Search Through Health and Wellness Grants for Nonprofits in Pennsylvania in the U.S.

Strategic Priorities 

Improve the health and well-being of people with disabilities, women and girls 

Priority will be given to proposals that address:

• Improve access to health care and dental care for people with significant disabilities or complex health conditions;
• Address bias among healthcare professionals;
• Address the specific needs of women, girls, and people with disabilities who are Black or other people of color;
• Influence policy and practice to change systems.

Prevent domestic and sexual violence, and support the most vulnerable victims in pursuit of safety, healing, and justice.

Priority will be given to proposals that:

• specifically address the needs of people with disabilities; Black people and other people of color; immigrants and refugees; members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Remove societal barriers and promote equitable opportunities for women, girls, and people with disabilities.

Priority will be given to proposals designed to:

• Promote equal rights, access, and full inclusion for people with disabilities, particularly Black people and other people of color with disabilities, in all aspects of life;
• Include programs, services and advocacy efforts focused on girls who have been marginalized, particularly Black girls and other girls of color, girls with disabilities, and girls in under-resourced areas;
• Address the needs of women that society marginalizes and fails to serve, particularly those who struggle with addiction, homelessness, trauma, and poverty.

What types of funding will be considered?

FISA Foundation believes in and invests in innovation; however we also recognize the economic challenges facing nonprofits. In light of the fact that funds are limited, FISA carefully considers where it can have the greatest impact, as well as the availability of other funding sources (including focus areas of other local foundations). The Foundation will consider grants for:

• General operating support for programs that advance our strategic priorities
• Ongoing programs and projects
• New and innovative projects or programs
• Capacity building initiatives
• Advocacy

BackgroundSolving big problems through civic leadership, collaboration, and innovation Henry L. Hillman Foundation inspires, invests in, and leverages great ideas to make Pittsburgh one of the world’s most forward-looking cities.Henry L. Hillman Foundation’s mission is to inspire, invest in, and leverage great ideas and initiatives for outcomes that improve the quality of life in Pittsburgh and southwestern Pennsylvania.Henry L. Hillman Foundation seeds and scales innovative solutions to address significant community needs. Projects supported by the Henry L. Hillman Foundation are forward-looking, collaborative, and seek to leverage the Pittsburgh region’s competitive advantages.Strategic PortfoliosHenry L. Hillman Foundation has a broad interest in initiatives that are timely and designed to take advantage of an emerging opportunity. The Foundation will prioritize investments that align with the following “portfolio” focus areas:

Aging Well

Preparing for a smaller and older regional population

• Support healthy aging, with a focus on caregivers and aging in place
• Leverage the assets and value of the aging population

Big Ideas and New Models

Solving big problems through collaboration, leadership, and new ways of thinking

• Support and incentivize nonprofit partners to take risks and to try new ways of approaching their work

Capturing the Next Economy

Shaping the future of work and new models of economic development

• Grow and strengthen the region’s innovation economy
• Support Pittsburgh’s growth as a leader in the future of work and learning
• Promote economic mobility and diverse pathways to living wage careers, particularly within the innovation economy

Healthy Neighborhoods

Safe, healthy, and thriving communities that positively influence social determinants of health

• Prevent displacement and concentration of poverty through enhancing the availability of high-quality, affordable housing
• Improve the environment for healthy living, including through safe housing, clean air, healthy food, and accessible outdoor spaces
• Support the vibrancy of Main Street business districts and strive to make Pittsburgh a leading city for individuals who want to start or grow a business

Strengthening Democracy

Good governance and ethical society for collective long-term prosperity

• Support high-quality public media for an informed population
• Increase civic engagement and ensure equitable and accurate representation
• Develop skills and tools for more effective civic participation
• Encourage policy progress and innovation across portfolio focus areas

Sustainable Regional Infrastructure

Innovation and investment in twenty-first century communications, energy, and other systems that support success within the other portfolio focus areas

• Modernize infrastructure and systems through innovation, with a focus on quality, affordability, and security
• Enhance broadband connectivity and the development and deployment of digital tools
• Transition to a low-carbon economy

Please see FAQs for additional guidelines.

Background

The Highmark Foundation is a private, charitable, organization of Highmark Inc. that supports initiatives and programs aimed at improving community health. The Highmark Foundation's mission is to improve the health, well-being and quality of life for individuals who reside in communities served by Highmark Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. We fulfill our mission by awarding high impact grants.

