Ceres Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Ceres Foundation funds job training, career readiness, and education efforts for youth under 30 in the United States.
IP TAKE: This is a smaller funder that is not always prepared to accept proposals. For 2020, it didn’t accept new proposals from organizations with which it doesn’t already work. It didn’t for 2021 either. Ceres states that it prioritizes funds for programs that provide holistic support for their clients and set high goals “relative to the degree of difficulties that clients have to overcome.” The foundation also looks for programs that “use multiple measures to assess their clients’ situations,” and show a long-term commitment to their clients by tracking and assisting their clients after they have moved beyond the main program.
The foundation geographically prioritizes the West Coast, or East Coast from Raleigh north. It also doesn’t support work related to immigrants, ethnic groups or religious groups at this time. If submitting a proposal, follows the foundation’s directions on its website closely in order to be considered.
This low-profile funder’s sparse website doesn’t reflect clear grantmaking strategies, preferring instead to focus on a holistic approach that considers a multitude of concerns when deciding what organizations to fund.
PROFILE: The Ceres Foundation was established in 2000 in Gaithersburg, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. The foundation seeks to “support programs that help to change individual lives, by expanding opportunities for disadvantaged youth and vulnerable families to develop and make full use of their potential, so that they will be able to pursue their highest ambitions, earn decent livings, enjoy healthy relationships, and fully participate in their communities.” Its current focus areas invest in education, post-secondary education, and family-strengthening programs.
Grants for K-12 Education
The Ceres Foundation’s grants for education take a broad approach, focusing on K-12 education and some grants for higher education and college prep programs. The College Access & Success program supports “mentoring, scholarship or work-experience programs to help disadvantaged youth to graduate high school, prepare for college, get into college and/or get through college.” Past education grantees include South Central Scholars, Eastside College Prep, Noonan Scholars, Seattle Education Access, the Care Center and College Bound.
Grants for Work and Opportunity
The foundation’s Career Pathways program supports “training or job placement programs that give poor single moms, or homeless or foster youth, pathways to good careers that offer opportunities for advancement.” Past grantees include The Caroline Center, Our House, Sanctuary Art Center, Jobs Have Priority, Covenant House, Friendship Shelter and Bard Microcollege.
Grants for Violence Prevention
Ceres’s Family Strengthening program supports organizations and programs that prioritize domestic abuse, and “promote healthy parenting, prevent child or spouse abuse, help survivors of abuse to recover, work to reform abusers and/or help families to stay together or reunify.” Past Grantees include Triangle Family Services, D.C. Volunteer Lawyers Project, The Sierra House, Project Dignity, and The Treehouse Foundation.
Important Grant Details:
Grants generally range from $50,000 to $250,000. This funder strongly prioritizes organizations based on the West Coast and East Coast and focuses on the three geographic regions where the majority of its family members and staff live and work: Washington DC, Western MA, and LA and Orange County, CA. It will not consider proposals targeting preschoolers or adults over the age of 30.
See the Ceres Foundation website for specific application instructions, including an outline of what it looks for in a proposal. Grant seekers should mail one copy of their proposal to The Ceres Foundation, 18606 Reliant Dr., Gaithersburg, MD 20879. For general questions, send an email to ceresmd1@gmail.com.
This funder is not currently accepting requests for funding.
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