Search Through Small Grants for Nonprofits in West Virginia in the U.S.

Who We Are

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

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

Our Focus

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

What We Fund

/ What We Fund

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

Mission

The DanPaul Foundation will use its resources to help train teachers and parents in early childhood development, protect children from abuse and neglect, stimulate children's personal social responsibilities, and offer them opportunities for enrichment and growth.

The Foundation will also encourage children to be concerned and informed about the environment and the underprivileged, particularly with regard to clean air and water, and adequate housing and nutrition for all.

Beliefs

The DanPaul Foundation believes that children should have ample opportunities for enrichment in their lives, and thus strives to provide many different ways to enrich and expand children's minds through direct programs and monetary support to organizations doing similar work.

We have provided or currently provide grants related to the following program areas:

• Workshops, Conferences, + Seminars: We strive to offer educational workshops, conferences, and seminars for parents and teachers on topics related to early childhood development.
• Student Scholarships: We aim to help students attending post-secondary education institutions by providing need-based and academic scholarships.
• Scientific Endeavors: We desire to advance scientific endeavors which seek to improve the quality of life for everyone in the world.
• Clean Air + Water: We hope to pass on knowledge and practical life skills to youth regarding their personal responsibility to the environment, teaching them about issues surrounding clean air and water.
• Child Advocacy: We believe in protecting children from abuse and neglect and particularly love to support programs that provide education and assistance to children as well as organizations advocating or caring for vulnerable children.
• Homelessness: We want to encourage young people to take a personal interest in seeing that adequate housing and proper nutrition, especially for the underprivileged and homeless, are available.
• Poverty + Neglect: We seek to help those in poverty as well as educate youth about their responsibility to consider the underprivileged and take care of those most in need of life's basic essentials like adequate housing and proper nutrition.
• Refugee Enrichment: We wish to help refugee youth by supporting programs that provide them enrichment and help them transition to life in a new country.

The DanPaul Foundation provides grants to 501(c)3 tax-exempt non-profit organizations as defined by the IRS. The Foundation is interested in providing funding to programs that directly serve the health, education, development, and welfare of the world's youth.

Grants range from a few hundred dollars up to $15,000 per calendar year.

The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation’s grantmaking priority areas include Community Economic Development (CED), Education, Health, Arts & Culture, and Basic Needs. Occasionally, the Foundation offers additional competitive grantmaking opportunities known as special initiatives.

Grantmaking Priorities

Community Economic Development

• Increase workforce development and career and technical education that result in job opportunities that pay a livable wage and benefits
• Support small businesses in TGKVF’s service area and/or ensure a robust and effective small business support ecosystem, with a particular focus on entrepreneurship
• Build upon the community’s social and economic condition through visible improvements, business districts, recreational and cultural enhancements, and support for gathering spaces

Health Priorities

• Improve access to preventative, behavioral, and oral healthcare for marginalized communities
• Increase the capacity of communities, organizations, and social enterprises to develop healthy recreational opportunities and/or expand access to locally grown, healthy foods
• Expand the amount of public greenspace, access to streams and bikeable/ walkable trails

Education Priorities

• Increase access to proven education programs, including out-of-school time, tutoring mentoring, and/or learning programs that emphasize STREAM (science, technology, reading, engineering, arts, or math) education
• Deepen the impact and scale of programs that connect and involve families in their child’s education
• Expand proven post-secondary guidance, career advisory, and/or trade and vocational schools that train students for available jobs

Arts & Culture Priorities

• Increase the number and reach of programs that foster creativity, self-expression and cross-cultural exchange, especially in underserved areas
• Advance creative arts and cultural work that takes risks, engages audiences in new ways, and/or crosscuts with other sectors, including education, health, basic needs, and community economic development
• Support arts and cultural activities that include diverse populations as both audiences and active participants, particularly those that emphasize performing arts and/or youth involvement

Basic Needs Priorities

• Support and encourage collaboration among nonprofit, public, and private sector efforts to ensure equitable access to basic needs resources such as of food, shelter, and clothing for individuals and communities in crisis
• Strengthen initiatives that work to reduce food insecurity by increasing access to low-cost or no-cost food for individuals and families in need in underserved, population-dense, and rural communities
• Engage with programs that provide immediate, adaptive, short-term shelter options and stabilize long-term housing for individuals and families at risk of or experiencing homelessness

Global Impact Cash Grants

Identifying and incubating innovative early-stage solutions. We identify, incubate, and develop innovative early-stage solutions with the highest potential for impact. Global Impact Cash Grants go to nonprofit organizations (NPOs) and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that address a significant social problem. We're looking for programs that fit within our investment sectors, focus on the underserved, and use technology to improve the reach and efficiency of services.

