Literacy Grants for Nonprofits

Global Impact Cash Grants

Cisco welcomes applications for Global Impact Cash Grants from community partners around the world who share our vision and offer an innovative approach to a critical social challenge.

We identify, incubate, and develop innovative solutions with the most impact. Global Impact Cash Grants go to nonprofits and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that address a significant social problem. We’re looking for programs that fit within our investment areas, serve the underserved, and leverage technology to improve the reach and efficiency of services. We accept applications year-round from eligible organizations. An initial information form is used to determine whether your organization will be invited to complete a full application.

Social Investment Areas

At Cisco, we make social investments in three areas where we believe our technology and our people can make the biggest impact—education, economic empowerment, and crisis response, the last of which incorporates shelter, water, food, and disaster relief. Together, these investment areas help people overcome barriers of poverty and inequality, and make a lasting difference by fostering strong global communities.

Education Investments

Our strategy is to inclusively invest in technology-based solutions that increase equitable access to education while improving student performance, engagement, and career exploration. We support K-12 solutions that emphasize science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) as well as literacy. We also consider programs that teach environmental sustainability, eliminate barriers to accessing climate change education, and invite student engagement globally to positively affect the environment.

What we look for:

• Innovative early grade solutions using the internet and technology to bridge the barriers preventing access to education for underserved students globally.
• Solutions that positively affect student attendance, attitudes, and behavior while inspiring action by students to improve learning outcomes, whether they participate in person, online, or in blended learning environments. 
• Solutions with high potential to replicate and scale globally, thereby increasing the availability of evidence-based solutions that support student-centricity, teacher capacity in the classroom, and increased parental participation to help students learn and develop.

Note: Cisco does not provide direct funding to schools.

Economic Empowerment

Our strategy is to invest in early stage, tech-enabled solutions that provide equitable access to the knowledge, skills, and resources that people need to support themselves and their families toward resilience, independence, and economic security.

Our goal is to support solutions that benefit individuals and families, and that contribute to local community growth and economic development in a sustainable economy.

We target our support in three interconnected areas:

• Skills development to help job seekers secure dignified employment and long-term career pathways in technology or other sectors, including environmental sustainability/green jobs.
• Inclusive entrepreneurship with small businesses as engines of local growth as well as high growth potential start-ups as large-scale job creators nationally and internationally, in technology or other sectors, including environment sustainability/green businesses.
• Banking the unbanked through relevant and affordable financial products and capacity building services.

Cisco Crisis Response

We seek to help overcome the cycle of poverty and dependence and achieve a more sustainable future through strategic investments. We back organizations that successfully address critical needs of underserved communities, because those who have their basic needs met are better equipped to learn and thrive.

What we look for:

• Innovative solutions that increase the capacity of grantees to deliver their products and services more effectively and efficiently
• Design and implementation of web-based tools that increase the availability of, or improve access to, products and services that are necessary for people to survive and thrive
• Programs that increase access to clean water, food, shelter, or disaster relief and promote a more sustainable future for all
  • By policy, relief campaigns respond to significant natural disaster and humanitarian crises as opposed to those caused by human conflict. Also by policy, our investments in this area do not include healthcare solutions.

Corporate Citizenship - Giving Back Globally

As a Service. Driven. Commerce company, Global Payments does its utmost to be a responsible corporate citizen, and our employees demonstrate passion and enthusiasm for making a difference in the lives of others. As a member of the global business community, corporate citizenship is fundamental to our values and who we are. We take action around the world to create change by offering our time, services and financial assistance to those in need.

Our Commitment

Global Payments is committed to serving the communities around the world in which we live and work by providing resources to improve financial preparedness and literacy, promote good health initiatives including preventative care and well-being programs, emphasize education and continuous learning, and support disaster relief efforts. 

Our Purpose 

We strive to integrate corporate citizenship into every aspect of our company in order to:

• Empower and encourage our employees and others to serve their communities
• Leverage our resources, talent, global reach and expertise to create meaningful change
• Ensure that society benefits from our company's commitment to make a difference around the world

Global Payments' Corporate Citizenship Goals

Global Payments' philanthropic efforts are focused on financial literacy, health, education and disaster relief. We believe that by supporting these common societal issues and concerns, we will be able to help individuals, businesses and communities overcome barriers to economic growth. We support a variety of organizations and programs that help create and sustain commerce around the world, helping to achieve positive economic outcomes wherever we may live or work.

