Best Virginia Grants for Nonprofits

American Psychiatric Association Foundation

There is no health without mental health. The APA Foundation is working in your community to provide the support and resources we all need to prioritize mental wellbeing where you live, learn, work, worship, and play.

Backed by the medical expertise of the APA and industry-leading strategic partners, we administer community-changing programs, public education campaigns, grants, and awards aimed at increasing mental health literacy, connecting individuals to needed care, and shifting attitudes toward mental health.

Our Mission is to promote the mental health and well-being of individuals and communities. Our Vision is a mentally healthy nation for all – where we live, learn, work, worship, and play.

Diversity Leadership Fellowship

The Diversity Leadership Fellowship identifies and motivates minority psychiatry residents or those interested in minority and vulnerable populations to become well equipped to teach, administer, and provide culturally competent, evidence based mental health and substance abuse services to diverse minority groups and at-risk populations. These populations include—but are not limited to—American Indians/Native Alaskans, Asian Americans/Native Hawaiians/Native Pacific Islanders, Blacks/African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, LGBTQ, and religious minorities. Program Benefits:

• Sponsorship to attend a minimum of four APA meetings:
  • Two APA Annual Meetings
  • Two Fellowship Forums
• Develop leadership skills in the field of psychiatry and advance understanding of the life experiences of racial ethnic minority communities
• Gain an understanding of APA/APAF Governance through observation and service on an APA Council, Committee, or APAF initiative
• Have the opportunity to sit on the APAF Board of Directors as a non-voting member (one Diversity Leadership fellow allowed)
• Cultivate a professional network with psychiatrists interested in minority mental health and services through exclusive events and engagements with APA leaders. Establish relationships and peer-mentorship with a diverse group of resident fellows with similar career interests and goals

Alkermes

At Alkermes, we apply our deep neuroscience expertise to develop medicines designed to help people living with complex and difficult-to-treat psychiatric and neurological disorders, including addiction, serious mental illness and sleep disorders. With our portfolio of marketed medicines and investigational pipeline candidates, we seek to make a meaningful difference in the way people manage these chronic diseases. Our patient-inspired science, integrated research strategy, sophisticated development capabilities and specialized commercial infrastructure enable us to pursue the development and commercialization of innovative new medicines, including those for people with conditions that have traditionally been overlooked or stigmatized.

Our greatest strengths at Alkermes are our people and our inherent empathy for patients, families and caregivers. Neurological and psychiatric disorders strike people at the core of who they are and impact many facets of their lives. We work with urgency to develop new treatment options for people living with these conditions.

Investigator Sponsored Studies Program

Alkermes seeks to support research designed and conducted by independent clinicians and scientists through our Investigator Sponsored Studies (ISS) program. Alkermes may occasionally announce a Request for Proposals (RFP) for research in clinical areas where gaps in data have been identified. 

The ISS research Alkermes supports must be based in the United States and is typically conducted by experienced researchers who have an established history of successfully completing research with independent funding. Alkermes can provide its marketed products to the ISS programs it supports. In addition, there may be financial support available, but please note that study budgets cannot exceed $300,000 (inclusive of overhead).

• ISS Areas of Interest
  • Sleep Disorders
  • Schizophrenia & Bipolar I Disorder
  • Schizophrenia

Alkermes

At Alkermes, we apply our deep neuroscience expertise to develop medicines designed to help people living with complex and difficult-to-treat psychiatric and neurological disorders, including addiction, serious mental illness and sleep disorders. With our portfolio of marketed medicines and investigational pipeline candidates, we seek to make a meaningful difference in the way people manage these chronic diseases. Our patient-inspired science, integrated research strategy, sophisticated development capabilities and specialized commercial infrastructure enable us to pursue the development and commercialization of innovative new medicines, including those for people with conditions that have traditionally been overlooked or stigmatized.

Our greatest strengths at Alkermes are our people and our inherent empathy for patients, families and caregivers. Neurological and psychiatric disorders strike people at the core of who they are and impact many facets of their lives. We work with urgency to develop new treatment options for people living with these conditions.

