Search Through Literacy Grants for Nonprofits in Maryland in the U.S.

Charitable Contributions

Costco Wholesale’s primary charitable efforts specifically focus on programs supporting children, education, and health and human services in the communities where we do business. Throughout the year we receive a large number of requests from nonprofit organizations striving to make a positive impact, and we are thankful to be able to provide support to a variety of organizations and causes. While we would like to respond favorably to all requests, understandably, the needs are far greater than our allocated resources and we are unable to accommodate them all.

Warehouse Donations:

Warehouse donations are handled at the warehouse level - please consult your local warehouse for up-to-date information regarding their donations contacts and review process.

Grant Applications

If the request is under consideration, you may be contacted by staff for any additional information needed. Applications are reviewed within 4-6 weeks, and decisions are made based on several factors, including: type of program; identified community need not otherwise available; indication that evidenced based data will establish measurable results of intended outcomes; community collaboration; broad base of financial support; project budget and operating expenses.

Who We Are

The Creag Foundation is a private grant making foundation established in 2009 in Woodinville, Washington.

The founders of the Creag Foundation believe that meaningful change can only be achieved through hard work, creativity and passion. They also understand the practical mechanisms that allow charitable organizations to succeed and grow. As a group, Creag Foundation principals are dedicated to helping today’s most innovative programs improve the human condition in a wide variety of ways.

Our Focus

The broad purpose of the Foundation is to support the efforts of nonprofit organizations who are innovators in the field of human services. Our particular focus is on smaller organizations that are starting out or established organizations that are looking for funding to take their organization in a new direction.

What We Fund

/ What We Fund

The Creag Foundation is focused on innovation in the industry. We will consider proposals from 501(c)(3) organizations that are finding new ways to address societal issues facing the nonprofit community. Applicants must have held 501(c)(3) status for one year before submitting. If your organization has held 501(c)(3) status for over a year, and your believe that your organization has a new approach to an existing social problem or is addressing a previously unaddressed social issue, you are welcome to contact us and request that we consider your organization for a funding opportunity.

Community Grants

State Farm is committed to helping build safer, stronger and better-educated communities.

• ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​We are committed to auto and home safety programs and activities that help people manage the risks of everyday life.
• We invest in education, economic empowerment and community development projects, programs and services that help people realize their dreams.
• We help maintain the vibrancy of our communities by assisting nonprofits that support community revitalization.

Good Neighbor Citizenship company grants focus on safety, community development and education.

Focus Areas

Safety Grants

We strive to keep our customers and communities safe. That's why our funding is directed toward:

• Auto safety — improving driver, passenger, vehicle or roadway safety
• Home safety — shielding homes from fires, crime or natural disasters
• Disaster preparedness and mitigation
• Disaster recovery

Community Development

We support nonprofits that invest and develop stronger neighborhoods. That's why our funding is directed toward:

• Affordable housing — home construction and repair
• Commercial/small business development
• Job training
• Neighborhood revitalization
• Financial literacy
• Sustainable housing and transportation
• Food insecurity

Education

Our education funding is directed toward initiatives that support the following programs:

• Higher education
• K-12 academic performance
• K-12 STEM
• Pathways for college and career success

Mission

The mission of the Hearst Foundations is to identify and fund outstanding nonprofits to ensure that people of all backgrounds in the United States can build healthy, productive and satisfying lives. Through its grantmaking, the Hearst Foundations support well-established nonprofit organizations that address significant issues within their major areas of focus—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.

Whether providing a scholarship to a deserving student, supporting a rural health clinic or bringing artists into schools so children can see firsthand the beauty of the arts, the Foundations’ focus is consistent: to help those in need, those underserved and those underrepresented in society. Since the Foundations were formed in the 1940s, the scale and capabilities of the grant making have changed, but the mission has not.

Culture Grant

The Hearst Foundations fund cultural institutions that offer meaningful programs in the arts and sciences, prioritizing those that enable engagement by young people and create a lasting and measurable impact. The Foundations also fund select programs nurturing and developing artistic talent. Supported organizations include arts schools, ballets, museums, operas, performing arts centers, symphonies and theaters.

Funding Priorities in Culture

In the recent past, 25% of total funding has been allocated to Culture. Organizations with budgets over $10 million have received 60% of the funding in Culture.

The Hearst Foundations are only able to fund approximately 25% of all grant requests, of which about 80% is directed to prior grantees and about 20% is targeted toward new grantees.

Types of Support

Program, capital and, on a limited basis, general and endowment support

The Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Foundation promotes social justice and human rights through its five program areas: Jewish life, strengthening Israeli democracy, health and mental health, educational opportunity, and human rights. Support is provided to organizations in the United States and abroad.

The Foundation supports organizations that promote systemic change, involve constituents in planning and decision-making, encourage volunteer and professional development and engage in ongoing program evaluation.

