Search Through Operating Grants for Nonprofits in Pennsylvania in the U.S.

Exelon is proud to support nonprofit organizations and students in our local communities.  We encourage you to learn about our programs highlighted on this page and offered by our regional Operating Companies.

If you are new here, please review our Operating Company Programs to see if your organization is within our services territories and if your program might be a good fit. 

Focus Areas

We fund programs that deliver measurable, sustainable improvements in the communities we serve. We invest in organizations that have proven track records in these areas:

Exelon funds organizations, institutions, and programs that offer science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education and enrichment opportunities for students; scholarship and mentoring support to increase the number of students graduating with college degrees in STEM fields, STEM career and technical education, occupational skills training programs for older youth and adults, and assistance to remove barriers to employment.

Exelon funds organizations and programs that improve the quality of our environment; promote environmental education, conservation, and preservation; develop cleaner sources of energy; protect endangered species; and beautify neighborhoods.

Exelon funds a broad range of organizations and institutions that create local employment opportunities, support families, foster resilience, and strengthen communities. Our employees leverage Dollars for Doers and Matching Gifts to deepen the impact of their contributions of time and treasure to thousands of local non-profit organizations.

Exelon funds cultural institutions with broad public exposure and programs designed to make arts and culture more accessible to a wider and more diverse audience. Exelon believes that our lives are enriched, and our communities are strengthened through individual interactions and collective experiences with the arts.

FirstEnergy Foundation Grant

The FirstEnergy Foundation's contributions to local nonprofit organizations help strengthen the social and economic fabric of our communities. Funded solely by FirstEnergy, the Foundation extends the corporate philosophy of providing community support.

The FirstEnergy Foundation priorities: 

• Improving the quality of life in our communities and supporting key safety initiatives
• Empowering our communities’ workforce development and educational initiatives
• Promoting local and regional economic development
• Supporting employee leadership and volunteer interests that align with our business interests

Mission

The mission of the Independence Foundation is to build leadership, provide services, and encourage systems and cultural change through the support of organizations in the fields of healthcare, human services, legal aid, and the arts. The Foundation invests in people and programs that protect, improve and enrich the life experiences of residents of the Philadelphia and its surrounding Pennsylvania counties, with a focus on the vulnerable and excluded. Its work is based on the belief that a region that promotes physical well-being, provides equal access to justice and services, and appreciates the value of the arts will thrive for generations to come.

Independence Foundation primarily provides unrestricted funding to nonprofits to best help them achieve their missions. Our general operating support offers flexibility to our grantees by allowing funds to be used when and where they’re most needed. 

Funding Initiatives

Arts And Culture

Independence Foundation believes in bolstering the well-being of the region by supporting a variety of opportunities for involvement and participation in the arts. The arts can bind people through shared experience and understanding. Art plays a transformative role in society, one that enriches community and connects people. The Foundation supports programs in the arts that enhance the common artistic spirit through creation or performance. 

Programs which connect the arts with non-traditional participants and increase both access to and awareness of the arts, are of special interest. The Foundation awards general operating grants aimed at strengthening organizations by supporting creative work and administrative capacity, based on community involvement, artistic merit, and leadership in the field. With the exception of organizations currently funded, we do not give grants to dance, music, media arts or broadcasting, museums or historical societies, though we do continue to fund individual artists in some of these disciplines through our Fellowships in the Arts.

Health Care

Independence Foundation believes that high quality, comprehensive primary care and related services result in better health, improved quality of life, reduction in health disparities, and lower costs to the health care system. 

Funding within the health care initiative focuses on the following: 

• Existing nurse-managed health care centers undertaking capacity building projects to expand and/or improve the provision of primary care and related services
• Programs that support health policies and/or infrastructure for nurse-managed and other safety net providers
• Projects designed to inform health care-related planning
• Clinical, community, and/or educational programs designed to improve the health of older adults 

Human Services

Independence Foundation believes that the health of a community can only be as strong as the well-being of its citizens. Our region faces many challenges and continually changing demographics have contributed to increased demand for services, while local and federal funding for these services has declined. Community-based organizations fill in the gaps by providing much needed outreach and support.

The Foundation supports organizations that provide direct services to people who do not ordinarily have access to them for the most basic of needs. The current Human Services funding agenda focuses primarily on programs that address the following areas:

• adequate food and food distribution
• affordable housing and access to shelter by homeless persons
• services which support independence for people living with disabilities

Legal Aid

The Independence Foundation is committed to the support of free legal services for the underserved of the Philadelphia region. Grants provide core operating support to strengthen the administrative capacity and the direct service programs of those agencies that deliver critical legal services.

Agencies funded under the Public Interest Legal Aid Initiative address civil legal issues confronting individuals from diverse populations who do not traditionally have adequate access to legal representation, including the indigent, the elderly, the disabled, and the homeless.

Reentry, Recidivism & Restorative Justice 

The Foundation funds community-based organizations doing the following - either by directly assisting individuals, or working to change systems that cause or contribute to the harm addressed:  

• Providing supports to families and individuals involved with and affected by the criminal justice system
• Working to reduce the number of people who imminently face incarceration or a return to prison
• Providing resources to formerly incarcerated individuals that help them become integrated and contributing members once they are released back into society
• Working to reduce harm to families and neighborhoods caused by incarceration

We welcome bold proposals that align with our 2021-2030 Strategic Plan.

