Best Operating Grants for Nonprofits in Virginia

The BMC Expedition Grant supports British climbers for international expeditions, prioritizing those who have been BMC members for at least two years. Grants are aimed at younger climbers and under-represented groups, promoting sustainable practices in expedition planning. Eligible teams must demonstrate a commitment to climbing and innovative objectives, while ineligible projects include commercial expeditions and those failing to adhere to grant conditions. This funding aims to foster significant personal development and environmentally conscious climbing.

About She+ Foundation The SHE+ Foundation, formerly known as The Patty Brisben Foundation for Women’s Sexual Health, was founded by Patty Brisben in 2005 after she recognized the profound need for a movement to address the too often ignored aspects of women’s sexual health. The SHE+ Foundation is committed to changing the narrative. We are here to advocate, educate, and fund research that advances the understanding and treatment for women’s sexual health, and improves quality of life for all women.Mission: Our mission is to advance women's sexual health and well-being through groundbreaking research, comprehensive education, and unwavering support. We strive to eradicate stigma, empower women with knowledge, and ensure equitable access to quality healthcare for all, regardless of socioeconomic status, race, or geography.About She+ Foundation GrantWe fund a wide range of projects that align with our mission to advance women's sexual health. This includes:

• Research Studies: Clinical and academic research aimed at understanding and improving women's sexual health.
• Educational Programs: Initiatives that provide education and awareness on topics related to women's sexual health.
• Community Outreach: Programs that engage and support local communities, offering resources and support for women's sexual health.
• Innovative Treatments: Development and implementation of new treatments and therapies for women's sexual health issues.

The Implementation Awards by PCORI aim to fund projects that translate patient-centered research into real-world practices. With budgets up to $2.5 million for implementation projects lasting up to 48 months, applicants must present a clear plan for broad evidence uptake. Additionally, those proposing implementation projects need an accepted Draft Final Research Report related to their original PCORI-funded research to qualify for funding.

The USPOULTRY Research Grants program, sponsored by the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association, aims to enhance the poultry industry through comprehensive research funding. Established in 1963, it supports diverse projects related to poultry and egg production. With over $30 million invested, the program emphasizes improving product quality and safety. Proposals are evaluated by a panel of experts, with a funding rate of 15-20%. Eligible projects typically have budgets under $80,000 and timelines of 1-2 years.

The James Madison Graduate Fellowship supports U.S. citizens pursuing master's degrees focused on the Constitution, enhancing their constitutional knowledge for teaching. Fellows are required to teach American history, government, or civics at the secondary level for one year per funding year. Financially, the fellowship awards up to $24,000, covering tuition and fees, and must be repaid if fellowship conditions are unmet. This program ensures future educators embody constitutional principles in their teaching.

The AO North America VET Preceptorships Program offers surgical residents from the American College of Veterinary Surgeons the chance to enhance their skills in Veterinary Trauma and Orthopedics through a structured training experience. Participants can receive up to four weeks of advanced training in AO techniques at designated surgical centers, with funding available for housing and travel expenses, totaling up to $2,750. This initiative aims to foster professional development and improve patient care outcomes.

The America’s Horse Cares Grant Program, provided by the American Quarter Horse Association, aims to enhance the welfare and training of American Quarter Horses in therapeutic settings. By funding educational workshops from March to September 2026, the program seeks to elevate horsemanship standards and ensure proper horse care. Organizations eligible for funding must be 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, focusing on equine-assisted activities for individuals with various challenges, thereby fostering transformative experiences through education and responsible practices.

The BRAIN Initiative seeks to develop innovative tools and approaches for neuroscience research, focusing on cell-specific and circuit-specific processes within the central nervous system. This initiative encourages projects that enhance our understanding of brain architecture and function through novel technologies for characterizing neural components and advancing methods for recording and modulating neural activity. Applications are invited to address significant challenges and promote transformative breakthroughs in neuroscience.

