Harry Chapin Foundation
/OVERVIEW: Based in New York, the Harry Chapin Foundation supports community education, arts-in-education, agricultural, and environmental programs.
IP TAKE: The Harry Chapin Foundation places a strong focus on agriculture and environment, but also funds community and arts education programs. It accepts proposals from non-profit organizations across the U.S. This is an accessible funder, but most grants cluster in New York state.
This is a great funder for grassroots organizations. However, when writing your budget proposal, make sure not to conflate numbers. This is a modest funder that likes to support its grantees in ways beyond funds.
PROFILE: The Harry Chapin Foundation was established in 1981 to honor the iconic American singer-songwriter and activist by the same name. It was founded with seed money from his former manager, Ken Kragen, and the singer Kenny Rogers. Based in Huntington, New York, Sandy Chapin, Chapin’s widow, runs the foundation, which seeks to support organizations that “dramatically improve the lives and livelihood of people by helping them to become self-sufficient.” The foundation supports community and arts education programs, but more than half of their awards fund organizations concerned with agricultural and environmental education. The foundation has prioritized programs that serve underprivileged populations.
Harry Chapin was an American singer-songwriter who had a string of hits in the 1970s, including “Taxi,” “Cats in the Cradle,” and “W.O.L.D.” He was a noted humanitarian and social activist whose concerts frequently doubled as benefit performances to support local causes. He co-founded WhyHunger in 1975 to combat food insecurity. Chapin participated in the Presidential Commission on World Hunger in 1977, and was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 1987 for his humanitarian work.
The Harry Chapin Foundation does not have distinct grantmaking programs and its ideal grantee touches upon more than one of Chapin’s funding initiatives. For example, New Jersey’s Grow a Row program, a past grantee, provides produce to those in need and educates children about farming and healthy eating.
Grants for Environmental Conservation, Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems
The Harry Chapin Foundation views its environmental programs through a lens of community education (both youth and life-long learners). The “agricultural” element of it’s environmental giving area focuses on how local food sources relate to food insecurity and conservation. More than half of the foundation’s grantmaking has supported food and agriculture programs, while very little has gone to environmental and conservation organizations that do not address either food systems or education in some way.
Previous agricultural and environmental programs grantees include: $5,000 to Midwest Organic Sustainable ; $4,000 to the Sylvia Center; $3,000 to Garden Share; $3,000 to Garden Raised Bounty; $2,500 to the Four Corner Schools of Outdoor Education; $2,500 to the Regional Environmental Council.
Grants for K-12 Education and Arts Education
The Chapin Foundation supports education across all of its stated funding priorities. Its community education initiative is expansive and makes grants to everything from K-12 schools to adult literacy programs; however, it prioritizes support for organizations with education programs that dovetail with environmental and agricultural efforts.
Past K-12 and arts education grantees include Opening Word Program Inc, Huntington Arts Council, ArtWell, Snipes Farm and Education Center, and Greyston Foundation, Inc.
Important Grant Details:
The Harry Chapin Foundation supports programs anywhere in the U.S.—though it acknowledges that about two-thirds of its overall funding concentrates in New York State, particularly organizations on Long Island. Grants are generally awarded in amounts up to $10,000 and the foundation focuses its giving on grassroots groups with annual budgets of $500,000 or less.
This foundation accepts and reviews proposals. Applicants should consult the guidelines posted on the foundation’s website.
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