Participation and Involvement

Global Payments makes it a priority to promote a culture of service to make a difference in the lives of others by committing financial resources to nonprofit organizations around the world.

Current Corporate Sponsorships

Global Payments is committed to supporting and nurturing programs that serve a global community in the each of the following areas.

Financial Preparedness and Literacy 

We believe in the critical importance of financial literacy. We fund programs that not only provide assistance but also promote independence and well-being for individuals and small businesses that lack access to information, resources and related services. 

Health 

We support initiatives and programs that promote good health and preventative care. We focus on programs that help individuals and families cope with chronic health issues as well as programs dedicated to physical or mental disabilities (congenital or acquired), covering impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions. 

Education and Continuous Learning 

In addition to the financial literacy programs, we emphasize education in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) programs. 

Disaster Relief 

Global Payments has a longstanding commitment to helping people affected by major natural disasters and humanitarian crises. In these difficult times, we work with our humanitarian response partners to direct funds to the people and places in greatest need.

Hearst Foundations' Mission

The Hearst Foundations identify and fund outstanding nonprofits to ensure that people of all backgrounds in the United States have the opportunity to build healthy, productive and inspiring lives.

Hearst Foundations' Goals

The Foundations seek to achieve their mission by funding approaches that result in:

• Improved health and quality of life
• Access to high quality educational options to promote increased academic achievement
• Arts and sciences serving as a cornerstone of society
• Sustainable employment and productive career paths for adults
• Stabilizing and supporting families

Funding Priorities

The Hearst Foundations support well-established nonprofit organizations that address significant issues within their major areas of interests – culture, education, health and social service – and that primarily serve large demographic and/or geographic constituencies. In each area of funding, the Foundations seek to identify those organizations achieving truly differentiated results relative to other organizations making similar efforts for similar populations. The Foundations also look for evidence of sustainability beyond their support.

Culture

The Hearst Foundations fund cultural institutions that offer meaningful programs in the arts and sciences, prioritizing those which enable engagement by young people and create a lasting and measurable impact. The Foundations also fund select programs nurturing and developing artistic talent.

Types of Support: Program, capital and, on a limited basis, general and endowment support

Education

The Hearst Foundations fund educational institutions demonstrating uncommon success in preparing students to thrive in a global society. The Foundations’ focus is largely on higher education, but they also fund innovative models of early childhood and K-12 education, as well as professional development.

Types of Support: Program, scholarship, capital and, on a limited basis, general and endowment support

Health

The Hearst Foundations assist leading regional hospitals, medical centers and specialized medical institutions providing access to high-quality healthcare for low-income populations. In response to the shortage of healthcare professionals necessary to meet the country’s evolving needs, the Foundations also fund programs designed to enhance skills and increase the number of practitioners and educators across roles in healthcare. Because the Foundations seek to use their funds to create a broad and enduring impact on the nation’s health, support for medical research and the development of young investigators is also considered.

Types of Support: Program, capital and, on a limited basis, endowment support

Social Service

The Hearst Foundations fund direct-service organizations that tackle the roots of chronic poverty by applying effective solutions to the most challenging social and economic problems. The Foundations prioritize supporting programs that have proven successful in facilitating economic independence and in strengthening families. Preference is also given to programs with the potential to scale productive practices in order to reach more people in need.

Types of Support: Program, capital and general support

NOTE: The foundation does not use prescreening or letters of inquiry or intent! The grant application is the appropriate first step in approaching the foundation. If you believe your organization might be a good fit after reviewing the guidelines and FAQs, you are welcome to submit an application.

Mission

The Richard Davoud Donchian Foundation provides funds to nonprofit organizations whose programs result in the strengthening of the human spirit and the enhancement of personal integrity. The Foundation channels most of its financial resources toward charitable organizations whose attention is concentrated on character development through leadership training, literacy, primary education, business integrity, spiritual enrichment and ethics.

It is the expressed belief of the Donchian Foundation that every individual can become physically, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually stronger, resulting in the culmination of a more confident and scrupulous lifestyle. The primary objective of the Donchian Foundation's grant making activities is to ensure that its ultimate recipients become empowered to strengthen and build up their families and communities -- passing onto others that which was given to them.

