Montgomery County Grants for Nonprofits

Background

At The Levin Family Foundation, we use our variety of experience from all aspects of life to provide assistance to a wide range of nonprofits, and even sponsor nonprofit initiatives of our own, such as the Celebrating Life and Health Fair and Propolis Projects.

When we were founded in 1996, the Levin family had no idea the potential impact of what Sam Levin probably just considered another simple business decision. Since then, we have invested over $12 million in communities around the world through collaboration with our amazing nonprofit partners.

Our Mission

Our mission is to:

• Identify areas of need in Montgomery County, Ohio
• Provide funding to address these problems

Program Areas

The Levin Family Foundation has narrowed its funding direction for 2020. The Levin Family Foundation is focusing on these areas in 2020 due to the intrinsic need to our community. 

• Opiate Epidemic 
• Human Trafficking
• Anti-bullying
• Suicide Prevention
• Pollinators

The W. W. Smith Charitable Trust is a private foundation established by William Wikoff Smith. The Trust is specifically focused on areas involving basic needs for food, clothing and shelter; supplementing higher education scholarship programs; supporting maritime education/maritime heritage preservation; and basic medical research primarily in Heart Disease, Cancer and AIDS.

Basic Needs

Meeting the challenges of the young and elderly through the direct provision of food, clothing and shelter is the priority of this program. It makes available basic necessities that are required to sustain life.

For more than thirty years, the Trust has funded projects and programs of non-profit organizations from Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties as well as the City of Camden, New Jersey.

The Trust assists organizations that deliver solid approaches to solving problems. In practical terms though, the depth and extent of the needs continue to be too large for the Charitable Trust to fund on its own. Consequently, the Trustees look to become partners with particular organizations that present opportunities to better serve certain projects.

The Trustees continue to concentrate Trust resources where the most need can be discerned and where government or private assistance has not been available. They look for evidence of innovative and smart approaches that address community problems.

The Trust has assisted a wide range of organizations that meet varied needs. For example, funds were supplied to purchase new warm winter coats for disadvantaged children in the Delaware Valley region. The cost of building materials and supplies to repair the homes of low-income families and the elderly living in substandard housing in Chester County, PA was covered. A nursing home was able to replace their aging walk-in refrigerator and freezer, which were beyond their useful life expectancy and in danger of complete breakdown. Numerous organizations and food cupboards that provide nutritious food choices and home cooked meals to low-income families, children and the elderly throughout the Delaware Valley were supported.

The aforementioned are but some recent examples of the W. W. Smith Charitable Trust’s efforts to help people in need. The Trustees realize that the staffs and volunteers of these organizations, who are providing these services, are the heroes.

The Trustees are pleased to help these dedicated, untiring individuals achieve their goals in making life a little better for children, their families, and the elderly.

Grant Guidelines

Purpose

The W. W. Smith Charitable Trust is a private foundation established by Mr. William Wikoff Smith with a mission to help organizations and individuals achieve their goals, hopes, and dreams. Through our Basic Needs program, we fund efforts to provide direct assistance to those in our community who are in need of food, clothing, or shelter. The Trust prioritizes requests that benefit disadvantaged and vulnerable children (school-aged) and older adults (ages 60 and older) who reside within the five-county Greater Philadelphia region (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties) or the City of Camden, NJ. The Trust recognizes the variety of Basic Needs "safety net" efforts in the region. While we make ongoing investments in a number of longstanding partners and projects, the Trust maintains a continual learning posture and monitors trends to help us assess and adjust our grantmaking as needs and efforts evolve. As a result, we may temporarily or permanently shift resources to new partners and programs, and may reduce or cease funding prior ones. We encourage you to contact the Grant Administrator for a preliminary review of your planned request prior to applying. 

Funding Duration & Award Size

• Grants are awarded for a one (1) year term.
• Organizations that receive three (3) consecutive years of funding must then wait two (2) years before being eligible to reapply. We make this determination based on the calendar year of your notice of award.
• The minimum award is $5,000.
• There is no maximum award limit. Grants typically range from $10,000 to $40,000. Higher-dollar awards are possible for certain projects. Please contact the Grant Administrator when planning your grant request amount.

Direct Service Grants are available on a competitive basis for direct-service nonprofits serving high poverty and vulnerable populations in our Greater Philadelphia region.

Organizations seeking direct service grants should demonstrate a strong history of effective programs that serve on behalf of vulnerable populations, strong management practices, sound fiscal performance and strong leadership at the board and staff levels.

Successful applicants demonstrate non-profit best practices and are working to operationalize equity at all levels (Board, Operations, and Service Delivery). Applicant uses trauma informed, strength and racial equity-based policies and practices in program development and delivery. Applicant demonstrates results-oriented programming including a track record of successes and proven outcomes for low-income communities. Board and leadership demographics should reflect the communities being served.

Connelly Foundation Grant

Inspired by our Catholic heritage, the mission of the Connelly Foundation is to create access for those in need and opportunity for those with vision.