Health & Mental Health Program Area

Mental Health 

The Foundation invests in programs that address mental health issues affecting low-income communities in the Baltimore region, with a focus on prevention and innovative service models utilizing evidence-based practices offered in community-based settings. The Foundation is particularly interested in bringing mental health services into community settings to complement other services already in place. Special consideration is given to programs focusing on children or older adults as well as efforts that combine direct service and policy advocacy.

Generally, the Foundation does not provide support for clinical services for people with serious mental illness. The Foundation will consider program and capital grants in the mental health portfolio. Funding is restricted to the Baltimore metropolitan area.

Access to Health Care

The Foundation is committed to supporting local and national advocacy and public policy initiatives to ensure access to quality care among low-income families with the goal of ensuring that everyone can use the health services they need without risk of financial ruin or impoverishment to maintain a high quality of life. The Foundation invests in legislative, legal and policy efforts focused on expanding health care coverage to additional citizens, improving the quality and accessibility of health care services and defending access to existing health care entitlements.

The Foundation does not support state or local advocacy efforts outside of Maryland but will consider national campaigns that engage a cluster of states. The Foundation will consider program and general operating grants in this portfolio.

Environmental Health 

The Foundation invests in organizations seeking to minimize the impact of toxins on people’s health. The Foundation prioritizes organizations that use science-informed research as the basis of local and national legislative, policy and market-based campaigns as well as organizations that include involvement of the communities most impacted by the toxins.

The Foundation does not support state or local advocacy efforts outside of Maryland but will consider national campaigns that engage a cluster of states. The Foundation will consider program and general operating grants in this portfolio.

Strengthening Public Education 

Seeking to improve the lifetime outcomes and opportunities for Baltimore youth and the region, the Foundation invests in strategies to strengthen Baltimore’s public school system. The primary focus of this program is to support efforts that improve the quality of leadership and teaching within the school system. The Foundation funds alternative pathway programs for principals and teachers and supports professional development programming to deepen teacher content knowledge and practice, particularly in the areas of arts, literacy, progressive education practices and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). The Foundation also supports efforts to improve school climate, with a focus on restorative practices and social emotional learning. The Foundation will, from time to time, consider support for district-identified priorities.

The Foundation also supports public policy, legislative and litigation efforts related to securing equitable public funding for Baltimore City public schools.

The Foundation does not support programming or capital needs of individual schools, although it will consider programs working across a cluster of schools. Funding is restricted to Baltimore City.

Michael & Susan Dell Foundation Grants

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation only accepts unsolicited proposals for specific areas within the education, family economic stability and childhood health sectors in select countries where we work, namely the United States, India and South Africa.

As a guideline, the foundation does not fund more than 25% of a project’s budget or more than 10% of an organization’s total annual operating expenses.

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation has always recognized the power of providing grants to partner organizations that we knew were already working hard to improve the lives of urban children living in poverty. By aligning with organizations that are already making a difference, we continue to make an immediate impact on the lives of thousands of children.

Foundation priorities:

We fund social enterprises that directly serve or impact children or youth from urban low-income communities in the areas of education, health, and family economic stability (including livelihoods and financial inclusion). These social enterprises may be structured as for-profit or nonprofit entities.

Partnerships

We collaborate with a range of organizations focused on creating opportunities for children and families living in urban poverty, with a deep emphasis on measuring impact. Our funding advances projects already making an impact in education, health, and family economic stability. Through these enduring and long-standing partnerships, we create lasting change together.

The National Home Library Foundation makes grants to nonprofits to assist in the distribution of books and other forms of reading materials to libraries and community groups with limited resources or abilities to otherwise procure these materials.

NHLF grants are made to assist in the support, promotion and development of literacy and reading-related programs with the goal of combating illiteracy and/or encouraging an interest in reading and literacy among all ages.

Objective

• To assist in the distribution of books and other forms of reading materials to libraries and community groups with limited resources or abilities to otherwise procure these materials.
• To assist in the support, promotion and development of programs with the goal of combating illiteracy and/or encouraging an interest in reading and the literary arts for all ages.
• To encourage the development of programs relating primarily to literary or cultural topics that utilize various means of communication.

PNC Foundation

Strengthening and enriching the lives of our neighbors in communities where we live and work.

Vision & Mission

For decades, we have provided resources to seed ideas, foster development initiatives and encourage leadership in nonprofit organizations where imagination and determination are at work enhancing people's lives everyday.

The PNC Foundation's priority is to form partnerships with community-based nonprofit organizations in order to enhance educational opportunities, with an emphasis on early childhood education, and to promote the growth of communities through economic development initiatives.

Foundation Grant

The PNC Foundation supports a variety of nonprofit organizations with a special emphasis on those that work to achieve sustainability and touch a diverse population, in particular, those that support early childhood education and/or economic development.

