Deadline: 1-Jul-21
The Abell Foundation is seeking applications for its Grant Program to promote the development of fuller human potential and achievement of self-sufficiency through educational opportunities.
The Abell Foundation is dedicated to the enhancement of the quality of life in Maryland, with a focus on Baltimore City.
The Foundation is committed to improving the lives of underserved populations by supporting innovative, results-oriented efforts to solve systemic social, economic, and environmental problems.
Areas of Interest
The Foundation’s grants fall into seven areas of interest:
- Education: The challenge to Baltimore City’s leadership is to provide its children, the vast majority of whom qualify for free and reduced meals, with access to high-quality educational options from birth through college and/or career. The Foundation has a strong commitment to the PreK-12 public education system in Baltimore and its educational partners.
- Workforce Development: In recognition that a competent, skilled workforce is essential to the economic health and growth of Baltimore City, the Abell Foundation supports job-skills training that enables low-income, unemployed and underemployed job seekers to secure jobs that pay family-sustaining wages.
- Health and Human Services: The health of a community can only be as strong as the well-being of its citizens. Through grants awarded in this area, the Abell Foundation seeks to address societal issues associated with economic insecurity, access to health care, family planning, domestic violence, children’s health and well-being, hunger and homelessness.
- Community Development: The Abell Foundation encourages initiatives that attract resident investment in neighborhoods, promote sustainability, and increase economic development opportunities and nurture entrepreneurial talent to increase the livability of neighborhoods, the number of residents, the number of jobs and the size of the tax base.
- Criminal Justice and Addiction: In recognition that drug addiction is a complex disorder that touches every aspect of an individual’s life, the Foundation seeks to increase access to substance abuse treatment and supportive services such as housing and job training for uninsured and drug-addicted individuals living in Baltimore.
- Environment: The Abell Foundation supports programs aimed at promoting air and water quality, preserving undeveloped land, and protecting the Chesapeake Bay, in Baltimore and across the state. The Foundation supports efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change, with a particular focus on the development of renewable energy.
- Arts: In recognition of the overall economic health of a city, the Foundation seeks funding opportunities to strengthen existing cultural arts organizations and emerging arts groups, with a focus on those working to provide programming for underserved communities in Baltimore. The Foundation looks for initiatives that help attract artists to live and work in Baltimore, use the cultural arts to improve student academic achievement, and stabilize and revitalize neighborhoods.
Funding Information
- Please note: Proposal Deadline schedule applies to grant requests in excess of $5,000.
- They accept grant requests of $5,000 or less (“small grants”) on a rolling basis.
Eligibility Criteria
- The Foundation accepts requests for programs serving disadvantaged communities, with a particular focus on Baltimore City.
- Nonprofit organizations must be designated by the IRS as 501c3 and 509a organizations.
- Applicants must include a copy of their latest IRS determination letter and federal tax identification number (EIN). While all internet browsers support their application, Google Chrome is the preferred browser.
- The Foundation funds 501(c)(3), tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations located and active in Maryland. Their focus is on Baltimore City, with more than 95 percent of their grants being awarded to organizations in the Baltimore metropolitan area.
Review Process
The Foundation selects projects to be awarded grants based on the following criteria:
- a well-articulated mission;
- demonstration of need and clearly defined goals and objectives;
- potential to take innovative approaches to solving problems;
- ability to demonstrate impact by providing measurable results;
- capacity to advance knowledge base in field;
- enhancement of opportunities for beneficiaries to improve their quality of life;
- enhancement of efficiency and effectiveness of services;
- internal capacity to achieve expected goals; and
- evidence of strong financial stability and ability to leverage other sources of funding.
For more information, visit https://abell.org/applying-funding