The NIDCD Cooperative Agreement for Clinical Trials in Communication Disorders (U01) invites applications to support clinical trials that require FDA oversight, aim to establish efficacy, or pose significant risks. This initiative, managed by the NIH, seeks to enhance interventions for communication disorders and encourages collaboration between NIDCD Project Scientists and investigators. Proposals are due by 5 PM local time, with Letters of Intent recommended 30 days prior to the deadline.

The Johns Hopkins Merkin Peripheral Neuropathy and Nerve Regeneration Center offers Seed Grants for innovative research on peripheral neuropathy and nerve regeneration. These grants support high-risk, high-reward pilot projects addressing axon degeneration and Schwann cell dysfunction. Researchers may apply for funding of up to $75,000 per year for one or two years. The initiative aims to foster novel ideas and successful transitions to external funding, enhancing scientific understanding and therapeutic development.

The AGA Research Scholar Award offers $100,000 per year for three years to early-career faculty in digestive disease research. Applicants must hold an MD or PhD and be in a full-time faculty position in North America. The award fosters scientific independence by requiring a minimum of 50% research effort. AGA membership is mandatory, and applicants are encouraged to self-assign their proposals to specific research categories. This award aims to support promising junior researchers in their pursuit of independent research careers.

The AANA Research Grants support clinical and basic science research in arthroscopic surgery, with a funding pool for 2024 reaching $350,000. One project may receive $50,000, while six others can be awarded $25,000 each. Applications are evaluated based on scientific validity, feasibility, clinical relevance, and completion ability. Special consideration is given to innovative surgical techniques and patient-reported outcomes. Travel expenses for study participants may also be considered during grant reviews.

Battle Creek Community Foundation

Our Mission: The Battle Creek Community Foundation connects people, ideas, and resources to expand opportunity and create lasting community benefit for today and tomorrow.

Scholarships

Every Battle Creek area resident shall have the resources to access post-secondary education and training. Whether you’re a graduating high school senior, an adult returning to school, or a graduate student pursuing advanced education, we’re here to support you by opening doors to opportunity.

Chadalavada Family Scholarship Fund

The Chadalavada Family Scholarship, established in memory of Vinod Anand Chadalavada (Lakeview HS 2001, U of M 2005 Grad), supports high school seniors and adults from the Lakeview School District who are passionate about healthcare or business. Preference will be given to those pursuing their studies at the university of Michigan. This scholarship seeks individuals who demonstrate exceptional values, strong character, and a commitment to serving others through generous contributions of their time and resources. By investing in these dedicated individuals, the Chadalavada Family aims to continue Vinod's legacy of excellence and community service.

Every Battle Creek area resident shall have the resources to access post-secondary education and training.

Your dreams matter — and we want to help you achieve them. Whether you’re a graduating high school senior, an adult returning to school, or a graduate student pursuing advanced education, we’re here to support you by opening doors to opportunity.

Beyond tuition, many funds support total cost of attendance — books, fees, equipment, and in some cases childcare or transportation.

Checks are made payable to the educational institution indicated on the follow-up and mailed directly to the educational institution. Checks are typically mailed in early August.

Kaleigh Woodman Memorial Scholarship Fund

The Kaleigh Woodman Memorial Fund was established in memory of Kaleigh Woodman who died as a result of injuries sustained in an automobile accident in December 2015. Kaleigh lit up a room with her beautiful smile and contagious laugh. She was a Tomboy Princess, a tough – never get hurt, I can do it outlook and a tender helpful, always willing to help no matter what the project attitude. Her Pennfield Schools and extended cheer families were a very important part of her life.  This Kaleigh Woodman Memorial Fund was established for the purpose of providing scholarships to greater Battle Creek area High School graduating seniors or graduates pursuing a post-secondary degree, certificate or technical training.

