Hill-Snowdon Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Hill-Snowdon Foundation broadly funds economic justice, civic engagement and community strengthening initiatives in Washington D.C. and across the United States.
IP TAKE: The majority of this funder’s grants support general operating costs rather than project-specific costs. It does not accept unsolicited proposals, but it invites organizations whose values align with its own to make contact. It’s not an accessible foundation, but conducts important work in its areas of focus. Contact the foundation to learn more about how it chooses what to fund.
PROFILE: Arthur B. Hill founded the Hill-Snowdon Foundation in 1959. In 1998, the foundation partnered with the Tides Foundation and developed more formal policies and grantmaking procedures and in 2004, it became a fully staffed foundation. Among these transformations was a new focus in grantmaking “grounded in a philosophy of justice and fairness for some of the most vulnerable members of this society, low-income families—particularly low-income youth of color and low-wage workers.” The foundation runs eight grantmaking programs spanning the areas of racial equity, economic justice, civic engagement and democracy.
Grants for Racial Justice and Equity, Work and Opportunity, Civic and Democracy
Hill-Snowdon’s current grantmaking programs include the following:
Youth Organizing grants currently support multi-generational initiatives that aim to effect systemic changes for low-income youth. The foundation prioritizes groups that have established strong reputations in the communities they serve and that work explicitly toward changing systemic inequalities with regard to race and gender. This program also maintains a strong focus on civic and voter engagement, and the South is a clear geographic priority.
Grants for Economic Justice Organizing currently support initiatives in the area of work and opportunity, specifically those that work toward “family-supporting and community-strengthening jobs.” Specific priorities include improving wages and working conditions, ending employment discrimination and promoting “work-family policy.” This program also concentrates on the South and prioritizes organizations that employ a racial and gender justice framework for their organizing.
The foundations Fund for DC supports groups that engage and support the rights and well-being of marginalized residents of the District of Columbia. Recent areas of focus include economic stability, youth leadership, civic engagement and equitable human services.
Hill-Snowdon’s Making Black Lives Matter Initiative represents a 2020 commitment of $5.5 million to support Black-led organizing toward racial equity. These grants aim to build and strengthen the Black Lives Matter movement and move policy toward policy outcomes that remove barriers to economic stability and equitable justice.
The Defending the Dream Fund is a collaborative effort in which Hill-Snowdon works with the General Service Foundation, the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation and others to support “a groundswell in grassroots engagement to defend and promote deep and inclusive democracy in the U.S.” Grantmakig stemming from this program was suspended in 2021.
The Democracy’s Promise Initiative was launched in 2021 to support the responses of grassroots and community organizations to the 2020 cencus, the 2020 election cycle and its aftermath. The goals of the initiative include supporting vulnerable communities during a time of change and creating opportunities for collaboration between and among nonprofit organizations. It is unclear if grantmaking from this initiative will continue beyond 2021.
The foundation’s Opportunity and Capacity Building Fund awards grants to current Hill-Snowdon grantee partners in the amount of $7,500 to “respond to urgent and unanticipated events, unique opportunities and capacity building needs between grant cycles.”
Important Grant Details:
Grant amounts typically range from $15,000 to $40,000. Hill-Snowdon gives priority to organizations based in the South and Southwest regions of the United States, and tends to support its grantees with multi-year, organizational and capacity building support. To learn more about the types of organizations Hill-Snowdon supports, explore its grants database.
The foundation has two grantmaking cycles ending in May and November; however, it conducts the majority of its grantmaking by invitation only and does not accept unsolicited requests for funding. However, the foundation encourages organizations who feel they are a strong fit for the foundation to call and discuss grantmaking opportunities.
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