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

Mayor and City Council of Baltimore City

$74,000 / 2019 / Education

The original Mayor’s Fellowship Program provided a summer internship that enabled the City of Baltimore to establish a pipeline to full time employment to high caliber young professionals, many of whom remain high profile leaders in City and County government today. With the support of Baltimore Corps, up to 10 graduate school students will be recruited for a ten-week Summer internship working on executive-level projects in high-functionning Baltimore City agencies and offices. Fellows meet weekly to learn about City government, and present their projects and findings to City Hall leaders at the end of internship. The goal of the Mayor’s Office is to hire successful Fellows in the two years following the internship experience.

Maryland New Directions

$80,000 / 2019 / Workforce Development

Maryland New Directions, Inc., (MND) is a private, nonprofit, career counseling and job placement agency that provides occupational skills training, including the Maritime Transportation Distribution and Logistics training program and the Commercial Transportation Careers training program.  MCAT also provides other employment services, inlcuding computer literacy training, walk-in job search and application support, individual job coaching, and other personalized support services.  Funding from Abell will support MND in assisting more than 300 job seekers in Baltimore.

Marian House, Inc.

$10,000 / 2019 / Criminal Justice and Addiction

Marian House is a supportive housing program for homeless women and children located in the Better Waverly neighborhood of Baltimore City.  Funding from the Abell Foundation will support Marian House’s Impact Study which will track outcome data for Marian House residents who exited the program between 2011-2016.  Findings from the evaluation will help Marian House to identify any gaps in programming and to support its fundraising efforts.

Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering

$150,000 / 2019 / Community Development

The Baltimore Healthcare Innovator Retention Program fellowship stipends enable talented Johns Hopkins University biomedical engineering students to continue working on promising healthcare innovations after they complete their graduate studies. These teams of Fellows operative as virtual startups creating commercially viable products, seeking follow-on funding, and creating new companies. The program maximizes the translation of discovery and invention from the University biomedical program into income-generating companies which have the potential to generate local employment.

Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth

$38,440 / 2019 / Education

With a goal to close the persistent “excellence gap” between sub-groups of advanced learners, the Baltimore Emerging Scholars Program targets students in grades 2-4 who show potential for becoming academically advanced as well as the teachers who work with them. Run by the renowned Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, this program serves 600 students in 18 schools (identified without using a test) with weekly 90-minute enrichment lessons around an interdisciplinary theme.  The Abell grant will enable Emerging Scholars to develop a 5th grade curriculum entitled “Recover, Repair, Rebuild,” and to train 5th grade teachers to use the curriculum reaching an additional 400 5th grade students. The project will follow the trajectories of participating students into middle school.

Header photo courtesy of Thread.