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

Baltimore Corps

$125,000 / 2019 / Community Development

Baltimore Corps supports Baltimore City’s social innovation sector by recruiting and deploying mission-driven young professionals to Baltimore City’s public agencies and social sector organizations. This grant provided support for staff costs associated with core programmatic efforts to recruit, deploy and retain talent in Baltimore City.  

Baltimore City Office of Sustainable Energy

$150,000 / 2019 / Environment

This pilot program has a simple premise: to lower water consumption and bills through water conservation and efficiency interventions and to measure the results. The Baltimore City Energy Office proposes to continue a five-year partnership with Healthy Neighborhoods that began with energy-efficiency projects to offer low and moderate income homeowners free installation of aerators, showerheads, high-efficiency/low water flow toilet replacements, and potential plumbing alterations and leak repairs if appropriate. The pilot program will be offered to 150 homeowners and three large nonprofit facilities with a mission of providing housing and services to homeless and low-income households.

Arena Players Incorporated

$20,000 / 2019 / Arts

Arena Players is the oldest continuously operating African-American community theater in the US. A comprehensive renovation of its theater facility will include upgrades to the main stage, a complete renovation of the second and third floors and exterior repairs and improvements. This grant provided support for staff project management.

Arts Education in Maryland Schools Alliance

$25,000 / 2018 / Education

Since its founding in 1992, Arts Education for Maryland Schools (AEMS) Alliance has worked to ensure that all of Maryland’s public schoolchildren have consistent and equitable access to high quality arts education.  In Baltimore City, arts education is largely uncoordinated, with unevenly distributed resources and nonexistent or incomplete data. This grant will support a three-county pilot of the Artlook Data Map, a searchable database that provides information about arts courses at each school, the percentage of students enrolled, and the community arts partners who work there.  Ultimately, Artlook will increase accountability and promote equitable opportunities for arts education in Maryland public schools.  

The Urban Alliance Foundation, Inc.

$40,000 / 2018 / Education

Urban Alliance (UA), founded in 1996 in Washington, DC, is a national youth development non-profit that provides economically-disadvantaged young people with the exposure, opportunity, support and training needed to prepare them for lifelong economic self-sufficiency.  Its core program matches high school seniors with paid, professional internships, jobs skills training, one-on-one mentoring, and ongoing post-program support. With previous Abell funding, Urban Alliance is now also placing career bound CTE 12th graders in internships and employment. This Abell grant will support strategic and implementation planning to expand Urban Alliance’s youth employment model into a systemic career readiness provider and workforce intermediary among Baltimore City Public Schools, the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development and employers.

Header photo courtesy of Thread.