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 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. 

Sign up for an info session

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.

Submit an LOI

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.

Start a 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

Homes for America

$40,000 / 2010 / Community Development
Two-year funding toward the salary of a full-time Resident Services Case Manager, to provide support for expansion of the Broadway Replacement Homes Program. The case manager will help families address the problems of how to obtain entitled benefits, access training and employment opportunities, receive assistance with financial management, and get help with connecting to resources that will not only help them remain in their homes but will also keep their children in school.

Housing Authority of Baltimore City

$268,125 / 2010 / Health and Human Services
To provide security deposits for 200 families participating in the Special Mobility Housing Choice Voucher Program. Tenants are given Housing Choice vouchers to move into private rental housing in nonimpacted areas outside Baltimore City. This program offers interested tenants the opportunity to move into areas offering safety and security, better schools, and improved health outcomes.

Incentive Mentoring Program (IMP)

$90,000 / 2010 / Education
For continued support of the IMP mentoring program for students at Dunbar High School and for the expansion of the program to the Academy for College and Career Exploration. Over the course of the seven-year mentoring program (from the end of freshman year in high school through graduation from college), this family-style mentoring approach provides services year-round to 30 students identified as failing to meet minimum requirements. With teams of volunteers from Johns Hopkins University and Medical School graduate programs, the program addresses academic basic human needs: transportation, day care, job-placement referrals, drug treatment, college application, and tutoring services. Mentors meet with students as needed, three to seven times a week.

Innovative Housing Institute

$5,000 / 2010 / Community Development
Toward the preparation of a grant application to the Department of Housing and Urban Development for the Sustainable Communities Initiative. The purpose of the initiative is to improve regional planning efforts that integrate housing and transportation decisions and increase state, regional, and local communities to incorporate livability, sustainability, and social equity principles into land use and zoning.

Institute of Notre Dame (IND)

$23,870 / 2010 / Education
Toward support of the implementation of Project Lead the Way, a national curriculum that introduces 18 to 20 students a year to biomedical sciences. IND provides internships with two local hospitals.

Header photo courtesy of Thread.