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

Johns Hopkins University/Center for Social Organization of Schools

$14,033 / 2009 / Education
Fourth- and fifth-year funding for an evaluation of the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) at Vivien T. Thomas and Augusta Fells Savage High Schools. The evaluation will study EOP, a sequential mentoring program designed to increase graduation rates, and determine whether, by assessing various criteria, EOP merits replication.

Johns Hopkins University/Center for Social Organization of Schools

$50,000 / 2009 / Education
Toward continued support of the Baltimore Education Research Consortium (BERC). BERC is a partnership of the Baltimore City public schools, Johns Hopkins University, Morgan State University, and other civic and community partners. BERC’s mission is to conduct and disseminate long- and short-term strategic data analysis and research that informs decisions about policy and practice to improve the educational life outcomes of children in Baltimore.

The Ingenuity Project

$400,000 / 2009 / Education
For support of the 2009-2010 Ingenuity Project, a gifted and talented math, science, and research magnet program serving 465 students in three Baltimore City public middle schools and at Baltimore Polytechnic High School. The program is designed to qualify students as nationally competitive, college-bound math, science, and engineering scholars.

Incentive Mentoring Program

$69,056 / 2009 / Education
For continued support and expansion of an intensive mentoring program at Dunbar High School to include identification of a new cohort of ninth-grade students during the 2009-2010 school year. The program offers community service activities, after-school tutoring, SAT preparation, and college access and retention support over the course of seven years. Teams of eight to 12 mentors, primarily from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, work with each of the 15 students in each cohort to provide family-style, one-on-one mentoring two to seven times a week.

HOPE Worldwide Baltimore

$60,000 / 2009 / Education
Two grants toward support of the TRUTH Youth Services Program for at-risk males at Northeast Middle School through the 2009-2010 school year. The program, a year-round effort, provides cognitive development, field trips, career exploration, mentoring, reading, and training in life-skills, and a summer learning camp for 40 young men displaying risk factors in the sixth grade.

Header photo courtesy of Thread.