Since its founding in 1955, the Connelly Foundation has been a responsive and proactive grantmaking organization awarding grants to nonprofits in the Philadelphia area that demonstrate outstanding performance in meeting community needs.

Focus Areas

To achieve its mission to create access for those in need and opportunity for those with vision, the Connelly Foundation provides grants toward costs associated with programs, direct services, general operations, and capital projects to nonprofit organizations and institutions working in the following fields:

Education: Promoting Access to and Excellence in PreK-12 Catholic Education 

The Connelly Foundation is committed to helping Philadelphia-area Catholic schools thrive. The Foundation’s grantmaking and signature education initiatives prioritize: 

• Programs that support or improve the academic quality of local Catholic schools 
• Investments in talent that attract, develop, and retain high-quality teachers and leaders in schools and systems 
• Efforts for strategic improvement around enrollment growth and financial sustainability 
• Strategies to increase access to a high-quality Catholic education.

Human Services: Essential Needs and a Path to Stability

The Connelly Foundation’s Human Services grantmaking reflects the compassion of our Founders, John and Josephine Connelly, and their respect for human dignity. Inspired by our Catholic heritage, we seek to alleviate urgent, basic needs through access to food, emergency shelter, clothing, and critical home repair. We strive to create pathways to stability and independence through investments in youth and workforce development.

• Our Human Services Funding Priorities:
  • Basic Needs: Alleviating urgent needs through access to food, emergency shelter, clothing, and critical home repair
  • Investing in Youth: Supporting evidence-based or outcome-focused youth out-of-school time programs
  • Workforce development: Creating pathways to sustainable employment and stability through foundational skill building, entrepreneurship, and workforce development programs

Culture & Civic Life: Rewarding Destinations that Inspire 

In a region where civic and cultural opportunities abound, the primary focus of our "investment" in the arts is to support access and the development and delivery of educational programs.

Grants are awarded to organizations that strive to engage a broad audience and bridge cultural boundaries.  

The Foundation seeks to identify and support sites and projects that provide a deep appreciation of Philadelphia's rich heritage. 

Criteria 

• The degree to which the proposal directly addresses and furthers the Connelly Foundation’s objectives and goals .
• The significance of the problem or need addressed by the proposed program .
• The overall quality of the proposal and whether the organization has made a convincing case that funding to the organization will facilitate more effective and efficient service delivery to constituents
• The history and stability of the organization with regard to board, management, and financial support
• The organization’s track record, prior accomplishments and unique role in providing service to its specific constituencies
• The reasonableness of the prepared budget

Pennsylvania Grant Opportunities

The PPL Foundation empowers communities by supporting student success from cradle to career; advancing diversity, equity and inclusion; and promoting the development of vibrant and sustainable communities.

The PPL Foundation’s grant programs provide grants up to $50,000 to support education, workforce development and community revitalization initiatives.

Empowering Communities Grants

Enriching the overall vitality of the community through programs that protect the environment and improve people’s lives, these grants support programs focused on:

• Environmental stewardship and education
• Economic development
• Workplace development

AED Mini-Grant Program

The Phoenixville Community Health Foundation has established this mini-grant program to streamline requests for financial assistance toward the purchase of one or more Automatic External Defibrillators.

You will need to upload a formal estimate or documentation of the AED equipment to be purchased.

Funding

The maximum grant award is $2,000 for one unit and $4,000 for two units.

Mission

The mission of the Independence Foundation is to build leadership, provide services, and encourage systems and cultural change through the support of organizations in the fields of healthcare, human services, legal aid, and the arts. The Foundation invests in people and programs that protect, improve and enrich the life experiences of residents of the Philadelphia and its surrounding Pennsylvania counties, with a focus on the vulnerable and excluded. Its work is based on the belief that a region that promotes physical well-being, provides equal access to justice and services, and appreciates the value of the arts will thrive for generations to come.

Independence Foundation primarily provides unrestricted funding to nonprofits to best help them achieve their missions. Our general operating support offers flexibility to our grantees by allowing funds to be used when and where they’re most needed. 

Funding Initiatives

Arts And Culture

Independence Foundation believes in bolstering the well-being of the region by supporting a variety of opportunities for involvement and participation in the arts. The arts can bind people through shared experience and understanding. Art plays a transformative role in society, one that enriches community and connects people. The Foundation supports programs in the arts that enhance the common artistic spirit through creation or performance. 

Programs which connect the arts with non-traditional participants and increase both access to and awareness of the arts, are of special interest. The Foundation awards general operating grants aimed at strengthening organizations by supporting creative work and administrative capacity, based on community involvement, artistic merit, and leadership in the field. With the exception of groups currently funded, we do not give grants to dance companies, music organizations, media arts/broadcasting agencies, museums or historical societies, though we do continue to fund individual artists in some of these disciplines through our Fellowships in the Arts.

