Search Through Worcester County Grants for Nonprofits in Massachusetts

Charitable Contributions

Costco Wholesale’s primary charitable efforts specifically focus on programs supporting children, education, and health and human services in the communities where we do business. Throughout the year we receive a large number of requests from nonprofit organizations striving to make a positive impact, and we are thankful to be able to provide support to a variety of organizations and causes. While we would like to respond favorably to all requests, understandably, the needs are far greater than our allocated resources and we are unable to accommodate them all.

Warehouse Donations:

Warehouse donations are handled at the warehouse level - please consult your local warehouse for up-to-date information regarding their donations contacts and review process.

Grant Applications

If the request is under consideration, you may be contacted by staff for any additional information needed. Applications are reviewed within 4-6 weeks, and decisions are made based on several factors, including: type of program; identified community need not otherwise available; indication that evidenced based data will establish measurable results of intended outcomes; community collaboration; broad base of financial support; project budget and operating expenses.

Who We Are

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

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

Our Focus

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

What We Fund

/ What We Fund

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

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.  

Background

The Memorial Foundation for the Blind is a private charitable foundation that provides funding to those organizations in Worcester County that serve the needs of persons with visual impairments. The foundation also provides funding to individuals who are certified as legally blind with the Massachusetts Commission for the blind, to purchase adaptive equipment, assistive technology, and other equipment that enhances the quality of life for the individual. In addition, the MFB provides scholarships to higher education to those who apply and meet the requirements outlined in the scholarship section of this websight.

The mission of the Memorial Foundation for the Blind shall be to serve the needs of and to promote the general welfare of visually impaired residents of Worcester County, Massachusetts and to provide grants to further this purpose

Program Grants

MFB welcomes grant proposals from nonprofit charitable organizations to improve the quality of life and encourage the independence of people with visual impairments. Proposals may include programs to improve access to the arts and culture, employment training opportunities, recreation and leisure time activities, and more. Applicants are encouraged to call and leave a message and a member of our Grants Committee will return your call to discuss your request.Application Procedure Please send a brief letter of intent describing your proposal idea. If your letter of intent is accepted, we will forward an application summary sheet which must be completed along with a brief narrative and budget for the program or project.

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.

Rockland Trust is founded on a set of core values.

We build strong relationships with our customers, helping business owners grow their companies, and helping individual consumers be successful by providing straightforward products and convenient service. Our success is based on having respectful and knowledgeable bankers, as well as robust technology available to our customers. These values instilled within our company are reflected in our level of service as well as our ongoing commitment to our community.

At Rockland Trust each relationship matters. No matter large or small, old or new, we are committed to serving and meeting every customer’s needs. As a result, we have very loyal customers who stay with us, deepen their relationship, and tell their friends about Rockland Trust.Rockland Trust

Rockland Trust's philanthropic mission is to strengthen the communities served by Rockland Trust Bank, enabling individuals and their families to access opportunity and improve the quality of their lives.

Rockland Trust Charitable Giving

Rockland Trust's philanthropic mission is to strengthen the communities served by Rockland Trust Bank, enabling individuals and their families to access opportunity and improve the quality of their lives.

Event Sponsorships 

Description

Event Sponsorships are requests for funding for date-specific events to 501(c)(3) nonprofit and community-based organizations.

Funding Priorities

Support for upcoming gala or golf events, walks/runs, cultural performances or other community events.

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. 

Our Mission

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

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

Grants

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

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

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

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

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. 

About Us

Since our founding in 1975, Greater Worcester Community has sought to make Worcester County a better place to live, work, and thrive. One of the ways we have accomplished this is by maximizing our grant-making opportunities to support projects and organizations that strengthen and enliven our community. The Community Foundation offers both competitive and non-competitive grant opportunities, and provides grant support in many areas of community life.

The Community Grant Program is rooted in the belief that we can collectively work towards a more equitable, vibrant and just community by offering flexible grant options, implementing strategic focus areas, and emphasizing the underlying approaches nonprofit organizations apply to their work.

The Community Grant Program for Operating Support seeks to support organizations with:

• missions that are highly aligned to one of our expressed focus areas (Health & Wellbeing, Arts & Creativity, Youth & Families or Basic Needs)
• sound organizational practices
• expressed commitments to equity, community voice, systems disruption
• Annual operating budgets within the limits of our available resources

Additionally, we seek to make grant investments that are as transformative as possible given our financial resources and the current needs of our local nonprofit sector and community. We are aspirational in our role to correct larger historical philanthropic trends and practices that have created barriers to accessing funding for certain types of organizations. Finally, we hope to continue to sharpen our guidance for applicants on the amount requested for operating support that is in line with our resources. To that end, we are piloting the following funding structure for the 2023 cycle.