Education

The PNC Foundation supports educational programs for children and youth, particularly early childhood education initiatives that meet the criteria established through PNC Grow Up Great. Specifically, PNC Grow Up Great grants must:

• Support early education initiatives that benefit children from birth to age five; and
• Serve a majority of children (>50%) from low- to moderate-income families; and
• Adhere to all other standard PNC Foundation guidelines, as outlined on the PNC Foundation website, applicant eligibility quiz, as well as the Foundation policies and procedures; and
• Include one or a combination of the following:
  • direct services/programs for children in their classroom or community;
  • professional development/workforce development for early childhood educators;
  • family and/or community engagement in children’s early learning
• Additional considerations:
  • The grant focus should include math, science, reading, vocabulary development, the arts, financial education, or social/emotional development.
  • The grant recipient, or collaborative partner, should have early childhood education as an area of focus. If the organization’s focus is beyond birth to age five, the specific grant must be earmarked for birth to age five.
  • Incorporate opportunities for PNC volunteers in classroom or non-classroom-based activities.

Economic Development

Economic development organizations, including those which enhance the quality of life through neighborhood revitalization, cultural enrichment and human services are given support. Priority is given to community development initiatives that strategically promote the growth of low-and moderate-income communities and/or provide services to these communities.

• Affordable Housing
  • The PNC Foundation understands the critical need for affordable housing for low-and moderate-income individuals.
  • We are committed to providing support to nonprofit organizations that:
    • give counseling and services to help these individuals maintain their housing stock;
    • offer transitional housing units and programs; and/or
    • offer credit counseling assistance to individuals, helping them to prepare for homeownership.
• Community Development
  • Because small businesses are often critical components of community growth and help foster business development, the PNC Foundation provides support to nonprofit organizations that
    • offer technical assistance to, or loan programs for, small businesses located in low-and moderate-income areas or
    • support small businesses that employ low-and moderate-income individuals.
• Community Services
  • Support is given to social services organizations that benefit the health, education, quality of life or provide essential services for low-and moderate-income individuals and families.
  • The PNC Foundation supports job training programs and organizations that provide essential services for their families.
• Arts & Culture
  • Support is given for cultural enrichment programs benefitting the community.
• Revitalization & Stabilization of Low-and Moderate-Income Areas
  • The PNC Foundation supports nonprofit organizations that serve low-and moderate-income neighborhoods by improving living and working conditions.
  • Support is given to organizations that help stabilize communities, eliminate blight and attract and retain businesses and residents to the community.

Philanthropy is our commitment to communities in which we operate and broader society. We focus our resources on a limited number of key projects that can deliver valuable benefits from our contributions and those of our partners. We give priority to innovative, high-quality projects that meet the following criteria:

• promote sustainable development
• offer an opportunity for Roche to use its expertise and logistics capabilities
• involve Roche actively at an early stage with local authorities and established partners
• engage Roche employees in cultural (focus on contemporary arts), educational and social activities
• managed by an accredited charity

Our four focus areas

Humanitarian and Social

We direct the majority of our philanthropic donations to humanitarian and social development projects.

Science and education

We are dedicated to programmes that promote scientific interest and provide educational opportunities for young people around the world.

Community and Environment

We are committed to building stronger communities and responding to natural disasters sustainably.

Arts and Culture

We support groundbreaking contemporary art, cultural projects and activities that explore the parallels between innovation in art and in science. 

Mission

Driven by a philanthropic calling to support marginalized communities throughout the world, the Semnani Family Foundation partners with on-the-ground organizations and leverages its resources in a cost-effective and efficient manner that delivers the maximum benefit.

History

Guided by his grandmother Maliheh’s example and teachings, Khosrow Semnani and his wife Ghazaleh established the Semnani Family Foundation in 1993. The foundation’s first grant was issued through CARE International to an orphanage in Romania that cared for newborns affected by HIV. Over the last few decades, the foundation has continued to build upon its mission to empower the disaffected, partnering with a variety of organizations in different countries who can make the greatest impact.

In addition to its global influence, the Semnani Family Foundation established roots within the state of Utah with the founding of Maliheh Free Clinic in 2005 to provide free healthcare to thousands of uninsured people in the Salt Lake City area.

Where We Work

The Semnani Family Foundation focuses primarily on promoting health, education, and disaster relief for marginalized communities all around the world. Driven by a clear mission to adapt and serve at the global level, we have leveraged our resources to make a meaningful impact in the following countries so far:

• Afghanistan
• Bosnia
• Colombia
• England
• Ethiopia
• Ghana
• Guatemala
• India
• Iran
• Kenya
• Madagascar
• Mali
• Mexico
• Pakistan
• Philippines
• Romania
• Somalia
• South Africa
• Tanzania
• Tonga
• Uganda
• United States
• Yemen

At the heart of the Foundation lies a fervent commitment to human welfare, always prioritizing health and the needs of society’s most vulnerable.

The Sidney Stern Memorial Trust is devoted solely to the funding of charitable, scientific, medical and educational organizations.

The Board endeavors to support soundly-managed charitable organizations that give service with a broad scope, have a substantial effect on their target populations, and contribute materially to the general welfare. The Board does not discriminate on the basis of ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation or religion.