We accept applications year-round from eligible organizations. A brief Letter of Inquiry (LOI) is used to determine whether your organization will be invited to complete a full application. Please expand and carefully review each of the three sections below to learn more

Our priority social impact sectors

We focus on investing in innovative, tech-enabled solutions to the challenges and opportunities that matter most to communities in need, prioritizing four social impact sectors:

Cisco Crisis Response

Mobilizing to provide essentials to communities in need and those in crisis, including food, housing, secure connectivity, and disaster relief

By leveraging Cisco’s people, technology, financial resources, and strategic partnerships, we help strengthen community resilience and drive long-term recovery from crises.

Education

Supporting students, teachers, and schools by increasing engagement, building skills, promoting subject mastery, and expanding their capacity to thrive

Cisco is committed to inclusive access to digital skills training and supporting those who use technology to educate. Through programs like Cisco Networking Academy and social investments in education, we create new opportunities for individuals to thrive.

Economic Empowerment

Transforming communities through skill development, long-term career opportunities, entrepreneurship, and access to financial products and services

Strategic grants that unlock economic prosperity and growth for individuals and communities.

Climate Regeneration

Building an inclusive, regenerative, and resilient climate future through education, regenerative agriculture, conservation, protection, and clean energy solutions

Our efforts began in 2021, when the Cisco Foundation committed US$100 million over 10 years to fund nonprofit grants and impact investing in climate solutions. 

Mission

The mission of the Hearst Foundations is to identify and fund outstanding nonprofits to ensure that people of all backgrounds in the United States can build healthy, productive and satisfying lives. Through its grantmaking, the Hearst Foundations support well-established nonprofit organizations that address significant issues within their major areas of focus—culture, education, health and social service—and that primarily serve large demographic and/or geographic constituencies. In each area of funding, the Foundations seek to identify those organizations achieving truly differentiated results relative to other organizations making similar efforts for similar populations. The Foundations also look for evidence of sustainability beyond their support.

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

Culture Grant

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

Funding Priorities in Culture

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

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

Types of Support

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

Mission

The mission of the Hearst Foundations is to identify and fund outstanding nonprofits to ensure that people of all backgrounds in the United States can build healthy, productive and satisfying lives. Through its grantmaking, the Hearst Foundations support well-established nonprofit organizations that address significant issues within their major areas of focus—culture, education, health and social service—and that primarily serve large demographic and/or geographic constituencies. In each area of funding, the Foundations seek to identify those organizations achieving truly differentiated results relative to other organizations making similar efforts for similar populations. The Foundations also look for evidence of sustainability beyond their support.

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

Social Service Grant

The Hearst Foundations fund direct-service organizations that tackle the roots of chronic poverty by applying effective solutions to the most challenging social and economic problems. The Foundations prioritize supporting programs that have proven successful in facilitating economic independence and in strengthening families. Preference is also given to programs with the potential to scale productive practices in order to reach more people in need.

Funding Priorities in Social Service

In the recent past, 15% of total funding has been allocated to Social Service. Organizations with budgets over $5 million have received 75% of funding in Social Service.

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

Types of Support

Program, capital and general support

Funding

Minimum grant size is $100,000.

