Search Through Grants for BIPOC in Washington in the U.S.

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.

Background

Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation seeks to dramatically improve the lives of underserved communities across the globe by supporting scalable, innovative, and impact-first solutions that leverage existing systems and stakeholders. Our goal is to find social entrepreneurs with dynamic products or services that have a proven ability to positively impact the lives of underserved people, and nurture those organizations at the early stages by providing capacity, capital, and community.

Our application process is designed to be open and accessible, and we accept applications year round from across our priority geographies and sectors. Borrowing from our venture capital legacy, we find exceptional entrepreneurs and provide them with: 

Capacity

• The core of DRK’s model is deep and extensive operational and technical support for each portfolio organization, both through dedicated hands-on Board service and specialist capacity-building resources for fundraising, board and organizational development, leadership, financial support, and scaling strategy,

Capital

• DRK provides up to $300,000 USD in either unrestricted grant funding or investment capital over a three-year period, and

Community

• DRK convenes our portfolio and alumni annually, facilitating connections and community. 

What We Fund

DRK Foundation funds early-stage social impact organizations solving the world’s biggest social and environmental problems using bold, scalable approaches.

What stage of growth does DRK Foundation typically fund?

Early stage: Organizations who are early stage, which we define as post-pilot and pre-scale. This typically means: 

• Your program, product or service is already being used in the market or in the field, 
• You have early indication that your model is having its intended impact on the beneficiary populations,
• Your organization is relatively young (ideally between two and five years old, although we will consider both younger and older organizations).

Venture funding: In the case of for profits, we typically support Seed to Series A organizations, and never lead rounds; we also generally but not exclusively refrain from participating in financings exceeding a $15M USD post-money valuation.  

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. 

Community Grants

State Farm is committed to helping build safer, stronger and better-educated communities.

• ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​We are committed to auto and home safety programs and activities that help people manage the risks of everyday life.
• We invest in education, economic empowerment and community development projects, programs and services that help people realize their dreams.
• We help maintain the vibrancy of our communities by assisting nonprofits that support community revitalization.

Good Neighbor Citizenship company grants focus on safety, community development and education.

Focus Areas

Safety Grants

We strive to keep our customers and communities safe. That's why our funding is directed toward:

• Auto safety — improving driver, passenger, vehicle or roadway safety
• Home safety — shielding homes from fires, crime or natural disasters
• Disaster preparedness and mitigation
• Disaster recovery

Community Development

We support nonprofits that invest and develop stronger neighborhoods. That's why our funding is directed toward:

• Affordable housing — home construction and repair
• Commercial/small business development
• Job training
• Neighborhood revitalization
• Financial literacy
• Sustainable housing and transportation
• Food insecurity

Education

Our education funding is directed toward initiatives that support the following programs:

• Higher education
• K-12 academic performance
• K-12 STEM
• Pathways for college and career success

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

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.

Progress Alliance of Washington Grant

We believe the most direct path to achieve a democracy and economy that works for everyone is an effective progressive movement that is working together towards this end.

Our approach to investing in Washington's vibrant progressive movement is rooted in three core grantmaking principles:

• We prioritize long-term power-building over cyclical wins. If a win shortchanges our long-term success in favor of the short-term, it is not a true win.
• We prioritize organizations who are building power with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities because we believe it is essential to our success to have the leadership of communities traditionally pushed out of the democratic process at the center of our movement.
• We prioritize deeper, more responsive relationships with our grantees, which means taking on fewer overall investments with higher touch support.

