, advocates and leaders on climate and social justice and work to decrease concentrated corporate power and limit corporate influence in our political system. We support partners like Ceres, Open MIC and the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, and use our standing as an investor to strengthen corporate and political accountability.

Funding Overview

NCF focuses our corporate and political accountability work on efforts to hold corporations accountable for the ways in which they impact progress on racial and economic justice and the creation of an inclusive clean economy. We use our standing as both a grantmaker and an investor to spur greater transparency, drive changes in philanthropic, corporate and government behavior, decrease concentrated corporate power and wealth, and challenge problematic narratives underpinning our economy and markets.

Funding Focus

Specifically, NCF will support organizations working to:

• Activate Investors: Address inequality and climate change by activating investors to press for increased transparency and drive changes to corporate behavior while challenging the notion that corporations’ primary duty is to their shareholders;
• Decrease Concentrated Corporate Power: Decrease concentrated corporate power through a focus on antitrust law and competition policy, challenging the dominance of the consumer welfare theory and ensuring that the role of concentrated corporate power in driving inequality is widely recognized;
• Leverage Corporations as Allies: Leverage businesses as allies and advocates for progress on important social and environmental issues; and
• Counter Corporate Influence on Government: Highlight and counter undue corporate influence on politicians and regulatory agencies and counter attempts to suppress the role of science and the truth in decision making.

Voice, Creativity + Culture

We aim to shift dominant narratives about race, class, gender and ethnicity and build radical solidarity and empathy through voice, creativity and culture. We support art, media, and cultural criticism that challenge injustice like Firelight Media and the Critical Minded Initiative. We invest in visionaries like the Poor People’s Campaign and Bend the Arc who use faith, spiritual, and cultural practices to seed social transformation and spiritually rooted movements for change.

Funding Overview

We recognize the power of storytelling and the arts to reflect and sustain traditions, languages, history, hopes, dreams and truths across generations. By raising the voices of poets and prophets, artists, spiritual leaders and culture shapers to shift the dominant narratives about race, class, gender and ethnicity, we can expand our collective capacity for radical empathy. We encourage voices and values that challenge imbalanced power dynamics and expand racial and economic justice.

Funding Focus

Through the Voice, Creativity, and Culture portfolio, NCF supports innovative ideas and portfolios that:

• Artistic Practice: Support arts organizations with a deep commitment to social justice and shift perspectives by supporting new narratives that nurture empathy, understanding and a culture of shared responsibility.
• Storytelling Strategies: Support different modes of storytelling — journalistic, critical and strategic — that contribute to social justice, hold the powerful accountable, and envision a world with respect and empathy at its core.
• Moral Action: Support religious and spiritually grounded activists and organizations who advocate for social justice and democratic values and shift perspectives by advancing new narratives of radical empathy and shared responsibility.
• Spiritual Practices: Support spiritual, cultural, artistic, and contemplative practices that nurture the creativity, resilience, empathy, and healing of activists, organizations, and leaders advancing social change.

Mission

The mission of the Semnani Family Foundation is to find creative and effective ways of serving the needs of marginal and vulnerable communities around the world, particularly those whose survival and security is at grave risk or immediate danger due to forces and factors beyond their control. Whether it is helping communities recover from disease, famine, earthquake or war, or promoting research, educational and civic initiatives, we focus our giving where we can make the most difference.

About

The Semnani Family Foundation focuses primarily on promoting the health, education and disaster relief for marginal communities in the United States and around the world.

The philosophy of the Foundation is guided by a desire to empower the most vulnerable members of society, where ever they may be. The Semnani Family Foundation seeks to leverage its resources in a cost effective and efficient manner that delivers the maximum benefit to help the most marginal of communities—those who would otherwise be left out, forgotten or neglected, or those who would risk serious and irreversible damage and injury from exposure to natural or man-made disasters such as famine, floods, earthquakes and war.

The Semnani Family Foundation partners closely with organizations and individuals with a demonstrated record of delivering significant, sustainable and lasting change in the field. Over the years, the Foundation has worked with the major international and national as well as local charities to advance its mission. The Foundation’s partners over the past twenty years have included the American Red Cross, UNICEF, LDS Humanitarian, Globus Relief, Global Health Alliance, Special Olympics, the American Cancer Society, the Huntsman Cancer Institute, Habitat for Humanity, High Road for Human Rights, Faith Voices for the Common Ground, the League of Women’s Voters and others.