Our Strategic Plan is a roadmap to award more than $1.2 billion from 2021-2030. It is a plan to focus the Foundation’s resources on the most powerful pathways to greater opportunity and prosperity for the people of southwestern Pennsylvania. And to do even more to protect, steward, and activate environmentally sensitive land in southwestern Pennsylvania and across the United States.

Funding Programs

We strive to improve the competitive position of the region; strengthen the vitality of Southwestern Pennsylvania, particularly the City of Pittsburgh and its neighborhoods; and protect important habitats and natural amenities in Western Pennsylvania and across the United States.

• Conservation
  • Wildlife flourishes and people thrive in once-imperiled habitats, through strategic land protection, stewardship, and activation, and sustainable economic development that deploys renewable energy and new technologies that foster livable communities and healthy natural systems.
• Economic Development
  • To help make Southwestern Pennsylvania an engine for economic growth and vitality by investing in the ingenuity and creativity of its population, enhancing individuals’ economic prosperity, and strengthening our sense of community.
• Economic Mobility
  • All children and youth living in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties will be able to access their most promising future.
  • We invest in pathways to opportunity for vulnerable children and youth to overcome the obstacles to achieving economic mobility.
• Health & Well-Being
  • Everyone in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, particularly the most vulnerable, has the opportunity to live a healthy life.
• Organizational Effectiveness
  • Our partners will have the organizational strength and agility to pursue big ideas and take risks in service of accelerating achievement of their strategic priorities.
• Social-Impact Investments
  • The Foundation's social-impact investing enables mission-driven for-profit companies to secure the risk capital, networks and resources they need to develop products, deploy services and address societal issues at the individual and community level.

We welcome proposals that span funding programs.

General Application

The General Application is for proposals that align with our 2021 – 2030 Strategy and one – or several – of our funding programs.

The General Application is our most flexible application option. The General Application does not have deadlines, so you can submit at any time throughout the year. Through the General Application, you can apply for general operating support or project-specific support. You can also seek funding for planning and innovation, implementation, or scaling activities.

For more than 20 years, The Baltimore Life Companies have viewed community involvement as our responsibility, not only through financial support of local organizations, but through our employees’ commitment to volunteerism. To further demonstrate our belief in good corporate citizenship, Baltimore Life has established a community grants program to help nonprofit organizations enhance the quality of life in communities—Delaware, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington, D.C., West Virginia, and the surrounding communities—where our employees live and work.

Grants of up to $500 will be awarded to multiple organizations. Our grants program is a continuation of Baltimore Life’s long-standing tradition of giving back to our communities.

About Cigna

Our Mission

To improve the health and vitality of those we serve.

Our Vision

A better future built on the vitality of every individual and every community.

Improving Veteran Mental Health

Across the United States, veterans face an elevated risk of homelessness relative to the general population. On any given night, an estimated 40,000 veterans go without shelter, and another 1.5 million veterans are considered at-risk of homelessness.1 Research shows that veterans experiencing housing instability are at an increased risk of mental distress disorders.

We seek to collaborate with and support nonprofit organizations that leverage evidence-informed programs and services to help local veterans feel stable where they live and ultimately create positive impact on their mental health. Nonprofit partners must align to at least one of these grant program goals:

• Increase permanent housing available for veterans.
• Improve affordability for housing for veterans through rental or mortgage assistance.
• Enhance the offering of wraparound services for veterans transitioning from shelters.

In 2001, Food Lion created a 501(c)(3) foundation operated by a volunteer board of directors in order to streamline requests for financial donations to eliminate hunger.

The Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation supports a variety of hunger-related initiatives, including "Feeding the Hungry" grants each year. The foundation has given away more than $17.5 million across Food Lion’s operating area since its inception. Specifically, grants support children at risk of hunger and support feeding agencies by helping to increase their "fresh" capacity so families can put nutritious meals on their tables. The foundation also helps provide nutrition education to eliminate the health risks of the hungry.

Perdue Farms is a fourth-generation, family owned U.S. food and agricultural company. We were founded on trust—a value that carries through everything we do. Through our two operating divisions, Perdue Foods and Perdue AgriBusiness, we’re making steps every day toward our goal of becoming the most trusted name in food and agricultural products. Our path forward is about getting better, not just bigger.

We're Committed to Being Careful Stewards. Stewardship is one of our company's core values. Our stewardship platform, "We believe in responsible food and agriculture®," challenges us to continually improve. Learn more about the progress we've made in the areas of food, environment, animal care, people, community and our partners.

What we support

We believe in putting our resources where there is a direct benefit to a broad-based spectrum of the community.

• We strive to strengthen our communities by focusing our efforts on agriculture and the environment, education, fighting hunger and poverty, health and social services, and public safety
• We also support organizations that celebrate the heritages and cultures of our communities

Our Responsibility

• Food Producing: Quality Food
• Environment: Protecting the Environment
• Animal Care: Providing for the Welfare of Animals
• People: Caring About Others

How We Give

The Weinberg Foundation fulfills its mission of meeting the basic needs of people experiencing poverty by providing grants across five focus areas that serve a range of populations, primarily within the Foundation’s priority communities. Grant requests should align with one of these areas:

• Housing,
• Health,
• Jobs,
• Education, or
• Aging.