Ideally, the Foundation seeks evidence-based programs that impact multiple counties, that achieve replicable long-term models, and that attract collaborative funding by community partners.

Foundation grants have been awarded to hospitals, community health centers, health service organizations, local community groups and government agencies committed to improving community health.

Our focus is health. The Foundation awards health-related programmatic grants to charitable organizations to implement evidence-based programs aimed at improving community health within Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Grant funding is used to support projects that:

• Are consistent with the Foundation’s goals, strategies and focus
• Demonstrate new and sustainable ways to solve health problems
• Illustrate the effectiveness of early intervention and preventive health

Funding Priority Areas

The Foundation awards grants in the area of health, defining health broadly to include social, behavioral and other dimensions beyond illness or disease. The Foundation focuses its grantmaking on four areas:

Chronic Disease

For more than a decade, the Foundation has funded chronic disease intervention and prevention programs for the most vulnerable populations in the region. By analyzing data from global, national, and statewide resources, the Foundation determines where it can make significant impact among populations by reducing the burden on both patients and health care providers.

One major example of the Foundation's leadership is its funding of community-based programs and services that have been created to reduce the effects of diabetes among minority populations. Through comprehensive, multilevel strategies, the Foundation has provided millions of dollars which grant these individuals easier access to diabetes prevention programs.

The Foundation has also supported national efforts—locally. For example, the Foundation was one of the first in the nation to fund an initiative known as Mission Lifeline. This is an initiative of the American Heart Association which advances the systems of care for patients who have experienced the most severe form of heart attack.

Data analysis of other chronic diseases, such as osteoporosis, certain types of cancer, asthma, and many others, are constantly being reviewed by the Foundation staff to determine significant impact opportunities with outcomes that are both measurable and achievable.

Funding Programs and Interventions that Address:

• Diabetes
• Heart Disease
• Cancer
• Obesity

Family Health

Family health initiatives have been at the heart of many programs funded by the Highmark Foundation.

For five years, the Foundation's Highmark Healthy High 5 initiative focused on five areas that ultimately impacted family health: physical activity, nutrition, bullying, self-esteem and grieving. Many of the programs funded were not just aimed at children, but incorporated the entire family unit.

Childhood obesity and bullying remain major public health concerns for the nation and the region, and will remain critical issues for the Foundation. To that end, the Foundation is continuing to fund school and community-based programs that directly impact these issues and bring about positive change for children's physical and mental well-being.

The Foundation also funds programs in the area of maternal health, such as the doula pregnancy programs, walk-in clinics for uninsured and underinsured women, and parenting education classes. For the region's senior population, the Foundation funds programs that provide senior access to home health or palliative care, as well as routine health screenings and interventions.

Funding Programs and Interventions that Address:

• Nutrition and Physical Activity
• Adolescent Health
• Maternal Health
• Senior Care
• Mental Health

Service Delivery Systems

Serving a diverse geographic area that encompasses urban and rural populations presents a unique set of challenges. However, despite the differences in these settings, gaining access to quality health care is a challenge for many individuals in both. In urban settings, there is a lack of health care providers, but the underinsured or uninsured often lack the resources to gain access. In rural settings, the situation is even worse. There are very few health care providers available, and those that are available may not have the capacity to serve the underinsured or uninsured populations.

During the past decade, the Foundation has funded many programs across the region to help underserved and uninsured populations gain access to quality and, in some cases, free health care. This is most evident in the area of dental care and oral health, in which the Foundation, through a series of grants, allowed more patients to gain access to quality dental care.

The Foundation has also provided grants to help organizations hire and recruit health care professionals. It has funded millions of dollars in grants to address the nursing shortage in Pennsylvania. In fact, approximately 5,000 nursing students, nurses, medical students, residents, first responders and nursing faculty have benefited from Foundation funding.

Finally, the Foundation has provided grants to organizations planning to invest in new capital and technologies that will better serve their local population. By providing funding for capital expenditures at locations such as Federally Qualified Health Clinics (FQHC), nonprofit organizations, and community hospitals, the Foundation allows these facilities the ability to serve more patients.

Funding Programs that Address:

• Access to Care
• Recruitment of Healthcare Professionals
• Community Health Clinics
• Screenings

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

Background

Mary Hillman Jennings (1921–1979) created the Foundation in 1968 with the intention of advancing her charitable work and her support for Pittsburgh-area nonprofit organizations. Throughout her life, she dedicated herself to a wide range of community activities and believed that a truly world-class region invests in its most vulnerable citizens and its most disadvantaged communities.