What We Fund: Core Investment Areas

• Leadership
  • To drive political change, we need skilled candidates, elected officials, and organizational leaders who are equipped to lead, reflect the diversity of the people they represent, share our values, challenge our assumptions, and champion our issues.
• Communications
  • To inspire the public and persuade elected officials, it takes unified, clear, and emotionally compelling stories dominating the public narrative about our vision for the future, how we get there, who benefits, and who stands in our way.
• Policy
  • To create a healthy and just Washington state where economic prosperity is shared and democracy works for everyone, we need smart, high-impact policy solutions that improve people's material lives today, while changing the systems to address the root causes of the issues our communities are facing.
• Movement Capacity
  • At the foundation of a successful movement are crucial tools and capacities to support the efficiency and effectiveness of our movement's organization, such as research, polling, data infrastructure, capacity building, coordination support, and more.
• Organizing & Elections
  • To ensure that our democracy works for all of us, everyone must have the opportunity to participate in civic life.  Mobilizing community members and voters, electing representative leaders to office, and holding our elected officials accountable to the public interest are all critical parts of a healthy democracy.

Core Grants

Core Grants are for our long-term organizing infrastructure partners who are building explicit political power with a constituency base and contributing to a strong multiracial, cross-class, community-led progressive movement. 

Philanthropy is our commitment to communities in which we operate and broader society. We focus our resources on a limited number of key projects that can deliver valuable benefits from our contributions and those of our partners. We give priority to innovative, high-quality projects that meet the following criteria:

• promote sustainable development
• offer an opportunity for Roche to use its expertise and logistics capabilities
• involve Roche actively at an early stage with local authorities and established partners
• engage Roche employees in cultural (focus on contemporary arts), educational and social activities
• managed by an accredited charity

Our four focus areas

Humanitarian and Social

We direct the majority of our philanthropic donations to humanitarian and social development projects.

Science and education

We are dedicated to programmes that promote scientific interest and provide educational opportunities for young people around the world.

Community and Environment

We are committed to building stronger communities and responding to natural disasters sustainably.

Arts and Culture

We support groundbreaking contemporary art, cultural projects and activities that explore the parallels between innovation in art and in science. 

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.

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. 

WaFd Bank Foundation

The WaFd Bank Foundation's purpose is to facilitate direct giving to community-based nonprofits that primarily serve the needs of people with low- and-moderate incomes.

Community Impact Grants:

• Permanent, affordable, and sustainable housing: Creation of individual and multi-family housing for LMI populations.
• Economic development: Programs that promote economic development for businesses (primarily small business) that target LMI geo areas, size eligibility and gross revenue of $1million or less. Preference is given to businesses owned by women, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, minority and immigrant individuals.
• Community revitalization: Programs that stabilize and recover communities by attracting or retaining jobs, businesses, and homes.
• Job development: Apprenticeships, job training and employment education programs that enable communities to revitalize their workforce and attract businesses that provide living wages.

Georgia-Pacific Foundation

Established in 1958, the Georgia-Pacific Foundation sets aside resources to improve life in the communities where we operate. We’ve worked with thousands of outstanding community-based programs, service projects and disaster relief efforts, focusing our investment in four areas we believe make the most impact:

• education
• entrepreneurship
• enrichment of community
• environment

Investment Priorities

• Aligns with GP’s mission and values
• Aligns with GP’s Four Focus Areas of giving: Education, Environment, Enrichment of Community and Entrepreneurship
• Serves communities where GP has manufacturing facilities
• Creates value by contributing to and positively impacting long term well-being and sustainability of GP communities

The Lawrence Foundation is a private family foundation focused on making grants to support environmental, human services and other causes.

The Lawrence Foundation was established in mid-2000. We make both program and operating grants and do not have any geographical restrictions on our grants. Nonprofit organizations that qualify for public charity status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or other similar organizations are eligible for grants from The Lawrence Foundation.  

Grant Amount and Types

Grants typically range between $5,000 - $10,000. In some limited cases we may make larger grants, but that is typically after we have gotten to know your organization over a period of time. We also generally don’t make multi-year grants, although we may fund the same organization on a year by year basis over a period of years.

General operating or program/project grant requests within our areas of interests are accepted. In general, regardless of whether a grant request is for general operating or program/project expenses, all of our grants will be issued as unrestricted grants.