Our Mission

The Tony Robbins Foundation is a nonprofit organization created to empower individuals and organizations to make a significant difference in the quality of life of people often forgotten.

We’re dedicated to creating positive changes in the lives of youth, seniors, the hungry, homeless and the imprisoned population, all who need a boost envisioning a happier and deeply satisfying way of life. Our passionate staff, generous donors and caring group of international volunteers provide the vision, inspiration, and resources needed to empower these important members of our society.

Grants

Dedicated to meeting challenges within the global community, creating solutions and taking action, The Tony Robbins Foundation provides monetary donations to various organizations around the world. Funding requests are evaluated on an ongoing basis. We look for organizations that align with our mission to empower individuals and organizations to make a significant difference in the quality of life of those often forgotten.

Women and Girls Fund

In 2009, the Klompus Family Foundation distributed its assets to the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County (CFAAC) to establish the Women and Girls Fund. The mission of the fund is to support projects that develop individual skills, decrease isolation, create new experiences and empower women and girls who face major obstacles due to poverty, disability, domestic violence, and/or lack of access to resources.

Grants from the Women and Girls Fund will be used to support nonprofits that help women and girls pursue positive, productive lives by helping remove barriers for women and girls, increase their economic security, enhance their well-being and safety, and empower them to make positive life decisions for themselves and their families.

As outlined in the CFAAC Community Needs Assessment, Poverty Amidst Plenty VI: On the Road to Progress for All, there are 31,377 households led by single parents, of which 22,565 have a single female as the head of household. Estimates suggest nearly 15 percent of the single parent households in the county make an income that is below the federal poverty level. Annapolis has 790 public housing units for low and moderate-income residents; the majority (almost 85 percent) of residents are African American females living with their children on an average of $25,000 per year, equal to or below the poverty threshold. The Women and Girls Fund will focus its grantmaking in the following areas that pertain to nonprofit organizations working to improve the lives of vulnerable women and girls living in Anne Arundel through:

• Education
• Expanding Opportunities
• Health and Wellness

Examples of programs and initiatives for which grants will be considered are, but not limited to:

• Initiatives that provide access to quality healthcare and wellness programs, including mental health, trauma education, and advocacy.
• Early childhood education and K-12 programs.
• Experimental learning or training program in a shelter environment, such as parenting skills, financial literacy, etc.
• Programs that provide counseling services and/or child-care.
• Programs that provide unique learning experiences to girls, such as a STEM or STEAM activities.
• Initiatives to encourage professional and small business development and provide women with access to economic opportunities.
• Programs that provide access to professional services, such as free legal, financial, or accounting support.

Funding

Based on available funding, the Women and Girls Fund will award one or two $3000 to $5000 grants.

Successful grant applicants will demonstrate:

• Strategic and data-informed solutions, aligned with community needs and the organization’s mission
• Credibility in the field or project
• The ability to create a measurable impact

Abell Foundation Grants over $10,000

The Abell Foundation is dedicated to the enhancement of the quality of life in Maryland, with a focus on Baltimore City. The Foundation is committed to improving the lives of underserved populations by supporting innovative, results-oriented efforts to solve systemic social, economic, and environmental problems. Our areas of interest are education, workforce development, health and human services, community development, criminal justice and addiction, environment and arts.

In an attempt to be responsive to the changing needs of the community, the Foundation approaches its grantmaking by: 

• responding to unsolicited requests for funding that are initiated by organizations and institutions, and demonstrate a high-priority need and a measurable impact; 
• requesting that an organization or institution submit a proposal for a special program if its purpose furthers the Foundation's goals; and
• initiating programs that address key issues that reflect community-wide needs and show promise of impacting the quality of services and effecting long-term systemic change.

The Foundation seeks to address complex challenges to break through the cycles of urban poverty by supporting efforts to identify solutions that are both innovative and results-oriented. 

Areas of Interest

Within these areas, the Foundation provides seed funding, support for ongoing community programs and services, general operating support, and funding for capital projects, research, and program-related investments.

Education 

The challenge to Baltimore City’s leadership is to provide its children, the vast majority of whom qualify for free and reduced meals, with access to high-quality educational options from birth through college and/or career. The Foundation has a strong commitment to the PreK-12 public education system in Baltimore and its educational partners. With a focus on increasing achievement for city students, the Abell Foundation supports efforts to provide quality instruction in all content areas, provide a broad portfolio of effective schools, create successful transitions to and through college and work, increase family engagement, and promote literacy enrichment. In recognition of the pivotal role of quality teaching and school leadership, the Foundation also supports teacher and principal recruitment and retention efforts as well as leadership development strategies. After-school and summer programming with an academic orientation have received ongoing support to help fill gaps in school-day offerings. The Abell Foundation is committed to supporting children and youth who are educationally vulnerable while also preserving educational options that serve advanced learners.

