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

American Electric Power Foundation

The AEP Foundation focuses on improving lives through education from early childhood through higher education in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and by providing support to help meet basic needs such as emergency shelter, affordable housing and eliminating hunger.

The Foundation also supports organizations whose mission and/or programming is committed to positive social justice outcomes. Other Foundation support may be offered to protect the environment, promote healthcare and safety, and enrich life through art, music and cultural heritage.

Focus Areas

The following focus areas will be eligible for consideration by the Foundation:

• Improving lives through education from early childhood through higher education, with an emphasis in the areas of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
• Providing basic human services in the areas of hunger and housing to assure that people have the necessities to build successful lives.
• Embracing change and equity through sustainable programs that move social justice forward.

Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC)

The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is a unique federal-state partnership providing social and economic support for a 13-state region stretching along the Appalachian Mountains from southern New York to northern Mississippi, including western North Carolina.

Established by the United States Congress in 1965, when Appalachia was considered "a region apart" from the rest of the nation, ARC has worked to bring Appalachia's 26 million people into America's economic mainstream.

Area Development Program

ARC’s Area Development program relies on a flexible “bottom up” approach to economic development, empowering Appalachian communities to work with their state governments to design impactful investment opportunities supporting our mission and investment priorities.

Within the scope of our Strategic Plan, ARC’s Area Development program makes investments in two general areas: critical infrastructure and business and workforce development. Critical infrastructure investments mainly include water and wastewater systems, transportation networks, broadband, and other projects anchoring regional economic development. Business and workforce investments primarily focus on entrepreneurship, worker training and education, food systems, leadership, and other human capital development.

ARC Strategic Plan

A comprehensive strategic planning process involving federal, state, and local officials and citizens resulted in, Appalachia Envisioned: A New Era of Opportunity – ARC Strategic Plan 2022-2026, which focuses investments under these five general goals:

• Building Appalachian Businesses:
  • Strengthen and diversify the region’s economy through inclusive economic development strategies and investments in entrepreneurship and business development
• Building Appalachia’s Workforce Ecosystem
  • Expand and strengthen community systems (education, healthcare, housing, childcare, and others) that help Appalachians obtain a job, stay on the job, and advance along a financially sustaining career pathway.
• Building Appalachia’s Infrastructure
  • Ensure that the residents and businesses of Appalachia have access to reliable, affordable, resilient, and energy efficient utilities and infrastructure in order to successfully live and work in the region.
• Building Regional Culture and Tourism:
  • Strengthen Appalachia’s community and economic development potential by preserving and investing in the region’s local, cultural heritage, and natural assets.
• Building Community Leaders and Capacity:
  • Invest in the capacity of local leaders, organizations, and communities to address local challenges by providing technical assistance and support to access resources, engage partners, identify strategies and tactics, and conduct effective planning and project execution.

Charitable Investments

CSX is proud to support people and organizations that in turn honor those who serve our communities. We offer monetary and in-kind resources to nonprofit organizations advocating for the betterment of our nation’s military members or community first responders, and have additional resources available to support other community efforts.

In Kind Donations

Intermodal Transportation Services

Intermodal transportation services provide applicable organizations with intermodal equipment and rail service throughout the CSX rail network, and afford these organizations an opportunity to reduce or eliminate their transportation spending.

Ideally, intermodal moves work best when freight is moving 500 miles or more. However, the in-kind moves program requires only that freight have an origin and destination within a combined 250 miles’ distance to a CSX intermodal facility.

CSX’s door-to-door product is an ideal solution for the in-kind moves program, as our trained team will pick up your freight at its origin and transport it to a terminal to be placed on an intermodal train. Then, we will pick up your freight at the destination terminal and deliver it directly to its endpoint. The door-to-door network provides service across the Eastern United States with its large nationwide network and trucking capability.

CSX will also work with you to determine the type of equipment that is an ideal fit to transport your freight. CSX has a large fleet of rail-owned containers, as well as an expansive network of channel partners that can provide equipment to fit your needs.

Railroad Equipment and Materials

CSX occasionally donates materials, supplies and used railroad equipment based on availability. The online in-kind application can be used to request the donation of railroad-related items, including retired rail cars when available. Please note that rail, rail ties and spikes are not available for donation or purchase. Applicants will be contacted if the requested item becomes available within 90 days of their online submittal. At that time, arrangements will be made to transfer possession of the requested item. All applicants will be asked to re-submit their application at a later date if the requested item does not become available within the 90-day period.

FirstEnergy Foundation Grant

The FirstEnergy Foundation's contributions to local nonprofit organizations help strengthen the social and economic fabric of our communities. Funded solely by FirstEnergy, the Foundation extends the corporate philosophy of providing community support.

