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 reach out to an Abell staff member to discuss their idea or submit a short letter of inquiry prior to submitting a regular grant application.

Contact Us or Email Us 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

BioTechnical Institute of Maryland, Inc.ﾠ

$75,000 / 2010 / Workforce Development
For continued support of the BioSTART and Laboratory Associates Programs. Each model involves 24 weeks of training and has been designed to enable high school graduates to pursue entry-level lab technician positions in bioscience.

Baltimore Water Alliance

$50,000 / 2010 / Workforce Development
Toward the development and implementation of a green jobs work placement program in horticulture, landscaping, and urban agriculture. The program will target a team of three high school graduates between the ages of 18 and 24 from under-represented neighborhoods to be hired as AmeriCorps volunteers over a 10-month period. With the help of the team, the Alliance plans to plant more than 300 trees, remove three acres of invasive plants, disconnect 100 residential downspouts, install 50 rain barrels, and assist Real Foods Farm in growing winter vegetables and maintaining community gardens. On completion of the training period, AmeriCorps volunteers will transition to respective career paths.

Baltimore Alliance for Careers in Healthcare, Inc. (BACH)

$90,000 / 2010 / Workforce Development
For continued support of pre-allied health bridge programming, which provides entry-level health-care workers with the requisite basic skills for post-secondary training; career coaching, which improves the job retention and advancement of frontline health-care workers; and the BACH Fellows program, which provides Baltimore City public school students with experience working in hospitals over the summer.

Art with a Heart

$30,000 / 2010 / Workforce Development
For support and expansion of the 2010 Summer Job Program, a visual arts program for 30 at-risk youth in the Rose Street community. As part of the six-week summer work experience, students will create 60 marketable art pieces, including decoupage furniture and mosaics for sale at Artscape.

Alternative Directions, Inc.

$44,280 / 2010 / Workforce Development
Toward funding of child-support modification workshops in Maryland Correctional Institutions. The purpose of the program is to increase the number of child-support modifications filed by the incarcerated in an effort to reduce the amount of arrearages to which persons are entitled under Maryland law. The staff continues to work with the Maryland Child Support Enforcement Administration and courts to simplify the support medication forms, develop new outreach materials and methods, and ensure that motions filed are effective at bringing about payment modifications.

Header photo courtesy of Thread.