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

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.

Ameriprise Financial Grantmaking

At Ameriprise Financial, giving back is deeply rooted in our culture. We’ve initiated positive change in the communities where we live and work for more than 120 years. We believe our community involvement enables us to actively live our values. Through grant making, volunteerism and employee and financial advisor gift matching programs, we support a diverse group of over 6,000 nonprofits across the country.

Focus Areas

Awarding grant dollars to nonprofits is one way we strengthen our communities and help individuals on a path to financial independence. To ensure we're meeting the needs of our communities and making an even greater collective impact, we focus on three key giving areas when awarding grants.

Volunteer engagement is a priority across all focus areas:

The engagement of Ameriprise employees and financial advisors is a critical component of our philanthropy. Whether it’s serving on a nonprofit board, engaging friends, clients and community members in volunteering or providing skills-based support, our relationships with nonprofits go deep. For this reason, we give priority across all focus areas to applications where there is active volunteer engagement of Ameriprise advisors and employees. 

Meeting Basic Needs

At Ameriprise Financial, we help clients achieve financial security and peace of mind. That’s satisfying, meaningful work. We also help the people in our neighborhoods who struggle to meet basic needs such as where their next meal comes from, where they’ll sleep tonight or how they’ll find a higher wage job. We’re here to help them through the three platforms of our Meeting Basic Needs focus area.

Consideration is given to applications addressing the following: 

• Hunger
• Food banks, food shelves and food pantries, daily meal programs or meal services for the homebound
• Hunger-relief programs targeted to meet the special needs of children, ethnic populations or veterans
• Food programs run by nonprofits where hunger is not their sole focus, for example a youth meal program at the YWCA or a backpack program run by a Boys & Girls Club
• Shelter
• Emergency shelter, including youth homelessness
• Transitional housing, permanent supportive housing and efforts to end chronic homelessness
• Housing-first models (programs quickly providing housing and then addressing needed services)
• Achieving and maintaining home ownership, repair and maintenance efforts helping keep seniors, veterans and other populations in their homes 
• Adult Self-Sufficiency: Programs serving adults age 21 and older that help address the following areas:
• Basic hard and soft skills that help adults achieve economic and family stability
• Basic financial and budgeting skills
• Increase employability and wages, including work readiness and job transitions
• Employment of disabled adults

Supporting Community Vitality

We believe communities should be strong, healthy and resilient. We want livable places for all, where neighbors look out for one another, cultural events are well-attended and people pull together in times of crisis and joy. We work to create economic vitality and cultural enrichment through the following areas of focus.

Consideration is given to applications addressing the following: 

• Community Development
• Neighborhood revitalization
• Economic development
• Strengthening and supporting small businesses and nonprofits through technical expertise
• Cultural Enrichment
• Arts education
• Access for underserved populations
• Diverse artists and performances that spark topical community conversations 

Volunteer Driven Causes: Ameriprise employees and financial advisors are outstanding volunteers who serve in teams and also as individuals bringing personal skill-sets to nonprofits. Volunteering is part of the culture at Ameriprise and we are proud to support communities through contributions of both service and financial resources. 

Funding for Volunteer-Driven Causes is determined by current Ameriprise volunteerism. In general, funding is in proportion to the size of the Ameriprise volunteer team supporting a nonprofit. A team may include employees, financial advisors and/or staff or a combination of any Ameriprise volunteers. 

Our Mission

The mission of the Black United Fund of Oregon (BUF-OR) is to assist in the social and economic development of Oregon’s underserved communities and to contribute to a broader understanding of ethnic and culturally diverse groups.

As one of the only Black-led foundations in Oregon, as well as one of the few remaining BIPOC-led organizations in historically-Black NE Portland, our presence has power!

Black United Fund Community Impact Grants

The Black United Fund of Oregon annually offers one-time monetary awards to several selected nonprofit organizations. Selections will be prioritized based on an organization’s alignment with BUF-OR’s mission and impact on BIPOC communities.

