Award Opportunities
Awards open to nonprofit organizations and individuals. 

 



Archives Research Fellows Fund

The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University accepts applications for its Archives Research Fellows Fund on an ongoing basis. This competitive program awards grants of up to $4,000 in any discipline for research that requires the use of the collections of the Philanthropy Archival Collection at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. The collection offers a wide range of primary source materials documenting the history of philanthropy and includes the papers of such key national institutions as the Filer Commission, the Foundation Center, the Association of Fundraising Professionals, and a number of America's leading fundraising firms and foundations. Proposal guidelines can be found at the IU Center on Philanthropy website here.

AT&T Wireless Community Connections Award
A partnership between NPower and AT&T Wireless, the AT&T Wireless Community Connections Award offers grants to nonprofits to apply wireless technology in ways that help the organizations improve their effectiveness. This award seeks to accomplish three goals: to improve public safety or enhance communications among family members through creative uses of wireless technology; to support nonprofits using wireless technology to expand the reach and impact of their services; and to highlight how AT&T Wireless' technology, where appropriate, can be used by the nonprofit sector to positively impact its work. More information about this award is available here.

Baltimore Direct Service Grant Program
In partnership with the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Associated Black Charities of Maryland seeks grant applications from nonprofit organizations serving the Baltimore community. Up to thirty grants a year are awarded to improve counseling, health care, and cultural arts programs for disadvantaged children, youth, and families in Baltimore city. Grants range from $2,000 to $20,000. Successful applicants may qualify for a second year equal to one-half of the originally awarded grant. The annual grant-making process begins each spring with submission of a Letter of Intent. For more information click here.


Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation Grant Awards
The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation awards grants to organizations that help increase access to healthcare for uninsured and low-income families in Massachusetts. The foundation operates three grant programs, which include:

The foundation accepts letters of inquiry. Click here for more information.

Champion of Open Space Awards
A program of Embrace Open Space and the McKnight Foundation, the Champions of Open Space awards are presented to individuals and groups that have made extraordinary contributions to open-space protection in the seven-county Twin Cities by engaging citizens and policy makers, creating innovative solutions, and providing leadership that has made a difference in protecting and preserving natural areas and open spaces. To learn more about how to nominate an organization or individual for this award, click here.

 

Community Economic Development Grant Program for New York Tri-State Area Organizations

The JPMorgan Chase community economic development grant program seeks to support nonprofit organizations committed to building community assets in low and moderate-income communities. In 2004, funding priorities include affordable housing production, creation or maintenance of special needs or emergency housing, workforce development and employment training, microenterprise and small business development, and quality childcare, domestic violence prevention, and emergency food services.

To review program guidelines, restrictions, application procedures, and a complete list of eligible communities, click here.

Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize

The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation invites nominations for the 2004 Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize. It is seeking an organization that has made extraordinary contributions toward alleviating human suffering anywhere in the world.

 

The $1 million (U.S.) prize, the world’s largest humanitarian award, is presented annually to an established nonprofit, charitable or non-governmental organization. The prize is not a grant based on future goals, but an award for recent and historic accomplishments. An independent international panel of jurors will make the final selection; the award will be announced in fall 2004.

 

The 2004 prize nomination period starts on August 1, 2003 and nominations must be received or postmarked by November 1, 2003. Nomination packets are available on the Hilton Foundation website here.

 

Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation

The Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University awards the Peter F. Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation. The $25,000 award is given to a nonprofit organization in recognition of an innovative, existing program that "has made a difference in the lives of the people it serves by producing results that represent a new dimension of performance."

 

To be eligible for the award, the selected program must further the mission of the organization, have specific and measurable outcomes; exemplify innovation by demonstrating a new dimension of performance; have made a demonstrated difference in the lives of the people it serves; and serve as a model that can be replicated or adapted by other organizations. The nominated program must have been launched no earlier than January 1, 1998 . Nomination deadline is usually in the month of August. Complete program information is available at the Drucker Graduate School of Management website here.

Edward A. Smith Awards for Excellence in Nonprofit Leadership

The Midwest Center for Nonprofit Leadership sponsors the Edward A. Smith Awards for Excellence in Nonprofit Leadership. The awards recognize two national nonprofit organization leaders, one executive and one volunteer, as well as two Kansas City nonprofit leaders, one executive and one volunteer, for their extraordinary leadership in nonprofit organizations. Each of the four winners receive a $5,000 prize and a commemorative award. Winners are selected based on their ongoing capacity to find creative and entrepreneurial solutions to the challenges of their community. Nominees for this award should have exhibited their leadership through the growth and renewal of organizations in order to provide the highest level of service to their communities and the people they serve. Nominations must be received by January 9, 2004 . More information on this award can be found here.

Faith in Action Volunteer Healthcare Program
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is offering grants to expand Faith in Action, an interfaith volunteer care giving program that helps to better the lives of people with long-term health needs. Faith in Action brings together religious congregations of many faiths and other community organizations such as hospices, clinics, and hospitals in a common mission to provide volunteer care to their neighbors in need. These interfaith programs provide volunteer services, care, and companionship to people of all ages and faiths who are homebound because of long-term health problems, as well as a respite to family caregivers.


The program provides start-up grants of $35,000 for a thirty-month period to help communities organize coalitions for volunteer caregiving; technical assistance on coalition building, board development, program management, strategic planning, volunteer recruitment and training, communications, and fundraising; and the support of a nationwide network of Faith in Action coalitions. For more information click here.
 