Program Areas

Social Issues

The Semnani Family Foundation gives grants for projects that address social issues such as homelessness, literacy, hunger, violence and rape. Over the past twenty years, we have supported Oxfam America, Wasatch Homeless Healthcare, the Road Home, Planned Parenthood, Rape Recovery Center, Prevent Child Abuse, and Gun Violence Prevention Center.

Health

Health is the one of the core mission areas of the Semnani Family Foundation. We have supported a broad range of health initiatives from funding research to providing care, from helping institutions build their capacity to train and teach students, pharmacists and nurses to joining partnerships for vaccination campaigns designed to eradicate measles and other crippling diseases. Since 1993, the Foundation has collaborated on a broad range of health issues ranging from AIDS, Alzheimers, Arthritis, Cancer, Diabetes, Cystic Fibrosis, Epilepsy, Leprosy, Multiple Sclerosis, Cystic Fibrosis as well as Mental Health.

Since inception, our partners have included the National Kidney Foundation, Alzheimer’s Association, American Cancer Society, American Leprosy Association, American Diabetes Association, Epilepsy Foundation, Utah AIDS Foundation, Utah Valley Mental Health, the University of Utah, Utah Rural Association of Nurses and others. We have teamed with the Moran Eye Center, Surgical Eye Expedition and others to extend the gift of sight to marginal communities. We have also partnered with Special Olympics, Kostopolous Dream Foundation, Wheelchair Foundation and a number of other organizations to provide assistance for people with disabilities.

Children

Children’s health and welfare is of vital importance to the Semnani Family Foundation. Whether they suffer from disease, hunger, abuse or poverty, the Semnani Family Foundation has made the health and education of vulnerable children a priority. Over the last twenty years, we have partnered with groups such as Primary Children’s Medical Foundation, Save the Children Foundation, Orphan Kids Inc, Odyssey House, National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome, Make a Wish Foundation, Simon Says Foundation, Shriners Hospital for Children, Pediatrics Radiology, Voices for Utah Children and Utah Boys Ranch.

Women

The empowerment of women, particularly in developing countries is one of the Foundation’s leading priorities. Since 1993, we have worked with Mothers without Borders, Women for Women International, Worldwide Organization for Women, Salt Lake League of Women’s Voters and other organizations dedicated to improving the life of women.

Disaster Relief

The Semnani Foundation has partnered with the American Red Cross, LDS Humanitarian Services, Globus Relief, World Food Program, Islamic Relief, Oxfam America and others over the past twenty years, providing disaster relief to victims of earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, famine and other natural disasters. Since its inception in 1993, the Foundation has supported disaster relief efforts in Iran and Haiti following earthquakes, in Indonesia after the tsunami, in Pakistan after the floods, in Ethiopia, Somalia, Yemen and Eritrea following famines, and in the Sudan and Syria following civil wars. We have also supported the New York Firemen 911 Relief Fund.

Iranian American Issues

The Semnani Family Foundation has played an active part in promoting Iranian culture in the United States. The Foundation has supported the Encylopedia Iranica Foundation, Parsa Community Foundation, Persian Heritage Foundation, Hafez Foundation for Literature, Roodaki Foundation, the Iranian-American Society and countless other educational and cultural initiatives. Due to sanctions, the Foundation is unable to support philanthropic projects in Iran at this time.

Religious Tolerance and Interfaith dialogue

Given the importance of religion to the life of many immigrant communities and refugees, the Foundation has worked closely with religious communities and leaders to promote interfaith dialogue, understanding and integration. We have helped immigrant and refugee communities build houses of worship, extend and expand social services, and fight prejudice. The Foundation has worked closely with LDS Humanitarian, Holy Cross Ministries, Islamic Society of Greater Salt Lake, Jewish Family and Children’s Services, Faith Voices for the Common Good and others to promote religious tolerance and bridge cultural divides.

Utah

View the grant page for the Utah priority area here.

NOTE: We have two deadlines for submitting proposals: The first business day in February for our Spring Meeting and the first business day of August for Fall. Submissions should be postmarked on or before either of these two deadlines. We normally only consider grants at our Spring and Fall Meetings, but we accept applications at any time and act upon them as expeditiously as possible.

