Read our 2024 Annual Report

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 Neighborhood Collaborative/Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers

$60,000 / 2001 / Community Development
Renewed funding for an expansion of six neighborhood community-building initiatives. This collaborative will provide support to help develop local leadership and increase community activism.

Baltimore Development Corporation

$5,000 / 2001 / Community Development
To fund the costs of retaining a consultant whose responsibility is to develop consensus-building activities related to brownfields reforms. A strengthened State brownfields program, including an enhanced tax incentive package similar to the State Enterprise Zone Program, is considered one of the keys to economic revitalization of older cities like Baltimore and within the State’s Smart Growth strategies.

Baltimore Development Corporation

$30,000 / 2001 / Community Development
Two grants for administrative expenses of Maglev-Maryland, a magnetic levitation high-speed train which, when fully operational, will reduce travel time between Baltimore and Washington to less than 20 minutes.

Baltimore Development Corporation

$420,000 / 2001 / Community Development
Two grants toward an initiative designed to persuade nonprofit organizations, such as World Relief and the Association of Academic Physiatrists, to move their national headquarters or regional offices to Baltimore City.

Baltimore City Department of Housing and Community Development

$75,000 / 2001 / Community Development
Toward staffing for a vacant house intervention and community conservation program. This initiative is designed to identify vacant or problem properties in the community and to track these properties through the code enforcement process.

Header photo courtesy of Thread.