Providing opportunity for people in southwestern Pennsylvania facing barriers

Improving the quality of life in southwestern Pennsylvania for all, with a focus on communities historically left out of opportunity, is central to Mary Hillman Jennings Foundation's approach.

Priorities

In the greater Pittsburgh region, Mary Hillman Jennings Foundation's grantmaking focuses on community development, health, education, human services, the arts, and the environment. Serving the most vulnerable among us is a top priority.

• Arts and Culture
• Community and Economic Development
• Education and Workforce Development
• Energy and Environment
• Health and Medicine
• Human Services

Strategic Priorities

Mary Hillman Jennings Foundation prioritizes investments that increase opportunities and promote the economic, social, and emotional welfare of those whose voices and concerns are often overlooked. Current priorities are focused on programs that provide direct services to:

At-Risk Children and Youth

• After-school programs
• Culturally relevant arts and culture education

Homeless Individuals

• Homelessness prevention and response
• Low-to-no barrier housing options and supportive services

Immigrants and Refugees

• Culturally responsive approaches that promote well-being and inclusion, such as translation, interpretation, and student supports

Low-Income Workers

• Neighborhood-based workforce development and financial empowerment initiatives

Mothers and Children

• Lowering premature morbidity and mortality
• Supporting maternal and child well-being from birth

People Struggling with Addiction and Recovery

• Prevention, education, harm-reduction, and increased access to existing services
• Increasing community response capacity

People Formerly Incarcerated who are Re-Entering the Community

• Policy changes, diversion models, collaborative approaches, and innovative in-jail and re-entry programs for juveniles and adults

Victims of Violence

• Reducing neighborhood violence through evidence-based programs
• Mental health and other essential services

McElhattan Foundation Grants

Welcome to the McElhattan Foundation. We are a Pittsburgh-based grantmaking foundation.

Our mission is preserving and enhancing human life, and we are working toward this by focusing our grantmaking on four program areas: 

End Death on the Job 

The Foundation's interest in preventing death and serious injury in the workplace stems from the family's company, Industrial Scientific Corporation, which manufactures life-saving gas-monitoring devices. The McElhattan family is deeply committed to ending death on the job by 2050, and we expect the majority of our grant budget will be dedicated to this effort. We are especially interested in innovative safety technology, including virtual and augmented reality.

We do not fund applications from nonprofits for employee training or installing/buying safety equipment; we also do not fund road safety initiatives. If you've found us and are seeking funding for any of these things, we wish you the best of luck-- our team is small and it's necessary for us to stay within our particular areas of focus in this program area.

Education

The McElhattan Foundation believes that learning - about oneself and the world around us - is at the core of human life. After all, we learn throughout our entire lives, and in many different settings from school to home and everything in between. Learning brings joy, frustration, resilience, understanding, and purpose to our lives. Unfortunately, many in our region, specifically children living in poverty and children of color, do not have equitable access to high-quality learning opportunities. There are complex and systemic issues of racial and economic injustice at work. To address these issues, our grantmaking is focused on high-need, high-impact areas. Through careful consideration of evidence and urgency, we make grants to support out-of-school time learning and innovative approaches to expand educator diversity. 

Out-of-school-time (OST) Learning  - Research shows that interest-driven experiences in OST settings are key to unlocking the critical learning and life skills that help children to flourish. Because learning does not stop when the school day ends, we support high-quality afterschool, summer, and other informal learning experiences that take place outside the classroom. We fund hands-on learning experiences where youth can connect to positive adult mentors, feel safe to try new things, and have the opportunity to hone new skills. Through our funding, we work to strengthen and expand OST learning in the Pittsburgh region to ensure equitable access for all children.

We prioritize funding for programs that:

• primarily serve children living in poverty and/or children of color; 
• are community-based, rather than operated by schools; 
• primarily serve children in grades K-8; and 
• operate with dependable consistency and high frequency.

We are particularly interested in funding organizations that demonstrate a commitment to implementing critical quality standards, including:  

• social-emotional learning and skill development;
• positive relationship development among youth and with trusted adult mentors;
• youth-centered approaches that help individuals build on their strengths and talents; and 
• strong partnerships with families and schools.

The McElhattan Foundation aims to provide flexible support to grant recipients in the OST area and will direct the majority of our giving through general operating grants. We also will prioritize organizations with annual operating budgets of $10 million or less.