Funding

BUF-OR will award approximately 10 nonprofits with grants ranging from $2,500 to $5,000.

The Foundation is dedicated to providing financial assistance to organizations committed to improving our world. Solutions to the problems of today's world still lie in the values of innovation, practicality, hard work, and compassion.

The Foundation considers applications for grants in the following areas:

• Education
• Social Service
• Health care
• Civic and cultural
• Environmental

The categories above are not intended to limit the interest of the Foundation from considering other worthwhile projects. In general, the Foundation guidelines are broad to give us flexibility in providing grants.

The majority of our grants are made in the U.S. However, like Dr. Scholl, we recognize the need for a global outlook. Non-U.S. grants are given to organizations where directors have knowledge of the grantee.

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. 

Who We Are

The Legal Foundation of Washington is a nonprofit organization created in 1984 at the direction of the Washington Supreme Court to distribute IOLTA funds to legal aid organizations across the state. LFW has more than 35 years of experience raising, managing, and distributing funds to achieve equal civil justice for low-income people.

We envision a society where poverty and race are not impediments, and seek to ensure access to civil legal aid for all people in Washington and to improve equity in the civil justice system. Our work contributes to breaking cycles of poverty and ensuring equal opportunity.

We serve tens of thousands of low-income people each year by investing in civil legal aid organizations across Washington. We bring expertise about our state civil legal aid system to ensure thoughtful grantmaking. We receive support from public and private partners who are committed to equal justice and system reform. We responsibly steward and strategically distribute these funds throughout the state.

Race Equity Grants

LFW believes that creating fair access to civil justice requires undoing systemic racial oppression.

Our Race Equity Grants provide multiyear funding to advance racial justice in civil legal aid and build power in communities most impacted by structural racism and oppression. We use a participatory grantmaking model designed to center the voices of communities most impacted by grantmaking decisions. An advisory panel of community leaders who have lived experience with the legal aid system, poverty, and racism review grant applications and prioritize the projects that will be most impactful.

The goals of the Race Equity Grant Fund are to:

• invest in communities most impacted by structural racism and oppression;
• support community- and client-centered approaches to civil legal aid;
• increase civil justice for communities of color;
• build and support anti-racist organizations and leadership;
• center those most impacted in the decision making process.

Since the Race Equity Grant program’s inception, two-thirds of awards went to BIPOC-led organizations and half were first-time grantees with LFW. The program also reflects LFW’s statewide reach: 41% percent of grantees work statewide; 33% focus on Central and Eastern WA; 19% percent serve the Puget Sound region, and 7% cover other areas in WA.

Our Core Principles:

• Relevance: We continually seek information regarding significant opportunities in our region and in our focus areas to ensure that we are responding to current needs and opportunities.
• Community Engagement: We seek to foster community engagement in protecting wildlife and habitat and in engaging youth skills to build directly on community needs and strengths.
• Focus on Place: Grounded in the Northwest, we fund in urban, rural and tribal communities in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington where people work to improve the places that they live.
• Expand Opportunity: We give special consideration in our grant making to benefit and expand opportunities for underserved populations in our region.

Wildlife and Habitat Programs: Promoting Biodiversity in a Changing Climate

Conservation efforts that utilize the impacts of climate change when selecting areas for protection.

Engaging a community of citizens, scientists, and conservationists in educating the public about biodiversity and climate change.

Restoring important lands for biodiversity, focal species, and landscape connectivity. Including but not limited to:

• Assessments to identify species and communities at risk, including strategies to work toward ecosystem resilience.
• Identification of barriers to migration and mitigation measures to enhance landscape connectivity.
• Adaptive restoration strategies based on predicted species range expansion and contraction.
• Promoting the biodiversity of the marine and freshwater environments.