Pathways APN Research Awards

The Alkermes Pathways Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) Research Awards™ program is designed to empower the advanced practice nursing community by offering funding opportunities that recognize their vital role in evidence-based care and the advancement of mental health research.

The Alkermes Pathways APN Research Awards provide opportunities for individual grants of up to $10,000 per project for licensed psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioners who are actively engaged in clinical, academic, and/or community health settings and are committed to advancing research in schizophrenia or bipolar I disorder.

Northern Virginia Health Foundation

Since the Northern Virginia Health Foundation’s inception in 2005, we have held to a clear mission: to improve the health and health care of residents of Northern Virginia, with a particular emphasis on the health needs of the uninsured. 

We focus our investments and partnerships on strengthening the region’s health safety net and addressing the conditions that shape residents’ health outcomes in order to build a healthier, stronger Northern Virginia. Over the past two decades, the Foundation has awarded more than $24 million in grants to organizations that:

• Increase access to primary care, mental health, oral/dental health, and/or specialty care for low-income uninsured or underinsured residents of Northern Virginia
• Respond to emerging community needs
• Address the social determinants of health

Northern Virginia Health Foundation Grant

The mission of Northern Virginia Health Foundation is to improve the health of residents of Northern Virginia. Many of the health issues confronting Northern Virginians are preventable and are not solely related to direct medical care. Those circumstances, the so-called social drivers of health, include such things as poverty, education level, race, and where people live, work and play. In turn, these social drivers are shaped by multiple factors including policies and systems of all kinds.

Collaboration across sectors is a key ingredient in working “upstream” to improve health outcomes. Meaningful partnerships among government agencies, nonprofit organizations and healthcare providers can lead to systems change. Moreover, collaboration across sectors can have a greater impact than the efforts of a single organization or a single sector.

As part of its 2026 grantmaking, the Board of Directors of the Northern Virginia Health Foundation is issuing this call for proposals for efforts that strengthen systems, change policies, or empower community change. 

Lumina Foundation

Lumina Foundation is an independent, private foundation in Indianapolis that is committed to making opportunities for learning beyond high school available to all. We envision a system that is easy to navigate, delivers fair results, and meets the nation’s need for talent through a broad range of credentials.

Our mission is to prepare people for informed citizenship and success in a global economy. Lumina Foundation works with governmental, nonprofit, and private-sector organizations to bring about change. We rely on communications outreach, meetings and events that engage and mobilize people, state and federal policy outreach, investments in proven and promising practices, and targeted efforts to measure and evaluate progress.

Lumina Foundation Sponsorships

Lumina Foundation believes that education provides the basis for individual opportunity, economic vitality, and social stability. With its partners, Lumina works toward a goal of 75 percent of Americans with a college degree, workforce certificate, or another high-quality credential beyond high school by 2040. Lumina’s outcomes-based approach focuses on helping to design and build an equitable, accessible, responsive, and accountable post-high school education system for all.

To request a civic sponsorship, please submit your request using the sponsorship form. Please use Google Chrome to complete this form.

Interface Health Foundation

Interface Health Foundation is a non-profit, 501c3 tax-exempt organization driven by a collective vision of positive change. In healthcare industry policy, understanding the intricate dynamics of funding and its impact on public access, quality, and cost remains paramount. IHF is dedicated to advancing analysis and research into the crossroads of healthcare industry policy, structural frameworks and affordability.

At IHF, our mission is clear: to empower and support student-led research endeavors that shed light on critical healthcare policy and structural issues affecting the public. Through our initiatives, we seek to foster a deeper understanding of the complex dynamics shaping the healthcare landscape.

Interface Health Foundation: Research Grant

Healthcare administrative grant award opportunities are highly competitive and allow candidates to stand out as they enter the job market. Through this IHF grant award, you will get the opportunity to pull together research and content on topics that aren't fully studied or publicized. Depending on the grant topic, some grantees will also have access to a preceptor who is an executive leader in the healthcare field. The preceptor will serve as a valuable resource to the grantee during the development of the research paper and beyond.

An example of a research topic is the impact of legislated acute care nurse staffing levels on the following: nursing professional job satisfaction, the patient experience, and the standard nursing quality indicators as part of nursing Magnet status accreditation.