Health Care

Independence Foundation believes that high quality, comprehensive primary care and related services result in better health, improved quality of life, reduction in health disparities, and lower costs to the health care system. 

Funding within the health care initiative focuses on the following: 

• Existing nurse-managed health care centers undertaking capacity building projects to expand and/or improve the provision of primary care and related services
• Programs that support health policies and/or infrastructure for nurse-managed and other safety net providers
• Projects designed to inform health care-related planning
• Clinical, community, and/or educational programs designed to improve the health of older adults 

Human Services

Independence Foundation believes that the health of a community can only be as strong as the well-being of its citizens. Our region faces many challenges and continually changing demographics have contributed to increased demand for services, while local and federal funding for these services has declined. Community-based organizations fill in the gaps by providing much needed outreach and support.

The Foundation supports organizations that provide direct services to people who do not ordinarily have access to them for the most basic of needs. The current Human Services funding agenda focuses primarily on programs that address the following areas:

• adequate food and food distribution
• affordable housing and access to shelter by homeless persons
• services which support independence for people living with disabilities
• Independence Foundation supports programs that empower less advantaged residents of the Philadelphia area to achieve self-sufficiency by providing these most basic of needs.

Legal Aid

The Independence Foundation is committed to the support of free legal services for the underserved of the Philadelphia region. Grants provide core operating support to strengthen the administrative capacity and the direct service programs of those agencies that deliver critical legal services.

Agencies funded under the Public Interest Legal Aid Initiative address civil legal issues confronting individuals from diverse populations who do not traditionally have adequate access to legal representation, including the indigent, the elderly, the disabled, and the homeless.

Reentry, Recidivism & Restorative Justice 

The Foundation funds community-based organizations doing the following - either by directly assisting individuals, or working to change systems that cause or contribute to the harm addressed:  

• Providing supports to families and individuals involved with and affected by the criminal justice system
• Working to reduce the number of people who imminently face incarceration or a return to prison
• Providing resources to formerly incarcerated individuals that help them become integrated and contributing members once they are released back into society
• Working to reduce harm to families and neighborhoods caused by incarceration

Background

The Montgomery County Foundation, Inc. is a community foundation whose mission it is to receive, administer, and manage under community control, funds, primarily for permanent endowments, received from public and private resources and to distribute grants for charitable purposes, so as to improve the quality of life for people in Montgomery County and the surrounding areas both now and in the future. In partnership with donors and grantees, it seeks to build on community assets and meet community needs through responsible stewardship of funds and effective grantmaking.

Donors establish permanent funds for a number of reasons, ranging from providing scholarships to supporting specific nonprofit agencies or broad charitable purposes. Grants from certain funds may be awarded with the advice from the donor or a committee that advises the fund. Other funds have been earmarked for and are of philanthropic interest such as arts, culture, humanities, human services, community economic development, education, public society benefit, and the environment. These grants are awarded through a review process involving input from the Grantmaking Committee of the Foundation and approval by the Board of Directors.

Types of Grants

General Distribution Grants (usually due in September of each year) will be for "operating funds for your organization." 

The Edna W. Andrade Fund -- a Donor Advised Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation -- is pleased to announce the availability of grants for local or national museums or nonprofit art organizations to benefit visual fine artists from Greater Philadelphia.

The fund was established through the estate of Edna Andrade. Edna Andrade was a leading Philadelphia teacher and artist who was associated with the Op Art movement of the 1960's.

Grants will be awarded in amounts ranging from $5,000 to $25,000. 

The purpose of the fund is to benefit visual fine artists from the Greater Philadelphia area by providing funds for the following:

• For grants to local or national museums or other charitable organizations that request funding for the purchase or commission of works of art by specific artists from the Greater Philadelphia area
• For grants to local or national museums for the funding of one-person exhibitions of specific artists from the Greater Philadelphia area
  • The Greater Philadelphia area is defined as Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties in Pennsylvania and Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Mercer counties in New Jersey.
• For grants to nonprofit organizations as fiscal agents for individual artists or groups of artists from the Greater Philadelphia area who propose to start or are engaged in continuing educational, cultural, humanitarian or environmental projects.

Grants

Social impact organizations and leaders often need early investors and additional resources such as thought partnership to try new ways of tackling emerging or persistent problems. They need to be able to take risks, test hypotheses and challenge assumptions.

The Catalyst Fund is Barra’s core grantmaking program.

These grants provide early-stage dollars that enable an organization to test an idea that might not work—yet. Since 1963, we have provided this type of risk capital to nonprofits in the region that are aiming to test a new idea, assess the results, learn from them and share those lessons with others in an effort to advance knowledge and inspire transformative change that strengthens communities.

The Catalyst Fund provides grants that act as risk capital for early-stage, bold approaches that have the potential to result in outsized impact and thriving, equitable communities.

Our Areas of Interest

Our four areas of interest—Arts & Culture, Education, Health and Human Services—help us organize our grantmaking, but we recognize possible overlaps and resist making them rigid lines of work. These areas of interest collectively contribute to creating a stronger and more vibrant community. As such, all projects and initiatives supported by Barra should aim to improve the lives of under-resourced individuals, families and communities.

