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?

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 for a Small Grant?

For first-time or returning applicants with grant requests of $10,000 or less. We accept and review small grant applications on a rolling basis. There is no deadline to apply for a small grant.

Start a Small Grant Application

Ready to Apply for a Regular Grant?

For returning applicants and those who have a verified fit with the Foundation’s priorities for requests greater than $10,000. Regular grant applications are reviewed at one of five Board meetings each year.

Start a Regular 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

Second Chance for Women, Fiscally Sponsored by Fusion Partnerships, Inc.

$23,900 / 2020 / Criminal Justice and Addiction

Second Chance for Women (SCW) operates in the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women (MCIW) and was founded in 2009 by Mary Joel Davis.  Currently, Second Chance helps women prepare for their parole hearings on a one to one basis. This one on one support and mentoring is obviously ideal, but it does not scale.  Funding from the Abell Foundation will support SCW to create an accessible and user friendly parole handbook to expand their outreach in the prison system through distribution of the handbook  in the prison libraries and in workshops conducted by Second chance and other reentry providers in the facilities.  

Open Works

$35,000 / 2020 / Community Development

Open Works is an engine for grassroots economic development especially in the manufacturing sector and will actively support memberships, studio rentals, and revenue from classes and other programming once conditions are safe enough to resume those revenue generating activities. While Open Works has moved forward with a ramp up of PPE production, and will receive payment via local hospitals for those items, a number of ongoing expenses that were typically funded with membership fees or other revenue are not currently supported with that revenue. This grant provided general operating support for the organization.

Moveable Feast, Inc.

$50,000 / 2020 / Health and Human Services

Founded in 1989 as a volunteer-led organization providing home-cooked meals to people with HIV and AIDS, Moveable Feast is now the leading provider of home-delivered, medically tailored meals for people with chronic health conditions in the Baltimore region.  The organization delivers approximately 550,000 meals annually to individuals who are medically compromised and have diseases that are impacted by nutrition.  Moveable Feast is an active participant in the national Food Is Medicine coalition, an association of nonprofit food and nutrition service providers that collaborate to advance public policy, promote research, and share best practices on the provision of medically tailored meals and nutrition education.  This grant provides general support for Moveable Feast’s operations.    

Morgan State University Foundation

$300,000 / 2020 / Criminal Justice and Addiction

Funding from the Abell Foundation will support Morgan State University’s evaluation of the pilot aerial surveillance program implemented by the Baltimore Police Department. The purpose of this program evaluation is to provide an objective, evidence-based evaluation analysis as to the effectiveness of aerial surveillance in support of crime and violence reduction in Baltimore City. 

Mayor’s Office of Employment Development, Fiscally Sponsored by Baltimore Civic Fund

$75,000 / 2020 / Workforce Development

The Mayor’s Office of Employment Development (MOED) operates one of the largest summer employment program among larger cities, last year employing 8,600 young people between the ages of 14 and 21 for five weeks.  In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, MOED plans to operate a smaller initiative, employing 4,000 youth in jobs with over 100 non-profit and government partners.  Many youth will work remotely for an average of 20 hours a week for five weeks, earning $11 per hour.

Header photo courtesy of Thread.