Mary Kay Ash Foundation

Guided by Mary Kay Ash’s dream to enrich the lives of women everywhere, the Mary Kay Ash Foundation® raises and distributes funds to invest in breakthrough cancer research and clinical trials to find a cure for women-related cancers and ending domestic violence.

Since 1996, the Mary Kay Ash Foundation®, a 501(c)3 organization, has contributed more than $100 million to organizations aligned with its two-fold mission. In addition, the Foundation supports awareness initiatives, community outreach programs, and advocates for legislation to ensure women are healthy and safe. Through our global charitable foundations in Brazil, Canada, China and the United States, we are collectively making a deeper impact on the lives of women around the world.

Mary Kay Ash Foundation: Cancer Research Grant

The Mary Kay Ash Foundation is a non-profit public foundation, which focuses on funding research for innovative grants for translational research of cancers affecting women (ovarian, uterine, breast, endometrial or cervical cancer among others). Translational research is broadly defined as research that will provide a scientific link between laboratory research and the clinic. Ultimately, such research would lead to improvement in diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, or treatment of the cancer. Each year the Foundation extends invitations to NCI designated cancer institutes and accredited medical schools to apply. Only one application is accepted per institution.

Grant proposals are reviewed by a Scientific Research Review Committee comprised of notable members of the American medical and scientific community. Grants are awarded up to $100,000 (combined direct and indirect costs) for a two-year period. The Foundation anticipates funding between 10 and 15 grants annually. 

Dick & Judy Hoyt Inclusion Grant

The Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism is excited to collaborate with the Hoyt Foundation for the Dick and Judy Hoyt Grant for Inclusion. Our joint effort is driven by a shared vision of fostering a society where individuals with autism and other disabilities are embraced and valued within their communities. In tribute to the pioneering spirit of Dick and Judy Hoyt, we will be distributing $50,000 through this community grant to support people with autism and other disabilities. Successful ways grant funds can be used: 

• Side-by-side participation with non-disabled peers in a swim program, the grant provides a private lifeguard to allow individualized support to ensure an inclusive experience.
• Grant provides the purchase of a racing chair to allow an individual with a disability to run in races with non-disabled peers.
• Competitive horseback riding supported by the grant to purchase specialized equipment to allow a rider to compete against non-disabled peers.
• Grant provides the purchase of an adaptive ski prosthetic to allow an individual to participate side by side with non-disabled peers on their high school ski teams.
• Participation in dance training and competitions to allow a student with a disability to compete in a dance competition with non-disabled peers, grant lessons, and staff to assist in dance training.
• Grant provides a mobile stand to allow a student with a disability to participate side by side with non-disabled peers in the college marching band. 

Wind Creek Hospitality Community Support

Our communities are like family. That’s why Wind Creek is dedicated to giving back and helping others thrive in the places we call home (and beyond). We’re always looking for creative ways to lift up our neighborhoods and make life better for us all.

Sponsorships, Donations and Giveaways

Wind Creek Hospitality Community Relations actively builds partnerships with service organizations, non-profits, educational organizations and more. If you’d like to partner with us, please submit an application at least 90 days before your event or donation is needed.

About Us

Children’s Cancer Research Fund is a national nonprofit dedicated to ending childhood cancer. Our main focus is to support the research of bright scientists across the country whose ideas can make the greatest impact for children fighting cancer. We also fund resources and programs that help kids and families as they navigate the difficult experience of cancer treatment and survivorship.

Since 1981, we’ve contributed over $235 million to research, support programs for children and families, and awareness and education outreach. In 2024, over 81 percent of funds raised went directly to these program services areas.

Children’s Cancer Research Fund (CCRF) is a national nonprofit committed to finding safer, more effective therapies for kids battling cancer. Thanks to donors and partners around the country, we have contributed over $235 million to research, education and awareness, and quality-of-life programs for childhood cancer families. We believe kids deserve safer, less toxic treatments, and we’re committed to funding groundbreaking research and services that enhance healing and care.