The Catalyst Fund

There are proven models and best practices that work. And then there are intractable and emerging problems that require a different approach, imagination and fresh, bold thinking.

The Catalyst Fund supports early-stage, novel approaches that have the potential to result in durable, transformative and equitable change, particularly in under-resourced communities.

These timely early-stage Catalyst Fund ideas should:

• Address a precisely defined and timely problem or opportunity
• Demonstrate a break from existing practice
• Be informed by the people most affected by the issue being addressed
• Create outsized impact for communities
• Have the potential to inspire deep change in a field, sector, region or system
• Address the needs of under-resourced communities and/or needs for a vibrant cultural sector in the Greater Philadelphia region
• Stem from a shift in underlying assumptions, often built upon new or emerging evidence or arguments; or, a shift in cultural/social awareness

Art and Change Grant

The Art and Change Grant (ACG) provides grants of up to $2,500 to fund art for social change projects by women, trans, and/or gender nonconforming artists and cultural producers living in Greater Philadelphia.

The grant is project-based and open to artists and cultural producers working in any medium, including traditional and nontraditional as well as multimedia and experimental forms.

Change Partner

Leeway believes art for social change work happens through relationships — working with others collaboratively, often in community. Because of this, we ask artists to submit an application together with a Change Partner that affirms your grounding in a community-based process. Change Partners cannot benefit financially from the grant.

A Change Partner is:

• someone the applicant has built a relationship with who is a member of the community that the project seeks to engage or in which it takes place; or
• a person, organization, or business that has a connection to the project in some form.

Eligible Change Partners can live within or beyond the Greater Philadelphia Area and may include mentors, editors, art spaces, theaters, nonprofit organizations, dance studios, radio stations, production companies, etc. – or anyone who can support the project.

Your Change Partner Form must be completed and signed by your Change Partner.

Art for Social Change: What We Mean

Leeway supports artists and cultural producers involved in art for social change that positively affects and engages communities and audiences. Creating social change must be integral to the ideas, beliefs, and goals that are woven throughout your art and your process of creating and sharing your art.

IMPACT OF ART WITH VISION

Art for social change is art with a vision and an intentional analysis. It is an artistic or creative cultural practice that may operate in traditional or nontraditional mediums, modes, or disciplines.

Art with a vision impacts people in many ways. It can:

• Raise consciousness
• Alter how we think about ourselves, our society, or our culture
• Create a vision of a more just world
• Be a tool or strategy for organizing and movement building
• Preserve or reclaim traditional cultural practices using your artistic practice as a form of resistance or empowerment
• Create space for expression and build a sense of community
• Challenge racism, classism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ageism, ableism, or other oppressions
• Question mainstream culture and beliefs
• Shift or transform the perception of power and/or privilege and the dynamics associated with justice, equality, and/or accountability
• Value healing justice practices focused on strengthening communities, not just individuals
• Engage and utilize a reciprocal process — where there is teaching and learning simultaneously and the consent for engagement is mutual, as is the benefit for yourself as an artist and the community you are engaging

Social Change Intent/Vision

We ask you to identify at least one but no more than three social change categories that best describe the intent or vision behind your project. There is no correct or incorrect way to choose; you should pick one that resonates with you as the core intent or vision of your work. You will have an opportunity to define further what that vision is for you in question 3 of the application.

• Cultural preservation/restoration
• Decarceration
• Demilitarization
• Disability justice
• Economic justice
• Environmental justice
• Feminism
• Housing justice
• Immigration justice
• Indigenous sovereignty
• LGBQA social movements
• Racial justice
• Transgender justice/gender self-determination

Mission

The Detwiler Family Foundation invests in local organizations to enrich and improve the lives of children in our community. We strive to serve children dealing with difficult life challenges by facilitating access to education and the arts.

Improving The Lives Of Children In Our Communities

The Detwiler Family Foundation invests in local organizations to enrich the lives of children in our community who are dealing with difficult life challenges. We strive to support projects and programs that improve the health, safety and welfare of children with a focus on facilitating access to education and the arts.

The foundation focuses on creating a local impact by serving specific communities in the United States. We believe in the power of community investment and strive to build relationships with organizations that directly impact the areas near where we live and work.

Areas of Service

The Detwiler Family Foundation supports organizations that enrich the lives of children and families though programing that focuses on the following areas of service:

• Children and Families Experiencing Food/Housing Insecurity
• Children in need of Mental Health/Medical Services
• Education and After School Programming for Disadvantaged Children
• Children with Disabilities
• Arts and Cultural Programs Benefiting Children Experiencing Trauma 

Organizations may apply for a grant to support specific projects or programs that will enhance the organizations ability to serve the children in our communities.

Grants

The Detwiler Family Foundation has defined a grant structure that reflects our commitment to our local communities. We award several grants a year to organizations that further our mission.