Guidelines for Wildlife and Habitat Programs

As development pressures increase, the stewardship of vital ecosystems is critical for protecting wildlife populations and habitat. The effort must be based on solid conservation biology, recognizing the resilience, complexity and interdependence of all life. Conservation of critical habitat and species requires comprehensive strategies and collaboration among partners working in the region, recognizing the limitation of funds available. Stewardship is the shared responsibility of empowered citizens, engaged scientists, collaborating foundations, informed business and property owners, and an accountable government. Healthy and diverse wildlife populations and habitat must be preserved through sound government policies and a range of creative conservation approaches. The principle of sustainability requires that environment, economics and equity are considered together to protect the quality of life at every level.

Our Current Priorities

For those requesting support for youth programs, the Foundation will continue to focus on rural BIPOC organizations and allowing organizations to use awarded funds for general operating support.

Recognizing the critical role of BIPOC organizations, the Charlotte Martin Foundation continues to make it a priority to partner with organizations doing progressive work specifically in the areas of youth education and climate change, with a special emphasis on serving communities of color. Three years ago, we created a fellowship designed around researching BIPOC led organizations within our 5-state region that align with our priorities. We recognize that private funding is inequitably given to white-led organizations and we want to show our commitment to redistributing resources to non-dominant, BIPOC organizations.

Increasing Opportunities for BIPOC:

Increasing racial equity and diversity for youth ages 6-18.

BIPOC led nonprofit organizations with diverse leadership and staff are the focus of our grant-making. Organizations based in rural communities are also a priority for our foundation.

Programs that create opportunities in areas of education, cultural expression and athletics. Including but not limited to:

• Increase access to and the creation of diverse cultural experiences.
• Improve school-based and out-of-school learning opportunities in areas such as science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) and other areas.
• Increase early college awareness and access to post-secondary education.
• Increase access to sports and diversify sports programs.

Guidelines for Youth Programs

Our program funding for youth ages 6-18 falls into three areas: Athletics, Culture and Education. Grants for youth programs must fall within one of these three program areas.

Youth Athletics

Athletics include a wide range of individual and team sports, with an emphasis on the value of sports for lifelong participation. School-sponsored intramural and after school sports programs have been greatly reduced, and middle-school aged youth have been most affected. After school athletics can be the incentive that gets kids involved in programs that also have educational and cultural components. Demand is increasing for athletics programs and facilities in rural areas and inner cities. More girls are getting involved in sports, requiring additional programs and space. Coaches are key to a positive experience for young people, and good coaching requires training.

Youth Culture

Culture includes art, music, dance, literature, theater, ethnic and regional heritage. Positive experiences in culture are essential in educating the whole person and should be an integral part of the lives of youth. Young people can use cultural experiences as creative resources to build self-esteem, promote personal growth, and preserve traditions. Arts and culture programs in the schools are being reduced or eliminated, and many communities, both urban and rural, have limited access to cultural resources.

Youth Education

All young people should have the opportunity to fulfill their potential. Education, in and out of school, happens best when youth direct their learning and engage in compelling problem-solving and critical thinking. Educators need support to play a vital role in assisting youth to investigate their passions and explore new interests. Rural schools often have less access to resources and curricula than urban schools. Both public and private schools need support.

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.

Advancing Disability Justice Grants

Disability Justice

Disability Justice is a movement framework that centers queer and transgender disabled people of color. It has ten principles: intersectionality, leadership of those most impacted, anti-capitalist politic, cross-movement solidarity, recognizing wholeness, sustainability, commitment to cross-disability solidarity, interdependence, collective access and collective liberation. 

Disability Equity at NWHF

Too often racism, ableism, and the places we call home prevent us from living the life we deserve.

At Northwest Health Foundation, we are committed to ending this reality. We believe everyone deserves the opportunity to lead a healthy life, however they define health. We also believe that, by advancing equity, we can improve the social, political and body/mind health of our whole region. Learn more about NWHF’s commitment to equity and our lens on disability equity.