The FirstEnergy Foundation priorities: 

• Improving the quality of life in our communities and supporting key safety initiatives
• Empowering our communities’ workforce development and educational initiatives
• Promoting local and regional economic development
• Supporting employee leadership and volunteer interests that align with our business interests

About Us

One of America's leading health insurance organizations and an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Highmark Inc. (the Health Plan) and its affiliated health plans (collectively, the Health Plans) work passionately to deliver high-quality, accessible, understandable, and affordable experiences, outcomes, and solutions to customers. Highmark Inc. and its Blue-branded affiliates proudly cover the insurance needs of approximately 7 million members in Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York and West Virginia. Its diversified businesses serve group customer and individual needs across the United States through dental insurance and other related businesses.

Highmark Corporate Giving

The decades-long legacy of Highmark includes direct financial support to improve the quality of life in the communities we serve. Today, our corporate giving benefits hundreds of organizations across our service area.

The Highmark Bright Blue Futures charitable giving and community involvement program's goal is to ensure healthier, brighter, stronger futures for all. Our focus is improving equitable access to care, quality of life and economic resilience in the communities we serve.

Focus Areas

We aspire to improve outcomes in two critical areas: Community Health and Community Economic Resilience.

Community Health

Reducing health inequities and disparities among our targeted populations through novel solutions and strong partnerships go a long way toward reversing societal trends and lifting up those in need.

Our strategy is supported by five pillars that each play an important role in promoting the wellbeing of all:

• Access to Care
  • Highmark Bright Blue Futures strives to ensure that everyone in our communities, regardless of their location, income, or other factors, has equitable access to preventative care, disease-specific support, and health literacy programs.
• Economic Stability for Individuals and Families
  • We work to reduce the hardships that keep people from achieving financial security, such as food insecurity, housing instability, and unemployment.
• Social and Community Context
  • Our programs related to physical activity and social connections encourage individuals to improve their health and quality of life through regular physical activity, and to seek out relationships that nurture their emotional, psychological and physical wellness, and growth.
• Education Access
  • Through training and educational opportunities in healthcare and medical fields, as well as providing scholarships to higher education programs, Highmark Bright Blue Futures is dedicated to helping students gain the skills and knowledge they need to pursue and achieve their career goals.
• Neighborhood and Built Environment
  • The built environment plays a crucial role in the health and safety of communities.
  • Beyond just providing physical spaces, the built environment can be used to create programs and resources that can help to address issues that have a direct impact on the physical, mental, and emotional health of community members.

Community & Economic Resilience

Even during periods of upheaval and change, we were successful in improving economic wellbeing and quality of life in communities of all sizes.

In our efforts to support their communities and economic resilience, we:

• invested resources in moving diversity, equity and inclusion forward in a transformative way.
• provided a network of direct services to those in need.
• helped students and jobseekers prepare for success.
• improved the standards of living and fostering wellbeing.
• brought joy to and built bridges between cultures.

Background

The Highmark Foundation is a private, charitable, organization of Highmark Inc. that supports initiatives and programs aimed at improving community health. The Highmark Foundation's mission is to improve the health, well-being and quality of life for individuals who reside in communities served by Highmark Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. We fulfill our mission by awarding high impact grants.

Ideally, the Foundation seeks evidence-based programs that impact multiple counties, that achieve replicable long-term models, and that attract collaborative funding by community partners.

Foundation grants have been awarded to hospitals, community health centers, health service organizations, local community groups and government agencies committed to improving community health.

Our focus is health. The Foundation awards health-related programmatic grants to charitable organizations to implement evidence-based programs aimed at improving community health within Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Grant funding is used to support projects that:

• Are consistent with the Foundation’s goals, strategies and focus
• Demonstrate new and sustainable ways to solve health problems
• Illustrate the effectiveness of early intervention and preventive health

Funding Priority Areas

The Foundation awards grants in the area of health, defining health broadly to include social, behavioral and other dimensions beyond illness or disease. The Foundation focuses its grantmaking on four areas:

Chronic Disease

For more than a decade, the Foundation has funded chronic disease intervention and prevention programs for the most vulnerable populations in the region. By analyzing data from global, national, and statewide resources, the Foundation determines where it can make significant impact among populations by reducing the burden on both patients and health care providers.

One major example of the Foundation's leadership is its funding of community-based programs and services that have been created to reduce the effects of diabetes among minority populations. Through comprehensive, multilevel strategies, the Foundation has provided millions of dollars which grant these individuals easier access to diabetes prevention programs.

The Foundation has also supported national efforts—locally. For example, the Foundation was one of the first in the nation to fund an initiative known as Mission Lifeline. This is an initiative of the American Heart Association which advances the systems of care for patients who have experienced the most severe form of heart attack.

Data analysis of other chronic diseases, such as osteoporosis, certain types of cancer, asthma, and many others, are constantly being reviewed by the Foundation staff to determine significant impact opportunities with outcomes that are both measurable and achievable.