Health

Good health is essential to help people move and remain out of poverty. Poor physical or mental health can prevent or complicate the pursuit of education, employment, and other opportunities for economic mobility.

Priorities

• Health Care Access: The Foundation supports organizations that provide access to health care, as well as those striving to improve patient health.
  • Examples of appropriate projects:
    • Capital projects that expand access to primary care. Grantees are typically federally qualified health centers and other community health centers that provide a range of services in one place. Please note that the Foundation does not fund hospitals or free clinics.
    • Oral and behavioral health programs that increase access to care through the construction of new facilities as well as operating support that leverages billing revenue.
    • Health care transition programs that ensure young adults with developmental disabilities have access to qualified primary care providers as they move into adulthood.
• Nutrition and Food Access: The Foundation supports organizations and programs that increase food security and access to nutritious food.
• • Examples of appropriate projects:
    • Meal service programs that ensure people who are homebound and living with severe, chronic illnesses have access to nutritious food.
    • Food delivery programs, including nonprofit grocery stores, which increase access to healthy foods in food deserts.
    • Food bank expansions and other capital projects that increase warehouse space, add cold storage and handling, and make other modifications necessary to serve more people. Please note that the Foundation focuses on regional food banks and not on food pantries or feeding programs.
• Trauma, Abuse, and Safety: The Foundation supports programs that promote family safety and that reduce the long-term traumatic effects of abuse and neglect, sexual assault, intimate partner or family violence, and exposure to community violence.
  • Examples of appropriate projects:
    • Domestic violence programs that provide safe shelter, counseling, legal assistance, and other support services.
    • Prevention and treatment programs that strive to reduce and alleviate the effects of child sexual and physical abuse, child trafficking, and child neglect.

Program Grants

Program grants fund specific programs within an organization.

Small Grants Program

Through the Small Grants Program (SGP), the Foundation supports nonprofits with a streamlined grant application and review process. Grants awarded under this program — operating, program, or capital — must still align with the Foundation’s strategic priorities in the areas of Housing, Health, Jobs, Education, or Aging. The maximum Small Grant amount is $50,000 over two years.

Health

Good health is essential to help people move and remain out of poverty. Poor physical or mental health can prevent or complicate the pursuit of education, employment, and other opportunities for economic mobility.

Priorities

• Health Care Access: The Foundation supports organizations that provide access to health care, as well as those striving to improve patient health.
  • Examples of appropriate projects:
    • Capital projects that expand access to primary care. Grantees are typically federally qualified health centers and other community health centers that provide a range of services in one place. Please note that the Foundation does not fund hospitals or free clinics.
    • Oral and behavioral health programs that increase access to care through the construction of new facilities as well as operating support that leverages billing revenue.
    • Health care transition programs that ensure young adults with developmental disabilities have access to qualified primary care providers as they move into adulthood.
• Nutrition and Food Access: The Foundation supports organizations and programs that increase food security and access to nutritious food.
  • Examples of appropriate projects:
    • Meal service programs that ensure people who are homebound and living with severe, chronic illnesses have access to nutritious food.
    • Food delivery programs, including nonprofit grocery stores, which increase access to healthy foods in food deserts.
    • Food bank expansions and other capital projects that increase warehouse space, add cold storage and handling, and make other modifications necessary to serve more people. Please note that the Foundation focuses on regional food banks and not on food pantries or feeding programs.
• Trauma, Abuse, and Safety: The Foundation supports programs that promote family safety and that reduce the long-term traumatic effects of abuse and neglect, sexual assault, intimate partner or family violence, and exposure to community violence.
  • Examples of appropriate projects:
    • Domestic violence programs that provide safe shelter, counseling, legal assistance, and other support services.
    • Prevention and treatment programs that strive to reduce and alleviate the effects of child sexual and physical abuse, child trafficking, and child neglect.

Capital Grants

Capital grants fund the purchase, construction, and/or renovation of a building; the purchase of major equipment; home modifications for low-income homeowners; and select technology projects.

To qualify for capital grant consideration, the proposed project must meet the following criteria:

• Specific, confirmed plans, including value-engineered drawings and confirmed total project costs.
• At least 50% of project costs have been raised (either pledged or received).
• Direct services provided as a result of the project should align with the Foundation’s funding priorities in its focus areas of Housing, Health, Jobs, Education, and Aging.

The Foundation’s charter also sets a threshold for the total funding that it can provide to any one capital project at a maximum of 30%. However, grants are often approved for lower amounts.

Small Grants Program

Through the Small Grants Program (SGP), the Foundation supports nonprofits with a streamlined grant application and review process. Grants awarded under this program — operating, program, or capital — must still align with the Foundation’s strategic priorities in the areas of Housing, Health, Jobs, Education, or Aging. The maximum Small Grant amount is $50,000 over two years.

Education

Education can help break the cycle of poverty. Providing high-quality academic and developmental opportunities helps young people build the skills they need to succeed in school and life.