Project Grants (75%): The Detwiler Family Foundation accepts applications for Project Grants on a rolling basis. Funding applications should be for programming in one of the following categories:

• The Arts
• Education/Literacy
• Community Resource Improvement

Matching Grants (25%); The foundation supports successful fundraising through our Matching Program. Organizations with ongoing fundraising efforts may apply for funds that are conditional on the success of other efforts.

Art Works

Founded in 2021 by Forman Arts Initiative and Philadelphia Foundation, Art Works is a joint $3 million grant program designed to support Philadelphia arts and cultural organizations and artists working in partnership with BIPOC and other underserved communities.

Art Works accepts applications from local cultural nonprofit (or fiscally sponsored) organizations with annual operating budgets between $250,000 and $5 million as well as individual artists with a commitment to incorporating community perspectives into their work.

• Four Philadelphia-based artists will be selected annually to receive two-year grants of $25,000 per year. Grants can be used freely by artists. Some artists may wish to use the grant to support the development of new work while others may use it to pay for living or studio expenses. Artists will be chosen based on how closely their work aligns with Art Works’ programmatic goals.
• Four community-based organizations will be selected annually to receive two-year, unrestricted grants ranging from $75,000-$150,000.  Organizations will be chosen based on how closely their work aligns with Art Works‘ programmatic goals.

In addition to the awarded funds, all grantees will have access to experiential professional development workshops and pro bono professional consulting services designed to provide strategic and tactical support on a range of topics including legal, marketing, communications, budgeting and finance, among others.

Art Works also provides grantees the opportunity to host co-operative education students from Drexel University to support programs and operations.

These placements, administered by Drexel’s Lenfest Center for Cultural Partnerships, are designed to provide students with meaningful work experience in the arts and culture sector. 

Leadership Grants

Leadership grants are available on a limited basis to increase measurable skills and racial diversity of pipelines for senior staff and board of nonprofits; and to strengthen the capacities of nonprofit leaders in the areas of governance, planning, civic engagement, board and staff development and diversity, equity and inclusion. Requests to support leadership transition and increase the diversity of senior staff leadership will also be considered.

Successful applicants will demonstrate organizational readiness and a level of commitment to leadership development and capacity building.

Impact Grants

Impact Program Grants are available on a competitive basis to nonprofits serving high-poverty and marginalized populations in Greater Philadelphia who can demonstrate that their work improves the lives of people served.

Applicants must present a strong history of direct service programming to high poverty and marginalized populations and have documented outcomes and evaluations data for at least one year of program service delivery.

Organizations seeking funding for pilot programs should demonstrate prior success in delivering outcomes-based initiatives and achieving desired outcomes for targeted populations.

Types of Projects Funded

Grants are restricted and will only support program-related activities. Successful applicants will deliver results-oriented programs with a track record of successes and proven outcomes for low-income and marginalized communities.

Advocacy Unrestricted Grants 

Advocacy Unrestricted Grants are available on a competitive basis for nonprofits that dedicate majority/ significant portion of their work to systems advocacy and community organizing efforts that seek to reform laws, policies, regulations, and institutional practices impacting marginalized and low-income communities in Greater Philadelphia.

Funds may be used for all mission-related activities including education, coalition building, capital campaigns, service delivery, operational costs, and lobbying and political activities (in accordance with IRS allowances for nonprofits).

Successful applicants have clearly defined the community benefitting from their efforts and are operationalizing equity at all levels of the organization including Board and operations, as well as in their advocacy/organizing strategy and tactics. Additionally, organizations can demonstrate operational excellence, long-term impact, and short-term outcomes; utilize creative strategies and tactics to achieve campaign victories; and have a track record of policy and system reform success in Greater Philadelphia.

Types of Projects Funded

Funds may be used for all mission-related activities including education, organizing, coalition building, contributions to capital campaigns and endowments and operational costs.

Goals

The Visionary Leadership Fund is a separate endowment managed by the Valentine Foundation. Created in 2005, this endowment provides a dedicated source of funding for leadership development for women executives and aspiring leaders in organizations that improve the lives of women and girls in the Greater Philadelphia region. The Fund for Visionary Leadership enhances these organizations and creates positive social change by making valuable leadership training accessible to those working in the non-profit sector with the goals of:

• Supporting the Effectiveness of Current Women Leaders
• Developing the Next Generation of Women Leaders
• Fostering a Community of Women Leaders

The Valentine Foundation envisions a society in which all women, and girls, and non-binary individuals thrive. We encourage submissions from women executive and aspiring leaders from groups that have historically been under-represented in leadership roles.

Our definition of “women and girls” includes anyone who is cis-gender or trans woman/girl, or non-binary.

The groups we focus on who have historically been under-represented in leadership roles include, but are not limited to, those who are Black, Indigenous, People of Color, LGBTQ+, and/or People with Disabilities.

