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

The Justice Policy Institute

$50,000 / 2004 / Health and Human Services
To provide research and guidance to the Campaign for Treatment Not Incarceration, designed to reduce Maryland’s prison population and expand drug treatment and alternatives to incarceration.

The Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute

$20,000 / 2004 / Health and Human Services
For support of the Community Health Worker Program, which provides free health services to the uninsured in East Baltimore. The institute will recruit ten AmeriCorps volunteers from East Baltimore to serve as community health workers; after training, each worker will follow as many as 50 patients, providing individual medical monitoring and support through home visits and telephone calls. The status of each patient will be tracked by computers.

The Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies

$50,000 / 2004 / Health and Human Services
Second-year funding for the completion of the “State of Baltimore’s Workforce System” report, which provides a detailed description of Baltimore’s local workforce development system, focusing on the city’s network of one-stop career centers. The report includes a description of who are served by the career centers, the wages of job seekers before and after service, a listing of employers who hire career center job seekers, and an analysis of how well the career center network meets U.S. Department of Labor measures. The report is intended to provide an annual assessment of Baltimore’s workforce system, and will be used as a tool to improve the city’s services to job seekers and employers.

Housing Authority of Baltimore City

$108,800 / 2004 / Health and Human Services
Two grants providing security deposits and post-placement transportation assistance for the Special Mobility Housing Choice Voucher Program. This program is available to residents of public housing and applicants on the public housing/Section 8 waiting list; applicants must pass a criminal background check and be willing to move to a non-impacted area. Program counselors review participants’ credit histories and finances, encourage them to develop a savings plan, and help in the search for housing.

Housing Authority of Baltimore City

$92,625 / 2004 / Health and Human Services
Second-year funding of the Special Mobility Housing Choice Voucher Program established in accordance with the Thompson v. HUD partial consent decree. The program provides financial assistance and counseling to families served by the Section 8 Mobility Counseling Program, and is designed to encourage rental assistance recipients to move out of inner-city neighborhoods into surrounding neighborhoods in the region.

Header photo courtesy of Thread.