Michael & Susan Dell Foundation Grants

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

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

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

Foundation priorities:

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

Partnerships

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

Mission

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

History

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

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

Where We Work

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

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

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

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

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

We have strong partnerships with nonprofit organizations across the country that are working to advance economic mobility and social progress in low- and moderate-income communities. Our focus areas include basic needs like food and housing, workforce development and education, and community development. In addition to our philanthropic investments, we also encourage our employees to make a difference by offering robust employee giving and volunteering programs, including the opportunity to direct funds to organizations they support through volunteer efforts, and a matching gifts program that doubles their individual giving to causes they care about. Last year, we invested $350 million in the communities we serve, and employees contributed more than 1 million volunteer hours and directed $65 million through individual giving and matching gifts to support nonprofits.Through our regional U.S. sponsorships, we support the economic, social and cultural life of the places we live and work. We provide an extensive program of arts and sports sponsorships to help maintain vibrant, healthy communities.Sponsorships supporting communitiesBank of America welcomes your sponsorship proposal for opportunities that make our communities a better place to live and work. We are particularly interested in providing support to address needs vital to the health of our communities through a focus on:

• preserving neighborhoods;
• educating the workforce for 21st century jobs;
• addressing critical needs such as hunger and emergency shelter;
• arts and culture;
• the environment; and
• diversity and inclusion programs.

Grants are made at the Foundation’s discretion based on our current funding strategies focused on housing, jobs and hunger. 

Our Mission

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

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

Grants

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

Wells Fargo and the Wells Fargo Foundation collaborate with a wide range of nonprofit organizations that align with our strategic funding priorities. We prioritize our funding to activities and programs that have a broad reach and support the needs of underserved communities. We aspire to have a positive impact on the communities we serve by using our financial and volunteer resources and business expertise in collaboration with community organizations to help solve complex societal problems.

• Financial health
• Housing affordability
• Small business growth
• Sustainability

We may also support other local needs in eligible communities such as disaster relief, arts and culture, civic engagement, education, human and social services, and workforce development. However, opportunities are limited as our intent is to direct the majority of our giving within our major focus areas.

What does this program do?

It provides loans and grants to Microenterprise Development Organizations (MDOs) to:

• To help microenterprises startup and growth through a Rural Microloan Revolving Fund.
• Provide training and technical assistance to microloan borrowers and micro entrepreneurs.

Microenterprise Development Organizations must demonstrate experience in managing a Revolving Loan Fund, or:

• Certify that it or its employees have received education and training from a qualified microenterprise development training entity so that the applicant has the capacity to manage such a revolving loan fund.
• Demonstrate that it is actively and successfully participating as an intermediary lender in good standing under the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Microloan Program or other similar loan programs as determined by the Administrator.

 What kind of funding is available?

• Grants are available to provide technical assistance to rural micro-entrepreneurs or microenterprises, up to $205,000 annually.
  • Funding at the requested level is not guaranteed, and at least 15 percent matching funds are required.

• Loans of $50,000 to $500,000 may be used for establishing a Rural Microloan Revolving Fund managed by the Microenterprise Development Organization.
  • Total aggregate debt is capped at $2.5 million.

What are the loan terms?

• Maximum term is 20 years.
• Two-year payment deferral.
• Must establish a loan loss reserve fund.

What terms are required on loans to ultimate recipients?

• Up to $50,000.
• Fixed interest rate.
• Limited to 75 percent of project cost.

How may the funds be used?

Microlenders may make microloans for qualified business activities and expenses including, but not limited to:

• Working capital.
• Debt refinancing.
• Purchasing equipment and supplies.
• Improving real estate.

The Impact Fund awards recoverable grants to legal services nonprofits, private attorneys, and small law firms who seek to confront economic, environmental, racial, and social injustice. Since our founding in 1992, the Impact Fund has made more than 800 recoverable grants totaling more than $10 million for impact litigation. We award grants four times per year, most within the range of US$10,000 to US$50,000.

Social Justice

The Impact Fund provides grants and legal support to assist in human and civil rights cases. We have helped to change dozens of laws and win cases to improve the rights of thousands. The cases we are funding allege that:

• In Texas and North Carolina, incarcerated people with mental health disabilities are forced to remain in jail despite being found not guilty and unable to proceed with a criminal trial.
• In Orange County, California there are currently 13 gang injunctions under effect, which disproportionately affect young men of color.
• In Chicago, Illinois, the city’s homeless shelter program is inaccessible to people with disabilities.
• In Springfield, Oregon, the city and its police department used excessive force against Black Lives Matter protesters.
• In West Virginia, the state fails to protect children in foster care from abuse and neglect. 
• In Montana, voter suppression laws disadvantage young adults and give priority to gun owners.
• In Gary, Indiana, a gun manufacturer negligently marketed and distributed its guns, leading to an epidemic of gun violence in the city. 
• In Vancouver, British Columbia, the police perpetuate systemic discrimination against Indigenous people through bureaucratic measures.