In 2026, Children’s Cancer Research Fund will focus our research funding efforts on three main areas:

• Hard-to-Treat Cancers
• Survivorship
• Health Disparities

Accelerating Hope: Clinical Trials for Hard-to-Treat Cancers Award

This funding opportunity is limited to support for clinical trials focused on hard-to-treat cancers, prioritizing Phase 0 – Phase 2 studies. Learn more about eligibility criteria and other key details below.

Barbara McDowell Social Justice Center Inc.

The Barbara McDowell Social Justice Center litigates, educates, advocates, and provides grants to nonprofits to eradicate social injustices. 

We pursue litigation through our own efforts as well as funding others in the following fifteen issue areas: Access to Benefits, Children’s Rights, Disability Rights, Discrimination, Domestic Violence, Due Process, Environmental Justice, Healthcare, Homelessness, Housing, Native American Rights, Prisoners’ Rights, Refugee and Immigration Rights, Voting Rights, and Veterans’ Rights.

Barbara McDowell Social Justice Center Grant

We make grants to organizations that undertake systemic social justice litigation across fifteen issue areas. The Center funds litigation matters that are consistent with our namesake Barbara McDowell’s past legal efforts and her beliefs regarding social justice.

Applications must be for a specific social justice legal case, including the filing of an appeal. Grant funds are to be used only for attorney time charges and litigation expenses related to the specific case for which an organization is applying to be funded. 

Disabled Veterans National Foundation

The Disabled Veterans National Foundation (DVNF) was established in 2007 to support veterans facing challenges that traditional systems could not fully address. From its earliest days, DVNF has been focused on closing critical gaps in care and providing resources that help veterans rebuild their lives with dignity and stability.

Guided by this commitment, DVNF developed its Health & Comfort programs, offering emergency financial assistance, housing transition support, food assistance, comfort kits, and wellness initiatives. These programs are designed to meet veterans where they are and to provide practical solutions that restore hope and stability. Today, DVNF continues to grow as a trusted national nonprofit. Every day, our team works with a clear purpose: to change lives for the men and women who have served our country.

Homeless To Housing Program - Household Comfort Support

DVNF is dedicated to assisting disabled and at-risk veterans in their transition from homelessness to permanent housing. Recognizing that securing a home is a significant milestone, DVNF understands that true stability is achieved when a house becomes a home, furnished with essential items that provide comfort and functionality. We help cover essential costs related to securing and creating comfortable housing for at-risk veterans.

The H2H Program offers comprehensive support to veterans by providing: Household Comfort Support of up to $2,000 worth of essential household items to ensure veterans have a stable, safe, and comfortable living environment.

For Financial Assistance: Payments are processed through two payment cycles each month, around the 15th and 30th. For Furniture Assistance: Once the List of Items form is completed, DVNF staff will purchase the requested items, which should arrive within 7-10 business days.

MIND (Maximizing Innovation in Neuroscience Discovery) Prize

The Pershing Square Foundation’s (PSF) brain initiative funds cutting-edge research that revolutionizes our ability to predict, prevent, and treat neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs). Advancing our fundamental understanding of the brain and cognition to ultimately combat neurodegeneration and related diseases is a goal of increasing urgency. Breakthroughs in basic scientific and translational research will yield critical tools for and knowledge of NDDs, including Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia, which affect millions of people worldwide.

The MIND (Maximizing Innovation in Neuroscience Discovery) Prize supports and empowers early-to-mid-career investigators to rethink conventional paradigms around NDDs. Modeled after the Pershing Square Sohn Prize for Young Investigators in Cancer Research, the MIND Prize catalyzes interdisciplinary approaches and facilitate collaborations across academic departments and institutions. It fuels the groundbreaking research that will accelerate our understanding of NDDs at every level.

Projects may range from the invention of novel tools, techniques, and technologies for mapping and analyzing the brain to bold approaches that demonstrate extraordinary therapeutic potential. Research domains may include—but are not limited to—neurobiology, brain imaging and mapping, machine learning, drug delivery, and synthetic biology. Applicants are encouraged to propose bold, hypothesis-driven, high-risk, high-reward research with the potential for transformative impact. Tool and technology development are permitted when they support the testing of a clearly defined biological hypothesis. Screening may be part of the proposed work, but should not be the sole focus. Clinical components are permitted, but proposals should not center on clinical trials or medical device testing in humans.