The Mark Foundation Emerging Leader Award supports innovative cancer research led by early career investigators. Aimed at high-impact, high-risk projects, this grant is available to those employed by U.S. or Canadian non-profit academic institutions. Eligible applicants must be within three to eight years of starting their independent faculty research appointment. This award emphasizes multi-year independent funding and is not intended as the main funding source for the laboratory, ensuring that diverse research efforts are encouraged.

The Youth Programming Grant, offered by the Native American Agriculture Fund (NAAF), aims to support Native American farmers and ranchers through various projects. This grant focuses on providing essential business assistance, agricultural education, and advocacy services. By funding diverse initiatives, the NAAF seeks to promote the ongoing involvement of Native communities in agriculture, ensuring their sustainable growth and development within the sector.

The Crop Science Graduate Student Scholarship, supported by the Gerald O. Mott family, offers financial assistance to outstanding graduate students pursuing M.S. or Ph.D. degrees in crop science. Candidates must demonstrate leadership potential and be enrolled in U.S. institutions, while also being members of CSSA or ASA. Self-nominations are allowed, but former recipients and members of the CSSA Awards Committee are ineligible. This scholarship aims to promote excellence in agronomic education.

The Roy J. Shlemon Scholarship Award, offered by the Geological Society of America, supports graduate students pursuing research in environmental and engineering geology. Award amounts vary annually, with at least one scholarship for Master's and one for Doctoral research. The program encourages applications from women, minorities, and persons with disabilities, and requires evaluations from two faculty members. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed, emphasizing the competitive nature of the funding.

Battle Creek Community Foundation

Our Mission: The Battle Creek Community Foundation connects people, ideas, and resources to expand opportunity and create lasting community benefit for today and tomorrow.

Scholarships

Every Battle Creek area resident shall have the resources to access post-secondary education and training. Whether you’re a graduating high school senior, an adult returning to school, or a graduate student pursuing advanced education, we’re here to support you by opening doors to opportunity.

BCPS Life Enhancement Scholarship Fund

The purpose of this fund is to provide support to students who are seeking to enhance their lives - either after high school or later in adulthood whether or not they have a traditional high school diploma or a G.E.D. from Battle Creek Public Schools. The donor stated, "You may be a parent or grandparent who has chosen to place your children in BCPS, a graduating senior, a graduate or even someone who dropped out of BCPS, whatever the scenario, you choose to stick with BCPS and stay associated with the district in some way instead of transferring to another district, that speaks volumes to me. This is the primary reason I established the BCPS Life Enhancement Education Fund, I want to support those who support the district and this fund helps me do that."

Gray for Glioblastoma Society

A 501 (c) 3 created to raise awareness for and funds to support Glioblastoma Multiforme research by accepting donations and donating to cancer care and research facilities. Our organization has gifted over $275,000 to support GBM research projects at renowned cancer centers including The Ty Miller Lab at Case Western Reserve University, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Children’s Hospital LA/Saban Research Institute and The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke. We accomplish this while simultaneously creating a hopeful and positive space and providing resources and a space of community through our social media and events.

Gray for Glioblastoma Grant

Gray for Glioblastoma Society (GFG) is dedicated to funding projects that advance glioblastoma (GBM) research and move the needle forward in care and quality of life. We invite proposals that align with our mission and demonstrate meaningful impact in the GBM space.

Every Battle Creek area resident shall have the resources to access post-secondary education and training.

Your dreams matter — and we want to help you achieve them. Whether you’re a graduating high school senior, an adult returning to school, or a graduate student pursuing advanced education, we’re here to support you by opening doors to opportunity.

Beyond tuition, many funds support total cost of attendance — books, fees, equipment, and in some cases childcare or transportation.

Checks are made payable to the educational institution indicated on the follow-up and mailed directly to the educational institution. Checks are typically mailed in early August.