End-of-Life Planning and Care

The McElhattan Foundation believes it is possible for most people to have a higher quality of life at the end of life. Grants in our End-of-Life Planning and Care program area will support initiatives in three strategic areas: Awareness and Documentation, Caregiver/Provider Training and Support, and Technological Innovation. As always, we seek to fund changemakers—visionary leaders and strong teams who will create dramatic, measurable improvement in how patients and their families experience the inevitable process of dying.

• AWARENESS & DOCUMENTATION - We will support initiatives that educate and empower our community—Western Pennsylvania—about end-of-life decision-making, including clarifying the option of hospice care. We are open to funding broad awareness campaigns as well as targeted efforts aimed at reaching specific segments of the population, especially underserved groups. Once an individual understands their end-of-life options and decides upon their preferences, it’s essential for that person to make their wishes known, in advance and in writing, to their loved ones and medical providers. We will support initiatives designed to make recording and sharing this information easier.
• CAREGIVER/PROVIDER TRAINING & SUPPORT - We support initiatives that offer resources, such as respite care, practical training, and counseling, to family and other nonprofessional caregivers. We support programs that train or retrain professional end-of-life care providers—nurses, doctors, social workers, home healthcare aides, etc.—for careers that pay family-sustaining wages. We are particularly interested in improving communication skills around end-of-life care for providers, and in high-quality home-based care. This work too will be focused in Western Pennsylvania.
• TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION - We believe technology can play a role in improving the “quality of death” for many people. Perhaps there is an application for existing technology, like augmented reality, in training caregivers, or perhaps someone can use emerging technology to prevent pressure sores. We would love to see this innovation begin in Pittsburgh, but we are open to applications from end-of-life tech innovators anywhere in the U.S. (To clarify: the bar here is high. We are not funding requests to purchase equipment like VR headsets, iPads, etc. We are looking for game-changing new ideas that could move the entire field of end-of-life care forward.)

Economic Development in Knox & Franklin, PA

The McElhattan family's roots are in Knox and Franklin, PA, and we would like to see those communities thrive. We aim to support locally-led initiatives that improve residents' job opportunities, health, safety, and general quality of life. We have, for example, contributed to the renovation of Miller-Sibley Park and the renovation of the Franklin YMCA, and have funded the Knox Area Ambulance Company and the Knox Volunteer Fire Department.

Organizations that serve Knox and/or Franklin as part of a larger geographical service area are eligible to apply for funding, but in your LOI, please estimate what percentage of funds will be spent specifically on community development in Knox and/or Franklin. 

Our founder

Richard King Mellon was a visionary. The philanthropic foundation he created, the Richard King Mellon Foundation, has invested since 1947 in visionaries who seek to advance the competitive future and quality of life of Southwestern Pennsylvania, and to protect, preserve and restore America’s environmental heritage. More than 75 years after its founding, the Foundation has become the largest in our region and one of the 50 largest in the world. The Foundation’s 2021 year-end net assets were $3.4 billion, and its Trustees in 2021 disbursed $152 million in grants and program-related investments.

Economic Mobility

While economic mobility specific RFPs are no longer open, applications for funding on the subject matter highlighted in those historic RFPs can be submitted at any time through our General Application. The historic Economic Mobility RFPs can be viewed here.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.Your applications are the lifeblood of our Strategic Plan.

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.

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.

There is an often quoted parable that tells of two people fishing downstream who are startled to see a person floating down the river, struggling for life. Working together, the fisher folk pull the person to safety but shortly after they notice another person crying for help. Again, they pull the person to safety. Other community members hear what is happening and rush to help. As the fisher folk tire, volunteers take their place, and the community works together all day and all night to safely pull more and more people from the river. The next morning the community members have a new idea—we need to go upstream and find out why so many people are falling in the water. Upon walking upstream, the community members find that people are drawn to the edge of a cliff to look at the river and its beauty. Unfortunately, there is no safe way to do this and many of them fall. The community members return and report the number of people who have fallen into the river due to the lack of a protective barrier on the cliff. In response, the community builds a wall behind which people may safely view the water. Some still fall, but there are far fewer.

Funding Priorities

• The Greater Harrisburg Community Foundation (GHCF) UPstream grant opportunity seeks to improve our area communities by supporting existing or new “upstream” systems, interventions, programs, or projects that attempt to create positive social change by addressing a problem at its source rather than managing its “downstream” symptoms.
• This grant opportunity is open to singular or collective nonprofit organizations whose proposals will serve the GHCF service area of Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lebanon, and/or Perry Counties and the Dillsburg Area of Northern York County.
• GHCF UPstream is available to organizations of all sizes, budgets, and reaches.
• The number of grant awards will be dependent upon the quantity of qualified applicants and funds sought.