Priorities

• College and Career Pathways: The Foundation supports programs that help youth (ages 11–21) meet key milestones and develop skills and introduce them to a wide variety of academic areas and careers, equipping them to graduate high school, complete postsecondary education or training, and build a career. Projects should have a proven record of fostering academic and postsecondary success, focus on creating paths to college completion or well-paying jobs, and prioritize young people in planning and decision-making.
  • Examples of appropriate projects:
    • Science, technology, engineering, art, and math programs in or outside of school that engage students in project-based learning, build technical skills, and provide real-world work experiences that result in college credit or come with stipends.
    • College access and completion programs that help students — in partnership with their families — identify aspirations, navigate the application and admissions process, and persist through graduation.
    • Programs that enable youth who are not in school or working to reengage in their education and community, develop skills, and get on a path to enter and complete postsecondary education or training.
    • Capital for labs, studios, and other facilities that provide the space and technology for young people to develop their skills and passions and support them on the path to college or careers.
• Academic Success and Opportunity: The Foundation supports programs that help middle and high school students stay on track to graduate with the skills they need to be successful, such as reading and math proficiency, and that provide advanced learning and enrichment opportunities for youth with limited access to such experiences. Projects must have an evidence-based academic component with demonstrated results.
  • Examples of appropriate projects:
    • Proven models that help students master core academic subjects (e.g., algebra) and foster successful transitions from middle to high school and to postsecondary education.
    • After-school, weekend, or summer programs that work with students for a minimum of six weeks over the summer and one year during the school year and blend academic learning with enriching activities to increase educational achievement, school attendance, and positive social behavior.
    • Programs that increase access to advanced learning opportunities that promote higher achievement and future success.
• Adolescent Health and Well-Being: The Foundation supports programs that bolster the physical and mental well-being of adolescents so they can fully engage in school and life.
  • Examples of appropriate projects:
    • Youth development programs grounded in sports that provide mentorship, academic support, and athletic competition.
    • Innovative programs that support the mental health and well-being of young people who face significant challenges, including LGBTQ+ youth and young people experiencing homelessness or who are not in school or working.
    • Capital for facilities to provide high-quality sports-based youth development programs.

Operating Grants

Operating grants fund the overall operating costs of an organization.

Small Grants Program

Through the Small Grants Program (SGP), the Foundation supports nonprofits with a streamlined grant application and review process. Grants awarded under this program — operating, program, or capital — must still align with the Foundation’s strategic priorities in the areas of Housing, Health, Jobs, Education, or Aging. The maximum Small Grant amount is $50,000 over two years.

Education

Education can help break the cycle of poverty. Providing high-quality academic and developmental opportunities helps young people build the skills they need to succeed in school and life.

Priorities

• College and Career Pathways: The Foundation supports programs that help youth (ages 11–21) meet key milestones and develop skills and introduce them to a wide variety of academic areas and careers, equipping them to graduate high school, complete postsecondary education or training, and build a career. Projects should have a proven record of fostering academic and postsecondary success, focus on creating paths to college completion or well-paying jobs, and prioritize young people in planning and decision-making.
  • Examples of appropriate projects:
    • Science, technology, engineering, art, and math programs in or outside of school that engage students in project-based learning, build technical skills, and provide real-world work experiences that result in college credit or come with stipends.
    • College access and completion programs that help students — in partnership with their families — identify aspirations, navigate the application and admissions process, and persist through graduation.
    • Programs that enable youth who are not in school or working to reengage in their education and community, develop skills, and get on a path to enter and complete postsecondary education or training.
    • Capital for labs, studios, and other facilities that provide the space and technology for young people to develop their skills and passions and support them on the path to college or careers.
• Academic Success and Opportunity: The Foundation supports programs that help middle and high school students stay on track to graduate with the skills they need to be successful, such as reading and math proficiency, and that provide advanced learning and enrichment opportunities for youth with limited access to such experiences. Projects must have an evidence-based academic component with demonstrated results.
  • Examples of appropriate projects:
    • Proven models that help students master core academic subjects (e.g., algebra) and foster successful transitions from middle to high school and to postsecondary education.
    • After-school, weekend, or summer programs that work with students for a minimum of six weeks over the summer and one year during the school year and blend academic learning with enriching activities to increase educational achievement, school attendance, and positive social behavior.
    • Programs that increase access to advanced learning opportunities that promote higher achievement and future success.
• Adolescent Health and Well-Being: The Foundation supports programs that bolster the physical and mental well-being of adolescents so they can fully engage in school and life.
  • Examples of appropriate projects:
    • Youth development programs grounded in sports that provide mentorship, academic support, and athletic competition.
    • Innovative programs that support the mental health and well-being of young people who face significant challenges, including LGBTQ+ youth and young people experiencing homelessness or who are not in school or working.
    • Capital for facilities to provide high-quality sports-based youth development programs.

Program Grants

Program grants fund specific programs within an organization.

The Wawa Foundation provides financial grants on a local, regional and national level ensuring that our commitment extends from the local communities Wawa serves. Only registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations operating in Wawa’s areas are eligible to apply. Organizations must fall into The Wawa Foundation’s three key areas of focus: Health, Hunger and Everyday Heroes. To learn more, review our Criteria for Success.

Wawa Foundation Financial Grants

Our submission windows for grants over $2,500 will be the months of January, April, July and October. Qualified organizations can submit grant requests and Letters of Inquiry during those timeframes. Requests will be reviewed and organizations will receive a response before the next grant submission window opens.