Frayssignes-Randall Scholarship Fund

The Frayssignes-Randall Scholarship Fund was established by Phillip Pierre Antoine Randall for the purpose of providing scholarships to graduating seniors and adult graduates of Calhoun County high schools. The Scholarship will remember two families who lived and worked in the Battle Creek area from 1900 to the present. Pierre Frayssignes and his wife, Sidonie immigrated from a small village in southern France prior to WW1. Pierre worked initially in Pennsylvania coal mines and ended up in the Battle Creek area. He knew both C W Post and W K Kellogg personally, working for both at different times. At one time he was the oldest and longest-serving Kellogg factory employee. His youngest daughter was Dr. Randall’s mother, Blanche Sidonie Frayssignes. The Randall family were prairie farmers from English/Irish stock who settled in the Climax area in the late 1800s. Floyd and Kitty Randall lost their first farm to the WW2 expansion of Fort Custer and the Battle Creek airfield, moving north to the Assyria area. Their oldest son was Dr. Randall’s father Charles DuWayne Randall. These names and those of their offspring will be found scattered throughout the historical records of Calhoun County and later, throughout the world. These families placed great value on education, hard work and personal responsibility as a means to self-sufficiency. Scholarship assistance to further individual development is consistent with these values.

The Republic Services Community Grant Program supports local nonprofit organizations focused on neighborhood revitalization, safety, disaster relief, and social services. Eligible 501(c)(3) organizations can apply once annually through an online application process. The program emphasizes a non-discrimination policy, ensuring services are provided without bias. However, funding is not available for individuals, government entities, schools, or religious organizations. This initiative reflects Republic Services' commitment to community engagement and support.

Battle Creek Community Foundation

Our Mission: The Battle Creek Community Foundation connects people, ideas, and resources to expand opportunity and create lasting community benefit for today and tomorrow.

Scholarships

Every Battle Creek area resident shall have the resources to access post-secondary education and training. Whether you’re a graduating high school senior, an adult returning to school, or a graduate student pursuing advanced education, we’re here to support you by opening doors to opportunity.

ASMO Manufacturing, Inc. Scholarship Fund

The ASMO Manufacturing, Inc. Scholarship was established to provide scholarships to graduates or graduating seniors from the Battle Creek area seeking educational opportunities beyond high school. The eligible recipients are dependent children or regular employees of ASMO Manufacturing, Inc. "Employees" may be the parent, legal guardian, stepmother, or stepfather of the dependent child. Retirees and former spouses are excluded from these criteria. The recipient must be a high school graduate or a G.E.D. recipient who has been accepted to a college or university in the fall, or students who are already pursuing a full-time course of study at an accredited two (2) or four (4) year college, university, or vocational-technical school. There is a minimum GPA of 2.5. Selection criteria will be based on academic achievement, career plans, and involvement in school and community activities.

Lois Roth Foundation

The Lois Roth Foundation honors the life and work of Lois Wersba Roth. Since 1987, it has sought to promote and encourage dialogue across national, linguistic and cultural boundaries, with an emphasis on the humanities, arts and social sciences. Foundation programs are conducted in collaboration with a range of partners and focused on three domains: Fulbright & Academic Collaborations, Cultural Diplomacy, and Literature & Translation.

Cultural Diplomacy

In recollection of Lois Roth’s efforts to promote cross‐cultural understanding and cooperation as a US Foreign Service Officer, the Roth Foundation partners with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) (US State Department), to provide the department’s four awards honoring excellence in the field of cultural and educational diplomacy.

The types of qualities displayed by recipients of Roth Foundation cultural diplomacy awards include:

• Cross‐cultural sensitivity and understanding for all—regardless of age, race, religion, color, sex, national origin or disability—and the courage and intellectual integrity to bring alternate facts and opinions into open conversation
• Ingenuity and imagination in creating projects, programs and products to deepen the contact between foreign intellectuals, artists and professionals and their US counterparts
• Familiarity with global affairs and foreign languages, to deepen substantive discussion between US and foreign intellectuals, scholars and professionals
• Patience, wisdom and generosity in helping new colleagues, both international and US, develop their careers
• Special skill in promoting collaborations between US and foreign institutions and high‐quality exchange opportunities with the civil sector.