Environmental Justice

The Impact Fund provides grants to support local litigation for environmental justice. These grants are for cases aiming to help people or communities who are affected by environmental harm or who lack access to basic environmental needs, such as clean water, clean air, adequate waste treatment, and green spaces. The cases we are funding allege that:

• In Centreville, Illinois, the city’s failure to maintain its sewer system has caused raw sewage to flood peoples’ homes, endangering the property and health of a predominantly Black community.
• In Fresno County, California, the California Department of Transportation approved a highway expansion project that would increase air pollution and traffic in one of the state’s most environmentally burdened communities.
• In downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the proposed expansion of a highway would divide the region's Black, Asian, and Latine neighborhoods and cause pollution and ill health.
• In North Dakota, the five-month closure of a highway in response to the Dakota Access Pipeline protests disproportionately affected the livelihoods and health of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe members.
• In Ontario, Canada, mercury contamination of the English-Wabigoon river system causes catastrophic environmental and health impacts for the Grassy Narrows First Nation.
• In Sacramento, California, the county government and Sacramento Area Sewer District violated the Clean Water Act by discharging raw sewage into nearby rivers.
• In the Eastern Coachella Valley in California, 1,900 residents of the Oasis Mobile Home Park suffer from arsenic-laced drinking water, wastewater contamination, and overcharging for utilities.

Economic Justice

The Impact Fund provides financial and other forms of support to cases fighting for economic justice. From workers' rights to consumer protection for vulnerable populations, impact litigation is a powerful tool to hold corporationss and the government accountable. The cases we are funding allege that:

• In Brooklyn, New York, a prominent mortgage lender engaged in predatory practices, leaving homeowners of color at risk of losing their homes. 
• In Washington, live-in caregivers are unconstitutionally excluded from the state’s wage-and-hour protections.
• In Ravalli County, Montana, the county has created a “modern-day debtors’ prison” by incarcerating people unable to afford pre-trial fees. 
• In San Diego, California, vehicle ordinances target unhoused vehicle owners even when no adequate housing alternative exists.
• In New York, a federal immigration detention facility is violating minimum wage and forced labor laws by forcing detainees to work for just a dollar a day. 
• In Minneapolis, Minnesota, the city and county destroy the property of unhoused individuals and conduct forced evictions from public spaces. 
• In Miami, Florida, insurance companies discriminate against a nonprofit community development corporation renting to tenants with Section 8 rental subsidies.

The Responsive Grants Program is a competitive grants program in which applicants can apply for project, capacity building, equipment or technology, small capital projects, or general operating support in support of the organization’s mission.

Priority Areas

Healthy Eating, Active Living

We support projects and strategies that prevent or manage chronic health conditions by promoting healthy eating and active living through one or more of the following:

• Education about the health benefits of a healthy weight, good nutrition, and physical activity
• Efforts that encourage and support behavior change
• Environmental changes that make healthy choices the easy choices
• Increased access and distribution of healthy foods
• Promotion and provision of opportunities for increased physical activity
• Coalition and cross-sector collaboration that promotes healthy eating and active living through policy or programmatic change

Thriving Neighborhoods

We support projects and strategies that address improving neighborhood conditions where people live, learn, work, and play so that everyone has the ability to achieve their full health potential by:

• Improving the accessibility, affordability, and quality of health and health care
• Improving access to reliable transportation options so people can reach needed health and social services
• Improving access to stable and safe housing to foster a healthy living environment
• Supporting efforts to increase connections to community resources and to one another to foster an environment of social connectedness and belonging
• Improving access to high-quality early childhood programs including in-home programs designed to improve maternal and child health, parenting skills, and child development as well as programs supporting the health and well-being of the preK-12 student population
• Supporting coalition and cross-sector collaboration that improves neighborhood conditions and advances policy or programmatic change

Mental Health and Addiction

We support projects and strategies that address mental health and/or addiction. Related to mental health, we are interested in the area of health promotion and prevention. Related to addiction, we are interested in the areas of prevention, early intervention, and recovery support. We are especially interested in evidence-based programs focused on:

• Prevention activities such as education and stigma reduction of mental health and substance use disorders; trauma-informed care practices and supportive environments in schools, churches, workplaces, and other community settings; and provision of mental health services in schools and school-based health clinics
• Early intervention activities such as identifying and reducing individual risk factors for substance use, improving connections to needed services across various systems, and harm reduction efforts to reduce the number of deaths and the spread of disease
• Building the behavioral health workforce, including peer support specialists/peer recovery supporters, supporting high school and college pipeline programming, and encouraging careers in behavioral health
• Supporting people in recovery with positive supports such as housing, connections to employment, and transportation
• Coalition and cross-sector collaboration that advances policy or programmatic change

The West Virginia Humanities Council offers a variety of matching grants to nonprofit organizations that provide public humanities programming for West Virginia audiences.

What are the Humanities?

The humanities represent a group of academic disciplines that have traditionally been concerned with values, ideas and choices. The humanities provide a framework for analyzing the human condition – for making sense of our roles in contemporary society. The term humanities includes the following:

• Language, both modern and classical; linguistics; literature; history; jurisprudence; philosophy; archaeology; comparative religion; ethics; the history, theory and criticism of the arts; those aspects of social sciences that have humanistic content and employ humanistic methods; and the study and application of the humanities to the human environment with particular attention to our diverse heritage, traditions and history and to the relevance of the humanities to the current condition of national life.

Minigrants

Minigrants support small projects, single events, lectures, small museum exhibits, brochures, consultation needs, and planning for more complex projects. Applicants should allow six weeks between the deadline and the start of the project.

Minigrants have supported projects including workshops by West Virginia authors at Daniels Elementary School in Raleigh County, permanent exhibits at the Entler Hotel museum in Shepherdstown, and a Wayne County quilt trail.

Humanities Scholar

The project must involve at least one humanities scholar, who will directly advise, offer direction on, or otherwise provide substantive contribution to the project. The humanities scholar associated with the project is expected to provide informed oversight regarding content, historical or cultural contexts, factual information, and/or information and research relevant to the project’s content.

As content-specific expertise is the quality a humanities scholar is expected to bring to any project, the appropriate credentials establishing that expertise may vary from project to project. For the purposes of grant applications made to the West Virginia Humanities Council, “humanities scholar” may be understood to mean:

• a credentialed academic scholar in the appropriate content field;
• an expert practitioner in a living tradition upon which the project is centered; or
• a community member with extensive and documented life experience in the content area upon which the project is centered.

What does this program do?

This program is designed to provide technical assistance and training for small rural businesses. Small means that the business has fewer than 50 new workers and less than $1 million in gross revenue.

What kind of funding is available?

There is no maximum grant amount; however, smaller requests are given higher priority. There is no cost sharing requirement. Opportunity grants are limited to up to 10 percent of the total Rural Business Development Grant annual funding.

How may funds be used?

Enterprise grants must be used on projects to benefit small and emerging businesses in rural areas as specified in the grant application. Uses may include:

• Training and technical assistance, such as project planning, business counseling and training, market research, feasibility studies, professional or/technical reports or producer service improvements.
• Acquisition or development of land, easements, or rights of way; construction, conversion, renovation of buildings; plants, machinery, equipment, access for streets and roads; parking areas and utilities.
• Pollution control and abatement.
• The capitalization of revolving loan funds, including funds that will make loans for start-ups and working capital.
• Distance adult learning for job training and advancement.
• Rural transportation improvement.
• Community economic development.
• Technology-based economic development.
• Feasibility studies and business plans.
• Leadership and entrepreneur training.
• Rural business incubators.
• Long-term business strategic planning.

Opportunity grants can be used for:

• Community economic development.
• Technology-based economic development.
• Feasibility studies and business plans.
• Leadership and entrepreneur training.
• Rural business incubators.
• Long-term business strategic planning.

Our Mission

Our mission is to continue and further the philanthropic legacy of Gardner Cowles, Jr. and the Cowles family, which includes promotion of education, social justice, health, and the arts.