GlaxoSmithKline IMPACT Awards

The GlaxoSmithKline IMPACT Awards honor Philadelphia area healthcare organizations committed to providing quality, accessible healthcare. Up to ten $40,000 awards are given to small to midsize nonprofit organizations that work to better the lives of underserved children and adults in their community.

 

To be considered for a GlaxoSmithKline IMPACT Award, an organization must have 501(c)(3) status, an annual operating budget under $2 million, and health and health-related issues as its primary focus and mission. It also must be in existence for a minimum of five years and be located in Philadelphia or its four adjacent Pennsylvania counties or in the City of Camden, New Jersey.

 

For more information and an application brochure, contact Jean Glenn, Director of Community Partnerships at GlaxoSmithKline at jean.m.glenn@gsk.com or 215-751-3574 or see the GlaxoSmithKline website here.

 

Leadership for a Changing World

Leadership for a Changing World seeks to recognize, strengthen and support leaders and to highlight the importance of community leadership in improving people's lives. Each year, 17 - 20 leaders and leadership groups not broadly known beyond their immediate community or field are recognized. Nominated community leaders may work in many fields relating to social justice. Nominees may be individuals or leadership teams. More information is available here.

Mary Byron Foundation’ Celebrating Solutions Awards

The Mary Byron Foundation's Celebrating Solutions Awards recognize institutions that demonstrate an innovative approach to confronting the root causes of domestic violence and developing solutions to break the cycle. Winners receive a $10,000 cash award in recognition of their work.

 

The awards are given to nonprofit or governmental programs that have been operating for a minimum of three years and have demonstrated innovation, positive outcomes, sensitivity to ethnic and racial diversity, evidence of partnerships and community support, and potential for application in other communities.

 

Interested organizations can download an application from the foundation's website here.

 

National Business Plan Competition for Nonprofit Organizations

The Yale School of Management, The Goldman Sachs Foundation, and The Pew Charitable Trusts have joined together to form The Partnership on Nonprofit Ventures. As a signature event, The Partnership runs the National Business Plan Competition for Nonprofit Organizations, open to nonprofits seeking to start or expand successful profit-making ventures with substantial cash prizes and technical assistance offered to the winners.

 

The Competition takes place over the course of one year, and includes several Rounds of evaluation. All entrants receive comprehensive feedback from our team of evaluators.

 

Four grand-prize winners are selected and each receives $100,000 and four semi-finalists are selected and each receives $25,000. In addition to cash awards, the winners receive hundreds of hours of technical business planning consultations to assist their organizations to move their ventures forward.

 

For information about the entry process click here or call 201-894-8950.

 

Nonprofit Mission Awards

A program of NCNA member the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, the Nonprofit Mission Awards are intended to recognize the critical role of nonprofits in Minnesota. The awards honor outstanding contributions by nonprofit organizations in four categories: Nonprofit Innovation, Nonprofit Advocacy, Anti-Racism Initiative, and Responsive Philanthropy. Each of the four winners receives a commemorative plaque presented during an awards ceremony at the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Annual Conference. For complete nomination instructions and an online form, visit the Council's website here.

Rehab Therapy Foundation Award
The Rehab Therapy Foundation supports programs in North Carolina that serve children with developmental disabilities. Once a year, the foundation awards a total of approximately $50,000 to nonprofit organizations working to improve the lives of children with disabilities in North Carolina. For more information click here.

Sound Partners for Community Health Grant Program
Sound Partners for Community Health brings together public broadcasters and community organizations to solve problems around local health and healthcare issues using programming and community engagement techniques. The two partners work together to produce lively, award- winning coverage and outreach activities targeting a wide cross-section of their communities.

Grants are awarded to public broadcasters and community groups that submit proposals demonstrating how community- centered journalism and active partnerships with community organizations can positively affect the ways in which local healthcare issues are addressed. To learn more, click here.

Southern California Literacy and Community Technology Development Awards
The Verizon Foundation invites applications from the Southern California region for a series of literacy and technology grants. One-year grants ranging from $25,000 to $250,000 will be awarded under the Verizon Reads and Verizon Connects programs. Complete program guidelines and an online application form are available at the Verizon Foundation website here.

Target Community Giving Grants
The Target Community Giving Grants program provides funding (between $1,000 and $3,000) for local programs in the arts, reading, and family violence prevention.

Target's support for the arts includes grants to make art exhibitions, classes, and performances more affordable and accessible for families. In education, Target funds programs that promote a love of reading or encourage children to read together with their families, with a particular focus on programs that inspire young readers.

The company's support for family violence prevention includes funding for parenting education, crisis nurseries, family counseling, after-school programs, support groups, and abuse shelters. For more information visit Target’s website here.

Verizon Foundation Grants for Literacy Projects
Nonprofit organizations and educational institutions in New York can compete for $500,000 in grants offered by the Verizon Foundation. The foundation solicits proposals from organizations that work to address literacy issues, provide English-as-a-second-language programs, and teach basic computer literacy skills in communities served by the Verizon company. For more information click here.

Washington Post Award for Excellence
The Washington Post Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Management is a project of NCNA member The Washington Council of Agencies. It recognizes an organization's outstanding achievements in nonprofit management. The award winner is selected through a competitive process by a panel of individuals with a wide range of expertise in nonprofit management. The program began in 1995 and is open to all WCA members and any 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the Washington metropolitan area. The winner of the Washington Post Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Management receives a $5,000 cash award. In addition, four honorable mentions will also be recognized. Honorable mention winners each receive a $1,000 cash award. Applications are distributed in September of each year with phase one of the application due in November. The competition continues through the spring when the award is presented in June. For more information click here.