Our grantmaking goal is to close the gender, racial, ethnic, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, and other equity gaps in non-profit leadership. We do this by actively funding the leadership development of as many current women executive and aspiring leaders from groups that have historically been under-represented in leadership roles as possible, within our means and mission.

Characteristics of Visionary Leadership

The Valentine Fund for Visionary Leadership is committed to advancing, encouraging, and developing visionary leadership skills in both aspiring and executive-level women nonprofit leaders. The Fund understands visionary leadership, apart from management and executive authority, to include the following characteristics:

• Demonstration of innovation and entrepreneurial vision: (Takes initiative, is not risk averse, seeks new solutions, partnerships, tries alternative approaches)
• Credibility: (Demonstrates knowledge of issues from the standpoint of content and policy. Demonstrates capacity for strategic synthesis of knowledge and practice).
• Demonstration of the capacity to influence others with or without the formal authority or title.
• Demonstration of the capacity to respect followers, promote their voices, and protect their interests.
• Exhibition of generosity: Shares knowledge, power, and resources in the interest of an aim.
• Demonstration of life decisions and actions consistent with a set of core values and ethics.
• Demonstration of effectiveness. Achievements, even if modest, that reflect intelligence, creativity, vision, advocacy, and a healthy balance of outrage and optimism.
• Ability to think expansively about long term challenges
• Seeks new solutions

Funding

A total grant pool of $40,000–$45,000 will be awarded to successful applicants.

Our grantmaking goal is to close the gender, racial, ethnic, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, and other equity gaps in non-profit leadership. We do this by actively funding the leadership development of as many current women executive and aspiring leaders from groups that have historically been under-represented in leadership roles as possible, within our means and mission.

Our definition of “women and girls” includes anyone who is cis-gender or trans woman/girl, or non-binary.

The groups we focus on who have historically been under-represented in leadership roles include, but are not limited to, those who are Black, Indigenous, People of Color, LGBTQ+, and/or People with Disabilities.

Please refer to FAQ for additional guidelines.

Pennsylvania Grant Opportunities

The PPL Foundation empowers communities by supporting student success from cradle to career; advancing diversity, equity and inclusion; and promoting the development of vibrant and sustainable communities.

The PPL Foundation’s grant programs provide grants up to $50,000 to support education, workforce development and community revitalization initiatives.

Energizing Education Grants

Supporting equitable and engaging high-quality educational opportunities for all students, these grants fund programs focused on:

• STEM (with a focus on programs that inspires students to pursue careers in the energy industry)
• Literacy and summer learning
• College and career readiness

Pennsylvania Grant Opportunities

The PPL Foundation empowers communities by supporting student success from cradle to career; advancing diversity, equity and inclusion; and promoting the development of vibrant and sustainable communities.

The PPL Foundation’s grant programs provide grants up to $50,000 to support education, workforce development and community revitalization initiatives.

Powering Equity Grants

Advancing diversity, equity and inclusion through programs that move racial and social justice forward such as:

• Diversity Education and advocacy programs
• Programs focused on protecting underrepresented residents (ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation, disability and veterans)

 Independence Public Media Foundation

The Independence Public Media Foundation connects creators, industry experts, community organizations, and philanthropists to support community-driven media-making and storytelling. We’re committed to transforming the Greater Philadelphia region into a hub for community-owned media, redefining the role of community in philanthropy, and evolving to best meet the needs of the people we serve.

Community Voices Fund

Independence Public Media Foundation's (IPMF) Community Voices Fund supports creative, community-centered media and media-making across Greater Philadelphia.

Focus Areas

Your project must fit at least one of the following focus areas:

• Community-owned media and local storytelling
• Community-centered news and journalism
• Using archives for building community power
• Narrative shift and media for movement building

The Fund will center voices and leadership from communities targeted by white supremacy and state sanctioned violence.

Grant Awards

The Community Voices Fund will award one year grants in three different ranges, depending on the scope and needs of the work. These categories are meant to provide helpful guidance, but we will remain flexible as we review applications:

• The Star level ($20,000-$50,000) is typically geared toward new or smaller-scale projects, community engagement, or experimentation.
• The Constellation level ($50,000-$100,000) generally seeks to support larger-scale projects or collaborations that result in innovative content creation and stronger networks.
• The Galaxy level ($100,000-$150,000) will support established programs and projects to expand, evolve or deepen their work, particularly those that are focused on movement building.

We will award a total of $800,000 in grants. These are non-renewable one-year grants.

Information Technology Mini-Grant Program

Types of equipment eligible are computer hardware, software upgrades, printers, training associated with equipment/program upgrades, tablets, and laptops

Funding

The maximum grant award is $5,000

Annual Grant Cycle

PCHF has four grantmaking initiatives:

• Health & Human Services:
  • To ensure equitable access to high-quality and affordable health and human services for all residents in the Greater Phoenixville region.
• Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services:
  • Promote and strengthen access to timely mental health and substance abuse services, especially crisis intervention.
• Housing & Public Safety:
  • Support efforts to prevent homelessness and services for those experiencing housing security, and expand opportunities for healthy, safe, and affordable housing.
• Capacity-Building & Development:
  • Enhance the quality of services in the region by investing in nonprofit capacity building and development, and by encouraging partnership and innovation.