Workforce Development

In recognition that a competent, skilled workforce is essential to the economic health and growth of Baltimore City, the Abell Foundation supports job-skills training that enables low-income, unemployed and underemployed job seekers to secure jobs that pay family-sustaining wages. Priority is given to programs that link hard-to-serve job seekers with employment, that promote job retention for at least one year of employment, and that enhance opportunities for low-wage workers to improve their skills and move into higher wage jobs.

The Foundation works with nonprofit organizations, employers and public agencies to identify and support effective workforce initiatives and to link them to public and private funding. The Foundation also works with nonprofit organizations to increase job seekers' access to needed services, including literacy services, transportation, substance abuse treatment, and services for ex-offenders. Finally, the Abell Foundation seeks to strengthen program and policy initiatives that support low-income families and enhance wages. These initiatives include increasing access to income supports such as the earned income tax credit and benefits such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Health & Human Services

The health of a community can only be as strong as the well-being of its citizens. Through grants awarded in this area, the Abell Foundation seeks to address societal issues associated with economic insecurity, access to health care, family planning, domestic violence, children's health and well-being, hunger and homelessness. The Foundation also supports legal services and advocacy programs promoting access to health and mental health services, a stronger child welfare system, resources for current and former foster youth, and a comprehensive system of services for the homeless. Finally, the Foundation supports programs that provide opportunities for low-income families to live in quality housing in good neighborhoods throughout the region.

Community Development

The Abell Foundation encourages initiatives that attract resident investment in neighborhoods, promote sustainability, increase economic development opportunities and nurture entrepreneurial talent to increase the livability of neighborhoods, the number of residents, the number of jobs and the size of the tax base. As successful households are key to neighborhood health, the Foundation supports efforts to remove barriers preventing residents from stabilizing household finances and invests in community-led projects to improve energy efficiency, increase fresh food access, enhance neighborhood amenities and reclaim neighborhood green space. In addition, the Foundation maintains an interest in programs that tie the economic health of Baltimore City to the region and state through housing mobility, regional planning and environmental stewardship.

Criminal Justice and Addiction

High levels of substance abuse and related crime in Baltimore City are causing high rates of incarceration and a significant deterioration in the quality of life in communities throughout the city. In recognition that drug addiction is a complex disorder that touches every aspect of an individual’s life, the Foundation seeks to increase access to substance abuse treatment and supportive services such as housing and job training for uninsured and drug-addicted individuals living in Baltimore. The Foundation works to increase the impact and effectiveness of treatment services through cutting-edge research and support of innovative service models designed to reach underserved populations.

In addition, the Foundation supports programs and initiatives that increase public safety and reduce rates of repeat criminal behavior (recidivism). Emphasis is placed on initiatives that address the barriers facing the returning ex-offender, particularly including efforts to provide transitional housing and the necessary wraparound services to support a successful return to the community. Finally, the Foundation supports efforts to reform the criminal justice system, reduce violence, and achieve juvenile justice. 

Environment

Protection and preservation of Maryland’s abundant natural resources is critical to promoting a healthy and sustainable environment, society and economy in the state. Partnering with the public and private sectors, the Abell Foundation supports programs aimed at promoting air and water quality, preserving undeveloped land, and protecting the Chesapeake Bay, in Baltimore and across the state. The Foundation supports efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change, with a particular focus on the development of renewable energy. In all of its work in support of a cleaner and healthier environment in Maryland, the Foundation seeks to ensure environmental health and justice in underserved communities. 

Arts

In recognition of the overall economic health of a city, the Foundation seeks funding opportunities to strengthen existing cultural arts organizations and emerging arts groups, with a focus on those working to provide programming for underserved communities in Baltimore. The Foundation looks for initiatives that help attract artists to live and work in Baltimore, use the cultural arts to improve student academic achievement, and stabilize and revitalize neighborhoods.

Calling to Serve

Since its inception in 2016, the Robinson Foundation has sought to demonstrate God’s love through sharing the gifts we have received. We understand the often unspoken hardships and struggles that people in and outside of our community face everyday. As such, our contributions are focused on relieving these hardships for the betterment of our world.

As a family-operated foundation, we pray that our small efforts will not only create immediate change in the lives of our neighbors, but will help set those lives on a course for success in the future. We are thankful for each and every day we have on this earth to use what God has granted us to make a difference.

Areas of Interest

• Animal Welfare
• Children & Families
• Disaster Relief
• Education
• Medical Assistance
• Nature & Wildlife Conservation
• Poverty Relief
• Religious & Spiritual Endeavors
• Veterans' Issues

Grant Considerations

We take many different aspects of applications into account when making grant issuing decisions, however these are some of the high-level questions we ask ourselves during the process:

• How does the organization serve their key audience goals?
• Is the organization fiscally responsible?
• Will a grant have a tangible, meaningful impact?
• Will we see direct results from this grant?
• Does the organization have other financial contributors?