GHCF UPstream welcomes creative and strategic solutions that seek to address the source of systemic issues within the communities you serve. Applicants may seek support for ANY “upstream” project, program, or intervention that best meets the needs of the population to be served. Examples of upstream projects include, but are not limited to: access to quality education, access to a safe and healthy environment; life skills training; materials that increase accessibility or improve an individual’s self-sufficiency; availability of reliable and safe transportation that improves an individual or group’s ability to grow, learn, or address a key need; animal spay/neuter clinics; early health screenings; job training and placement; support of basic needs that work to support an individual or group’s ability to grow, learn, or address a key need. The principal focus of GHCF UPstream is the support of any grant application that best presents upstream solutions to any area of community need. In addition, GHCF is empowered by a range of special funds which serve to collectively strengthen our area communities through shared themes and also welcomes upstream applications that address:

• Education: Early childhood education; education & development programs for children & youth; educational programs serving adults
• Environment & Parks: Environmental stewardship; horticulture & the arts; health & environment; park beautification & improvement
• Health & Wellness: Health & human services; programs and projects focusing upon: cancer awareness and/or research, dental care for those in need, HIV & AIDS, individuals with debilitating or terminal illness, Individuals with intellectual disabilities, prevention of head and/or spinal cord injury, purchasing of devices that improve accessibility
• Homelessness & Hunger: Programs & projects addressing homelessness & hunger
• Mental Health: Counseling for children with terminally ill family members; guidance, counseling, or programming that includes guidance and/or counseling for youths; programs and projects that address mental health
• Seniors: Programs & projects serving older adults
• Communities of Focus: Programs and projects that benefit residents of Millersburg, a borough of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. Disaster relief & human services that serve the communities of Lebanon City, PA and Cressona, PA. Projects to enhance Camp Hill Borough parks provided by youth organizations such as Scout programs or other youth organizations; programs & projects that focus upon or nurture access to early childhood education within Camp Hill.
• Please note: each community of focus is supported by special funds and parameters established by caring community members and is specific to the respective community.

Attention Prospective Arts Applicants! – The Greater Harrisburg Community Foundation recognizes the artistic, cultural, and economic value of the arts and is pleased to offer funding opportunities for the arts through The Arts for All Partnership, a collaboration between the Greater Harrisburg Community Foundation and the Cultural Enrichment Fund. This unique collaborative funding initiative aims to improve the efficiency of arts grant funding and increase the overall impact of grant funding for arts programming in our communities. Prospective grant applicants whose project is centered upon the arts and access to the arts, will be best served by seeking funding support through The Arts for All Partnership rather than GHCF Upstream.

United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania funds community partners focused on providing programs and services in our five-county region.

Community Impact Grants

Through United Way’s Impact Fund, nonprofit agencies may apply for general funding opportunities that support our three investment priorities: Meeting Basic Needs, Moving Toward Financial Stability, and Building For Success in School and Life.

Grants will be awarded for 3 years and may be adjusted based on the completion of annual reporting and performance requirements, and the availability of funds. 

Investment Priority Framework

• Meeting Basic Needs
  • Individuals and families have a greater opportunity to thrive when they have access to nutritious food, a safe place to live, and supportive community resources.
  • UWSWPA invests in partners committed to:
    • Addressing food insecurity and providing access to nutritious food.
    • Providing individuals and families access to safe and secure housing through programs that provide shelter, address eviction prevention, home repair, and utility assistance.
    • Providing access to reliable transportation.
    • Providing safety and support to survivors of intimate partner violence.
    • Addressing the negative health effects of social isolation by providing interventions that promote connection and community.
• Moving Toward Financial Stability
  • To break the cycle of generational poverty, it is essential that people have resources and supports to earn a living wage and the tools they need to build wealth.
  • UWSWPA invests in partners committed to:
    • Connecting people to employment through skill-building and career development programs.
    • Offering equitable opportunities across race, gender, and ability for peopleto access services and benefits that increase their income and financial security.
    • Advocating for critical policy and systems change by engaging stakeholders across the community
• Building For Success in School and Life
  • Every young person deserves the chance to have a positive start toward adulthood, to learn and succeed to the level of their educational ability and reach their full potential in life
    • UWSWPA invests in partners committed to:
      • Providing affordable, high-quality early childhood educational opportunities and family supports.
      • Working collaboratively with school districts and other community partners that provide positive out-of-school time opportunities for young people.
      • Addressing learning loss, social and emotional well-being and kindergarten readiness.
      • Providing career and college readiness tools and resources to historically underrepresented groups of students.