Funding Programs and Interventions that Address:

• Diabetes
• Heart Disease
• Cancer
• Obesity

Family Health

Family health initiatives have been at the heart of many programs funded by the Highmark Foundation.

For five years, the Foundation's Highmark Healthy High 5 initiative focused on five areas that ultimately impacted family health: physical activity, nutrition, bullying, self-esteem and grieving. Many of the programs funded were not just aimed at children, but incorporated the entire family unit.

Childhood obesity and bullying remain major public health concerns for the nation and the region, and will remain critical issues for the Foundation. To that end, the Foundation is continuing to fund school and community-based programs that directly impact these issues and bring about positive change for children's physical and mental well-being.

The Foundation also funds programs in the area of maternal health, such as the doula pregnancy programs, walk-in clinics for uninsured and underinsured women, and parenting education classes. For the region's senior population, the Foundation funds programs that provide senior access to home health or palliative care, as well as routine health screenings and interventions.

Funding Programs and Interventions that Address:

• Nutrition and Physical Activity
• Adolescent Health
• Maternal Health
• Senior Care
• Mental Health

Service Delivery Systems

Serving a diverse geographic area that encompasses urban and rural populations presents a unique set of challenges. However, despite the differences in these settings, gaining access to quality health care is a challenge for many individuals in both. In urban settings, there is a lack of health care providers, but the underinsured or uninsured often lack the resources to gain access. In rural settings, the situation is even worse. There are very few health care providers available, and those that are available may not have the capacity to serve the underinsured or uninsured populations.

During the past decade, the Foundation has funded many programs across the region to help underserved and uninsured populations gain access to quality and, in some cases, free health care. This is most evident in the area of dental care and oral health, in which the Foundation, through a series of grants, allowed more patients to gain access to quality dental care.

The Foundation has also provided grants to help organizations hire and recruit health care professionals. It has funded millions of dollars in grants to address the nursing shortage in Pennsylvania. In fact, approximately 5,000 nursing students, nurses, medical students, residents, first responders and nursing faculty have benefited from Foundation funding.

Finally, the Foundation has provided grants to organizations planning to invest in new capital and technologies that will better serve their local population. By providing funding for capital expenditures at locations such as Federally Qualified Health Clinics (FQHC), nonprofit organizations, and community hospitals, the Foundation allows these facilities the ability to serve more patients.

Funding Programs that Address:

• Access to Care
• Recruitment of Healthcare Professionals
• Community Health Clinics
• Screenings

About Us

Saving pets. Together.

The Petfinder Foundation has been helping animal shelters and rescue groups since 2003. We are the ONLY national organization that does nothing but give cash and product grants to adoption groups.=

How We Work

Our programs are designed to keep homeless pets physically and mentally healthy so they can find loving forever homes.

Our grants put food in bowls, provide medical care, and help rescue animals from disasters. When pets are in need, we’re there to help.

P.L.A.Y. Pet Beds 

Applications are reviewed and awarded 10 Chill Pads on a monthly basis to specific geographical regions. 

The Petfinder Foundation has partnered with P.L.A.Y. Pet Lifestyle and You through the Warm Bellies Initiative to give luxury beds to shelter pets. P.L.A.Y. joins us in the belief that every pet deserves a warm and cozy place to sleep

Applications are reviewed and awarded 10 Chill Pads on a monthly basis to specific geographical regions. You may apply for this grant program once. Grant applications from this program are reviewed based on the location of your organization and the monthly state awarding schedule below:

• January: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts
• February: Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York
• March - Pennsylvania, New Jersey
• April: Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia
• May: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida
• June: Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin
• July: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky
• August: Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi
• September: Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Montana, Wyoming
• October: Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas
• November: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Nevada
• December: Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas

Mission

We are a public foundation created to serve southern communities and organizations seeking social, economic, and environmental justice by providing them with financial resources, opportunities for technical assistance and training, and access to systems of information and power. 

Purpose

Develop and nurture grassroots community-based leaders and organizers. Build the capacity of their organizations. Strengthen rural communities and people. Develop equitable peer relationships, which support real transformation toward a just society.

Our Values

Using a grassroots perspective, we believe that culture is the essence of its people and should be valued, shared and preserved in the process. 

We must build our strength and unity by incorporating standards of integrity, respect, love, diversity, quality and interconnectedness.

Please note over the next four years SPF will focus on three primary issue areas in its grantmaking: Education Reform; Immigration Rights; and Voter Engagement

The Discretionary Fund

Existing grantee partners as well as organizations new to SPF may apply for funding. All applicants should fall within the scope of the SPF mission and guidelines: grassroots community organizing for economic, social and environmental justice, in rural communities in the South.

Discretionary support includes (not limited to) grants for capacity building, community organizing events and/or activities, and voter engagement activities. There are three primary funding areas within discretionary

• General Discretionary: community organizing activities or small projects that aim to create change in SPF’s 12-state region.
• Technical Assistance: capacity building, strategic planning, organizational development, trainings and technology upgrades.
• Travel Assistance: conference travel and participation or civic engagement activities.