Areas of Focus

Health

The Wawa Foundation will provide funding to organizations committed to saving and improving lives in the communities Wawa serves. Specifically, The Wawa Foundation will support organizations dedicated to Championing Life-saving Research & Care for People in Need by:

• Providing grants to hospitals with a focus on pediatric institutions
• Funding research
• Supporting care and comfort Initiatives

Hunger

The Wawa Foundation will play a leading role in hunger relief in the communities Wawa serves. To achieve this, we will support programs that enable us to Lead Hunger Relief Efforts by:

• Providing food donations to local pantries daily through Wawa Share
• Improving access to food through financial grants
• Enabling Feeding America Food Banks to reach more communities through annual in-store campaigns

Heroes

The Wawa Foundation is committed to Supporting the Heroes Making a Difference Every Day by:

• Showing appreciation and care to our military, veterans, first responders and other heroes in our local communities
• Enhancing the education and mentoring of at-risk youth in grades K-12.
• Supporting heroes through crisis response, blood drives, and volunteering

EQT Foundation

EQT is proud to be a part of the many communities where we operate, live and work. We believe strongly that giving back is a responsibility, and we’ve stayed true to that belief since the EQT Foundation was established in 2003 as a dedicated resource for financial, in-kind and volunteer support to communities touched by our business.

Since its inception, the EQT Foundation has awarded more than $74 million to nonprofits throughout the operational footprint of EQT Corporation. We are committed to supporting the education and training of children and adults; the development of diverse, livable communities; and preserving our natural environments.

The EQT Foundation believes in meaningful engagement with the communities it calls home and takes great pride in being a responsible and responsive corporate citizen. The EQT Foundation focuses its resources on areas that have a direct effect on the stability of communities and, in turn, contribute to the success of its business operations in those areas.

Funding Priorities

The EQT Foundation’s funding strategy endorses organizations and programs that directly impact the community and its residents. The Foundation supports nonprofits that demonstrate positive, needed, and trusted impacts throughout their community with special attention given to proposals grounded in analysis that demonstrate creative approaches to addressing critical issues.

The EQT Foundation also seeks evidence of:

• Geographic setting that aligns with EQT Corporation’s business locations;
• Ability to manage available resources effectively; and
• Outreach that gains solid public recognition and support for the nonprofit, its programs and sponsors.

The Foundation’s funding priorities are:

Community Enrichment

Encourage the development of diverse, safe, healthy, and sustainable communities, which can help to retain residential, commercial and economic growth.

Examples: Food banks, libraries, farmers markets, arts & music programs, community festivals & initiatives

Education & Workforce

Promote proficiency in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) topics for youth, as well as training programs to create a future skilled workforce.

Examples: In-school STEM-based curricula, computer and science camps, project-based learning, teacher professional development, career planning and preparation

Environment

Support the preservation of natural resources, and educate children, residents, and businesses to employ conservation techniques to minimize adverse impacts on the environment.

Examples: community gardens, watershed conservation, environmental education, preservation and restoration of green spaces

About Our Grants

Impact100 Philadelphia provides high-impact grants that support a nonprofit organization’s core mission. Our goal is to address unmet needs in the Philadelphia region and raise the profile of smaller nonprofit organizations. Impact100 grant funds may be spent on necessary infrastructure, staff salaries, primary programs or services, or other expenses that strengthen an organization and enhance its ability to do its core work. 

A central question in our application is Why now? We ask applicants why this juncture in particular is the time that a $100,000 grant will have a large impact on the organization.

Our Focus Areas are Arts & Culture, Education, Environment, Family, and Health & Wellness.

Arts and Culture:

Promote, develop, and enhance artistic expression and creative thinking through culturally diverse art or art education, utilizing varied media and art forms such as exhibitions, performances, or some other method.

Education:

Teach, inform and educate individuals or specific groups, addressing equitable access to create or advance future opportunities for children and/or adults on a wide range of issues and causes.

Environment:

Improve, preserve, and protect community public spaces or natural resources providing equitable access while promoting a just, safe, healthy and sustainable world.

Family:

Strengthen and enhance the lives of children, older adults, and all families to achieve a better life and a healthy, secure future.

Health & Wellness:

Empower wellness as a way to strengthen and improve the mental and physical well-being of communities and people of all ages.

Truist Foundation

The Truist Foundation is committed to Truist Financial Corporation's (NYSE: TFC) purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities. Established in 2020, the foundation makes strategic investments in nonprofit organizations to help ensure the communities it serves have more opportunities for a better quality of life. The Truist Foundation's grants and activities focus on building career pathways to economic mobility and strengthening small businesses.

Inspire Awards

We’re collaborating with MIT Solve to kick off our third year of the Inspire Awards. Nonprofits from across the country are invited to pitch their solution to advance workers through career navigation and workforce development.

This year’s Inspire Awards challenge aims to improve resources and wraparound services for workers seeking reskilling, upskilling, and career transitions to uplift themselves—and their families. For workers looking to develop skills to help them adapt to industry changes, career navigation and workforce development solutions can make an impact. These tools can aid smoother career transitions, foster economic mobility, and empower workers to pursue personal growth.

2025 Truist Foundation Inspire Awards Challenge Question

How are nonprofits providing innovative solutions for the reskilling, upskilling, and career navigation needs of adults who are in the middle or late stages of their careers?