Georgia-Pacific Foundation

Established in 1958, the Georgia-Pacific Foundation sets aside resources to improve life in the communities where we operate. We’ve worked with thousands of outstanding community-based programs, service projects and disaster relief efforts, focusing our investment in four areas we believe make the most impact:

• education,
• environment,
• enrichment and
• entrepreneurship.

Investment Priorities

• Aligns with GP’s mission and values
• Aligns with GP’s Four Focus Areas of giving: Education, Environment, Enrichment of Community and Entrepreneurship
• Serves communities where GP has manufacturing facilities
• Creates value by contributing to and positively impacting long term well-being and sustainability of GP communities

Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation Grant

The Foundation will consider requests to support museums, cultural and performing arts programs; schools and hospitals; educational, skills-training and other programs for youth, seniors, and persons with disabilities; environmental and wildlife protection activities; and other community-based organizations and programs.

Philip L. Graham Fund Grant

Named for the late Publisher of The Washington Post and President of The Washington Post Company (now Graham Holdings Company), the Philip L. Graham Fund devotes its resources to the betterment of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The Fund awards several million dollars in grants annually to groups providing educational, health, community enrichment, and arts programs and services to communities in and around Washington, D.C.

What We Support

Understanding the broad and changing needs of the communities in and around Washington, D.C., the Philip L. Graham Fund is dedicated to supporting organizations that provide a wide array of direct services to individuals and families. The Fund awards grants across four focus areas and a geographically vast area that includes 10 counties in Virginia and Maryland as well as the District of Columbia.

The Fund is always looking for innovative and efficient organizations to support. Over the past several decades, the Fund has invested tens of millions of dollars in the physical infrastructure, information technology, and transportation needs of local nonprofit organizations. The Fund’s five-member board prefers to fund requests for one-time projects or expenses, but does occasionally award grants for program and general operating expenses.

In 2017, the Philip L. Graham Fund awarded $4.1 million in grants to 138 organizations across Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. Twenty grants went to first-time grantees. Together, grants in the Health & Human Services and Education focus areas represented 84% of the Fund’s giving last year.

Focus Areas

From its inception, the Fund’s mission has been to use its resources for the betterment of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. In the past, the Fund also worked to foster improvements in the fields of journalism and communications. Grantees include large, regional organizations as well as small, community-based groups; all share a commitment to our community.

Health & Human Services

The Health & Human Services segment of the Fund’s portfolio is the largest portion of the Fund’s giving and includes a wide array of services designed to ensure everyone in the greater metropolitan area has access to the tools necessary for healthy and productive living. Nonprofits providing shelter, food, medical care, and workforce development programs to members of our community are a high priority for the Fund as well as efforts to increase access to fresh foods, legal services, routine primary care and dental visits, and comprehensive behavioral health services for children and adults.

Education

The Philip L. Graham Fund is committed to supporting efforts to advance and expand educational offerings for children and adults in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The Fund gives high priority to programs that improve public education and adult literacy.

Arts & Humanities

From its earliest days, the Philip L. Graham Fund has supported both large and small arts organizations in and around Washington, D.C. Many of the city’s largest and most innovative theater companies, museums, dance companies, and arts education programs can trace their earliest funding back to the Graham Fund. The Fund remains committed to supporting longstanding organizations devoted to bringing high-quality and unique programs to the community and to seeking out new organizations bringing fresh ideas and offerings to the metropolitan area. The Fund is specifically interested in arts programming that shows a clear intersection with one of the Fund’s other focus areas.

Community Endeavors

Recognizing the importance of Washington, D.C., to the nation and the world, the Fund considers requests from institutions that tell the stories of our country’s history, values, and accomplishments and strengthen the greater metropolitan community as a whole. This includes support for a broad spectrum of organizations, such as institutions of national significance located in the metropolitan area, improvement of local parks and playgrounds, and efforts to help our community through programs that strengthen families and neighborhoods.

Introduction to the Chesapeake Bay Trust

The Chesapeake Bay Trust (Trust) is a nonprofit, grant-making organization dedicated to improving the bays, streams, rivers, forests, parks, and other natural resources of our local systems, from the Chesapeake to the Coastal Bays to the Youghiogheny River. The Trust, supported in large part by Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay License Plate and partnerships with other regional funders, engages and empowers diverse groups to take actions that enrich natural resources and local communities of the Chesapeake Bay region. Since 1985, the Trust has awarded over $140 million in grants to municipalities, nonprofit organizations, schools, and public agencies throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.What this fundsThe Environmental Education Grant Program funds programs and initiatives that advance environmental literacy and result in students having the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and motivation to take informed and responsible actions to protect and improve the environment.Project Types and Funding Availabilityhe Trust has made available $290,000 for this grant program in Fiscal Year 2025. Individual applications may be submitted for amounts detailed below.Track 1 Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE) ImplementationApplicants may request up to $40,000 per year for up to three years for projects that focus on piloting (one-year requests) or embedding systemic (multiyear requests) MWEEs into school district’s curriculum. The MWEE model integrates best practices of environmental education pedagogy where students investigate local environmental issues through classroom and outdoor experiences, engage in problem-solving, and take action to address their issues through projects and civic engagement.Track 2 Environmental Literacy Capacity BuildingApplicants may request up to $40,000 for the 2025 school year (March 2025 – August 2026) for district or state-wide environmental literacy capacity building and collaboration efforts that advance environmental literacy, especially MWEEs, within school district(s).For requests $10,000 and under, consider applying for a Trust Youth Environmental Education Grant. 

