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Environmental Stewardship: Fellowships
FAO, through its Environmental Stewardship Pillar of Prosperity Fund, offers funding opportunities to advance conservation, environmental stewardship and the greater well-being of Appalachian Ohio.
Fellowships provide two years of support for individuals who pioneer positive change through projects that address environmental challenges and promote biodiversity conservation. Fellows are supported as they engage communities in educational initiatives related to sustainability and environmental stewardship. We seek to invest in fellows who will pilot new methodologies, develop scalable solutions and ultimately shift existing patterns in environmental stewardship. Up to $20,000 is available to support environmental stewardship fellowships over a two-year period.
Chicken & Egg Pictures Inc
Chicken & Egg Films was founded in 2005 by documentary film industry veterans Julie Parker Benello, Wendy Ettinger, and Judith Helfand. As filmmakers, teachers, funders, and impact producers, they were inspired to utilize their collective expertise to uplift the power of fellow women storytellers. Chicken & Egg was thus created to help address financial and creative challenges uniquely faced by women in the field–a model that married funding with mentorship to create not just an organization, but a growing community.
Chicken & Egg Films shapes a more equitable and just world with the catalytic power of documentary films by providing funding, mentorship and industry access to a global community of women and gender-expansive filmmakers.
Chicken & Egg Award
The Chicken & Egg Award recognizes women and gender-expansive filmmakers at advanced stages in their careers who are poised to reach new heights in their creative and impact trajectories across the world.
Despite progress by talented women and gender-expansive documentary filmmakers across the globe, there are often still numerous roadblocks that stand in the way of a true industry breakthrough. These barriers are often tied to gender, race, class, disability, and geography. Only a few women and gender-expansive nonfiction directors in the United States and abroad are able to work full time as independent storytellers, and few are folks of color, from working-class backgrounds, or from under-represented countries.
There are, however, a growing number who are getting close. Each has made several films, and each is an influential leader for the issues they explore on screen. With this Award, Chicken & Egg Films is making a bold investment in these creatives and a statement about gender equity. A greater diversity of voices participating in storytelling drives change. We believe this effort is inextricably connected to elevating critical social justice, environmental, and human rights issues.
The Chicken & Egg Award consists of a $75,000 USD cash award and a year-long mentorship program. Of the total, $50,000 is unrestricted, allowing filmmakers to decide how to use the funding to support their creative and business practices. The additional $25,000 is a grant for the project(s) the filmmaker will work on during their program year. Our in-depth mentorship program is focused on strengthening Awardees’ professional infrastructure, increasing their visibility, and fulfilling their personal and creative goals.
About the Foundation
The MxCC Foundation Supports CT State Middlesex and Meriden Campuses
The purpose of the Middlesex Community College Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) public charity incorporated in Connecticut, is twofold:
Removing financial obstacles that bar or inhibit student access to education is the Foundation’s driving force. Scholarships address not only the growing need for financial assistance, but also our perennial wish to celebrate student achievement.
The MxCC Foundation’s charge is to develop external resources that contribute support to student and academic programs, as well as efforts that foster student success.
MILE Scholarship
The MILE (Middlesex Institute for Lifelong Education) scholarship is awarded to returning, non-traditional students with a GPA of 3.0 or higher. Academic achievement and financial need are also considerations.
Greater Kansas City Community Foundation
The Greater Kansas City Community Foundation is a nationally respected leader in charitable giving, dedicated to improving quality of life in Greater Kansas City by increasing philanthropy, educating and connecting donors to community needs, and leading on critical local issues. Founded in 1978 with a simple belief that charitable giving should be accessible to all, the Foundation has grown into one of the largest and most innovative public charities in the country, offering donor advised funds and other giving vehicles that make philanthropy convenient, efficient, and impactful. Today, it manages more than $7 billion in assets, administers over 7,000 charitable funds, and has distributed more than $8 billion in grants, consistently ranking among the top community foundations nationwide.
Joseph J. LeMark Memorial Scholarship Fund
Joseph J. LeMark Memorial Scholarship Fund honors the character, integrity, and love for the game of golf exemplified by Joseph J. LeMark by providing scholarship support to students who share a passion for golf. Eligible applicants must be high school seniors or current college students in the Kansas City area who play golf and maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher. The application requires a video submission addressing specific questions, with assistance available through Grow Your Giving. The scholarship provides an award of $5,000 to support the recipient’s educational pursuits.
Gordon Bunshaft Award
The University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning and the SOM Foundation are offering the Gordon Bunshaft Award to support Lafayette International High School (PS 207) students with an interest in architecture and attending UB. Each year, one student will receive a $5,000 award. The award is unrestricted in its use to best support the needs of student.