Challenge Dimensions

We are seeking innovative nonprofit solutions that improve resources and wraparound services for adults who are in the middle or late stages of their careers seeking reskilling, upskilling, and career navigation support, including:

• Wraparound Services – Supporting unemployed and underemployed individuals on their journey to economic mobility through innovative and comprehensive resources including transportation support, childcare, mentorship, mental health services, and more.
• Coalition Building – Generating greater buy-in and support for workforce navigation efforts through coalitions, promoting communication and collaboration across diverse sectors and stakeholders including businesses, nonprofits, and government entities.
• Career Navigation – Enabling workers to navigate their career choices more easily, helping to facilitate informed decisions about which high-quality jobs and career trajectories best suit them.
• Upskilling and Reskilling – Providing accessible, high-quality, skill-building and training opportunities for those transitioning between careers or facing unemployment.

Here are the grants for this challenge

• First place: $250,000
• Second place: $150,000
• Runners-up: $25,000
• Audience favorite: $75,000

Mission

The William G. McGowan Charitable Fund brings our vision to life through grant-making efforts in three program areas: Education, Human Services, and Healthcare initiatives. We give priority to programs that have demonstrated success, have measurable outcomes and plans for sustainability, and aim to end cycles of poverty and suffering.

Resolute in our belief in the power of partnerships or collaborative efforts to maximize impact, we embrace opportunities to work with other funders in our program areas. We look for funding opportunities that share our philosophy and explore the possibility of joint projects with other nonprofit organizations.

Vision

To impact lives today, create sustainable change, and empower future generations to achieve their greatest potential.

Funding Focus

The Fund puts an emphasis on the building blocks that adults and children need to flourish. While many community efforts are important and enriching—including the arts, animal welfare, and civic life—the programs that are most likely to receive our support hone to our mission and vision of addressing the roots of poverty. In our community grantmaking, we look toward programs that address immediate needs and those that reach for long-term impact in the lives of vulnerable families and individuals.

Education Initiatives

Education makes all the difference. It is the most powerful point of departure for children struggling with poverty, community disruption, family stress, or failure. It’s the prerequisite for most long-lived careers that provide sustainable wages.

Through our grant-making in five geographic regions, the McGowan Fund focuses on innovative programs that show measurable improvement in addressing achievement gaps, improving teaching and learning, and reducing disparities among students.

Areas of support in this initiative include:

• Out-of-school Programs
• Charter, faith-based, and alternative schools
• Scholarships for high potential students in private education.

Human Services Initiatives

The cycles of poverty and homelessness can seem intractable. Homelessness decreases access to food, health, and work and this limited availability in turn hinders access to long-term housing. Recognizing the complexity and dependencies of the problem, the Fund focuses on projects that address basic human needs and stabilize individuals and families.

Areas of support in this initiative include:  

• Stabilized Housing
• Food/Clothing Security
• Adult Education (e.g. ESL, Financial Literacy, GED Attainment)
• Homelessness Remediation/Prevention

Healthcare Initiatives

Lack of healthcare can be a barrier to work, education, and a family’s mobility out of poverty. We fund programs that seek to remove this barrier by providing quality care to those who may not have other care options.

Areas of support in this initiative include:

• Primary Care
• Dental/Vision
• Mental Health Services
• Pharmacy

Scaife Family Foundation Grant

For oost 40 years, the most vulnerable members of the community have been supported by the Scaife Family Foundation through charitable funding. Since its inception in 1985, the Foundation has provided more than $180 million in donations for non-profit  donations for non-profit programs.

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

Mission Statement

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

Funding Priorities

All grant requests forwarded to the Scaife Family Foundation should align with at least one of these focus areas.

Women and Children

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

Addiction

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

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

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

Animal Welfare

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

Vision and Focus Areas

We commit to creating a vibrant, equitable and just Pittsburgh region that supports everyone – regardless of race, identity or circumstance – to thrive and fulfill their potential.

Under our strategic plan, we strive to strengthen our focus on community and the positive impact that can be achieved through our grantmaking. Our current areas of focus are: Basic Needs, Equity and Social Justice, Arts and Culture, Economic Mobility and Environmental Action. From time to time, we have special grant-making opportunities related to specific regions or to issues such as juvenile justice or senior care. 

The Pittsburgh Foundation is committed to helping the communities we serve become equitable and vibrant places where everyone can thrive. We align our grantmaking with resident’s dreams for themselves, their families and their communities and prioritize support in the five focus areas listed below.

Basic Needs

We seek to improve the stability of low-income people by supporting direct assistance to obtain food, housing, health care, mental health supports, child care, education and employment.

Across our basic needs grantmaking, we are committed to expanding knowledge of, improving access to, and improving coordination among local resources and human services.

• Food Access: We seek to support programs and services that assist low-income individuals and families to obtain enough food.
• Child Care: We seek to ensure equitable access to quality child care.
• Education: We strive to ensure access to high-quality in-class education as well as culturally-responsive,  out-of-school time programs.
• Mental and Physical Health: We aim to support the mental and physical health needs of residents by ensuring access to quality, affordable and culturally responsive services.
• Housing: We seek to support or fill gaps in a county-wide eviction prevention system, and help support those living in transitional housing and/or facing unexpected loss of housing.
• Employment: We seek to support youth and adults who experience significant barriers to employment.

Equity and Social Justice

We seek to support civic participation and community organizing to achieve policy changes.

Our equity and social justice grantmaking places strong emphasis on leadership by individuals who have been directly impacted by systemic injustice, as we believe that they are best positioned to propose solutions that remove barriers that impeded their ability to thrive.