The Founder

The Cowles Charitable Trust was first established in 1948 by Gardner “Mike” Cowles, Jr. (1903-1985). Born into the Cowles publishing family of Des Moines, Iowa, Mike was the youngest of Gardner Cowles and Florence Call Cowles’ six children. A newspaper editor and publisher by trade, he was committed to his family’s traditions of responsible, public-spirited, and innovative journalism as well as philanthropy. 

The Cowles Charitable Trust supports the arts, education, the advancement of ethical journalism, medical and climate research.

About the Foundation

Jesse W. Couch lived a life of zeal, honor, and dedication to the betterment of his community. The Couch family now humbly stewards the foundation he created to carry on his legacy of service for future generations. We believe that impact is best accomplished through partnerships with local organizations that know the people and communities they serve. We invest in and support efforts to protect the environment, further conservation and preservation initiatives, and save historical architecture that preserves community heritage. We also support initiatives that promote wellness and mental health and organizations seeking to provide and further education for all communities.

Annual Grant Focus

Each year, we seek to partner with and support non-profit organizations making an impact in the focus areas listed here.  The focus areas for 2025 are:

• Animal Wellbeing: We are dedicated to helping nonprofit organizations that nurture compassion and respect for all living animals. We must have animal-focused organizations that advocate for animal rights and provide humane treatment across all spectrums.
• Early Childhood Education: We are looking for schools that are providing young children with a creative and balanced approach to education. Things we love in early childhood curriculums:
  • Life Skills
  • Collaboration With Their Peers and Teachers   
  • Having Fun   
  • Montessori Teachings   
  • Project Based Teachings   
  • Diversity   
  • More Time Outside   
  • Less Screen Time
• Teachers: Teachers are essential to providing children with the best possible education. We must invest in their future and are always looking for teams that help them succeed in educating future generations.
• Get Outside: Being outside can improve memory, fight depression, lower blood pressure, and more! We support organizations that facilitate and encourage more outdoor activities that help create healthier communities. 

True Inspiration Awards

The True Inspiration Awards® program was created in 2015 to honor the legacy of Chick-fil-A® founder S. Truett Cathy. Through these annual grants, it is our pleasure to celebrate and support nonprofit organizations making an impact in their local communities.

S. Truett Cathy Honoree

One organization will be selected as the S. Truett Cathy Honoree. The S. Truett Cathy Honoree embodies the generous, innovative spirit of Chick-fil-A’s late founder — pioneering new ways to solve problems and serve others.

Category winners

In 2025 we will continue to support nonprofits with a total commitment of $6 million in grants ranging from $30,000-$350,000.

Sixteen organizations will be awarded for their work in these areas.

Caring for People (four winners): Programs or projects supporting educational initiatives, including fostering character and leadership development, academic excellence and community involvement in underserved youth.

Caring through Food (four winners): Programs or projects focused on addressing hunger and food insecurity facing children and their families.

Community (four winners): Programs or projects focused on providing housing and other direct services to support young people and their families.

Caring for our Planet (four winners): Programs or projects that show care for our environment and our planet, or that demonstrate environmental stewardship through initiatives directly related to our other True Inspiration Awards categories of food, community and people (i.e., community beautification, education opportunities, community gardens, outdoor classrooms, etc.) 

Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation Grant

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

Centene Charitable Foundation

Successful corporate citizenship happens when companies invest in the local organizations that know their communities best. The Centene Foundation works with our local partners on initiatives that focus on inclusion, the whole person and community development.

Vision

Centene’s purpose is transforming the health of the community, one person at a time. The Centene Foundation is an essential part of how we pursue this purpose. We achieve measurable impact for the communities we serve through partnerships and philanthropy efforts that invest in initiatives with holistic approaches to dismantling barriers to health.

Areas of Focus

Reflecting Centene’s commitment to the needs of those who rely on government-sponsored health care and to addressing social determinants of health and health equity, preference will be given to initiatives in three distinct areas of focus.

• Healthcare Access
• Social Services
• Education

Community Partnership Award

The Mutual of America Foundation Community Partnership Award recognizes outstanding nonprofit organizations in the United States that have shown exemplary leadership by facilitating partnerships with public, private or social sector leaders who are working together as equal partners, not as donors and recipients, to build a cohesive community that serves as a model for collaborating with others for the greater good.