About WCCF

The Washington County Community Foundation (WCCF) was initiated by community leaders to encourage charitable giving. Its mission is to improve the quality of life in Washington County by promoting and facilitating philanthropy.

Capacity-Building Grant Cycle I

Capacity-building projects examples include but are not limited to: equipment or material purchases, capital campaigns nearing completion of the campaign, facility upgrades, strategic plans, succession plans, marketing plans or marketing materials, improvements to accounting and financial systems, constituent management software, websites with content management systems, and program design or program expansion.

Grants shall be awarded in any of the following areas:

• Arts & Humanities – projects that benefit arts education, arts appreciation, and cultural and historic projects in our community.
• Community Improvement and Economic Development – projects that focus on strengthening, unifying and building the economic, cultural, educational and social services, and the spirit of any community or neighborhood. Community improvement projects include, but are not limited to, agricultural fairs, community festivals, community parks, green space projects and walking trails. Economic development projects include, but are not limited to, blight removal, increased entrepreneurism, improved low-income housing, job creation, and workforce development.
• Education – projects to enhance the education experience for persons of any age, including literacy and lifelong learning.
• Environment & Animal Welfare – projects to protect the environment and to ensure biodiversity, including conservation, protection of ecosystems, agricultural projects, protection of wildlife, and the care of domesticated animals.
• Health & Fitness – projects that promote the physical and emotional health of the community, including medical services, counseling, fitness, and wellness programs.
• Human Needs – projects that give aid, comfort, support or assistance to children and youth, senior citizens, or the indigent.
• Religious/Faith-Based – projects that promote interdenominational sharing and understanding and that emphasize the importance of spiritual growth and development.

Amount

Requests must be submitted in increments of $5,000, up to a maximum grant request of $50,000.

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.

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.
• Veteran Mental Wellness: The Foundation supports programs that enhance the mental wellness of veterans who are reintegrating into civilian life.
  • Examples of appropriate projects:
    • Retreat programs, including an intensive on-site experience with a minimum of one year of follow-up. Programs must use a proven curriculum.
    • Post-traumatic mental health therapy that is evidence-based and proven to reduce symptoms.
    • Coordinated resource networks that facilitate access to a range of supportive services. These networks have a single access point that evaluates veterans and connects them with the most appropriate service providers.
• 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.

Operating Grants

Operating grants fund the overall operating costs of an organization.

The Small Grants Program (SGP)

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.

Housing

Stable housing provides a foundation for individuals, children, and families to lead healthy and productive lives. Without a place to call home, individuals and families cannot put themselves on a path to a healthy, stronger future.

Priorities

• Housing With Supportive Services: The Foundation supports nonprofit housing development to accelerate the production of affordable housing that integrates into the broader community and includes services to help people achieve and maintain stability.
  • Examples of appropriate projects:
    • Permanent supportive housing developments or units serving people who are exiting homelessness.
    • Working capital for predevelopment of supportive housing or to build nonprofit developers’ capacity to create more housing, such as expanding their real estate development teams.
• Community-Led Development: The Foundation supports innovative, community-driven efforts that preserve affordable housing for generations. Projects should have the potential for replication or expansion and enable residents to live and thrive in their home communities.
  • Examples of appropriate projects:
    • Community land trusts primarily in Baltimore and Hawaiʻi that prioritize people experiencing housing instability.
    • Models for community ownership or community wealth building to prevent resident displacement.
    • Mixed-income housing integrated into the community that is designed by and for individuals who are often marginalized, such as people with disabilities, youth, and residents of rural areas.
• Coordinated Responses to Homelessness: The Foundation supports projects to improve collaboration across public systems and organizations that serve people without housing or at risk of experiencing homelessness. Projects should involve individuals who have been homeless to inform planning and implementation.
  • Examples of appropriate projects:
    • Partnerships to coordinate services across organizations that address homelessness. Projects should demonstrate how the work improves the lives of people served.
    • Leadership development and other opportunities for people who have experienced homelessness to participate in planning and decision making about programs designed to serve them.
    • Models for sustainable funding of supportive services that help people maintain housing.

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 Small Grants Program (SGP)

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.