• Civic Participation
  • Voter Engagement: We seek to support the ability of the nonprofit sector to engage historically underrepresented populations and communities that have documented low voter turnout.
  • Access to Information: We seek to support public media  outlets and other platforms that produce professional, regionally focused, fact-based news coverage and information.
• Community-Driven Solutions
  • Protect Basic Needs:  We seek to support grassroots organizations and resident-informed initiatives that address barriers that prevent families from being able to meet their basic needs and thrive.
  • End Mass Incarceration:  We seek to uplift and provide resources for community-led efforts to change policies and practices that result in over-policing and over-incarceration.
  • Youth Justice:  We are interested in supporting intervention and prevention activities that support youth who have any involvement with the criminal and juvenile justice systems.

Environmental Action

We seek to protect the health of our communities and the preservation of our environment.

Our environmental action grantmaking prioritizes support for projects, initiatives and collaborations that center communities in environmental decision-making and amplify the intersectional nature of working to protect the health of our communities and the preservation of our environment. We recognize that environmental issues span beyond geographic borders. While we will continue to prioritize projects serving residents of Allegheny County, we will also consider on a case-by-case basis projects that work across the southwest Pennsylvania 12-county region.

• Equitable Access to Land, Water, and Air: To promote equitable access to land, air and water, we seek to support community-centered conservation and stewardship of natural resources.
• Learning and Action: We seek to address the harms of chronic pollution and mitigate future impacts, translate research into action to protect the health of communities and their environments and support resident voice in environmental decision-making in their communities.

Arts and Culture

We seek to strengthen small-to-mid-sized arts organizations and support individual artists by fostering a diverse, healthy and just arts ecosystem. 

• Small-to-Mid-Sized Arts Organizations: Small and Mid-Size Arts Organizations face disparities in their ability to access resources.
• Support for Careers and Lives of Individual Artists: Through this funding to individual artists, the Foundation hopes that the Pittsburgh region will be exposed to the breadth of human experience and the unparalleled talent the region has to offer.

Economic Mobility

We seek to reduce the wealth gap in Allegheny County.

• Access to Post-Secondary Education: We seek to support programs that enable students to earn college credit while in high school; admissions navigation support and academic and financial counseling; re-engagement strategies for students who have stopped attending school; and supports for non-traditional students.
• Career Advancement: We are interested in supporting organizations that offer technology training with career potential. 
• Entrepreneurship: We are interested in efforts to increase entrepreneurship.
• Homeownership: In 2025, applications for the Homeownership focus area will be by invitation only.

Types of Grants

Recognizing that nonprofits need flexible support that allows them to adapt to changing community needs, we offer applicants the opportunity to apply for two types of grant support:

• Project/Program Support:  Funds are used to develop and/or implement a specific set of programmatic activities. These grants are usually time-bound and aimed at achieving specific goals and milestones.
• General Operating Support: Funds can be used at the discretion of the organization to cover any costs necessary to carry out its mission. This means that the grant award can be used to cover day-to-day activities or ongoing expenses such as administrative salaries, rent and office supplies, etc., as well as for program costs, software and hardware purchases, and professional development

Our Priorities

We will prioritize funding for organizations that reflect one or more of the following:

• Primarily serve communities disproportionately impacted by poverty.
• Have a demonstrated commitment to addressing the historical and present-day impact of social injustices on the specific communities it serves.
• Have an established history in the communities in which it works.
• Are representative of the communities it serves, including but not limited to, leadership and staff who have lived experience in the community issues that it addresses.
• Meaningfully integrate the experience and perspectives of the communities that it serves in the design, implementation, evaluation and/or decision-making process for its strategies and/or programs.

Funding

Generally, grants will be awarded for no more than two years due to limited availability of funds. One-year grants generally range from $10,000 to $75,000. Two-year grants will generally not exceed $150,000.

In limited situations, proposals that align with one or more of our grantmaking focus areas and with grantmaking priorities, and that clearly demonstrate the need and potential impact, may be considered for a larger grant. Organization leaders should have a conversation with a program officer before submitting a request for more than $150,000.

Awareness. Education. Prevention.  These are three key tenets of Bayer Fund’s investments in health and wellness.  With a focus on cancer and cardiovascular disease, we provide resources to organizations dedicated to educating and/or providing services to patients, caregivers and at-risk populations.

Health & Wellness Grants

Programs that Bayer Fund will support include those that focus on patients and their families needing assistance with issues to managing cardiovascular disease and cancer. This includes education, disease awareness, and supportive services for these diseases. In areas related to cardiovascular disease, priority (though not exclusivity) will be given to charitable organizations that focus on programs and support for the African American community due to the high incidence rate of disease in this population.

Giving in this category will focus on support services such as education, disease awareness, and general access to care (e.g., housing for families traveling for cancer or heart care).

All funding requests and budgets must be for program activities and expenses that start after funding decisions are made. All programs must be completed within one year of the start date, except in limited situations where longer term programs have been agreed upon. Grant award amounts vary, depending on the size of the community, the type of programming, and the reach of the organization.

Please see FAQs for additional guidelines.

Champions in Action

Citizens' Champions in Action program is designed to support nonprofit organizations that address social challenges facing our communities. Since 2002, the program has awarded over $12.3 million to more than 400 Champions. In partnership with media outlets, we also provide support through promotion, publicity and volunteerism to help our Champions in Action better serve our communities.