Guiding Principles

The Donchian Foundation's goal is to help effective organizations advance their mission and meet their charitable objectives. Through its endorsement, the Foundation's secondary objective is to create a ripple effect that leverages new partners and greater visibility. Leveraging is a principle that the foundation believes in, and one that is applied to its efforts toward strategic philanthropy. Whether it's leveraging matching funds through challenge grants, or motivating like-minded organizations to participate in a foundation-initiated project, the ultimate intention is to foster the best possible results.

Qualities sought by the Donchian Foundation in its partner organizations are:

• effective and dynamic personnel;
• passionate leadership;
• a bias against bureaucracy;
• prudent management & governance practices; and
• commitment to results and to the documented assessment of program impact.

The Foundation focuses its grant making in three key areas: Literacy & Education; Humanitarian Efforts and Ethics & Personal Development.

Literacy & Education

– With an interest in rethinking and reconfiguring curriculum, pedagogy, and the other academic resources in schools and communities, the Foundation focuses on programs that work toward long-term improvement in all aspects of education, but with an emphasis on literacy.

Humanitarian Efforts

– To improve the lives and spirits of individuals and communities facing pressing circumstances, etc., including efforts to address Children’s Health.

Ethics & Personal Development

– To enhance the moral, ethical, spiritual and physical well-being and progress of mankind. The Foundation's grantmaking activities are centered around the concept of social purpose enterprise that seeks to raise the standards of ethical excellence in society, moral character in the community, faith in the family, integrity in business and grassroots leadership in needy communities.

Our Mission

Our mission is to affordably connect nonprofits to the high-speed Internet access they need to better serve our world.

In a world of limited resources, we believe connecting nonprofits, schools and community anchor institutions is a critical investment in our nation’s future. Working in partnership with them, we can improve broadband access and digital literacy for millions of Americans, especially underserved groups such as the elderly, low-income and disabled.

Our mission is tied closely to our roots: Mobile Beacon was founded by one of the largest Educational Broadband Service (EBS) providers in the United States. The mission of EBS, to power education through broadband, is the keystone of our organization. It is the basis for our pricing and programs, which seek to make broadband affordable, break down barriers to access, and bring equal educational and digital opportunity to all Americans.

TechSoup Donation Program

With our $10/month, unlimited Internet service and 4G LTE device donation program through TechSoup, nonprofits can significantly lower their connectivity costs. It’s a great opportunity for nonprofits who:

• Lack traditional Internet access, or suffer from slow speeds/bandwidth constraints
• Creating a hotspot lending program within their community
• Need a low-cost backup Internet source
• Want to provide field-based staff with mobile Internet access

Overview

More than $41 million have been awarded to organizations serving over 118 million people in every state in the U.S.

American Honda Foundation (AHF) was established by American Honda Motor Co., Inc., to commemorate its 25th anniversary in the United States and to show its appreciation of America's support through the years. It is the aim at Honda that in every community in which it does business society will want Honda to exist.

Mission Statement

Help meet the needs of American society in the areas of youth and scientific education by awarding grants to nonprofits, while strategically assisting communities in deriving long-term benefits.

Guidelines

The American Honda Foundation engages in grant making that reflects the basic tenets, beliefs and philosophies of Honda companies, which are characterized by the following qualities: imaginative, creative, youthful, forward-thinking, scientific, humanistic and innovative. We support youth education with a specific focus on the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects in addition to the environment. 

Geographic Scope

National

Funding Priority

Youth education, specifically in the areas of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, the environment, job training and literacy.

Sociological Initiatives Foundation Grant

The Sociological Initiatives Foundation supports social change by linking research to social action. It funds research projects that investigate laws, policies, institutions, regulations, and normative practices that may limit equality in the South. It gives priority to projects that seek to address racism, xenophobia, classism, gender bias, exploitation, or the violation of human rights and freedoms. It also supports research that furthers language learning and behavior and its intersection with social and policy questions.

The Foundation supports research that focuses on improving services and systems and increasing positive social and physical conditions through:

• Policy development
• Placement and shaping of the policy agenda
• Policy adoption or implementation
• Policy blocking
• Increasing advocacy capacity and political influence
• Shaping public sentiment
• Addressing challenges related to language and literacy

Language issues include literacy, language loss and maintenance, language policy, language and national security, bilingualism, language and gender, language and law, language disabilities, language and health, language and education, different language cultures, and second language acquisition.

