The Venable Foundation is accepting grant applications to promote the health and well-being of the communities where Venable’s clients and employees work and live.
Donor Name: Venable Foundation
State: California, Maryland, Illinois, New York and Washington D.C.
City: Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 09/01/2023
Size of the Grant: $10,000
Details:
The Foundation supports a wide range of civic, cultural, and charitable endeavors, as well as public interest law and legal education. Grantees provide deep and meaningful engagement with accessible programs to individuals of all ages, allowing them to overcome institutional disadvantages. The Venable Foundation is particularly interested in how its grants impact low-income and underrepresented communities, working to eliminate barriers to success.
Funding Priorities
The Venable Foundation envisions that its philanthropic investments provide essential resources to nonprofit organizations in communities across the country. Guided by the belief that everyone has the right to equitable employment opportunities, healthcare, housing, food, and a vibrant cultural community, Venable grantees ensure that economically disadvantaged people are given the tools they need to thrive.
Grant support is provided to assist with general operations and projects. Currently, the Venable Foundation’s funding priorities include:
- Human Services
- The Foundation has a strong track record of supporting a breadth of essential human services, including programs that impact people experiencing homelessness and food insecurity, incarcerated and returning citizens, LGBTQ+ and immigrant communities, and those affected by domestic violence and housing insecurity.
- Legal Services
- Foundation supports the delivery of free or affordable legal services in their communities. Pro bono consulting and representation focus on a variety of issues, including domestic violence, housing, immigration, public benefits, and discrimination, among other areas. Legal service nonprofits providing “know your rights” training and other activities are also supported. The Foundation also supports training for youth and adults to ensure diversity and access to careers in the legal profession.
- Education
- The Foundation supports a wide array of early childhood, in-school, and out-of-school time initiatives that provide in-depth opportunities for learning and engagement to position children for success and level the playing field for economically disadvantaged youth.
- Workforce Development
- Foundation believes that every individual deserves the opportunity to pursue gainful employment. Thus, they support organizations with the goal of developing the workforce of today and tomorrow. Successful programs recruit and train individuals and place them in relevant jobs so that they can earn a sustainable living wage for themselves and their families. Skill development is focused on low-income, underemployed, and unemployed community members, and on preparing youth for careers after their schooling is complete.
- Youth Impact
- The Foundation invests in services that impact children in each of their communities. These initiatives ensure economically disadvantaged youth are healthy and safe and have opportunities to thrive.
- Health
- The Foundation is committed to improving wellness and increasing access to care for economically disadvantaged individuals in the region. Successful organizations and programs work to eliminate barriers to healthcare for all ages and provide accessible and no-stigma testing for a variety of diseases. They support pediatric to geriatric services that address a variety of health concerns.
- Environment
- Foundation supports organizations involved in the preservation of natural resources and those that are addressing natural or man-made disasters in their target regions. Programs educate communities and work for change on a variety of environmental issues, from wildfires to pollution.
- Arts and Culture
- The Foundation supports initiatives in the arts that promote deeper public engagement and build up the creative economy, with an emphasis on low-income and underserved communities.
Funding Information
The average size of a Venable Foundation grant is approximately $10,000. First-time awardees are usually on the smaller end of the spectrum. It is up to the organization to determine what it feels is an appropriate request.
Eligibility Criteria
- The Foundation provides funding for place-based organizations and initiatives, meaning that organizations must be based in or impacting regions where Venable has major offices. These are the metropolitan areas in and around Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City, and Washington, DC.
- The Foundation makes grants to charitable organizations that are exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply once per calendar year.
- The Foundation does not fund projects that promote or proselytize on behalf of any religion.
- The Foundation does not fund organizations that discriminate on the basis of ethnicity, race, color, creed, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, political affiliation, or any veteran’s status. Furthermore, the Foundation does not support research or funding to individual schools or parent/teacher associations, and will not provide sponsorship support for special events, galas, or other fundraisers.
For more information, visit Venable Foundation.