Requested Amount Ranges Based on Annual Organizational Budget:

• Under $400,000 – up to 10%
• $400,000- $1,000,000 – up to 5%
• $1,000,001- $5,000,000 – up to $25,000
• Over $5,000,000 – ineligible

Focus Areas

Requests will be measured against their alignment to one of the focus areas along with the lenses listed below. We recognize the limitations of our total grant allotment and seek to be in partnership with organizations where our grant would make a transformative difference for that nonprofit, as opposed to being a drop in the bucket. Specific strategies for each area can be found on the full guidelines page.

Health & Wellbeing- Strengthening the systems that ensure those from historically excluded populations have equitable access to healthcare.

Arts & Creativity- Building and supporting a diverse and strong Arts & Culture Ecosystem where all belong.

Youth & Families- Ensuring families have what they need to thrive and that young people have access to critical supports and meaningful experiences.

Basic Needs- Working to ensure all residents of our community have food and shelter.

Economic Opportunity- Supporting individuals in building skills and creating opportunity for career preparation, advancement and/or wealth building. 

Lenses

In addition to the focus areas, we also strive to be in relationship with organizations who are on a journey to examine, learn, and pivot in the areas of equity, community voice and disrupting systems. We look for honest and authentic reflections vs. advanced responses.

Equity: We believe equity is one part of racial justice, and thus we include in our approach work that addresses root causes of inequities, not just their manifestations. Requests should demonstrate a thoughtful approach to who will benefit and how inclusion and equity are approached throughout your organization and programming.

Community Voice: Organizations with strong community voice co-create and lead programming together, create structures in partnership or are led by those more impacted by the issue.

Disrupting Systems: We are interested in being in relationship with organizations looking closely at ways to move our community to a more equitable place by understanding root causes of inequities and engaging in partnerships, coalitions and advocacy work that results in changed systems. While we recognize many small direct service providers do not have the bandwidth to engage in this work on a wide scale level, we believe all organizations have something meaningful to share in this area.

Examples include:

• Championing the gathering and sharing of important data and research
• Aligning with others in partnership to move issues forward
• Engaging in formal advocacy and policy issue work
• Attending community meetings and uplifting your voice on important issue

Calling to Serve

Since its inception in 2016, the Robinson Foundation has sought to demonstrate God’s love through sharing the gifts we have received. We understand the often unspoken hardships and struggles that people in and outside of our community face everyday. As such, our contributions are focused on relieving these hardships for the betterment of our world.

As a family-operated foundation, we pray that our small efforts will not only create immediate change in the lives of our neighbors, but will help set those lives on a course for success in the future. We are thankful for each and every day we have on this earth to use what God has granted us to make a difference.

Areas of Interest

• Animal Welfare
• Children & Families
• Disaster Relief
• Education
• Medical Assistance
• Nature & Wildlife Conservation
• Poverty Relief
• Religious & Spiritual Endeavors
• Veterans' Issues

Grant Considerations

We take many different aspects of applications into account when making grant issuing decisions, however these are some of the high-level questions we ask ourselves during the process:

• How does the organization serve their key audience goals?
• Is the organization fiscally responsible?
• Will a grant have a tangible, meaningful impact?
• Will we see direct results from this grant?
• Does the organization have other financial contributors?

About Us

Ours is a citizen-run model of philanthropy dedicated to enhancing the community in perpetuity.

In establishing the Greater Worcester Community Foundation, our founders sought to develop an organization that engaged Worcester County in its own betterment. This neighborly experiment built on self-reliance embraces and engages diverse sectors united in their vision of a better Worcester.

In our first 40 years, we’ve used the simple, accountable and flexible model of the community foundation to build an endowment of $198 million, raise $142 million and award $169 million in grants. Each year, we continue to grow our resources—knowledge, relationships and funds—and do more for our community.

Youth for Community Improvement (YCI) Fund

Youth for Community Improvement (YCI), an advisory committee of the Greater Worcester Community Foundation comprised of area high school students, requests proposals from Worcester County nonprofit organizations.

Proposals must speak to youth voice to be considered. Youth voice is the empowerment of young people through leadership roles, holding decision making power, and/or involvement of youth in program organization.

