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

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. 

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.

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.

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.

See Our Past Grants

City Life Community Builders

$30,000 / 2020 / Community Development

City Life Community builders is renovating and selling 53 market rate houses just south of the Henderson Hopkins School. Grant funds will be used to support down payment and closing cost assistance for police officers and others working in security staffing in the neighborhoods surrounding their Henderson Crossing redevelopment project.

Civic Works, Inc.

$100,000 / 2020 / Workforce Development

The Center for Sustainable Careers (CSC) has built a multi-tiered green career “pathway out of poverty” by training and placing Baltimore City residents in the infastructure remediation and residential energy-efficiency industries.  Across its programs, CSC has maintained an average job placement rate of 93%.  Since 2014, 81% of graduates have remained employed for at least one year.  Over the next year, with funding from the Abell Foundation, CSC will train 80 Baltimore City residents for entry-level positions as well as 24 incumbent workers. .  

Environmental Integrity Project (EIP)

$50,000 / 2020 / Environment

With community partners, EIP will focus technical analysis and legal research into strengthening regulation of methane pollution from landfills, a gas that is 86 times more harmful to the climate than carbon dioxide on a 20-year scale. The state’s largest municipal solid waste landfill, Quarantine Road Landfill, happens to be located on Hawkins Point in Baltimore City. It is the third largest emitter of methane in Maryland in 2018 and produces 500,000 tons of Greenhouse Gases annually. EIP will encourage waste reduction and diversion as well as alternative methods of waste disposal.

Franciscan Center, Inc.

$100,000 / 2020 / Health and Human Services

Founded in 1968, the Franciscan Center is an emergency outreach and drop-in center that serves individuals who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.  The center serves a hot, mid-day meal five days a week, dinners twice a week, counseling, case management, flexible financial assistance, and related services.  This grant provides general operating support for the center’s operations, which have greatly expanded during the pandemic to meet the needs of the many Baltimore residents who are struggling with food insecurity, unemployment and other needs.  

Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake

$100,000 / 2020 / Community Development

Habitat Chesapeake has a 38 year track record of assisting lower-income families, primarily headed by middle-aged African-American women, in becoming first-time homeowners in historically disinvested neighborhoods. Interest in homeownership through Habitat is high. In FY2020, Habitat received more than 800 pre-qualification questionnaires. Grant funds will support costs associated with the rehabilitation and construction of 10 homes in three neighborhoods that have benefitted from significant investment by Habitat over the years: Pigtown, Woodbourne-McCabe, and Pen Lucy. 

Header photo courtesy of Thread.