About Our Grants

Impact100 Philadelphia provides high-impact grants that support a nonprofit organization’s core mission. Our goal is to address unmet needs in the Philadelphia region and raise the profile of smaller nonprofit organizations. Impact100 grant funds may be spent on necessary infrastructure, staff salaries, primary programs or services, or other expenses that strengthen an organization and enhance its ability to do its core work. 

A central question in our application is Why now? We ask applicants why this juncture in particular is the time that a $100,000 grant will have a large impact on the organization.

Our Focus Areas are Arts & Culture, Education, Environment, Family, and Health & Wellness.

Arts and Culture:

Promote, develop, and enhance artistic expression and creative thinking through culturally diverse art or art education, utilizing varied media and art forms such as exhibitions, performances, or some other method.

Education:

Teach, inform and educate individuals or specific groups, addressing equitable access to create or advance future opportunities for children and/or adults on a wide range of issues and causes.

Environment:

Improve, preserve, and protect community public spaces or natural resources providing equitable access while promoting a just, safe, healthy and sustainable world.

Family:

Strengthen and enhance the lives of children, older adults, and all families to achieve a better life and a healthy, secure future.

Health & Wellness:

Empower wellness as a way to strengthen and improve the mental and physical well-being of communities and people of all ages.

Our Mission

The William Penn Foundation is committed to expanding access to resources and opportunities that promote a more vital and just city and region for all.

Arts and Culture Programming

WPF aims to support projects and programs that connect more Philadelphians to high-quality arts and culture experiences, reflect the cultural diversity of the region, and contribute to its vibrancy. We are most interested in prioritizing performances, exhibitions, and other arts and culture projects in which participants see themselves and their communities and experience joy, affirmation, and a sense of belonging.

We are requesting proposals for 1-3-year projects that will increase opportunities for people across the region to engage with a range of high-quality arts and culture experiences. This funding opportunity is for activities beginning in or after February next year and will focus on inclusive and equitable opportunities shaped by deep and enduring community relationships. Project teams will be deeply rooted in the community they seek to serve and have a history of inclusive and community-centered practices. After reviewing proposals, WPF will conduct site visits and gather additional information from a limited number of applicants.

Applicants that propose projects in partnership with other applicants will be considered on their individual merits. The Foundation recognizes that making significant progress on the objective is difficult and values partnerships that leverage complementary strengths, resources, and expertise for the mutual benefit of the applicants and their communities.

Objective

This specific Request for Proposals (RFP) was created to help organizations to advance the following objective:

• Provide access to arts and culture experiences that are intentionally designed to engage a community or audience.

Arts and culture programs, projects, and experiences can provide a wealth of benefits for individuals and communities. By participating in experiences and programming that are designed for them – whether performances, exhibitions, or hands-on opportunities to make art – we believe that people across the region will experience joy, beauty, and deeper appreciation for different cultures. To ensure more Philadelphians connect to arts and culture, we are supporting dynamic projects that seek to create culturally relevant and accessible ways for people across the region to engage with arts, culture, and their communities.

The Foundation recognizes there are many ways that organizations and communities can contribute to advancing this objective. A project may focus on any or multiple artistic disciplines and include a range of activities as long as those activities provide access to high-quality arts and culture experiences that center equity, inclusion, and the needs, interests, and experiences of its intended beneficiaries. Proposals may have a small geographic focus or may seek to provide programming on a citywide scale.

Funding

WPF has a total of $3 million available to advance this objective at this time. WPF values diverse approaches from various organizations and communities to address the objective. We aim to attract and fund a range of projects. There is no minimum or maximum amount of funding that projects may request but the most competitive proposals will likely be those with total grant requests under $600,000 (for 3 years). The grant amount requested should be proportionate with the scope of the project and the contribution that the project will make to the overall objective.

Who We Are

We are a private, independent foundation in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, part of the Greater Philadelphia region. 

Our foundation was created in 2002 from the sale of the North Penn Hospital in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. Originally known as the North Penn Community Health Foundation, we became HealthSpark Foundation in 2016 when we expanded to serve all of Montgomery County.

Our mission is to achieve healthy, equitable, and hopeful communities throughout Montgomery County. Since our founding, we’ve made 1,044 grants totaling $18.4 million to 226 organizations.

Building Community Power Fund

This past fall, HealthSpark Foundation launched our 2025-2029 Strategic Plan, which will direct our efforts to advance positive social change in Montgomery County and to build community power – our belief that people should have influence and control over the policies, programs, and practices that affect their lives.