Areas of Interest

After an extensive community learning process, funding priorities are determined annually by each YCI class. The areas of interest for this year are:

Mental Health 

YCI is interested in organizations supporting the mental health of young people in the following ways:

• Efforts that increase awareness, reduce stigma and/or provide education on issues impacting young people’s mental health.
• Increasing access to care (efforts that reduce waitlists, connect young people to clinicians and especially those focused on serving young people who are neurodivergent).
• Innovative programs in self-care and treatment options.

Educational Support Programs

YCI is especially interested in programs that support the following:

• Alternative pathways (Jobs training, educations in the trade, night classes, etc.)
• College support (guidance, access, navigating financial aid and scholarships, test preparation courses and fees).
• Access to arts (programming costs, scholarships, supplies).

Housing/Food & Basic Needs

YCI is interested in helping ensure all residents have access to their basic needs especially in the following areas:

• Organizations and efforts that distribute care packages of basic needs items (blankets, clothing, shoes, etc.)
• Pantries and groups distributing hygiene items.
• Efforts to increase shelter access & services (advocacy, program expansion, resettling new arrival and migrant families, etc.)

Scope and Limitations

Grants will not exceed $5,000. 

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,
• environment,
• enrichment and
• entrepreneurship.

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 Nonprofit Effectiveness Grant Program is a resource to support your internal organizational journey. It is designed to focus on a specific project or piece of your work in the areas of navigating change, leadership development, and growing your internal structures.We believe these small investments in capacity building are critical to your ability to fulfill your mission, deliver critical services, and lead as equitable employers.

Areas of Support

Our Nonprofit Effectiveness grants support the following areas:

• Building Internal Capacity: such as organizational audits and departmental infrastructure building
• Navigating Change: such as executive transitions and succession planning, and strategic plans that support major changes in mission.
• Inclusive Leadership Development and Support: such as governance and board support, executive coaching, DEIA education, and leadership training for mid-level staff.

For more details about areas of support, please view the grant guidelines.

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

JMAC Access Grant Program

Providing resources to support artists and organizations in presenting their projects at the Jean McDonough Arts Center.

The Jean McDonough Arts Center, in partnership with the Greater Worcester Community Foundation, and thanks to the support of the Barr Foundation, is pleased to announce the continuation of the JMAC Access Grant Program.

The JMAC strives to ensure that every cultural organization, large and small, can have a home in downtown Worcester. The venue has proven especially critical for Worcester’s BIPOC and underserved artists – by helping artists create new work, generate income, and positively impact their community. Through the Access Grant Program, selected nonprofit cultural organizations and individual artists will receive the resources needed to create their stories and programs at the JMAC to share with Central Massachusetts audiences.

Through a two-phase application process, organizations and artists can apply for financial support to present their projects at the JMAC in the near future. The grant covers project development, implementation, and marketing costs incurred by the organizations and artists, as well as the usage costs of the JMAC space desired for the project.

Funding

In both application rounds, the requested budget will reflect only the organization’s or artist’s discretionary expenses, and exclude expenses related to rental or usage of the JMAC. When grants are awarded, recipients will receive direct payment for their discretionary expenses. Concurrently, the JMAC will receive payment for their rental and usage expenses, at the following rates:

• Worcester PopUp, One Day: $2,500
• Worcester PopUp, One Week: $3,500
• BrickBox Theater, Half Day (6 Hours): $3,750
• BrickBox Theater, Full Day (Up to 12 Hours): $6,250
• BrickBox Theater, Two Days: $8,750
• BrickBox Theater, Four Days: $14,250

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. 

Franklin Square House Foundation

The Foundation, started in 2008, traditionally provides bricks and mortar grants for capital improvements to shelter projects that support women and women and their children, as well as capital improvement grants for economically and racially integrated childcare centers. Since becoming a foundation in 2008, FSHF has made grants totaling $13.2 million. 

Capital Improvements Grant - Projects to Childcare Centers

Evaluation and Ranking Criteria

• Creation of new childcare slots
• Administrative capacity of the organization
• Financial condition of the organization
• Track record of the organization
• Past standing of the grantee with the Foundation
• Alignment of the organization and the project with the mission and goals of the Foundation
• Proportions of subsidized slots to the overall population of the center. We generally like to see greater than our required minimum of 50% subsidized slots
• Completeness and coherence of the grant application
• Readiness to proceed with the project. All projects must be ready to start within 90 days of the date on the grant award letter and be completed within six months of the grant award
• The presence of slots reserved for homeless children
• The grantee’s offering of comprehensive services for families it serves (or access to those services through partnerships)
• The responsiveness of the grantee to requests for supplemental information regarding the grant proposal
• Results of the Foundation site visit

Funding

The maximum Childcare Grant is $100,000. If the cost of the work you wish to perform is greater than your request to the Foundation, you must provide evidence of plans to pay for the remaining balance of the work. If you are applying for other grants, please provide a detailed table of grants applied for, amounts expected to receive, the timing of the submission and award, and status of the application (it is acceptable to say you will be applying for something).