Housing

Stable housing provides a foundation for individuals, children, and families to lead healthy and productive lives. Without a place to call home, individuals and families cannot put themselves on a path to a healthy, stronger future.

Priorities

• Housing With Supportive Services: The Foundation supports nonprofit housing development to accelerate the production of affordable housing that integrates into the broader community and includes services to help people achieve and maintain stability.
  • Examples of appropriate projects:
    • Permanent supportive housing developments or units serving people who are exiting homelessness.
    • Working capital for predevelopment of supportive housing or to build nonprofit developers’ capacity to create more housing, such as expanding their real estate development teams.
• Community-Led Development: The Foundation supports innovative, community-driven efforts that preserve affordable housing for generations. Projects should have the potential for replication or expansion and enable residents to live and thrive in their home communities.
  • Examples of appropriate projects:
    • Community land trusts primarily in Baltimore and Hawaiʻi that prioritize people experiencing housing instability.
    • Models for community ownership or community wealth building to prevent resident displacement.
    • Mixed-income housing integrated into the community that is designed by and for individuals who are often marginalized, such as people with disabilities, youth, and residents of rural areas.
• Coordinated Responses to Homelessness: The Foundation supports projects to improve collaboration across public systems and organizations that serve people without housing or at risk of experiencing homelessness. Projects should involve individuals who have been homeless to inform planning and implementation.
  • Examples of appropriate projects:
    • Partnerships to coordinate services across organizations that address homelessness. Projects should demonstrate how the work improves the lives of people served.
    • Leadership development and other opportunities for people who have experienced homelessness to participate in planning and decision making about programs designed to serve them.
    • Models for sustainable funding of supportive services that help people maintain housing.

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.

Jobs

Employment provides the best opportunity for personal success and financial security. Quality training programs that lead to employment enable individuals and families to achieve economic stability.

Priorities

• Job Training: The Foundation supports job-training programs that result in industry-recognized credentials, as well as job-placement and retention services. Employers must engage with the training organizations to verify program content and support placement and retention services. Organizations should track job retention and wages for at least one year, preferably two.
  • Examples of appropriate projects:
    • Sector-based training programs in industries including health care, manufacturing, construction, food services, information technology, and biotechnology.
    • Life-skill and job-readiness training, including case management and referrals to technical-training programs or direct job placement.
    • Capital costs for job-training centers, such as construction or renovation projects or large equipment purchases, that result in an increased number of individuals served in a sector-based training program.
    • Programs that provide job-placement services for veterans and their spouses.
• Youth Employment and Career Support: The Foundation supports programs that provide high school-based career exploration and hands-on learning opportunities for youth ages 14–24.
  • Examples of appropriate projects:
    • Hard- and soft-skill training to help young people who are neither in school nor working reconnect with career opportunities.
    • Paid internships that give youth direct work experience.
    • Citywide summer job programs.
    • Customized, community-based employment opportunities for young adults with disabilities who are transitioning from a school environment into the workplace.

Program Grants

Program grants fund specific programs within an organization.

Mission

Staunton Farm Foundation is dedicated to improving the lives of people who live with mental illness and/or substance use disorders. The Foundation works to enhance behavioral health treatment and support by advancing best practices through grant making to non-profit organizations in ten southwestern Pennsylvania counties: Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington, Westmoreland.

Our Vision

Investing in a future where behavioral health is understood, supported, and accepted.

Grantmaking

Grantmaking is a key step in realizing the Foundation’s vision of a future where behavioral health is understood, supported, and accepted. Staunton Farm Foundation seeks proposals that use evidence-based models, emphasize best practices, provide measurable outcomes, and eliminate negative stereotypes associated with behavioral illnesses. Current priority areas include:

Collaboration

Grants for collaboration with multiple stakeholders to learn/train as a region. The Foundation will act as a convener and a neutral facilitator.

Examples: Provide funding to new projects which identify unusual partners’ support; integration of behavioral health; develop trainings that support multiple organizations rather than one; work with local colleges/ universities to develop workforce

Innovation

Grants that advance the field and use evidence-based practices and approaches to improve outcomes.

Examples: Use of technology to advance the behavioral health field/improve outcome measures; bringing practices to scale across region

Advocacy

Grants promoting policies to improve treatment, especially for underserved populations, and extend the efforts of those supporting and advancing policy change.

Examples: Policy (not lobbying); giving voice to providers and consumers; developing white papers; gathering data to support policy change; educating legislators; convene legislators and nonprofits to discuss behavioral health support

Communication

Grants to educate the general public about current issues, as well as offer resources to change the conversation about behavioral health.