Every day in Montgomery County, community organizations and leaders are working to address and improve civic engagement, racial and social equity, public policies and systems, and social determinants of health and well-being. Our grantmaking, convening, and leadership will stand behind and support their inspirational and essential efforts. Each year, HealthSpark will prioritize strategic initiatives that support transformative leaders, build thriving communities, and achieve opportunities and justice for all.

Our strategic goals—Community Power, Leadership, and Solutions—are designed to advance our updated mission: to achieve healthy, equitable, and hopeful communities throughout Montgomery County. 

To support our Community Power goal, we are proud to launch the Building Community Power Fund. Based on the belief that advocacy is a critical lever for achieving health equity, the Building Community Power Fund is dedicated to supporting and growing nonprofit organization’s ability to advocate for more just and equitable policies, practices, and programs that impact the health and wellbeing of Montgomery County residents. The Fund provides grant support to build capacity within nonprofit organizations for advocacy and to enhance existing advocacy efforts centered in Montgomery County that are aligned with HealthSpark’s mission, guiding principles, and goals.

HealthSpark Foundation is committed to helping nonprofit organizations in Montgomery County embed advocacy into their culture, daily operations, programs, and long-term goals. The Building Community Power Fund aims to empower them to advocate for community needs, raise awareness of key issues impacting the health and well-being of residents, and create lasting positive change. By fostering opportunities for advocacy, building necessary resources, and strengthening ongoing activities, we believe in driving impactful outcomes for the community.

Grant Funding Details

The 2025 Building Community Power Fund budget is approximately $140,000. HealthSpark anticipates:

• Awarding grants with a maximum of $20,000 for a one-year period beginning mid-April.
• Grants may be awarded as general operating support or programmatic (restricted) support.
• Announcing award decisions in early April.

Who We Are

We are a private, independent foundation in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, part of the Greater Philadelphia region.

Our foundation was created in 2002 from the sale of the North Penn Hospital in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. Originally known as the North Penn Community Health Foundation, we became HealthSpark Foundation in 2016 when we expanded to serve all of Montgomery County.

Our mission is to achieve healthy, equitable, and hopeful communities throughout Montgomery County. Since our founding, we’ve made 1,044 grants totaling $18.4 million to 226 organizations.

Rapid Response Fund for Community Power

This past fall, HealthSpark Foundation launched our 2025-2029 Strategic Plan, which will direct our efforts to advance positive social change in Montgomery County and to build community power – our belief that people should have influence and control over the policies, programs, and practices that affect their lives.

Every day in Montgomery County, community organizations and leaders are working to address and improve civic engagement, racial and social equity, public policies and systems, and social determinants of health and well-being. Our grantmaking, convening, and leadership will stand behind and support their inspirational and essential efforts. Each year, HealthSpark will prioritize strategic initiatives that support transformative leaders, build thriving communities, and achieve opportunities and justice for all.

Our strategic goals—Community Power, Leadership, and Solutions—are designed to advance our new mission: to achieve healthy, equitable, and hopeful communities throughout Montgomery County.

Aligned with our core principles of courage and justice, we are proud to launch our Rapid Response Fund for Community Power. This fund will give one-time, fast, flexible funding support to Montgomery County organizations responding to critical and unexpected, urgent events or external challenges, while strengthening the voice and power of community members. The Rapid Response Fund is intended to help nonprofits and community-based organizations in a nonpartisan manner respond to critical threats, or opportunities to advance support for racial and social justice goals. 

Grant Funding Details

The 2025 Rapid Response Fund for Community Power budget is approximately $50,000. HealthSpark anticipates awarding grants with a range of $500 to a maximum of $5,000.

BACKGROUND

The GSK IMPACT Awards program honors up to ten local nonprofit organizations in recognition of their exceptional achievements, overall excellence, and best practices in contributing to a healthier Greater Philadelphia Region. Individual Awards are $50,000 in urestricted funding. To be eligible, the minimum annual gross revenue for 501(c)(3) nonprofits is $100,000, the maximum is $5,000,000.

GSK is proud to continue its partnership with the Philadelphia Foundation to administer this awards program. The GSK IMPACT Awards is one of several charitable programs GSK offers in the United States as part of its commitment to building healthier communities and a healthy America.

CHALLENGE

Much of what influences our health happens outside the doctor's office – in our communities. Factors such as access to healthy foods and recreational spaces undeniably contribute to our health. Where we are born, raised, live and work matters to our health; yet too many individuals are living in communities that are hazardous to our health.

SOLUTION

The more we understand the connection between our health and our community, the more we can improve it. GSK is a global biopharma company with a purpose to unite science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together. GSK goes beyond discovering, developing and delivering new medicines and vaccines and addresses health challenges where they often start – in our communities.

PROCESS

GSK and the Philadelphia Foundation staff review nonprofit registrations and invite eligible organizations to complete the application process. We work together to select 15 finalists. Virtual site visits are managed and conducted by Philadelphia Foundation staff. A panel comprised of local community health experts and GSK representatives evaluate the finalist applications and site visit reports to select up to ten winners.