In 2017, Northwest Health Foundation and the Collins Foundation convened the Disability Justice Leaders Collaborative (DJLC). The DJLC brought 16 disabled BIPOC together to build relationships, learn about the disability justice framework, and discuss how the voices and experiences of people with disabilities are (or aren’t) represented by decisionmakers in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Members of the DJLC worked together to create a set of recommendations for supporting disability justice and addressing barriers faced by disabled leaders of color: Recommendations for Advancing Disability Justice in Oregon and SW Washington. 

These recommendations led us to launch our Advancing Disability Justice program with the Collins Foundation, which includes disability justice workshops for BIPOC-led and racial justice organizations, coaching, and Advancing Disability Justice Grants. During the 2021 grant cycle, six grants were awarded totaling $46,600.

Funding

The Advancing Disability Justice Grants will support disabled BIPOC leaders and groups in our region to build their capacity for community building and civic engagement. This can include, but is not limited to, leadership development, organizational or group capacity building around disability justice, cultural programming, movement building work, community organizing and/or policy advocacy. Funds can be used for staff time, stipends, food, gatherings, accommodations, travel, childcare, etc.

NWHF will provide one-time project grants for up to $5,000 or up to $10,000. Applicants will be asked to state their requested amount. We welcome applications with requests below $5,000 or $10,000. Grants can be for new or existing projects and can support short-term, long-term or one-time projects.

• Grants up to $5,000 could be a good match for new or shorter term projects, such as hosting a one-time event or gathering for community members, planning for a larger project, a project for a targeted geographic area, or a short-term need. There are four grants at $5,000 to award for this cycle.
• Grants up to $10,000 could be a good match for longer term or larger scale projects, maybe to implement or accelerate a plan, or to reach out to more communities or regions. Examples could include a multi-day conference or training for larger community or statewide groups, or implementing disability justice goals for a program or organization. There are two grants at $10,000 to award for this cycle. 

Accessibility Costs 

NWHF has set aside additional funds to support accessibility costs above and beyond your grant award. While these additional funds are limited, we hope to allocate these funds to the awarded projects based on the information included in your application and budget. 

For example, this might include:

• live captioning for an event,
• microphone and speakers,
• an accessible meeting space, and so on.

Funding Criteria and Decision Making  

Projects should be in alignment with the following priorities:

• Projects should be led by and focus on disabled, neurodivergent and d/Deaf Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC).
• Projects should focus on building capacity or work related to community building, civic engagement, community organizing, cultural work, leadership development, movement building or policy advocacy by disabled BIPOC.
  • Building capacity can mean learning, adapting and strengthening the skills, knowledge and tools of people and groups in order to create and achieve their goals. This might include (but not be limited to) training, leadership development, and building alliances across communities.
  • Civic engagement projects are those that work toward making a difference in the civic life of one’s community and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make that difference. Civic engagement improves the quality of life in a community through both political and non-political processes.
• Project values should align with the Disability Justice Principles. From Sins Invalid: longer descriptions and short descriptions.

Of community, by community, for community For decades, community groups and nonprofit organizations throughout the Northwest have worked to advance equity and justice for LGBTQ+ communities in every corner of our region. Our Community Grants Program helps fuel this work through providing consistent, long-term funding.   Since this program’s inception in 1987, we have awarded over $12 million dollars. Our most recent award cycle in 2021 was the largest in Pride Foundation’s history—$2,751,000 to 105 incredible organizations over three years. In 2021, we shifted to a proactive grantmaking model for this program, and began awarding funds without an application process. These programmatic changes were intentional shifts to center racial justice in our work, improve the experience of grantee partners, and align our grantmaking with our organizational priorities to move resources to LGBTQ+ communities most impacted by injustice. In 2024, we will have both a proactive grantmaking model and open application to ensure that all organizations have the space and opportunity to receive funding.

Please see FAQs for additional guidelines.