The Foundation

When Herb Block died in October 2001, he left $50 million with instructions to create a foundation to encourage the art of editorial cartooning and to support charitable and educational programs that help promote and support the causes he championed during his 72 years of cartooning. The Foundation is committed to defending basic freedoms, combating all forms of discrimination and prejudice and improving the condition of the poor and underprivileged.

Pathways Out of Poverty

This program will focus on helping needy young people and adults gain a quality education. For projects serving youth, The Herb Block Foundation seeks proposals which focus on improving student achievement and healthy development of young people. Projects may include in-school and community-based educational programs, after-school activities, and mentoring programs. Programs designed to increase high school graduation rates are encouraged to apply.

For projects serving adults, The Herb Block Foundation seeks proposals to provide literacy education and GED preparation, and to offer vocational training and job placement.Grants in the range of $5,000 to $25,000 will be considered. Grants will be considered for one year's funding.

Background

The Women’s Giving Circle of Frederick County Fund, a component fund of the Community Foundation, provides grants that support programs that empower women ages 18 and over in challenging situations to improve the quality of their lives. The grants will support women’s efforts to become self-sufficient, understanding that encouragement and financial assistance are compelling factors in restoring stability and hope.

Funding Priorities

• Furthering women’s ability to care for herself and, subsequently, her dependents. Such as:
  • Furthering workforce and educational opportunity, including but not limited to:
    • Direct provision of workforce development programs
      • Job training and placement services
      • Trade and technical certifications
      • Apprenticeship programs
    • Direct support, such as scholarships, for post-secondary, apprenticeship, or workforce development programs
    • Indirect support of workforce or educational program participation or betterment
      • Mentoring and life skills programs
      • Support of transportation and/or childcare to facilitate participation in workforce development or education programs
  • Furthering economic capacity, including but not limited to:
    • Emergency financial assistance due to changed circumstances
      • Homelessness prevention support
      • Emergency and transitional housing support
      • Transportation support
    • Access to income supports
      • Systems navigation -- creating access to benefits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), medical insurance, housing vouchers, etc.
    • Training in financial literacy
      • Household budgeting, credit scores
      • First time homebuyers’ programs
    • Financial assistance for next steps
      • Recovery housing costs
      • Low-income homebuyer supports

Funding

A minimum proposal of $1,000.00. Each proposal may not exceed $40,000. Organizations may seek up to $40,000 total.

The Foundation is dedicated to providing financial assistance to organizations committed to improving our world. Solutions to the problems of today's world still lie in the values of innovation, practicality, hard work, and compassion.

The Foundation considers applications for grants in the following areas:

• Education
• Social Service
• Health care
• Civic and cultural
• Environmental

The categories above are not intended to limit the interest of the Foundation from considering other worthwhile projects. In general, the Foundation guidelines are broad to give us flexibility in providing grants.

The majority of our grants are made in the U.S. However, like Dr. Scholl, we recognize the need for a global outlook. Non-U.S. grants are given to organizations where directors have knowledge of the grantee.

Consumer Financial Education Fund

The Consumer Financial Education Fund supports projects that relate to consumer financial education, with an emphasis on issues related to just and equitable banking, basic banking, financial literacy, access to financial services, retail banking accounts, and underbanked and/or vulnerable populations. 

Funding

It is expected that most proposals will be for 12-month grant periods; however, multi-year proposals are encouraged where appropriate. The maximum grant amount is $100,000, even for multi-year proposals.

MD Rural Health Care Grant

The objective of the Rural Maryland Prosperity Investment Fund is to help raise the overall standard of living in rural areas to a level that meets or exceeds statewide benchmark averages by 2030, while preserving the best aspects of a pastoral cultural and rural way of life. Resources provided to the Fund are designed to facilitate significant targeted investments in important economic and community development programs and promote regional and intergovernmental cooperation. These investments will also enable local and regional public and nonprofit organizations to leverage additional non-state financial and human resources to facilitate the realization of sustainable rural development objectives. The Fund will serve the interests of the entire State by: 

• Encouraging the increase of entrepreneurial activity and commerce and a balanced economy in the State;
• Relieving conditions of unemployment and underemployment in rural areas;
• assisting in the retention of valuable farm and forest land for productive use by present and future generations;
• Promoting intergovernmental cooperation and public sector/private sector partnerships in and between rural and other areas;
• Enhancing the deployment of housing, transportation, water, wastewater, and broadband communications infrastructure and services in rural areas;
• Supporting rural commercial center redevelopment and community revitalization efforts; and,
• Generally promoting the health, happiness, safety, employment opportunity, and general welfare of the residents of each of the rural counties and municipal corporations of the State.