Scaife Family Foundation Grant

For over 30 years, the most vulnerable members of the community have been supported by the Scaife Family Foundation through charitable funding. Since its inception in 1985, the Foundation has provided more than $150 million in donations for non-profit programs and general operating support.

We aim to help make the world a better place by continuing the legacy of generosity made possible by the Scaife Family. Our primary objective is to match the Foundation with non-profit organizations having similar interest areas and goals.

Mission Statement

The Scaife Family Foundation grant awards will support and develop programs that demonstrate the beneficial interaction between humans and animals, early intervention and prevention in the area of drug and alcohol addiction, and address issues surrounding the health and welfare of women and children.

Funding Priorities

Women and Children

We partner with high-impact organizations that break down barriers and help women and children lead bigger, brighter lives free of violence, addiction or abuse. Among other goals, we promote healthy relationships and social change to support the physical and emotional needs of women and children in crisis.

Addiction

Almost 21 million Americans have at least one addiction, yet only 10 percent receive treatment. The most common reasons people don't seek treatment are denial that they have a problem, shame in acknowledging their condition or fear of what treatment and recovery may involve.

We support programs and organizations that eliminate these obstacles and provide addiction prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery. This includes both residential and outpatient facilities that provide additional services like job placement and career counseling.

We also partner with nonprofits who are advancing the field of addiction through research, education and training to help counselors respond more effectively to substance use and related issues. Our funding has also trained thousands of physicians and medical school residents in recognizing and treating addiction, particularly alcoholism.

Animal Welfare

We support organizations that promote animal welfare and provide training for service dogs. We also partner with nonprofits who use the power of the animal-human connection in therapeutic settings to improve lives. This includes equine therapy programs, for example, to help heal adults and children with physical, cognitive and emotional disabilities.

NOTE: The Trust Board of Trustees meets four times a year in January, April, July and October to consider grant requests. An eligible request that arrives too late for one meeting will be placed on the agenda of the following meeting. Proposals must be received on the following dates to be included in the agendas noted:

December 1 - January agenda

March 1 - April agenda

June 1 - July agenda

September 1 - October agenda

If any of the above dates fall on a weekend or holiday, the proposal must be received the first working day following the published deadline.

Our Mission

Our mission is to continue and further the philanthropic legacy of Gardner Cowles, Jr. and the Cowles family, which includes promotion of education, social justice, health, and the arts.

The Founder

The Cowles Charitable Trust was first established in 1948 by Gardner “Mike” Cowles, Jr. (1903-1985). Born into the Cowles publishing family of Des Moines, Iowa, Mike was the youngest of Gardner Cowles and Florence Call Cowles’ six children. A newspaper editor and publisher by trade, he was committed to his family’s traditions of responsible, public-spirited, and innovative journalism as well as philanthropy. 

Mike always said that his mother, through her liberal social views, humor, and soft-spoken nature, was his greatest influence. One of the first women in Iowa to earn her college degree, Florence Call made philanthropy her life’s work, beginning by establishing a seed savings bank in her living room to help neighboring farmers through the winter. A strong advocate of women’s reproductive rights and family planning, she supported Margaret Sanger’s mission, including bailing her out of jail on more than one occasion. 

Mike continued his mother’s legacy of activism and was politically engaged both nationally and internationally. The Cowles family was passionate about civil rights and race relations in 20th century America, as demonstrated not only through their philanthropy but also via their trade. In a 1955 speech detailing what makes a great editor, Mike said:

“The greatest editors I know are just like the greatest educators and are successful for the same reason. They are thoughtful men with scrupulous regard for the truth. They are men who strive to stir the best in the human race, not pander to the worst. They are men who dare to lead, even when the direction is temporarily dangerous and unpopular.”

With his brother John, Mike was co-owner of Cowles Media Company. In 1937, he published the first issue of LOOK, a national picture magazine with roots in Mike’s passion for photojournalism and the journalistic innovations that the brothers had implemented at their newspapers. For Mike, LOOK was a visual tool meant to inspire and open the world to its readers; an instrument meant to facilitate one of his greatest passions: education. Of education, Mike stated in a 1949 speech: 

“The only answer to ignorance is education and more education. And I mean more than just the formal education in more and better schools, colleges and universities. I mean more adult education, more public forums, more discussion groups. But above everything else, I mean better newspaper and magazine editing, better news and discussion and debate programs on the radio. And I mean the use of the powerful new medium of television to make people understand and think. Too much thinking nowadays goes on in a bath of noise, because life is so busy, so complex…leaving the common man appallingly confused and misinformed.”