Discretionary fund resources are limited. Organizations may submit a maximum of two requests per year for a total reward of $3,500 per year.  

Strengthening Our Communities

The Steel Dynamics Foundation, Inc., awards grants to nonprofits in the local communities where our employees live and work.

Our Primary Goal

Enhancing the quality of life and improving local economies in the communities where our employees live and work.

Our Top Priorities

• Higher Education:
  • Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM)
  • Finance and Business
• Economic & Community Development
• Human Services

Post-secondary education and economic and community development

• We believe a better-educated workforce creates a stronger economy with higher living standards and more opportunities for everyone to benefit from it, including those less fortunate.

Human Services

• Improving the quality of life and making our communities more attractive places to live and work. We consider applications for nonprofit organizations that have significant impact in our communities, serve a large population, meet the greatest needs and have the widest access.

Management at your local facility will review your request and make a decision based on level of support by facility and employees. If local SDI facility has not been involved with your organization management may consider, at their discretion, to forward your request to the Foundation, to hold for consideration of a donation from their facility, or to decline the request.

Founded in 1999, the Sundt Foundation was created to give Sundt employee-owners a way to give back to the communities where they live and work. Today, the Sundt Foundation remains true to its original mission, fostering a sense of connection and belonging in our local communities. The Sundt Foundation provides volunteer and grant opportunities to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations in its regional areas.

Giving Guidelines

Employee-owner committees are responsible for Foundation grantmaking designated in the areas of youth development, hunger & nutrition, basic needs & social services, and military & veterans.

Perdue Farms is the family-owned parent company of Perdue Foods and Perdue AgriBusiness. Perdue Farms are dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for everyone we touch through innovative food and agricultural products.

Through Perdue Farms Perdue, Harvestland and Coleman Natural food brands; through Perdue Farms agricultural products and services; and through Perdue Farms stewardship and corporate responsibility programs, Perdue Farms are committed to making Perdue the most trusted name in food and agricultural products. At Perdue, Perdue Farms believe in responsible food and agriculture.What We Support

• We strive to strengthen our communities by focusing our efforts on agriculture and the environment, education, fighting hunger and poverty, health and social services, and public safety
• We also support organizations that celebrate the heritages and cultures of our communities
• We may give additional preference to organizations in which our associates have direct involvement, but the overarching consideration is the betterment of the community

The Encova Foundations

Encova aspires to be an outstanding corporate citizen in all locations and markets we serve. Through the Encova Foundation of Ohio and the Encova Foundation of West Virginia, we support local causes that are strategically managed and mirror the values and interests of our associates, agents and policyholders. We commit to causes greater than ourselves and partner with organizations that truly transform lives.

The Encova foundations focus on improving communities and families, promoting education and encouraging wellness. Embedded in our focus is a commitment to helping children succeed, improving our communities and supporting industry initiatives.

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

Social Justice

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

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

Environmental Justice

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

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

Economic Justice

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

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

Signature Employment Grants

Transforming Employment Outcomes with Novel Solutions

Innovation lies at the core of all the Foundation’s Signature Employment Grants. It involves developing or adapting ideas, processes, or services to improve employment outcomes for people with disabilities. Innovation requires assessing needs, applying knowledge, creativity, and initiative to develop new solutions or repurpose existing ones in a novel way. To qualify, proposed interventions must demonstrate broader impact beyond your organization and be innovative at the state, national, or industry level.

2025 Grants Target States with Low Employment

For our 2025 Signature Grants, the Foundation invites proposals for groundbreaking employment projects from tax-exempt organizations operating in states with some of the lowest employment participation rates for people with disabilities. These states – Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, and West Virginia – represent areas where targeted interventions can have a transformative impact.

Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation

Grants from the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation are distributed in four focus areas (human needs, environmental stewardship, education, community vitality) and are limited to organizations defined as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code.

Grant applications will be accepted online during two annual grant cycles, one in the spring and one in the fall.

Funding

Most grant awards range from $1,000 to $15,000, while higher amounts may be awarded when a program is an exceptional fit. We often receive funding requests far in excess of our Foundation budget. Regrettably we must often decline support for otherwise worthy proposals. Such a response does not reflect on Dominion Energy's view of the value of the organization or its services.

Supporting Historic Sacred Places

A program of Partners for Sacred Places in collaboration with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the National Fund for Sacred Places provides financial and technical support for community-serving historic houses of worship across America.

What We Offer

The National Fund for Sacred Places provides matching grants of $50,000 to $250,000 to congregations undertaking significant capital projects at historic houses of worship, along with wraparound services including training, technical assistance, and planning support.