Examples: Create/share anti-stigma messages to change public perception/policy; provide opportunities for dialogue; build understanding and acceptance; improve practice by disseminating knowledge and promoting a culture of learning

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.

Social-Impact Investment Pitch Competition

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 the achievement of their strategic priorities.

Social-Impact Investments

The Foundation is currently accepting applications for its annual Social-Impact Investment Pitch Competition.

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.

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.

As a family foundation in Pittsburgh, PA, our philanthropic traditions are well rooted in our continued support of organizations that foster transformative programs which best serve the local community as a whole in the areas of arts and culture, education, environmental, health and medical, human services, and religion.

Even though the Snee-Reinhardt Charitable Foundation encompasses many broad areas of concern, or categories, there is no one area deemed more important than the next. Nevertheless, the Foundation has found it beneficial underwriting grants that are tangible in nature or serve a higher number of individuals within the community and surrounding areas. The Foundation continually aids organizations that are endlessly striving to serve the community in various ways such as improving social conditions, expanding education, and working to better the environment.

Category Definitions

The Snee-Reinhardt Charitable Foundation’s Board of Directors has designated several areas of concern comprised of specific intentions.

• Arts/Culture: Performing arts, humanities, media and communications, multipurpose museums, public broadcasting, and historical preservations.
• Education: Promotional programs for elementary, secondary and vocational systems, colleges/universities, graduate programs, adult and multipurpose libraries.
• Environmental: Support of natural resources, beautification programs, pollution control, environmental education, and horticultural/botanical programs.
• Health/Medical: Rural health care, crisis intervention, special programs in health centers, and prevention/treatment of specific diseases.
• Human Services: Youth development and recreation, disaster relief, employment training/ placement, multipurpose agencies, and abuse prevention.
• Religion: The theological education and ecumenical programs as well as the mission of many churches, synagogues, and religious charities.
• Miscellaneous: Because every grant cannot be included into a category, the Snee-Reinhardt Charitable Foundation permits grants for animal welfare, community development, sports, camps, fire and police departments and economic development as miscellaneous grants.  

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.

Youth Mental Health Grant

The Cigna Group Foundation is committing $9 million over three years to improve the mental health of youth (ages five to 18) as it relates to post-pandemic stress and distress. This commitment includes support for their parents, caregivers, and youth service professionals like educators and therapists.

We seek to collaborate with and support nonprofits that leverage evidence-informed programs and services to serve local youth experiencing the most need.

During the first year of our three-year commitment, we will focus on investing in solutions that address mental health concerns early, and strategically offer programming, intervention, and access to care in schools and related settings in underserved communities. We look forward to partnering with nonprofit organizations that align to at least one of these grant program goals:

• Increase reach of programming that fosters social-emotional skills and well-being.
• Increase the number of parents, caregivers, and youth service professionals who feel equipped to support.
• Increase pathways to mental health intervention and access to care.

Grant Range and Term

• $100,000 – $150,000
• One-year term

Our Mission

To promote wellness and access to opportunities so that individuals and communities can thrive.

Grounded in our work in Connecticut and New York, we support visionary leaders and nonprofit organizations that serve historically marginalized populations, help individuals contribute to their communities, and champion advancements and experiences that make it possible for all people to live healthy and joyous lives.

Innovation Fund

The Tow Foundation is pleased to announce a new grant opportunity for nonprofit organizations innovatively expanding access to the care and support that youth need to thrive.

The Innovation Fund intends to make grants, ranging from $300,000 to $1 million over three years, to up to 10 organizations that are improving youth mental health and well-being and serving young people between the ages of 0-25.

Through the Innovation Fund, the Foundation hopes to inspire and invest in bold approaches, and to learn from exploring questions like: What are the most challenging barriers youth and their families face in accessing support for mental health and well-being? What emerging innovations exist to address these barriers? What is the resulting impact of these innovations on youth and their families?

The Innovation Fund takes a broad and inclusive approach when imagining the kinds of care and support that may have a positive impact on youth mental health and well-being. This includes interventions across the prevention to treatment continuum. We welcome submissions from a diverse array of organizations working in a variety of community, school, and clinical settings. For the purpose of this initiative, the word “innovation” could mean scaling proven efforts, attempting to apply existing efforts to new populations or geographies, or experimenting with a novel approach altogether. By not defining “innovation,” we hope to encourage creative thinking.