OVERVIEW: The Phil Hardin Foundation supports education in Mississippi, especially related to literacy and early childhood education.
IP TAKE: The Phil Hardin Foundation is a place-based funder that makes grants exclusively to education-related causes within the state. Grant seekers with the best chance of winning a grant here have projects focused on early literacy programs in the Meridian, Mississippi area. Make sure that it addresses classroom technology needs in low-income communities. Note that the foundation states that due to its significant existing commitments, only new grant proposals with “significant state-wide or regional impact” will be considered in the near future. Nonprofits with more localized strategies may not find success here. This is an accessible funder that accepts unsolicited applications on a rolling basis. Grantseekers will need to first submit an LOI prior to developing a grant application.
PROFILE: The Phil Hardin Foundation, founded in 1964 in Meridian, Mississippi, seeks to improve the education of all Mississippians. The foundation’s history dates back to the 1930s when Mr. Hardin bought a bankrupt bakery in Meridian and turned it into the highly successful Hardin Bakeries Corporation, and later chose a board of directors to help guide the foundation’s assets and purpose once it was established. Phil Hardin was proud to be a Mississippian and everyone who works at the foundation is a Mississippi resident.
Grants for Education
The Phil Hardin Foundation is a private funder that values collaboration and regularly works with other grantmakers and public and private groups to improve K-12 learning and teaching in Mississippi. Organizations in Meridian and Lauderdale County, including Meridian and Lauderdale County Public Schools, Meridian Community College, Mississippi State University-Meridian, nonprofit educational service providers, and local arts and cultural organizations, receive 50% of the foundation’s funding.
Phil Hardin Foundation’s grantees fit into one or more of the following grantmaking priorities: Early childhood development, literacy, teacher quality, school leadership, equity of educational access, arts and cultural enrichment, community and state capacity building.
- The Phil Hardin Foundation has also been known to partner with institutions of higher learning elsewhere in Mississippi, like Millsaps College and Mississippi University for Women. Additionally, the foundation has worked with the Mississippi Department of Education, corporations, and policy makers to pursue the foundation’s education goals.
- Tax records indicate that classroom technology also plays a big role in the foundation’s grantmaking strategy to improve education.
- More recent education grantees include Public Education Forum of Mississippi, The Writing Revolution—Writing Instruction Training for Meridian Teachers, The Mississippi Reading Clinic’s Pilot program in Jackson, MS, Any Given Child, and The Children’s Foundation of Mississippi.
The foundation also awards scholarships of around $5,000 to local students. More information can be found on its past grants page.
Grants for Arts & Culture
The Phil Hardin foundation funds historic preservation of heritage sites in Mississippi, and has helped support the costs of printing and distribution of publications that detail Mississippi’s history and values through literature and the arts.
- Additionally, the foundation supports education programming at various cultural institutions and museums.
- In 2016, the foundation gave a $3 million grant toward the renovation of the Mississippi Children’s Museum, and tax records indicate that the foundation remains a repeated benefactor of this museum.
- Other arts & culture grantees include Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Center, Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, Walter Anderson Museum of Art, and Meridian Arts Association.
Important Grant Details:
Grants range between $500 and $500,000. The average grant hovers around $50,000. This funder prioritizes education groups in Meridian and Lauderdale Counties.
- New grant seekers are encouraged to submit letters of inquiry to Executive Director Lloyd Gray at lgray@philhardin.org before submitting applications.
- The board meets on the second Wednesday of each month, except August and November, to consider new grant proposals.
- Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, but grant seekers should submit no later than 60 days before the meeting in which they’d like their grant to be considered.
- Proposal application must include the following:
- IRS tax-exempt determination letter (first-time applicants only)
- List of board members with business or professional affiliations and contact information
- Most recent audited financial statement including 990
- Copy of operating and project budgets
- List of major past and present funders
- See the grant application form for more information. Grant seekers can view a list of past grantees and their project descriptions on the funder’s website.
Any questions about the grantmaking process should be directed to info@philhardin.org or (601) 483-4282.
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