What We’re Looking For

The National Fund for Sacred Places assesses applicant eligibility according to the core criteria shown below, while also striving to build a diverse participant pool that reflects a broad range of geographic, cultural, and religious identities.

Historic, Cultural, or Architectural Significance

We are looking for buildings that have historic, cultural, or architectural significance—and sites that have important and relevant stories to tell. Many of our participants are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the state register, or the local register. Your building does not have to be on one of these lists, but eligibility for one or more of these lists is a good benchmark for National Fund eligibility.

As part of the National Trust’s commitment to telling the full American story, we particularly encourage congregations to apply that illuminate a unique or overlooked aspect of American history and that expand our understanding of our shared national heritage. We encourage submissions related to historic sacred places of importance to historically and contemporaneously underrepresented communities including, but not limited to, women, immigrants, Asian Americans, Black Americans, Latinx Americans, Native Americans, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, and LGBTQIA communities.

Successful applicants are able to demonstrate their place in history by answering questions such as:

• Does the building tell a story relevant to our history—either cultural or religious?
• Does the history highlight previously underrecognized communities, stories, or locations?
• How has the building served the community over time? Does the building have a great physical presence in its community due to its location or programming?
• Is the building the work of a notable architect? If so, is it a high-quality example of their body of work?
• Is the building an exceptional example of its architectural style or building technology?
• Does the building embody the congregation’s resilience over time?

Community-Serving Congregations

We are looking for congregations that are engaged in their communities and that are serving others. Engaged congregations operate and host programming that serves vulnerable, at-risk, and diverse populations; share space with non-affiliated groups and organizations (often at subsidized rates); work with other congregations, faith-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, and/or municipalities; and have a widespread reputation for being a welcoming center of community life.

Project Scope and Need

We fund historic preservation projects addressing urgent repair needs and/or life safety. We also fund projects that increase congregations’ ability to open their buildings to new populations or to serve greater numbers of people. All projects must adhere to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation, which is a universally accepted framework for doing work to older and historic properties.

We prioritize congregations/projects where there is a demonstrated need (meaning that the congregation cannot raise the funds alone) or where it is clear that our grant will have a catalytic effect (meaning that our grant is likely to lead to additional monies being contributed to the project).

Readiness

Once-in-a-generation capital projects require a great deal of planning. We are looking for applicants that understand their buildings’ needs and that are ready to undertake a capital campaign. National Fund congregations typically have a history of successful capital campaigns, which demonstrate an ability to raise significant funds and complete a project.

Successful congregations come to us with a realistic fundraising goal, which has been generated with the help of qualified preservation professionals and is not too far beyond the congregation’s fundraising capacity.

Healthy Congregations

The National Fund prioritizes healthy, stable congregations so that our investment is truly impactful and lasting. We look for the following, although this is not an exhaustive list of characteristics that indicate healthy congregations: tenured, well-respected clergy; capable lay leadership; stable or growing membership; financial strength and stability; support of the judicatory or governing body, if applicable; and a history of weathering any congregational conflict or trauma with resilience.

In 2001, Food Lion created a 501(c)(3) foundation operated by a volunteer board of directors in order to streamline requests for financial donations to eliminate hunger.

The Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation supports a variety of hunger-related initiatives, including "Feeding the Hungry" grants each year. The foundation has given away more than $17.5 million across Food Lion’s operating area since its inception. Specifically, grants support children at risk of hunger and support feeding agencies by helping to increase their "fresh" capacity so families can put nutritious meals on their tables. The foundation also helps provide nutrition education to eliminate the health risks of the hungry.

Fostering a lasting impact.

For over 20 years, the Peoples Bank Foundation has been dedicated to making a positive difference in the communities we serve, granting millions to nonprofit organizations in Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. Since its inception in 2003, the Foundation has awarded over $7.5 million in grants and scholarships.Let us help you.

Foundation contributions are distributed across all segments of our communities to foster a lasting impact, and we continue to increase our support of local programs that help low to moderate-income individuals and families. We focus on five areas of giving and want to hear about your work and how the Foundation can aid your mission.

As a family foundation in Pittsburgh, PA, our philanthropic traditions are well rooted in our continued support of organizations that foster transformative programs which best serve the local community as a whole in the areas of arts and culture, education, environmental, health and medical, human services, and religion.

Even though the Snee-Reinhardt Charitable Foundation encompasses many broad areas of concern, or categories, there is no one area deemed more important than the next. Nevertheless, the Foundation has found it beneficial underwriting grants that are tangible in nature or serve a higher number of individuals within the community and surrounding areas. The Foundation continually aids organizations that are endlessly striving to serve the community in various ways such as improving social conditions, expanding education, and working to better the environment.

Category Definitions

The Snee-Reinhardt Charitable Foundation’s Board of Directors has designated several areas of concern comprised of specific intentions.