MIND Prize winners each receive $250,000/year for three years, and they become part of a unique network of researchers associated with PSF. Generally, at least six prizes will be awarded annually. Benefits include:

• Facilitated partnerships with like-minded researchers within and across institutions
• Networking programs such as collaborations and discussions with industry mentors, introductions to philanthropic and for-profit investors in the business community, special industry networking and entrepreneurship events, and more
• An annual retreat
• Opportunities to present at conferences and events (hosted by PSF and other organizations)

Pershing Square Lotus Award for Ovarian Cancer Research

The Pershing Square Foundation (PSF) has worked across sectors to catalyze innovative approaches to the most difficult problems. Talented individuals have always been at the center of our approach. We aim to support leaders who transform systems, embrace new paradigms, and have an innate drive to make an impact.

PSF has funded pioneering cancer researchers through the Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance for over a decade and supported women’s health initiatives in New York City. Through this Request for Proposals (RFP), PSF aims to combine these two priority areas of women’s health and cancer to shine a light on one of the most understudied and underfunded cancers—ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer is the deadliest gynecologic cancer, with 80% of women diagnosed at an advanced stage. Only 27% of women diagnosed during an advanced stage survive for five years. Ovarian cancer remains a disease with a poor prognosis due to limited early detection and treatment options.

PSF supports research efforts by 

• deploying capital quickly, 
• funding high-risk, high-reward ideas, 
• bringing new perspectives into a field, 
• encouraging collaboration, and 
• leveraging our vast network. We challenge our scientific partners to think creatively and across silos, to spur innovation to fight ovarian cancer.

Through the Pershing Square Lotus Award for Ovarian Cancer Research, PSF is looking for investigators who are either already working on a promising project in ovarian cancer or in another type of cancer that could have an impact on ovarian cancer. Grantees each receive $250,000 a year for three years, totaling $750,000.

Researchers who are not studying ovarian cancer are encouraged to apply and required to find a collaborator with experience in ovarian cancer research.

This award aims to 

• inspire investigators with unique expertise to apply their knowledge to ovarian cancer and 
• empower ovarian cancer researchers to pursue their boldest, most innovative ideas. Facing a disease where too few have survived to-date, PSF ultimately aims to create a culture around ovarian cancer that offers women hope, akin to the breast cancer community. PSF is passionate about changing outcomes for tens of thousands of women a year and is hopeful that future scientific discoveries will allow for more survivors who can share their stories for years to come.

Disabled Veterans National Foundation

The Disabled Veterans National Foundation (DVNF) was established in 2007 to support veterans facing challenges that traditional systems could not fully address. From its earliest days, DVNF has been focused on closing critical gaps in care and providing resources that help veterans rebuild their lives with dignity and stability.

Guided by this commitment, DVNF developed its Health & Comfort programs, offering emergency financial assistance, housing transition support, food assistance, comfort kits, and wellness initiatives. These programs are designed to meet veterans where they are and to provide practical solutions that restore hope and stability. Today, DVNF continues to grow as a trusted national nonprofit. Every day, our team works with a clear purpose: to change lives for the men and women who have served our country.

Veterans Food Assistance Program

It is our goal to ensure that no veteran goes hungry by providing essential food assistance and household support, fostering stability and well-being in the lives of our veterans and their families.

The Veterans Food Assistance Program (VFAP) is designed to provide a one-time grant of essential food and household support to veterans and their families, ensuring no veteran goes hungry. With the rising cost of living, especially food prices due to inflation, this program offers a much-needed lifeline to those who have served our country. Once approved, the DVNF program team will handle the shopping for you.

The Veterans Food Assistance Program provides a one-time grant per household to support different family sizes, given the rising cost of food:

• Married Veterans Grant Allowance
  • Married - No Children up to $250
  • Married - 1 Child up to $300
  • Married - 2 Children up to $450
  • Married - 3+ Children up to $500
• Single Veterans Grant Allowance
  • Single - No Children up to $200
  • Single - 1 Child up to $300
  • Single - 2 Children up to $350
  • Single - 3+ Children up to $450