Interested applicants from Lafayette International High School are asked to visit the UB Application Portal, where there will be a set of additional questions and a notification sent to the school principal to provide a letter of support
Gordon Bunshaft, FAIA (1909–1990) was born in Buffalo, NY, and graduated from Lafayette High School (now Lafayette International High School) in 1928. He later worked as a lead designer and partner at the international architecture and engineering practice Skidmore, Owings & Merril (SOM), authoring many seminal buildings that characterized the International Style, including the Albright-Knox Art Gallery addition in 1962.
Lafayette International High School is one of over 20 secondary schools operated by the Buffalo Public Schools. Serving about 500 immigrant and refugee students who speak over 40 languages, about 80 teachers and staff work diligently to prepare this diverse body of students with highly varied educational backgrounds for college and beyond.
Nebraska Blue Foundation
For more than 85 years, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska (BCBSNE) has been a champion for the health and well-being of our members and the communities we serve. Founded in 2024, the Nebraska Blue Foundation now allows us to concentrate our efforts into pockets of our community that need to be uplifted the most.
In 2025, the Nebraska Blue Foundation launched two grant opportunities through its inaugural grant cycles. The foundation awarded 42 organizations with a total of $500,000 in grant funding to further their goals and missions, supporting organizations across Nebraska that:
Increasing Access to Preventive Healthcare Grant
Proactive measures to prevent illness, detect health issues early and reduce the risk of chronic disease.
The Nebraska Blue Foundation is particularly interested in supporting innovation and pilot projects. As a new foundation, our approach is to be catalytic with our grants – primarily investing in new ideas or programs that could meet a specific need with a one-time investment.
Nebraska Blue Foundation
For more than 85 years, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska (BCBSNE) has been a champion for the health and well-being of our members and the communities we serve. Founded in 2024, the Nebraska Blue Foundation now allows us to concentrate our efforts into pockets of our community that need to be uplifted the most.
In 2025, the Nebraska Blue Foundation launched two grant opportunities through its inaugural grant cycles. The foundation awarded 42 organizations with a total of $500,000 in grant funding to further their goals and missions, supporting organizations across Nebraska that:
Healthy Home Team Grant
BCBSNE is proud to be a champion for health and well-being for our members and the communities we serve. That's why we're stepping up to present Healthy Home Team, an initiative to partner with Nebraska high schools in boosting health and well-being in communities across our state.
Each year we'll select up to 100 applicant schools to receive a $500 grant to support health and wellness for your students or local community. Schools may only receive a grant once every three school years.
The Nebraska Blue Foundation is particularly interested in supporting innovation and pilot projects. As a new foundation, our approach is to be catalytic with our grants – primarily investing in new ideas or programs that could meet a specific need with a one-time investment.
The Council of Independent Colleges
Founded in 1956, the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) is an association of nonprofit independent colleges and universities, state-based councils, and higher education affiliates that works to support college and university leadership, advance institutional excellence, and enhance public understanding of independent higher education’s contributions to society.
CIC is the major national organization that focuses on providing services to leaders of independent colleges and universities and state-based councils. CIC offers conferences, seminars, publications, and other programs and services that help institutions improve educational quality, administrative and financial performance, student outcomes, and institutional visibility.
NetVUE Program Development Grants
Colleges and universities that are members of NetVUE are already committed to campus activities that encourage vocational exploration by students. These institutions are making significant investments of their own resources to develop and sustain vocational exploration initiatives. In order to support NetVUE member campuses in their work, Lilly Endowment Inc. has provided funding to CIC to be used for NetVUE Program Development Grants. Many NetVUE campus leaders have observed that grants for program development at even modest levels would enable their institutions to strengthen and expand existing programs significantly.
NetVUE Program Development Grants may be requested in amounts up to $100,000 for use over two years to deepen, expand, or otherwise strengthen programs that are already underway (including those planned or initiated through recently completed NetVUE Professional Development Awards) and supported by the institution itself. A wide range of proposals that augment existing programs in vocational reflection and discernment will be considered; examples include
The Council of Independent Colleges
Founded in 1956, the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) is an association of nonprofit independent colleges and universities, state-based councils, and higher education affiliates that works to support college and university leadership, advance institutional excellence, and enhance public understanding of independent higher education’s contributions to society.
CIC is the major national organization that focuses on providing services to leaders of independent colleges and universities and state-based councils. CIC offers conferences, seminars, publications, and other programs and services that help institutions improve educational quality, administrative and financial performance, student outcomes, and institutional visibility.
NetVUE Grants to Individuals for Vocational Exploration
CIC is pleased to announce the first NetVUE grant program for individual projects by staff and faculty members. While NetVUE offers a number of grant programs for institutions, this new program—Grants to Individuals for Vocational Exploration—is its first program designed explicitly for individual projects by faculty members and staff at NetVUE member institutions.
Many employees at NetVUE member institutions engage and contribute to the exploration of vocation in undergraduate education through their scholarship, teaching, and practice. The NetVUE program seeks to support this work by offering them more resources to support new research and pedagogical innovation. Through the NetVUE Grants to Individuals for Vocational Exploration, CIC will offer funding and guidance to support projects that will generate artifacts or products (such as scholarly articles, course syllabi and learning activities, program designs, or other resources) that will develop and expand the existing field of scholarship, conversation, and pedagogy on vocation in undergraduate education.