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.

The Worcester County Food Bank (WCFB) Fund to end Hunger was established in 2011 by the WCFB as a resource to support nonprofit organizations working towards a hunger-free Worcester County.

Areas of Support

Our Worcester County Food Bank (WCFB) Fund to end Hunger supports the following areas:

• Increasing Access to Healthy Foods: such as formal meal programs, community food & nutrition resources, programs supporting marginalized communities, and programs promoting economic self-sufficiency and skillbuilding.
• Building Capacity for Food Serving Organizations: such as equipment & materials and efforts to increase diversity, inclusion, equity and access.
• Advocacy & Policy Change: such as advocacy efforts for Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) and/or the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) and efforts to support those considered benefit ineligible.

Community Grant Program

The Community Grant Program is Greater Worcester Community Foundation’s signature funding opportunity, awarding close to $2 million annually across five strategic focus areas for both discrete project/programming and general operating support.

Scope:

• Grant range is $2,500 - $25,000.
• Partial grants can be awarded.
• Support can be for a pilot, programmatic expansion, and/or support for ongoing program.
• Organizations should be in good financial standing with an intact governance structure

Focus Areas:

We are interested in supporting requests that have goals/outcomes highly aligned with one of the following focus areas.

Arts & Creativity: Projects or programs that use the arts as a vehicle for community cohesion.

• Creative placemaking (process that uses art, culture and design to improve the physical and social wellbeing of a community).
• Projects that are intersectional in nature and promote arts and non-arts partnerships. 

Basic Needs: Projects or programs that ensure all residents have access to food, shelter and resources to achieve permanency.

Economic Opportunity: Programs and projects that help individuals and families have opportunities to develop wealth and work towards financial self-sufficiency, such as: 

• English language learning programs.
• Culturally responsive workforce programs (especially within healthcare, social services and the arts).

Health & Wellbeing: Projects or programs within physical and behavioral health systems that increase ease of access and improve outcomes, particularly: 

• Healthcare & social services navigation (helping people gain access to care).
• Complementary & palliative care (the important things insurance won’t cover).
• Healthy pregnancies & strong starts for new families.

Youth Development: Projects or programs that provide young people with meaningful resources/experiences/leadership development opportunities that are often hard to access.

• Services that are typically not offered in a school setting (enhancement, skill building, leadership opportunities, other unique development opportunities).
• Postsecondary training, education opportunities, job training.

Lenses:

In addition to the focus areas, we also strive to be in relationship with projects and organizations who: 

• Have an authentic presence and connection to Worcester County (have local relationships, are engaged in local conversations and/or are helping to change pressing local needs in this region). 
• Strive to be equitable
• Are the appropriate organizations to be leading the proposed work (possess the relevant knowledge, relationships and expertise to be the ones delivering the program, with the work tethered to organizational mission and vision).
• Involve clients and participants in the development of programs and organizational leadership.

For more details about focus areas and lenses, please view the grant guidelines.

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.

Mission Statement

The Beim Foundation, a multi-generational family foundation, honors the past while embracing the future. Founded over 70 years ago by Nels Christian Beim, an immigrant from Norway, the Foundation has both a Minnesota-focused granting component and a program that serves other regions of interest to the Directors. The Foundation’s philanthropic priorities favor small, community-based, and developing organizations. Grants are made in the areas of arts, environment, human services and education.

Regional Grant Program 

The Beim Foundation’s Regional Grant program is a small funding program awarding grants in specific geographic communities throughout the United States

In 2025, The Beim Foundation will accept proposals from environmental education programs or projects that serve children and youth from under-resourced communities. 

• Address ethnic and racial inequality.
• Work to heal historical or community trauma.
• Include a focus on
  • Trauma informed care and
  • Culturally competent and sensitive services

As directors are most interested in supporting programming that provides services directly to program participants, the Foundation will not consider requests that are focused on staff training, curriculum development, or program development.

Funding

Funding awards are anticipated to be in the $5,000 to $15,000 range.

Our Mission

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

Causes

Children

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

Education

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

Animals

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

Environmental

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

Humanitarian

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

Arts & Culture

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