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Get professional development grants for nonprofit staff training, leadership growth, and skills-based learning
32,000+
Available grants
$8.64B
Total funding
$6.3K
Median grant
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Mission
The Foundation was established in December 2013 by Kathryn B. McQuade, after retiring from 33 years of working in the business community. I was blessed to have been born into a loving middle class family. My father worked very hard to insure that all of his children were given an opportunity for a good education and my mother, “a stay at home Mom’ was always there for us. My world was safe and comfortable. My life is in stark contrast to how much of the rest of the world lives. I continue to read of the terrible injustices waged against women and children globally and hope that this foundation can provide them the opportunity and resources to succeed. We will support organizations that help us achieve our goal of Striving to make sustainable improvements in women and children’s rights education and welfare.
Kathryn McQuade Foundation Grant
The Foundation will make timely decisions on your grant request and provide clear communications on our expectations of reporting progress.
Women
The Foundation’s goal is to provide women assistance and provide them an opportunity to succeed. Assistance can take many forms, however our goal is to help them become self sufficient and enable them to lift themselves out of poverty and provide for their children. Access to education, job training and professional skills, even access to capital in order to build a business are possible ways we will consider helping women to succeed. Grant requests should focus on enabling the women to sustain financial independence.
We look forward to hearing of the many creative ways organizations are working on helping women succeed through out the world. To help women is to help their children and the communities they live in.
Children
Too many children in the US and across the world live in poverty and lack the access to education. Education and/or appropriate skills training are necessary to break the cycle of poverty and crime. While the assistance to women may take many forms, the foundation’s focus for children will target education and/ or skills training. The Foundation is open to many ideas on how to accomplish this goal and look forward to receiving proposals to help all children achieve their potential.
Professional development grants for nonprofits provide funding to enhance staff skills, leadership training, and organizational growth. The following grants help nonprofits improve efficiency, adapt to challenges, and achieve long-term sustainability in their mission-driven work.
Explore 8,000+ funding opportunities for professional development, with $3.84B in resources. Instrumentl helps organizations grow by providing grant-matching tools, deadline tracking, and funder insights to support career advancement and 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 Professional Development grants for Nonprofits?
Most grants are due in the first quarter.
Professional development grants are available for nonprofits focused on workforce training, leadership development, skill-building, and support for their staff and volunteers. These grants are ideal for organizations looking to boost their team’s skills and impact. Funders often prioritize nonprofits that serve underrepresented communities, focus on equity in leadership, or have a clear plan for using professional development to improve their mission-driven work.
Grants in professional development typically have the highest concentration of deadlines in Q1, with 28.0% of grant deadlines falling in this period. If you're planning to apply, consider prioritizing your applications around this time to maximize opportunities. Conversely, the least active period for grants in this category is Q4.
The main goal of professional development grants is to help nonprofit teams grow, improve, and become more effective. Funders see professional development grants as an investment for nonprofit professionals to improve their skills, ultimately leading to better leadership, stronger services, and more sustainable organizations. These grants often support leadership training, technical skill development, and mentorship programs that help teams with ongoing learning opportunities.
On average, grants in professional development provide funding between $0 and $188,250,000, with typical awards falling around $37,500 (median) and $734,409 (average). These insights can help nonprofits align their funding requests with what grantmakers typically offer in this space.
Professional development grants are typically funded by private foundations, corporate sponsors, and government agencies. Organizations like the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Kresge Foundation are known for funding initiatives to build organizational capacity. Some corporations also provide grants to nonprofits that align with their workforce development goals, helping to create stronger communities and more skilled nonprofit professionals.
To improve the chances of receiving private grants, nonprofits should:
Struggling to manage multiple grants? Learn how to stay organized with our comprehensive grant tracking spreadsheet guide.
Instrumentl simplifies the process of applying for professional development 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.
See how Instrumentl helps you discover grants, cultivate relationships, and apply for funding.