Each year, the Mutual of America Foundation sponsors a national competition in which hundreds of organizations demonstrate the value of their partnership to the communities they serve, their ability to be replicated by others and their capacity to stimulate new approaches to addressing significant social issues.

Six organizations are selected by an independent committee to receive the Community Partnership Award.

• The Thomas J. Moran Award is given to the national award-winning program and includes $100,000 and a documentary video about the program.
• The Frances R. Hesselbein Award is given to a partnership that is addressing social challenges in more than one community, or which demonstrates the potential to be replicated in other communities. This recipient receives $75,000.
• Four other organizations are named Honorable Mention recipients for their programs, and each receives $50,000.

Since its inception in 1996, the Community Partnership Award has recognized 262 partnerships from cities and towns across America. Like so many of our clients working in the nonprofit community, Mutual of America is dedicated to having a direct, positive impact on society.

Gupta Family Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, USA. Our mission is to support organizations that provide focused intervention in the lives of people who have been disadvantaged in some way to help them become self-reliant. We take a very broad view of “disadvantage” to include anything that holds a person back from realizing their potential, such as poverty, physical or mental disability, social alienation, etc. The foundation also supports relief agencies that serve people affected by emergencies such as natural disasters.

The foundation evaluates and awards annual and multi-year grants ranging from $5,000 to over $250,000 (USD). Our focus is on funding smaller organizations all around the world that are led by individuals with a deep personal commitment to their missions. 

Our selection criteria include:

• Mission alignment
• The organization is run by the founder or, if not, by a successor who embodies the original inspiration, passion and commitment of the founder.
• At least 90% of grant monies reaches the intended beneficiaries.
• The organization is non-sectarian, i.e.,
  • It does not, directly or indirectly, support or condone the proselytization of any religion,
  • It is not supported by or affiliated to a religious organization.

Our Mission

The Hansen Family Foundation provides opportunities to domestic, international, secular, and non-secular organizations that support the American way of life, which is defined by the principles of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” 

Causes

Children

The Hansen Family Foundation supports causes dedicated to helping children both home as well as abroad. Learn More

Education

The Hansen Family Foundation believes that a decent education should be made available to everyone, young or old, the world over. Learn More

Animals

The Hansen Family Foundation believes in helping those who cannot speak on their own behalf. Learn More

Environmental

The Hansen Family Foundation is dedicated to preserving the world we all share. Learn More

Humanitarian

The Hansen Family Foundation views the plight of our fellow man as an opportunity to actively engage and effect change. Learn More

Arts & Culture

The Hansen Family Foundation supports all forms of artistic and cultural endeavors. Learn More

The Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation Vision

The Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation, "A Foundation for All", was established in 2002. It was begun in order to give a clear voice for those who wish to be a part of the many, worthy, forces for change in our world.

We are a foundation whose purpose is to look ahead towards the future, giving the past its due by remembering where we came from, and how much we can all accomplish together. We aim to make the critical difference on our planet by recognizing and having respect for our ever changing world. We respect all Life, the Environment, and all People, no matter who they are.

Helping Build Better Futures

Our mission is to deliver great value to our customers every day. For over four decades, our deep commitment to the principles of providing value and caring for others has helped define our culture. It extends beyond the walls of our stores, distribution centers, and offices, and into our local communities around the world. The intersection of these principles defines our global community mission:

Deliver great value to our communities by helping vulnerable families and children access the resources and opportunities they need to build a better future.

Our Social Impact Areas

We bring our community relations mission to life around the world by focusing our giving on four social impact areas where we believe we can have the most impact and are critical to helping families and children succeed and thrive.

Basic Needs

We are passionate about supporting nonprofit organizations that help fill critical basic needs such as a warm meal, clean clothing, and a safe place to sleep for vulnerable families.

Education & Training

Our efforts have focused on quality enrichment and extracurricular programs that provide skills, resources, and opportunities to support school and career success for children, teens, and young adults.

Patient Care & Research

We support organizations that deliver services to families and children facing health challenges and life-threatening illnesses.

Empowering Women

We support programs that provide services ranging from help for those fleeing domestic violence, to others that offer education, training, and job placement resources.