Best Seed Grants for Nonprofits in Indiana

Central Kentucky Community Foundation

Established in 1960 as North Central Education Foundation, Central Kentucky Community Foundation is one of more than 780 community foundations in the United States today. We serve the Lincoln Trail Region, offering our donors and partners a variety of ways to touch our community through philanthropic giving.

Rodney and Elizabeth Grusy Vocational Continuing Education Scholarship

Applicant must reside in Breckinridge, Grayson, Hardin, LaRue, Marion, Meade, Nelson, Washington, Green or Taylor County.

Applicant must a considered a non-traditional student

About Marion Community Foundation

Since 1998, area residents have been turning to Marion Community Foundation to make their philanthropic giving as effective as possible. We are a public charity serving thousands of people who share a common concern … improving the quality of life in Marion County.

Individuals, families, businesses and organizations create permanent charitable funds that help our community meet its needs and challenges. The Foundation invests and administers these funds.

John & Jackie Watkins Scholarship

This scholarship recognizes the long history of Marion County as an agricultural area and the importance of farming in our community. John and Jackie Watkins both grew up in Delaware County and attended Radnor schools. They knew the value of education and its lifelong benefits.

Following Jackie’s passing in 1998, the family established the John & Jackie Watkins Scholarship Fund in her memory to assist the youth of Marion County to attend college—specifically to study agriculture. The Watkins Fund makes awards to graduating seniors from any high school in Marion County who are pursuing an education in agriculture, with special consideration given to those who have participated in FFA.

Central Kentucky Community Foundation

Established in 1960 as North Central Education Foundation, Central Kentucky Community Foundation is one of more than 780 community foundations in the United States today. We serve the Lincoln Trail Region, offering our donors and partners a variety of ways to touch our community through philanthropic giving.

Robin Bohannon Scholarship

Applicant must reside in one of 9 counties served by CKCF (Breckinridge, Grayson, Hardin, Hart, LaRue, Marion, Meade, Nelson, and Washington)

Central Kentucky Community Foundation

Established in 1960 as North Central Education Foundation, Central Kentucky Community Foundation is one of more than 780 community foundations in the United States today. We serve the Lincoln Trail Region, offering our donors and partners a variety of ways to touch our community through philanthropic giving.

Larry and Carol Kimberlain Scholarship

The applicant must be a graduating senior in Breckinridge, Grayson, Hart, Hardin, LaRue, Marion, Meade, Nelson, or Washington Counties

About Marion Community Foundation

Since 1998, area residents have been turning to Marion Community Foundation to make their philanthropic giving as effective as possible. We are a public charity serving thousands of people who share a common concern … improving the quality of life in Marion County.

Individuals, families, businesses and organizations create permanent charitable funds that help our community meet its needs and challenges. The Foundation invests and administers these funds.

Whirlpool Corporation One Power STEM Scholarship

Whirlpool Corporation, in conjunction with One Energy LLC, created a scholarship fund at Marion Community Foundation in 2017 to support education in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). For each wind turbine installed as part of a Wind for Industry® project, Whirlpool/One Energy scholarship partners are giving back to the community with scholarships. These scholarships will impact Marion County high school seniors and graduates pursuing studies in STEM fields.

Annually, this scholarship fund awards one $5,000 scholarship to a student attending any eligible educational institution. An additional $10,000 in scholarships is available to students attending The Ohio State University at Marion, Marion Technical College, or other eligible educational institutions.

Central Kentucky Community Foundation

Established in 1960 as North Central Education Foundation, Central Kentucky Community Foundation is one of more than 780 community foundations in the United States today. We serve the Lincoln Trail Region, offering our donors and partners a variety of ways to touch our community through philanthropic giving.

J.T. Wiglesworth Automotive Scholarship

The applicant must be graduating senior from a school in Hardin County

Central Kentucky Community Foundation

Established in 1960 as North Central Education Foundation, Central Kentucky Community Foundation is one of more than 780 community foundations in the United States today. We serve the Lincoln Trail Region, offering our donors and partners a variety of ways to touch our community through philanthropic giving.