• Arts/Culture: Performing arts, humanities, media and communications, multipurpose museums, public broadcasting, and historical preservations.
• Education: Promotional programs for elementary, secondary and vocational systems, colleges/universities, graduate programs, adult and multipurpose libraries.
• Environmental: Support of natural resources, beautification programs, pollution control, environmental education, and horticultural/botanical programs.
• Health/Medical: Rural health care, crisis intervention, special programs in health centers, and prevention/treatment of specific diseases.
• Human Services: Youth development and recreation, disaster relief, employment training/ placement, multipurpose agencies, and abuse prevention.
• Religion: The theological education and ecumenical programs as well as the mission of many churches, synagogues, and religious charities.
• Miscellaneous: Because every grant cannot be included into a category, the Snee-Reinhardt Charitable Foundation permits grants for animal welfare, community development, sports, camps, fire and police departments and economic development as miscellaneous grants.  

Legends & Lore Marker Grant Program

This program commemorates folktales, legends and folklife as an important part of every community’s cultural heritage.

Does your community have a great piece of folklore that should be shared? Legends & Lore is designed to promote cultural tourism and commemorate legends and folklore as part of our heritage.

Generally speaking, folklore is the stories, customs, traditions, and expressive arts and crafts that are passed on from one person to another, often from generation to generation. Folklore is the knowledge that people share as members of a group or community. Our shared identities and sense of belonging are the result of shared traditions, stories, customs, and activities.

Legends & Folklore Guidelines

Successful Legends & Lore marker applications typically fall within three main categories:

Folktale- Fictional stories passed down about people or events not proven to have existed. (e.g. Thirteen Curves, Champy, Headless Horseman, Tramping Ground)

Legends- Stories passed down that are popularly regarded as historical although not verifiable. (e.g. John Henry, Grancer’s Ghost, Betsy’s Ride, Natty Bumppo, “Natty Bumppo”)

Folklife- Traditions such as music, skills, crafts, and events passed along within a community. Often involving real people that can be verified with primary sources. (e.g. “Goose Day,” The Arborglyphs, Dennis McGee, Herbs & Healing, Folk Singer)

Subjects which are not successful include:

• Historical events lacking a folkloric aspect
• Purely literary creations
• Personal/family folklore which does not extend to the greater community

Background

Every community faces unique barriers that require collaborative solutions to thrive. The Dow Promise Program supports educational and economic challenges Black youth and adults face in the United States by addressing community-identified needs and advancing equitable opportunities. Through grants of up to $10,000 towards social, economic or environmental initiatives, Dow Promise not only fosters a thriving community, but a shared future.

Since 2000, this annual competitive program has committed to uplifting communities in which Dow operates by supporting their needs and investing in positive social change for long-term success.

For more than 20 years, The Baltimore Life Companies have viewed community involvement as our responsibility, not only through financial support of local organizations, but through our employees’ commitment to volunteerism. To further demonstrate our belief in good corporate citizenship, Baltimore Life has established a community grants program to help nonprofit organizations enhance the quality of life in communities—Delaware, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington, D.C., West Virginia, and the surrounding communities—where our employees live and work.

Grants of up to $500 will be awarded to multiple organizations. Our grants program is a continuation of Baltimore Life’s long-standing tradition of giving back to our communities.

ABOUT ROOTED IN JUSTICE

“Rooted in Justice” is a funding program designed to help amplify youth voices and actions in the environmental and food justice movements.  Rooted in Justice supports community-based organizations and groups that manage established, youth-led, urban greening programs within a justice framework as a core part of their work, with two-year grants of $25,000/year.  

Rooted in Justice recognizes the importance and undeniable right of every young person to have the ability to develop their own relationship with the environment, be it through growing food, spending time with nature, creating community green spaces, or becoming environmental stewards. Rooted in Justice also honors the power and possibilities that arise when young people collectively work to be change-makers in their communities.

Rooted in Justice supports organizations, groups, collectives, and programs that work with young people between the ages of 12 to 20 in youth-led programming for communities or cultures which have historically or currently experience:

• A lack of access to land or nature;
• Agricultural oppression and/or neglect;
• Food apartheid; and/or
• Other forms of injustice based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics and disability.

Rooted in Justice awards a small number of grants each year with applications due in the fall and decisions made the following spring. Final grant decisions are recommended to the Cedar Tree board via a participatory grantmaking process with outside reviewers who have experience in youth-led urban greening, as well as food or climate justice programming. So far the program has awarded multi-year grants to 21 organizations and one-time grants to 10 additional organizations since 2021. 

Definitions

Rooted in Justice grants support organizations or programs that include all four of the elements described below: social justice, youth-led, urban greening, and cohort-based youth work. We articulate our understanding of those terms below in an effort to provide a guide for prospective organizations to use in determining whether their program is a good fit. However as we continue our work towards questioning and dismantling some of our preconceived notions, we recognize that these are not finite definitions and encourage prospective applicants who still feel their work may be a good fit to describe in their proposals why this is the case.  