Gill Jacot-Guillarmod Award

Established in 2013, Gill Jacot-Guillarmod Awards recognize Locally Employed Staff members at US embassies and consulates who have made outstanding contributions in educational and cultural diplomacy to missions shared by the U.S. and the host country. These awards are named in honor of Gillian (Gill) Jacot-Guillarmod who served for 35 years at the US Mission in South Africa and Embassy in Pretoria, spanning the apartheid period to the emergence of democracy.

Such staff members share their deep institutional memory, personal relationships in the community and knowledge of local culture, society and politics. They also maintain continuity at US embassies and missions worldwide, as US Foreign Service Officers rotate every few years, and play an important role as mentors to new colleagues and supervisors alike. 

Nomination Process

Every spring, the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs will internally circulate details regarding nominations for the four Lois Roth Foundation Awards. State Department supervisors are invited to submit nominations in all four categories.

The Arthur and Hazel Auer Scholarship Fund, established by Hazel Auer's will, provides financial support to two East Noble seniors each year as they prepare for 4-year bachelor's programs at accredited colleges. Each recipient receives about $500 per semester for the first two years, totaling $2,000. This fund is managed by the Community Foundation of Noble County, which aims to enhance the quality of life in the region through philanthropic efforts.

Lois Roth Foundation

The Lois Roth Foundation honors the life and work of Lois Wersba Roth. Since 1987, it has sought to promote and encourage dialogue across national, linguistic and cultural boundaries, with an emphasis on the humanities, arts and social sciences. Foundation programs are conducted in collaboration with a range of partners and focused on three domains: Fulbright & Academic Collaborations, Cultural Diplomacy, and Literature & Translation.

Cultural Diplomacy

In recollection of Lois Roth’s efforts to promote cross‐cultural understanding and cooperation as a US Foreign Service Officer, the Roth Foundation partners with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) (US State Department), to provide the department’s four awards honoring excellence in the field of cultural and educational diplomacy.

The types of qualities displayed by recipients of Roth Foundation cultural diplomacy awards include:

• Cross‐cultural sensitivity and understanding for all—regardless of age, race, religion, color, sex, national origin or disability—and the courage and intellectual integrity to bring alternate facts and opinions into open conversation
• Ingenuity and imagination in creating projects, programs and products to deepen the contact between foreign intellectuals, artists and professionals and their US counterparts
• Familiarity with global affairs and foreign languages, to deepen substantive discussion between US and foreign intellectuals, scholars and professionals
• Patience, wisdom and generosity in helping new colleagues, both international and US, develop their careers
• Special skill in promoting collaborations between US and foreign institutions and high‐quality exchange opportunities with the civil sector.

Jodie Lewinsohn Career Achievement Award

The Jodie Lewinsohn Career Achievement Award honors the most accomplished and longest-serving Locally Employed Staff members, particularly those who are nearing retirement. It is named for a distinguished U.S. Information Agency Foreign Service Officer who was a close friend and mentor to Lois Roth and who also served as the head of the Public Affairs Section at the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa, when Gill Jacot-Guillarmod was working there. In 2022, Jodie left a legacy in her will to endow this award in perpetuity. This award recognizes those who are nearing the end of their careers for long-standing dedication to their work and their success in what Gill described as “helping the United States while helping your own country.” 

Nomination Process

Every spring, the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs will internally circulate details regarding nominations for the four Lois Roth Foundation Awards. State Department supervisors are invited to submit nominations in all four categories.

The Local Filmmaker Fund by the People's Media Fund supports filmmakers in Greater Philadelphia, enhancing their skills and film projects through a 12-month cohort program. This initiative prioritizes under-resourced filmmakers committed to social justice, offering funding up to $400,000. Eligible applicants must be at least 18 years old, live in designated areas, and either direct their film or secure fiscal sponsorship. The program fosters community storytelling and aims to amplify diverse voices in media.