In the context of social and racial inequality dating back centuries, the Foundation supports projects that address institutional rather than individual or behavioral change. It seeks to fund research and initiatives that provide insight into sociological and linguistic issues that can help specific groups and or communities expand opportunities and challenge injustices.

Grant sizes normally range from $10,000 to $20,000. We look for projects that have an explicit research design and a concrete connection to public or community impact. It is not enough to just write a report or add a focus group to a social change project. The research should build an organization or constituency’s potential to expand public knowledge, impact policy, and create social change.

Current Thematic Focus: Violence and Society

 The Sociological Initiatives Foundation seeks to support community-based research in the Southern United States focused on the broad topic of violence and society. It invites requests to support research and advocacy efforts that move beyond the familiar conceptualizations of what violence is, how we experience it, how we talk about it, and how we advocate for freedom and safety.

Background

The Sociological Initiatives Foundation has supported a wide range of community-based research projects. Most of the activist-scholar projects have addressed structural race, class, and gender inequities. As the Foundation sharpened its emphasis on addressing systemic racism and racialized violence against Black people, however, it recognized a common but less-interrogated thread in many of the projects it has supported over the years. Many projects contend with the raw brutality of everyday violence in communities – a pressing reality that is often made invisible, individualized, or ignored as a form of structural oppression.

The scale and pervasiveness of this violence is staggering. With the rise of gun violence, gender-based violence, police-brutality, the carceral state, religious extremism, hate-crimes, and so on, there is an opportunity to develop more imaginative and innovative ways to understand these complex realities and create new spaces to investigate, theorize, and take action. More importantly, the various methodologies of community-based research present an opportunity to involve the people and communities most deeply affected by violence in shaping theory, narrative strategies, policies, and social movements.

What the Foundation looks for in a project:

The Foundation will continue to give priority to projects that link research with action and involve community members throughout.

It will invite proposals that communicate:

Insight. Challenges “common-sense” notions of activists, policymakers, and institutions.

Intersectionality. Addresses the multilevel and intersecting nature, and structural foundations of violence in our institutions – especially for racially marginalized women+ and girls+

A learning orientation. Builds critical literacies and new narratives/framing that illuminate the embeddedness of violence in legal, political, social, and cultural systems.

A civic agenda. Creates alternative public spheres for dialogue and deliberation about violence.

Urgency. Has a sense of urgency and express a readiness for strategic action; and addresses the lack of deep sociological engagement in questions of violence.

Some examples of desired applicants are:

• community-led academic partnerships
• advocacy or community groups that conduct research that can withstand challenge in academic and policy arenas
• academics allied with a constituency through their research

NOTE: The Olive Tree Foundation begins accepting grant applications in the first quarter of each year. The increased number of applications we receive each continually exceeds expectations. To ensure our small staff can effectively and fairly review the requests, we decreased the number accepted in 2022 to 50.

About the Foundation

The Olive Tree Foundation, Inc., is an independent philanthropy established in the United States in 1997.

Our mission: The Olive Tree Foundation strives to support U.S.-based nonprofits that provide food, shelter, medical care and education for those in need; make arts and culture more accessible and equitable; invest in community and youth and adult development; and protect the environment.

Grantmaking

Organizations eligible to apply for grants from The Olive Tree Foundation focus on:

• Basic necessities: We support nonprofits that provide food for the hungry, shelter the indigent and infirm and provide medical (physical and emotional) care to those in need.
• Youth education and development: OTF support nonprofits that develop the academic skills of youth. Key objectives should include character-building; fostering ethics, teamwork, self-esteem and self-confidence; broadening horizons and aspirations; strengthening unique abilities and talents; developing community awareness and involvement; improving academic, communication and interpersonal skills.
• Adult education and development: We support nonprofits that promote literacy and workforce development through various programs that empower adults to become self-sufficient and self-sustaining.
• Community development: We support nonprofits involved in the protection of civil rights and the creation of environmental infrastructures that enhance quality of life in the communities they serve.
• Arts and Culture: We support nonprofits that improve the quality of life in communities through arts and cultural enrichment and/or renovate structures that preserve a historical heritage.