James and Betty Holeman Scholarship

The applicant must be a graduating senior from a high school in the Lincoln Trail Region of Kentucky (Breckinridge, Grayson, Hardin, LaRue, Marion, Meade, Nelson, and Washington counties)

Big 30 Athletic Fund

This scholarship is for four graduating high school seniors from Big 30 participant schools. One award overall from any Big 30 school, one for a student from Cattaraugus County, one for a student from Allegany County, and one for a student from Pennsylvania. Students must have participated in at least two sports for all four years of high school. Emphasis will be placed on involvement in sports, but academic achievement will also be considered. Financial need may be considered.

Community Foundation of Randolph County

Our mission is to bring people and resources together to strengthen the quality of life, both now and in the future, for the residents of Randolph County.

The Community Foundation’s work falls into three major categories: grant-making, donor service, and community convening. Our most visible activities are the grants and scholarships we award each year. Most of these awards come from income earned from permanently endowed funds. Scholarships and other grants come from funds that donors have established for specific purposes.

Inspiring Randolph County-Jammie Michael Scholarship Fund

“The idea of this scholarship came when I started researching possible scholarship opportunities for my son Reece. He was a Junior at the time and the thought of planning and paying for college felt overwhelming. I reflected on the time Reece spent in school and was reminded of all the hours spent studying, the tears, fights, and late nights. Reece worked so hard and, over time, achieved great things. It became my goal to make sure every student knows we, as a community, believe in them and their dreams and they too, can achieve big things. Every student needs to know that rewards come to those that have qualities like perseverance, grit, determination and the power to rise above challenges. I’m inspired every day by the kids that put in the work.

My family and the community supported this goal of mine and made this scholarship possible for our kids. The Inspiring Randolph County Jammie Michael Scholarship Fund honors one Randolph County graduate with $1,000 to be paid to a post-high school education of their choice.” – Jammie Michael

Community Foundation of Randolph County

Our mission is to bring people and resources together to strengthen the quality of life, both now and in the future, for the residents of Randolph County.

The Community Foundation’s work falls into three major categories: grant-making, donor service, and community convening. Our most visible activities are the grants and scholarships we award each year. Most of these awards come from income earned from permanently endowed funds. Scholarships and other grants come from funds that donors have established for specific purposes.

East Central Ag Crop Insurance Agency Scholarship Fund

Wanting to give back to the community of Randolph County, the owners of East Central Ag Crop Insurance Agency felt there was a need to create a scholarship solely for those students who are pursuing higher education in agriculture, whose ultimate goal is an agricultural-based career. It is awarded to a Randolph County senior pursuing education in the field of agriculture with a G.P.A. of 2.7 or higher.

The Oak Foundation's Learning Differences Grant Programme aims to foster equitable educational experiences for students with learning differences, particularly those marginalized by racism and poverty. Through strategic partnerships with not-for-profit organizations, the program enhances understanding of diverse learners' needs, translates knowledge into effective practices, and influences systemic changes to create supportive learning environments. The initiative emphasizes the importance of community involvement, ensuring that students' voices are heard and their educational needs are met.

The Community Foundation of Hancock County offers educational support for Hancock County, Indiana adults who are seeking post-secondary training or schooling to improve their career prospects. There are also some opportunities provided by specific businesses in the area. The application is open year-round until all funds are used.

Adult Re-Education Fund

Established by John and Linda Zimmermann, this scholarship provides support to adults who wish to obtain additional education and/or training in order to increase employment opportunities.

Mission and Vision

The Mission of the Foundation is to improve the quality of life in the Coastal Bend by building community endowment and addressing social, educational, environmental, and cultural needs through the awarding of grants and scholarships.