Social Justice-Based Programs

Programs dedicated to creating equitable outcomes for communities directly affected by different aspects of injustice by:

• Sharing and redistributing power and resources;
• Amplifying voices and leadership;
• Tackling root problems through ongoing engagement and collaboration to find solutions, organize against oppression of all kinds and create mechanisms for change; and
• Developing a critical analysis with youth and community members.

Youth-Led

The development of youth leadership skills is a core part of programs funded by Rooted in Justice. Young people have the opportunity to play a role in the planning and decision-making for their program and may help shape the internal workings of the organization. Examples of youth-led programs include programs where participants: 

• Managing a portion of their programming budget;
• Co-facilitating program activities, meetings and gatherings;
• Shape their own programming and/or organizational strategic planning;
• Have regular and end-of-program opportunities to provide program feedback and evaluation; and
• Have opportunities for personal and/or professional growth within the program and organization.

Urban Greening

For the purpose of this grant we define “urban greening” as any activity that creates a mutually beneficial relationship between city dwellers and their environments. Programs that are a strong fit for Rooted in Justice will have many opportunities for youth to be outdoors.  Project settings can include, but are not limited to: 

• Urban and aquaponic farms
• Greenhouses and rooftop gardens
• Community gardens, green spaces, and rain gardens
• Composting sites
• Land conservation efforts
• Urban forests
• River or other water restoration  

Cohort-Based Youth Works

Rooted in Justice looks to fund organizations that build community with cohorts of youth through intentional, recurring programming. This grant is intended to support programs that offer youth significant learning and leadership opportunities as a group and as individuals. Priority will be given to organizations that have program infrastructure that supports a cohort of youth over time.  Drop-in programming, one-time conferences, or individual internships are not a good fit for Rooted in Justice.  

Youth Budgeting

As part of grant proposal, all Rooted in Justice grantees must share a plan to allocate a portion of the grant funds for youth participants to manage. What do we mean by this? We ask applicants to specifically set aside some amount of grant funds for youth to allocate to priorities of their choosing.  For example, youth participants can use their allocated funding to:

• Fund an entrepreneurial endeavor;
• Design the brand or swag for their group;
• Hire a speaker or outside expert to teach a new skill;
• Purchase supplies for a community-based art project;
• Host a celebration for their families, friends and neighbors;
• Pay for transportation to programming, special events, or conferences; and/or
• Any other youth-led activity the group may find beneficial.

Use of Funds

Rooted in Justice funding must be used for project support of existing youth led, urban greening, social justice work and associated general operating expenses. Operating expenses can include anything from program costs like staff salaries and youth stipends to organizational sustainability needs like major equipment purchases and leadership/staff training. If your organization’s entire mission is youth led, urban greening, social justice work, the Rooted in Justice grant can be general support. 

Funding

Two Year Grant

• Rooted in Justice Grant awards are two-year grants of $25,000 per year.
• After the initial two year grant, grantees may be eligible for a third year of funding at the same or lower level through a simple renewal process.
• In the 2025-2026 grant cycle, the Cedar Tree Foundation expects to support 4 organizations with multi-year grant awards.

Funding for Professional Development

• Each Rooted in Justice grantee organization also has access to an additional $6,000 to support professional development opportunities identified by each organization.  Half of these funds must be used to directly support the professional development of youth. 
• Rooted in Justice grantees can request reimbursement from this professional development fund to attend conferences, hire consultants, purchase equipment or software that increases organizational capacity, or participate in any activities that strengthen youth programming or justice practice of program providers in support of their youth development programming. The funds set aside for youth professional development can be used for youth exchanges or youth participation in conferences and other professional development opportunities directly for youth.  

Community Professional Development Calls

• Cedar Tree works with grantee partners to assess their professional development interests and facilitates on-line gatherings of staff or youth for skill shares, trainings, and networking opportunities.
• These network calls will likely happen 2-3 times per year. 

Appalachian Regional Commission

The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is an economic development partnership entity of the federal government and 13 state governments focusing on 423 counties across the Appalachian Region. ARC’s mission is to innovate, partner, and invest to build community capacity and strengthen economic growth in Appalachia to help the Region achieve socioeconomic parity with the nation.

The Region’s 26.4 million residents live in parts of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, and all of West Virginia.

The Region also comprises three federally recognized and five state recognized Native American Tribal Communities, with Tribal entities in Appalachian Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, New York, and North Carolina.

Purpose of ARISE

Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies (ARISE) is ARC’s multi-state initiative that aims to drive large-scale, regional economic transformation through collaborative projects across Appalachia. With the additional funding provided by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) of 2021 (also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law or BIL), ARC launched ARISE to strengthen Appalachian business and industry, and to grow and support the development of new opportunities across multiple states.