Health Care

Health care access and delivery is a major problem in the State’s rural areas. Residents often need to travel great distances to seek health care services due to health workforce shortages. This problem is in primary care, and is particularly acute in specialty care such as surgical specialties, dentistry, mental health and other medical specialty areas. 

Eligible health care projects will range from health care planning, to health program implementation and evaluation, and will include projects pertaining to the following:

• Improving access to health and medical/dental care:
  • Tele-medicine and telehealth networking
  • Transportation
  • Programs that focus on planning and/or coordination of health care
  • Programs that address rural population health needs
  • Programs that ensure health care insurance and treatment enrollment
  • Programs that implement and measure accomplishment of components of the state’s rural health plan
• Recruitment and retention of health care providers:
  • Programs to aid recruitment of health care providers
  • Rural residency programs in primary care and medical/surgical specialties and dentistry
  • Housing projects to support rural rotations of medical students/ health professions students
  • Pipeline programs for health care workers
• Behavioral and Mental health:
  • Substance abuse, including alcohol, opioids and prescription drugs
  • Depression and counseling, suicide prevention
  • Domestic abuse and violence 
• Programs that implement and measure components of the Maryland Rural Health Plan:
  • Access to care:
    • reduce barriers/remove gaps – primary care, specialists, behavioral health, oral health, and urgent/emergency facilities
  • Care coordination:
    • explore mechanisms to link health care consumers to services and improve coordination and collaboration between health care providers
  • Health literacy and health insurance literacy:
    • explore ways to increase individual health literacy and health insurance literacy of consumers
  • Outreach and education:
    • work with community-based services and health care infrastructure to provide outreach and education to citizens on relevant and emergent health issues
• Chronic disease prevention and management:
  • Health education on diabetes, obesity, heart disease, cancers prevalent in rural Maryland, hypertension/high blood pressure
  • Disease management programs
  • Research and treatment of health impacts on minority populations, and in particular, prenatal care
• Oral and Dental health 

Special FY2024 RMPIF Health Care Addition: Projects to support the Rural Nonemergency Medical Transportation Pilot Program

Current healthcare research indicates that one out of five healthcare appointments are missed due to lack of reliable transportation (Syed, 2013). Research indicates that there are as many as 73,000 to 82,000 adult Marylanders who miss at least one or more medical appointments each year. Compared to the rest of the U.S. population, the transportation disadvantaged, the target population, is poorer, more female, includes more minority population groups and suffers more disease co-morbidity. 

Open–Source Phonics Matching Grant Program

Purpose

The Open-Source Phonics Matching Grant Program was established under Chapter 270, House Bill 475 (2024) to provide matching funds to eligible nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher education, and public libraries. Grantees must create or distribute free, open-source phonics materials that align with best practices in literacy instruction, including the science of reading. Materials must be freely distributable and enable adults to tutor students in Maryland. A total of $150,000 has been allocated for Fiscal Year 2025, and applicants are required to provide matching funds (in-kind or monetary). The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) will administer the program, monitor funded projects, and report to the Maryland General Assembly on the program's effectiveness.

Background

Since our founding, Greenspring has aspired to give back by making meaningful financial and relational investments in our local communities. To further our stewardship efforts and commitment to charitable giving, we created the concept of the Greenspring Grant Program in 2012 to support the mission of local non-profits.

Now in its tenth year, this effort is completely employee-run and, each year allows a new team of individuals the rewarding (but very difficult!) task of selecting and awarding monies to worthy organizations. This year we are awarding a total of $100,000 in grant monies to organizations dedicated to economic and workforce development. At its sole discretion, Greenspring awards grants ranging from $10,000 to $15,000 based on the funding requested and the needs addressed.

Grant Focus

Organizations must be focused on or have programs that address Workforce and Economic Development. Examples include (but are not limited to):

• job/skills education and training
• job creation
• entrepreneurship
• developing and maintaining career pathways
• growing internships and career opportunities
• increasing financial literacy

Purpose

The Robotics Grant Program is an annual grant program that is administered by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) to provide funding to Local Education Agencies (LEAs), schools, and nonprofit organizations associated with public schools. The program aims to support the development and expansion of robotics programs across the state and to provide students with the opportunity to engage in high-quality STEM education practices that prepare them for success in the 21st Century workforce. The grant is open to Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and non-profit organizations that are working with Maryland public K-12 schools.

The purpose of this grant is to provide opportunities for students to engage in robotics education programs that will help them develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration skills. This is achieved by introducing them to Career and Technical Education (CTE) programming at their local high school. The Robotics Grant Program is designed to ensure that all students in Maryland have access to robotics education programs that are aligned with the Maryland K-12 Computer Science Standards and/or the Standards for Technological and Engineering Literacy. These programs can be implemented within the school day or as extracurricular activities and may include the development of new programs or the expansion of existing programs.