Champions receive:

• $50,000 in Funding
• Local Media Coverage
• Volunteer Support
• Promotional Opportunities

Current Focus: Uplifting Resilient NonprofitsNonprofits are adapting to a fast-changing environment marked by increased community needs, staffing challenges, and evolving funding sources. According to the National Council of Nonprofits, more than half have experienced a rise in service demands, and nearly 70 percent cite staff burnout as a major concern. In response, many are reimagining their operations to remain effective and accessible.

At Citizens, we are proud to champion organizations that lead through change and deliver lasting impact.

The 2026 Champions in Action award will recognize nonprofits advancing financial empowerment or workforce development through innovation. These organizations are demonstrating resilience and creativity by embracing new approaches to strengthen their teams, enhance results and expand their reach in the communities they serve.

The Longwood Foundation was founded in 1937 by Pierre S. du Pont, initially to support the operation of Longwood Gardens and the funding of various community projects.

Mr. du Pont’s personal philanthropy long preceded the formation of the Foundation.

We welcome applications from organizations seeking to improve the quality of life and future of the state of Delaware and/or the Kennett Square area (within a four-mile radius of Longwood Gardens). Our vision is that nonprofits are better able to serve their communities, thereby improving quality of life.

We meet our vision when nonprofits in our region meet their respective missions. Therefore, our grantmaking is geared towards helping a nonprofit get closer to their mission and goals. Our dollars should drive impact. We are looking for catalytic proposals – those that help a nonprofit grow, strengthen, or improve their efforts and impact.

In general, we choose to practice “responsive” philanthropy, which means that we assume we don’t know the best way to improve our region and therefore we welcome nonprofits to submit requests most important to them and the communities they serve. From these distinct views of the future, we choose the most compelling in which to invest.

Our Mission

The Provident Bank Foundation invests in marginalized communities within Provident Bank's branch network by collaborating with nonprofit organizations that align with the values we care about. Together, we empower individuals on their paths to economic self-sufficiency by addressing the multifaceted issues that perpetuate the cycle of poverty.

Empowerment Grant

The Empowerment Grant program provides two years of flexible funding support for programs, projects, or initiatives that are based within our geographic footprint and that align with at least one of PBF’s newly revised funding priorities and the corresponding areas of interest. Funding requests must demonstrate community enhancement and meaningful impact over the grant term.

Funding Priorities and Areas of Interest

Our vision is to build strong and healthy communities where everyone can live a fulfilling and prosperous life. Organizations applying for an Empowerment Grant must measure their program’s impact in a manner that aligns with at least one of our newly revised funding priorities and one of the specific areas of interest.

• Education
  • Quality education and vocational training to build the skills needed to participate fully in the economy.
  • Areas of Interest:
    • Community colleges
    • Vocational programs
    • Special education services
• Human Services
  • Social safety nets to support vulnerable populations in times of greatest need.
  • Areas of Interest
    • Housing assistance
    • Food security
    • Healthcare access for un-/underinsured individuals
    • Youth mental health services
• Workforce Development
  • Career opportunities and skills development to support pathways to economic self-sufficiency.
  • Areas of Interest:
    • Job training
    • Employment supports
    • Reentry programs

Funding

Empowerment Grants will be awarded in the range of $5,000-$10,000 per year for two years for organizations with operating budgets between $50,000-$1 million per year, and in the range of $10,000-$25,000 per year for two years for organizations with operating budgets between $1 million-$15 million per year.

Pennsylvania Grant Opportunities

The PPL Foundation empowers communities by supporting student success from cradle to career; advancing diversity, equity and inclusion; and promoting the development of vibrant and sustainable communities.

The PPL Foundation’s grant programs provide grants up to $50,000 to support education, workforce development and community revitalization initiatives.

Empowering Communities Grants

Enriching the overall vitality of the community through programs that protect the environment and improve people’s lives, these grants support programs focused on:

• Environmental stewardship and education
• Economic development
• Workplace development

 AmeriHealth Caritas Foundation Grant

Mission and Focus Areas

The AmeriHealth Caritas Foundation is dedicated to preventing and mitigating adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), which will help drive positive outcomes for children's health and help set a stronger foundation for a lifetime of wellness. In addition to preventing and mitigating ACEs, it promotes protective and compensatory childhood experiences (sometimes referred to as “PACEs”), which can counteract the effects of ACEs.

Grants are made based on three pillars:

• Empowered families - Work to ensure that families have the resources they need to thrive through:
  • Skills development
  • Safe communities
  • Stable housing
  • Connection to vital resources
• Healing behaviors - Work to ensure that families can meet challenges and improve well-being by addressing:
  • Mental health
  • Substance use
  • Physical abuse and violence
  • Emotional abuse
• Access to health care - Work to ensure that families receive equitable, high-quality services, including:
  • Better access to care
  • Culturally-appropriate services
  • Maternal health

Learn more about these pillars and the Foundation's commitment to addressing aces.

To promote these pillars, the Foundation prioritizes nonprofit organizations that work to end ACEs by supporting families and children and equipping them for an emotionally healthy future.

Get more information about the types of projects the foundation funds.

Funding

The Foundation expects to make one-year project-specific grants totaling up to $1.945 million, with awards ranging from $100,000 to $250,000.

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