ARISE encourages initiatives that go beyond borders and help the 13 Appalachian states advance ARC’s strategic investment priorities as one, united Appalachia.

Grant Types

Planning Grants

Funding Availability for Planning Grants: $10,000,000 in FY23

Maximum Planning Grant Award Size: $500,000

Implementation Grants

Funding Availability for Implementation Grants: Up to $63,500,000 in FY23

Implementation Grant Award Size: $10 million maximum (ARC reserves the right to award grants in larger amounts on a case-by-case basis when substantially compelling circumstance are present and funds are available)

About the Innovation Prize

The J.M.K. Innovation Prize seeks out innovators who are spearheading transformative early-stage projects in the fields of the environment, heritage conservation, and social justice.

The J.M.K. Innovation Prize is open to non-profit and mission-driven for-profit organizations that are tackling America’s most pressing challenges through social innovation. In 2019, we will award up to ten Prizes, each including a cash award of $150,000 over three years, plus $25,000 for project expenses, for a total award of $175,000. Awardees also receive guidance through the Fund and its resource network, providing tools and training for ascendant change agents.

For more than three generations, The J.M. Kaplan Fund has provided catalytic funding for projects in their early stages of development. Whether a pilot project, a new organization, or a nascent initiative, work supported by the Fund has involved a certain measured risk that ultimately led to large-scale, transformative results. We launched the J.M.K. Innovation Prize in 2015 to leverage this legacy of catalytic grant-making in the field of social innovation. Currently on a biennial schedule, the Prize has to date funded twenty wildly creative solutions to social and environmental challenges, ranging from high-tech efforts to restore imperiled coral reefs, to the nation’s first farm labor trust. Each awardee takes a visionary approach to a societal need, working within one or more of the Fund’s three program areas:

• The Environment: Protecting natural resources and reducing the impacts of climate change.
• Heritage Conservation: Conserving the places that communities care about most.
• Social Justice: Supporting just alternatives and reforms to the criminal justice and immigration systems.

Tailored for Early-Stage Social Entrepreneurs

We know there is a scarcity of funding for untested ideas being piloted in the social innovation field. The Prize is designed to fill this gap in innovation philanthropy, supporting ideas that other funders may deem too risky or too small. We also know that early-stage innovators need the freedom to seize opportunities when and where they arise. The Prize’s unrestricted funding offers this flexibility, letting awardees deploy resources where they are most needed, whether investing in core projects, hiring staff, or just keeping the lights on.

We know each organization must follow its own path to achieving a change-making vision. With its three-year period, the Prize gives awardees room to evolve at their own pace, with an infrastructure of support tailored to their specific needs as early-stage innovators.

An Innovation Community

Beyond the cash award, the Innovation Prize provides tools to help turn ideas into action. Over the three-year Prize term, we bring awardees together for two convenings each year. Each of these meetings, spotlighting a different awardee’s organization, offers opportunities for peer learning and mentoring from experts in organizational development, board cultivation, media coaching, leadership training, and more. From West Virginia coal country to Monterey, California, our awardees have shared powerful learning moments, embedded in one another’s work and reflecting on their role as change agents.

Mission

The mission of Southern Partners Fund (SPF) is to serve rural Southeastern communities and organizations seeking social, economic and environmental justice by providing them with financial resources, technical assistance, training and access to systems of information and power. There are two central ideas embraced in the democratic philanthropy of Southern Partners Fund: compassion and community. Compassion implies an understanding or concern for community members lacking local political power to impact the decisions that affect their lives. Community relates to the things that bring us and hold us together.

Purpose

The Purpose of SPF Grantmaking is to:

• Develop and nurture grassroots community-based leaders and organizers.
• Build the capacity of rural, grassroots community organizing groups and leaders.
• Strengthen rural communities and people.
• Develop equitable peer relationships, which support real transformation toward a just society.

Hubert E. Sapp Regular Grants Cycle

Hubert Ellis Sapp, a transformative visionary and grassroots organizer, was instrumental in turning the concept of Southern Partners Fund, a democratically led foundation directed by grassroots leaders, into a reality. To honor his legacy in the wake of his passing in February of 2021, we are honored to add his name to our Regular Grant Cycle, which from here on, will be referred to as the Hubert E. Sapp Regular Grant Cycle. 

• Applicants may request general support or project support.
• Applicants must have operating budgets of $350,000 or less to receive general support.
• Organizations with operating budgets over $350,000 can apply for project support only.

Members of SPF’s grants committee will contact organizations being considered to schedule a site visit, required for new applicants, or phone interview. SPF’s grants committee, made up of SPF members, makes grants decisions during a September grants panel meeting, which are then ratified by the Board. Groups will be notified of grants decisions after October 1st, 2024.

If an organization has received five consecutive years of regular grant cycle funding, it must take a year off before making a new RGC grant request.