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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 a saved application or submit a report for a previously awarded grant. Report forms can be found under the “Requirements” tab.

Return to Your Application or Submit a Report

See Our Past Grants

Belair-Edison Neighoborhoods, Inc.

$35,000 / 2019 / Community Development

Belair-Edison Neighborhoods, Inc. (BENI) uses a variety of strategies to support existing renters and homeowners and attract new owner-occupants to its Northeast Baltimore community.  BENI facilitates investment in homes, support resident self-management, and ensure that new homeowners are financially well informed and prepared to manage the realities of owning a home. BENI will provide financial education counseling including pre-purchase, post-purchase, and foreclosure counseling to city residents, and support existing homeowners with home improvements and other efforts to increase the value of and equity in their homes. 

Behavioral Health Leadership Institute, Inc.

$100,000 / 2019 / Criminal Justice and Addiction

The Behavioral Health Leadership Institute operates low-barrier substance abuse and mental health treatment programs in communities throughout Baltimore City.  A grant from the Abell Foundation will provide on-going support for its mobile treatment van operating outside of the Baltimore City Detention Center.  The mobile van offers health screenings,  buprenorphine and mental health treatment on-site, and referrals to other community-based services to individuals leaving the detention center.

Strong Schools Maryland, fiscally sponsored by Fund for Educational Excellence

$35,000 / 2019 / Education

Strong Schools Maryland, founded in Spring 2017, is a time-bounded advocacy initiative with a goal for an adequately-funded education system in which virtually all Maryland students graduate on time from high school. At stake are the education funding and policy recommendations put forward by the mandated Kirwan Commission in 2019. Strong Schools will continue its grassroots statewide advocacy through the 2020 Legislative Session to educate the public and state decision-makers using its successful organizing strategy of Teams of Ten; a monthly education and action meeting of over 188 community-based teams engaging 2,000 individuals in all of Maryland’s 24 jurisdictions. The outcome of the advocacy is to pass the Kirwan Commission educational funding and policy recommendations in the 2020 session.

 

Baltimore Education Research Consortium

$112,500 / 2019 / Education

Launched by the Abell Foundation and Open Society Foundation in 2007, the Baltimore Education Research Consortium (BERC) at Johns Hopkins University pursues long- and short-term educational data analysis and research, and subsequently interprets and shares the findings with Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools), community, and stakeholder leaders.  Over the next two and one-half years, BERC will expand its work and support for youth in Baltimore by building a sustainable research and practice community that is open to any university or college in Maryland interested in working with Baltimore City Public Schools. 

The new governance structure, with several Councils and Research Boards, will increase opportunities to partner, disseminate findings, and translate research findings into action steps in Baltimore City.  By December 2021, BERC will transition to a new revenue model that relies primarily on research grant awards to fund BERC’s ongoing operation.

Baltimore Curriculum Project, Inc.

$170,125 / 2019 / Education

In 2017, Baltimore Curriculum Project was named the Lead Education Partner in the $30 million Choice Neighborhood Implementation Grant to redevelop the Perkins Homes neighborhood in East Baltimore.  The overall goal of the five-year City Springs College and Career Readiness (CCR) Program is to prepare City Springs students to graduate from high school successfully prepared to pursue careers of choice via successful completion of college or other post-secondary training. Targeting 230 middle school students, City Springs will focus in Year I on bolstering academic readiness and career exploration by providing:  Individual Academic Counseling/high school planning; Accelerated Middle School Math & Science performance/Deepening English Instruction for High Performers; College and Career Resource Class/College & Career Exploration; Parent education and engagement in College and Career Readiness; Participation in Mentoring Programs.

 

Header photo courtesy of Thread.