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

Herring Run Watershed Association

$5,000 / 2001 / Environment
For general support of stewardship activities designed to improve the environmental quality of the Herring Run watershed, which reaches the Chesapeake Bay.

Environmental Law Institute

$20,000 / 2001 / Environment
In continued support of the Forests for the Bay Project in an effort to abate forest fragmentation and disappearance of Maryland woodlands. The project advocates the voluntary landowner management of existing forestland, cooperative management of smaller parcels, re-establishment of trees in brownfields, provisions for property tax incentives for retention and stewardship of forests, expansion of programs to secure forest buffers along the waterways, and better monitoring of current forest harvest practices to ensure compliance with regulations.

Earthome Productions, Inc.

$11,500 / 2001 / Environment
Three grants for expenses related to production, pre-screening and symposia on “The Next Industrial Revolution,” a treatise on sustainable economic, environmental and social responsibility.

The Conservation Fund

$150,000 / 2001 / Environment
Two-year grant to provide technical assistance to local county officials and land trusts to facilitate Maryland’s Green Print and Legacy Programs. The Fund will also produce and distribute “Better Models for Development in Maryland” as an educational tool to encourage local officials to take more strategic approaches to land conservation in Maryland.

Chesapeake Bay Foundation

$170,000 / 2001 / Environment
For costs related to a rewrite of Turning the Tide, a book on the current state of the Chesapeake Bay and the outlook for its recovery. An interactive website will also be developed to accompany the publication.

Header photo courtesy of Thread.