This grant is intended to support innovative projects in the scholarship, pedagogy, leadership, and/or practice of vocation in undergraduate education. Proposals are welcome from both new and established scholars and practitioners. Particularly welcome are projects that seek to make vocational exploration and discernment available to all students, as well as projects that invite the NetVUE community toward fresh considerations and new frameworks in vocation as a lens for undergraduate education.
About Us
Our Mission
We create lasting impact through asset development, nonprofit capacity building, and community leadership.
Our Vision
To enrich the lives of Wabash County residents by fostering opportunity, inspiring generosity, and building a thriving connected community.
Our Scholarships
For High School Seniors & Non Traditional Students who are beginning college more than one year after high school.
The Community Foundation of Wabash County offers a wide variety of post-secondary education scholarships to traditional, non-traditional, and graduate students. With nearly 70 different scholarship endowments created through the generosity of our donors, many students are eligible to apply.
Blair and Marie Tate Scholarship Endowment
Through her will, Marie Tate honored the memory of her late husband, Blair Tate, by establishing this scholarship to assist deserving students of any Wabash County high school who have financial need. Mrs. Tate wanted to be sure that the scholarship was available to both students pursuing academic careers and those pursuing vocational training. The Tates had no children of their own, but through this scholarship, offered an inheritance to all students of Wabash County as if they were true heirs of a family estate.
Texas Foundations Fund: Disaster Recovery
From its inception, the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation has been there to support Texans' path to housing stability. When an unexpected disaster hits, it's vital that low-income Texans are included in recovery plans.
For this reason, TSAHC will be offering grants to eligible organizations providing housing assistance activities in response to disaster. Grant awards will be made for the critical repair of single-family homes located in any one or more counties affected by weather-related natural disasters. The disaster must be declared as such on or after June 1, 2025 by a Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster declaration, a Texas Disaster Declaration, and/or a local city or county disaster declaration.
Operating grants for nonprofits provide essential funding to support day-to-day operations, staff salaries, and infrastructure. The following grants help organizations build capacity, maintain sustainability, and focus on achieving their mission-driven goals.
Explore 8,000+ funding opportunities for operational support, with $3.34B in resources. Instrumentl helps nonprofits secure essential funding by offering grant discovery tools, deadline tracking, and strategic funder analysis to ensure long-term success.
How common are grants in this category?
Quite common — grants in this category are more prevalent than in others.
Over the past year, when are grant deadlines typically due for Operating grants for Nonprofits?
Most grants are due in the first quarter.
What's the typical grant amount funded for Operating Grants for Nonprofits?
Grants are most commonly $32,500.
Nonprofits of all types can apply for operating grants, but they are especially useful for organizations needing flexible funding to support the core work of their mission. Operating grants are ideal for nonprofits involved in general population well-being. Specific sectors include healthcare, education, social services, and the arts. Unlike project-based grants that fund specific initiatives, operating grants help with essential costs like staff salaries, rent, and general admin costs. Funders often look for groups with a clear mission who serve a meaningful purpose and have potential for long-term impact.
Based on Instrumentl’s live grant database for operating, grant deadlines are most common in Q1, accounting for 29.7% of all submission dates. The slowest period for new grant opportunities in this category falls in Q4, making it a less competitive time for preparation and strategic planning.
Operating grants exist to help nonprofits function smoothly and grow effectively. The goal is to give organizations the financial means they need to focus on their mission, serve their communities, and support long-term stability. These grants allow nonprofits to improve everyday operations, invest in staff development, and expand programs. Funders want to see nonprofits thrive, not just survive, and providing operational support is a key element to making that happen.
Funding for operating grants varies widely, with award amounts ranging from a minimum of $0 to a maximum of $188,250,000. Based on Instrumentl’s data, the median grant amount for this category is $32,500, while the average grant awarded is $633,837. Understanding these funding trends can help nonprofits set realistic expectations when applying.
Operating grants are often funded by private foundations like the popular Ford Foundation. Some government agencies offer grants to strengthen nonprofit infrastructure, especially in sectors like health, education, and social services. Corporate giving programs may also support nonprofits that align with their values and create lasting impact.
To improve the chances of getting operating grants, nonprofits should:
For more advice on finding and winning operating grants, check out our step-by-step guide to general operating grants.
Instrumentl simplifies the process of applying for operating grants by offering an intuitive platform that helps nonprofits discover relevant funding opportunities, track deadlines, and analyze funder-giving patterns. The platform's automated alerts ensure users never miss a deadline, while detailed funder insights help organizations tailor their applications to align with grantor priorities.
Check out how Habitat for Humanity delivered over 200% ROI within just a few weeks.