Grants

The Abell Foundation awards grants to nonprofit community partners working to improve the quality of life in Baltimore. We provide seed funding for innovative pilots, support for ongoing community programs and services, and funding for capital projects. In addition to providing grant funding, the Foundation supports our nonprofit partners through connection to our local and national networks, as well as our team’s deep experience in and knowledge of Baltimore as it relates to our program areas.

Learn More About Our Process

Eligibility and Review Criteria

For all nonprofit organizations seeking grant funding, regardless of the request amount. 

Small Grants Process

For grant requests of $10,000 or less.

Reviewed on a rolling basis. There is no deadline to apply.

Regular Grants Process

For grant requests greater than $10,000.

Reviewed at one of the Foundation’s five annual Board meetings.

Submit an Application

Considering Applying for a Small Grant?

If you have never received an Abell small grant (requests of $10,000 or less), you must attend an information session to confirm fit with eligibility criteria and funding priorities prior to submitting a small grant application. 

Sign up for an info session

Considering Applying for a Regular Grant?

First-time applicants with grant requests greater than $10,000 should submit a short letter of inquiry prior to submitting a regular grant application. For guidance on what to include in your LOI, please reference our frequently asked questions.

Submit an LOI

Ready to Apply?

If you are a returning applicant or have met our eligibility criteria and requirements and are ready to apply for a grant, you may do so on the apply page.

Start a Grant Application

Returning to a Saved Application or Submitting a Report?

Log into the grant portal below to return to your saved application or submit a report for a previously awarded grant.

Return to Your Application or Submit a Report

See Our Past Grants

From Prison Cells to PhD, Inc

$20,000 / 2021 / Criminal Justice and Addiction

From Prison Cells to PhD was created in 2016 to help people with criminal convictions obtain employment and/or postsecondary education (PSE).  Clients receive workforce development training, career readiness skills, college application/readiness assistance, and 1-2 years or more of mentoring.  Funding from the Abell Foundation will support its Prison to Professional (P2P) program providing these services to individuals recently released from the Baltimore City Detention Center (BCDC). P2P will serve 80 individuals in several cohorts over the next year virtually and if restrictions allow at some point in-person.

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Govans Ecumenical Development Corporation (GEDCO)

$50,000 / 2021 / Health and Human Services

The Govans Ecumenical Development Corp. (GEDCO) operates the CARES food pantry and drop-in center in the Govans neighborhood in North-Central Baltimore City.  CARES provides food, emergency financial assistance and employment counseling to more than 4,000 individuals each year.  Among other resources, CARES provides eviction prevention funds to approximately 200 households per year, although the demand for eviction prevention assistance far exceeds the resources that CARES has available.  To better address this need, CARES developed a new project to assist individuals who are threatened with eviction to access federally-funded Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) funds. This grant supports a part-time CARES staff person who assists clients to complete ERAP applications and monitors those applications to ensure clients are able to obtain the funds needed to avoid eviction.  The grant also provides eviction prevention funds for households that do not qualify to receive ERAP assistance.

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Intercultural Counseling Connection, Fiscally Sponsored by Fusion Partnerships, Inc.

$25,000 / 2021 / Health and Human Services

Intercultural Counseling Connection provides therapeutic services for asylum-seekers and forced migrants in Baltimore through a pro-bono referral network of mental health professionals, as well as high quality interpretation in any language.  Its clients are from over 30 different countries and have experienced extreme violence, including torture.  Intercultural Couseling Connection serves about 100 clients a year in individual and group therapy.  This grant is for general operating support.

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Interfaith Action for Human Rights (IAHR)

$25,000 / 2021 / Criminal Justice and Addiction

IAHR represents people of faith who educate and advocate in Maryland, DC and Virginia for corrections systems that avoid unnecessarily punitive practices such as solitary confinement and that instead focus on rehabilitation and successful reentry.  Funding from the Abell Foundation will allow IAHR to continue working with its Maryland partners on and ending the practice of solitary confinement in Maryland.

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Maryland Alliance of Public Charter Schools

$30,000 / 2021 / Education

The Maryland Alliance of Public Charter Schools (MAPCS) is a non-partisan group that serves as a voice for charter school communities.  MAPCS helps to advocate for equitable and transparent conditions for public charter schools, offers support to new and existing public charter schools, and drives the discussion around innovative educational practices that lead to positive outcomes for students.  In Baltimore City, thirty charter schools serve 20% of the public school students or around 13,000 students annually.

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Header photo courtesy of Thread.