Dammann Fund
/OVERVIEW: The Dammann Fund works to support teen parents and independent living for people suffering with mental illnesses. Its funding is exclusive to New York City, Westchester County, Southwestern Connecticut and Charlottesville, Virginia.
IP TAKE: This is an accessible funder for nonprofits working in its specific areas of interest. While its grants are modest in size, many grantees receive funding for a period of three years. This funder is supportive and likes to help grantees scale up. The foundation accepts grant applications online or by mail or fax at any time. This is an accessible and transparent funder if you are working in their very specific interest areas.
PROFILE: Created in 1946, the Dammann Fund was founded by Milton Dammann. Dammann, who died in 1962, was an attorney. He became the president and chairman of the American Safety Razor Corporation, which later became a division of Phillip Morris, Inc. The fund supports nonprofits working with teen parents and programs that support independent living for the mentally ill. This funder works exclusively in New York City, New York’s Westchester County, Southwestern Connecticut and Charlottesville, Virginia.
Grants for Mental Health
Mental health funding focuses on helping people who suffer with chronic and life-long mental illnesses to live independent and productive lives. The fund prioritizes mental health as it relates to housing, case management, job training, employment and rehabilitation. One past New York City grantee is Breaking Ground HDFC, which used funding to support its Street Outreach and Supportive Housing for the Mentally Ill program. In Brooklyn, the fund supported the Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services, which used funding for its linked housing and case management programs. And in New Haven, Connecticut, another grantee, Fellowship Place Inc., ran a peer learning program that aims to teach participants basic computer skills needed for employment.
Grants for Public Health
The Dammann Fund’s public health grantmaking works exclusively in teen parenting, supporting health, housing, counseling, sex education and childcare initiatives for teenage mothers and fathers of young children. In Connecticut, the fund has supported the Bridgeport Rescue Mission’s Guest House for Homeless Women and Children and the Child and Family Guidance Center, which has used funding to run its counseling and mentoring programs for teen parents. Parent education programs at New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital, Planned Parenthood and the Queens Comprehensive Perinatal Council have received support, as have programs for young fathers at Charlottesville’s ReadyKids and the Greater Bridgeport Area Prevention Program. In New York City, the Union Settlement Association received funding for its sex education program for low-income and underserved teens.
Important Grant Details:
The Dammann Fund gives away over $200,000 each year, with grantmaking split about evenly between its two funding initiatives. Grants range from $2,000 to $10,000, with many recipients receiving yearly grants for a period of three years. For additional information about past grantmaking, see the fund’s awards page.
This funder runs an open, online application system for nonprofits working in its specific areas of interest. An application checklist is also available on the fund’s website. General inquiries may be directed to the fund’s staff via email or telephone at 212-956-4118.
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