The Foundation’s Vision is to provide the Coastal Bend with:

• Efficient gift options to meet donors’ charitable wishes
• Effective grants to charitable organizations and scholarships to students
• Ethical leadership to promote and enhance area philanthropy

Scholarships

The CBCF scholarship is open each year. Scholarships awarded will be for the following academic year. Scholarships are available only to students who graduated from a high school in one of the counties in the CBCF Service Area: Aransas, Bee, Jim Wells, Kleberg, Nueces, Refugio and San Patricio. Thanks to our generous donors, the Coastal Bend Community Foundation (CBCF) offers scholarships to students from over 100 funds.

Wilson - Chase Wilson Memorial 4-H Scholarship

Purpose

In memory of Chase Wilson, a former outstanding Nueces County 4-H member, who died in 1985 as a result of a tragic accident. Chase was a senior student at Texas A&M University in the College of Agriculture. He was due to graduate in the spring of 1985 with plans of a career ahead. The scholarship was established by his family to encourage 4-H members to continue their education beyond the high school level.

The Community Foundation of Hancock County offers educational support for Hancock County, Indiana adults who are seeking post-secondary training or schooling to improve their career prospects. There are also some opportunities provided by specific businesses in the area. The application is open year-round until all funds are used.

Nancy King “Dare to Dream” Fund

The purpose of this fund is to honor the Greenfield Kiwanis Club, a group whose members were like family to Nancy, through the provision of scholarships to persons who wish to obtain additional education.

Who We Are

The Community Foundation of Central Illinois will make a sustainable philanthropic impact in our community through visible leadership in connecting people who care with causes that matter.

Illinois Mutual Employees’ Children Scholarship Fund 

The Illinois Mutual Employees’ Children Scholarship Fund was established by Illinois Mutual Life Insurance Company to provide scholarship support for the children of employees who are graduating from high school or are undergraduate college or vocational students who will be enrolled full time.

For general scholarship questions, please contact Illinois Mutual’s Community Relations Department. For questions about the application process or required materials, contact the Community Foundation of Central Illinois at 309-674-8730 or amanda@communityfoundationci.org.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) invites applications for the R33 grant aimed at advancing emerging technologies in cancer research. This funding opportunity seeks projects that demonstrate significant progress in technology development, focusing on cancer biology, early detection, and clinical diagnosis. Eligible proposals must showcase innovative methodologies that enhance research capabilities, with a strong emphasis on technical validation and broad applicability in cancer applications.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) invites applications for innovative technologies aimed at cancer research and clinical care. This funding opportunity supports early-stage projects focused on proof-of-concept studies to assess the feasibility of new methods and tools. Applications should demonstrate significant technical innovation, targeting advancements in cancer biology, early detection, clinical diagnosis, treatment, and epidemiology. Technologies may include novel analysis platforms, imaging technologies, and biospecimen processing innovations, with a focus on cancer applications.

Marion Community Foundation

Since 1998, area residents have been turning to Marion Community Foundation to make their philanthropic giving as effective as possible. We are a public charity serving thousands of people who share a common concern … improving the quality of life in Marion County. We use distributions from the more than 500 charitable funds — created by generous, local donors — to award more than $2.5 million in grants and scholarships each year to many of the humanitarian, educational and cultural organizations in this remarkable community we call home.

Marion Community Foundation is the area’s leading philanthropic organization, providing charitable donors the opportunity to easily create endowment funds to benefit and support our community through grants and scholarships. We serve communities throughout Marion County through philanthropy, leadership, and civic engagement.

Beatrice Prior Memorial Scholarship

The Beatrice Prior Memorial Scholarship Fund awards scholarships to the academically highest ranking graduating female students of Marion Harding High School.

This fund was created from the Mary Evelyn Prior Trust. Mary Evelyn (1924-2008) was a Marion resident. The fund honors her aunt, Beatrice, who was a 1905 graduate of Marion High School (which pre-dates Harding High School) and taught in Lakewood, Ohio, as well as the Marion City Schools’ elementary grades for many years.

Angels Over Sandpoint

Mission: It is the mission of the Angels Over Sandpoint to honor the memory of the Angels who have gone before us by helping those in need in our community.