Mike Cowles left to his family a philanthropic legacy that continues to this day. The majority of the Cowles Charitable Trust’s current trustees are Mike’s direct descendants. 

For more information on Mike Cowles and the Cowles family, click here.

NOTE: For the 2023 cycle, In light of the situation with COVID and how it may have affected clubs’ ability to support their chosen charities, at this time clubs must have only supported their nominated charity for six months (instead of the usual one year) before applying for a DG on their behalf. This allows clubs to nominate charities that were perhaps forced to suspend operations for a time due to COVID or charities that may have been borne out of COVID. Support is defined as donation of goods, services or money made by more than two individuals of a FAWCO Member Club or FAUSA.

The FAWCO Foundation Development Grant

The FAWCO Foundation Development Grants financially assist projects which are passionately supported by FAWCO Member Clubs and FAUSA. The purpose of the program is to fund projects that can make an immediate impact and lead to success for the people they support. The assistance offered should be direct, with a goal of sustainability.

Through The Foundation, FAWCO Member Clubs and FAUSA have been aiding worthy and reputable charitable projects around the globe for over 45 years. Some clubs are working “hands-on” with their projects while others make financial contributions or donations of goods. FAWCO Member Clubs and FAUSA are passionate about supporting projects that improve the human condition throughout the world. The DGs provide the financial assistance that can help the recipients achieve their goals. 

The Development Grant categories are aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in the areas of Education, Environment, Health and Human Rights. 

The Foundation encourages FAWCO clubs to nominate grassroots organizations that receive little or no great sponsorship or support. Each FAWCO club may nominate two different projects each year.

Grant Categories

The grant categories are aligned with the UN Millennium Goals.

The FAWCO Foundation 2020 Development Grants will be offered in these categories:

Education

For projects promoting literacy, supporting academic studies, building or providing classrooms, libraries or general learning facilities for disadvantaged children or providing training designed to lead to economic and other types of empowerment for women and girls.

Due to the generosity in sponsorship, there are three awards available which will be given to the three projects receiving the most votes.

• AW Surrey Hope Through Education $5,000
• Educating Women & Girls Worldwide, sponsored in part by Renuka Matthews $5,000
• For programs specifically aimed at women and/or girls.
• Pam Dahlgren Educating Africa’s Children $5,000
• For programs specifically in the geographical area of Africa and will be awarded to the Africa-focused nominated project which receives the most votes.

Human Rights

For projects in a FAWCO Member Club’s host country or the world:

• providing vocational training, teaching practical skills, promoting social entrepreneurial initiatives for at-risk/marginalized population groups, 
• or addressing the critical problems of violence, food and shelter, healthcare, education, poverty, advocacy, human trafficking, prostitution, refugees, including all those impacted by economic, political or other forced migration,
• or promoting cultural understanding.

Due to the generosity in sponsorship, there are three awards available which will be given to the three projects receiving the most votes.

• Breaking the Cycle, sponsored in part by AW Eastern Province $5,000
• FAUSA Effecting Change for Women and Children at Risk $5,000 
• Safe Haven, sponsored in part by the family and friends of Louise Greeley-Copley $5,000
• For programs specifically supporting the Human Right to Safety and Shelter including:
• Refugee Programs  
• Protection for Women and Children Fleeing Violence
• Victims of Human Trafficking
• Shelters for Natural or Man-made Disasters

Environment

For projects promoting the responsible use of the environment to provide for the basic needs of a family or a community.

• Nurturing Our Planet - $5000

Global Issues - NEW for 2020! 

Close To Home $5,000                  

This Grant can be placed within any of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to which we align our Development Grants in the areas of Education, Environment, Health and Human Rights. In order to recognize FAWCO club’s local charities that are often overlooked on the world’s stage, the TFF is offering this Development Grant that is available for projects that take place in the nominating Club’s home country.

Health

For projects providing medical treatment, diagnostic services, preventive care or medical counseling. This can include, but is not limited to, cancer, HIV/AIDS, communicable, non-communicable and environmental diseases, substance abuse, life-improving surgeries, mental issues, the critically ill, the disabled, the aged, medical transport, special needs and maternal health for mothers and children.

Critical Health Concerns - $5000