A New Direction Grant

Amber Coffman Campbell Memorial Fund

Amber and her generous heart took time to genuinely listen, as good friends do. She saw the bright side of everyone and believed in the goodness in each person. Her blue eyes were luminous and her smile made everything right in the world. Bubbly and effervescent, Amber was a soul of happy endless optimistic youth.

In 2007 Amber and Darby Campbell were married at their new home on Sunny Side Road. She fell for his dashingly romantic side and was swept away with his humor and creative ideas. He adored her passionate energy and bright spirit. They loved the sun and surf …and each other. Amber always had an interest in beauty. She was a model in her younger days and on Maui she found the Esthetician school from which she graduated in 2003. She creatively blended the idea of beauty with the natural world and brought about a new spa in 2008. Her creation of Wildflower Day Spa took off. It was an unfolding of her dream.

Amber was passionate, inspiring and generous of spirit. She brought forth an idea that there was always something about to unfold, something magical just in front of us, that something beautiful would happen this very day. And it always did, she would find something delightful in her path, even the littlest thing and embrace it.

Although Amber left this world too soon, she has given us a gift of her unbidden joy that we carry around with us in our hearts. 

A New Direction Grant is offered to Bonner County residents seeking to better themselves by attending a college, university or trade school. 

You may use funds for tuition/registration to any college, university, technical school.

New England Foundation For The Arts

Our work at NEFA is simple: to cultivate and promote the arts in New England and beyond. Our programs support artists across many forms of expression and many geographies, connecting them with collaborators and communities, fueling creative exchange and public discourse, and strengthening the arts and culture ecosystem.

Each program and project brought to life at NEFA builds a stronger and more dynamic infrastructure for the arts. Through grants, convenings, and online tools, NEFA continues an almost 50 year history of pioneering partnerships and programs supporting the arts.

Public Art Learning Fund

The Public Art Learning Fund aims to strengthen the field of public art in New England by providing professional development support directly to artists.

The Public Art Learning Fund provides grants to support professional development opportunities for New England artists to strengthen their public art practices. Through the Public Art Learning Fund, NEFA intends to foster the continued development of more equitable, inclusive, and vibrant public spaces and public life throughout New England.

Artists may utilize the Public Art Learning Fund to: pursue a specific professional development opportunity to strengthen their own public art practice in New England and beyond. Examples may include but are not limited to attending a conference, workshop, training, or discussion related to building creative or administrative skills related to their public art practice. 

Program Values & Goals

NEFA’s Public Art programs acknowledge the necessity of addressing the intersectionality of spatial justice and racial justice in cultivating a more vibrant and equitable public art ecosystem.  

The Public Art Learning Fund aims to strengthen the public art field in the region by supporting artists in further developing the skills, resources, and connections they need to build a more vibrant and equitable community of practice in the region. Learning in partnership with grantees, NEFA strives to learn how we may be able to better support a more equitable and sustainable public art ecosystem throughout the region. 

Funding Priorities

Public Art Learning Fund equips artists with skills, resources, and connections to strengthen public art practices that contribute to more equitable, inclusive, and vibrant public spaces and public life throughout New England. 

The Public Art Learning Fund gives priority to timely opportunities that are: 

• Specifically expanding an artist’s public art practice. NEFA will look for clarity on desired learnings and application to artist’s public art practice.
• Equitably contributing to more just and inclusive public artmaking in the region. Artists at various stages in their public artmaking practice from urban, suburban, and rural communities across all six states in New England are welcome to apply.

NEFA values diverse cultural and artistic expressions as essential to more equitable and vibrant public spaces and recognizes that some artists may experience barriers to accessing professional development opportunities due to race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, class, age, and geography. The Public Art Learning Fund intends to prioritize equity in funding opportunities.

The Fredric Rosemore Low Vision Educational Grant, awarded by the American Academy of Optometry Foundation since 2012, aims to foster excellence in low vision education at North American optometry institutions. Each grant provides $1,000 to support various needs such as personnel, equipment, or care, aligning with the mission of the AAOF. Eligible applicants include members of the AAO, whether they are students, candidates, or Fellows.

Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network

The RDCRN was established by Congress under the Rare Diseases Act in 2002. The network is an initiative of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), led by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences through is Division of Rare Diseases Research Innovation (formerly the Office of Rare Diseases Research). It is funded by collaborating NIH institutes, centers, and offices.

Now in its fifth funding cycle, RDCRN supports 20 rare disease research groups (consortia) that partner with 127 affiliated patient advocacy groups. In total, 180 diseases are currently being studied at 273 active clinical sites, both in the United States and internationally.

Developmental Synaptopathies Consortium - Request For Pilot Project Applications

The pilot feasibility core of the Developmental Synaptopathies Consortium (DSC) is pleased to announce that it will fund an estimated $100,000 total costs for a pilot project to stimulate additional research through the DSC NIH grant for one/all of the following disorders: Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC), PTEN Hamartoma Syndrome (PHTS), Phelan-McDermid Syndrome (PMS) and SYNGAP 1-related disorders. The funding will be coordinated, dispersed and evaluated for progress through the DSC infrastructure. This project will be a two-year project with half of the funds ($50,000) allocated in each year, starting in October 2026. 

Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network

The RDCRN was established by Congress under the Rare Diseases Act in 2002. The network is an initiative of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), led by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences through is Division of Rare Diseases Research Innovation (formerly the Office of Rare Diseases Research). It is funded by collaborating NIH institutes, centers, and offices.

Now in its fifth funding cycle, RDCRN supports 20 rare disease research groups (consortia) that partner with 127 affiliated patient advocacy groups. In total, 180 diseases are currently being studied at 273 active clinical sites, both in the United States and internationally.

Pilot Grant in Pediatric Fungal Disease

Goal

Invites applications for one-year pilot projects that establish feasibility, refine the analytic design, or generate preliminary data to support future studies addressing critical knowledge gaps or improving patient-centered outcomes for pediatric invasive fungal diseases.

Objectives

• Establish feasibility of proposed pediatric IFD studies
• Refine study design or analytic approaches
• Generate preliminary data to strengthen future large-scale research
• Expand and support a diverse investigator community in pediatric IFD research
• Encourage multi-site collaboration and incorporation of patient/caregiver perspectives

Award Description

Awards will provide up to $30,000 (inclusive of direct and indirect costs) for a one-year period. Applicants are encouraged to pursue co-sponsorship with institutional partners, research networks, industry collaborators, or other stakeholders to expand available resources. To receive the award, investigators must submit their full study protocol for approval by the RDCRN. Award recipients will be offered a project management team that meets quarterly to help ensure that progress is consistent with timelines and benchmarks. Funded investigators will also be required to submit quarterly progress reports and an end-of-project report to be reviewed by the Pilot Project Committee.

The Mike and Sharon Bell Scholarship, offered by the Central Kentucky Community Foundation, supports students from Hardin County Water District No. 2 or active members of Glendale Christian Church. Applicants should have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 and plan to attend a two- or four-year academic or technical school. This scholarship aims to empower local students to pursue their educational goals and enhance their community involvement.

The Elsa U. Pardee Foundation has been a pioneer in cancer research funding since 1944, providing over $110 million to more than 300 institutions across the U.S. It supports innovative approaches by both new and established researchers, ensuring diverse ideas receive necessary funding. Additionally, the Foundation addresses immediate financial needs for cancer patients, allocating about one-third of its grants to assist those in need. This dual focus on research and patient support distinguishes the Foundation in the fight against cancer.

Chautauqua Cattaraugus Board of Realtors Scholarship 

This scholarship benefits students in Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties, in good academic standing, with a preference for those entering a business-related field of study. Two $500 awards are made to two students each from Cattaraugus and Chautauqua Counties.

About CKCF

Our Mission

Central Kentucky Community Foundation is the philanthropic focal point in the region, serving as a resource, leader and catalyst to people who wish to improve life in their community.

Available Scholarships

2026 Rylee Marie Razon Memorial Equine Scholarship