Bank of America Charitable Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Bank of America Charitable Foundation supports environmental sustainability, economic and social progress and financial health. Its education funding emphasizes college and career readiness. It supports programs that empower women entrepreneurs and small business owners, as well as those that promote gender parity in computer science and STEM fields. The foundation generally seeks to “address critical issues facing our neighborhoods and communities,” including the support of healthy food access in cities and states where the bank does business.
IP TAKE: Some previous grantseekers have noted that this funder has a rather difficult and bureaucratic application process. It appears to have an accessible approach, given its online application process, but it’s not. It may be hard to get noticed or secure larger grants without establishing a relationship with a local regional director, so reach to management in your area and start networking. Note that grants here are competitive given how many requests the foundation receives.
PROFILE: The Bank of America Charitable Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the international banking giant. The foundation seeks to improve people’s financial lives by building “pathways to economic progress.” It currently pursues this through a variety of program areas, including Supporting People with Disabilities, Service Members and Veterans, Student Leaders, Arts and Culture, Investing in Women, Small Business Support, Hunger Relief, Resources for Communities and Workforce Development and Education.
Grants for Women and Girls
Bank of America’s Investing in Women program works to “connect women entrepreneurs to mentoring, capital and other tools that will give them the power to advance their businesses and make significant contributions to our global economy.” Past grantees and partnerships include Girls Who Code, Institute for Women’s Entrepreneurship at Cornell and the Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women.
Grants for Housing and Community Development
Bank of America’s Resources for Communities program supports organizations that “provide critical access to food, shelter and medical care,” while Neighborhood Preservation grants support programs that “provide affordable housing, offer neighborhood residents home retention and foreclosure counseling, and promote neighborhood stabilization across the country.” In a recent year, Bank of America gave away $3 million in grants to over 120 nonprofits in South Florida alone, working in three key areas of “critical issues including hunger, homelessness, and poverty”; “workforce development and skills training”; and “community development, including affordable housing, community revitalization and the arts.”
Grants for K-12 Education and College Readiness
This funder supports K-12 education through its economic mobility of individuals and families. It funds programs aimed at high school completion, job training, apprenticeships, college preparedness, financial literacy and career counseling. Bank of America’s investment in college readiness stems from its economic and social progress initiative, which runs a sub-initiative for workforce development and education. This program aims to provide young adults with the “skills, resources and experience needed to succeed.” Areas of interest are STEM education, internship programs, youth counseling and cooperative programs. While Bank of America maintains partnerships with large nonprofits like City Year and the United Way, other grantees include Cornell University, the National College Advising Corps and the National Mentoring Partnership.
Grants for Work and Opportunity
Bank of America’s Workforce Development and Education program is “committed to connecting young adults and those that deserve second chances to the skills, resources and experience needed to succeed.” Its Investing in Women program works to “connect women entrepreneurs to mentoring, capital and other tools that will give them the power to advance their businesses and make significant contributions to our global economy.” Past grantees and partnerships include Year Up, Girls Who Code, FREEAMERICA and New Profits.
Grants for Public Health
Bank of America promotes public health primarily through its Basic Human Services giving, which supports programs that provide “critical access to food, shelter, and medical care” to people in need. It also expresses its “commitment to diversity and inclusion” through its support for Americans with disabilities, including “employing individuals with intellectual disabilities on our Support Services team” and “creating opportunities every day in our communities with our products and services.” One major grantee is the Special Olympics, which Bank of America has sponsored for over 30 years.
Grants for Food Systems
Bank of America’s Hunger Relief program has a two pronged approach: “Feeding the hungry” and “Food access.” “Feeding the hungry” means support of food banks, and in-school and after-school “feeding and nutrition programs” for low-income students, while “food access” means “hunger relief in food deserts, green and fresh foods, and agricultural sustainability.” Other priority focus areas include great attention to housing access, community revitalization, small business development, financial literacy, and workforce development. Grantees for food access and hunger relief include DC Central Kitchen, Houston Food Bank, Rhode Island Community Food Bank, Second Harvest and Hunger Action Summit.
Grants for Military and Veterans
Bank of America is committed to providing “helpful resources to service members, veterans, and their families.” Its Service Members and Veterans giving offers services such as career opportunities and advancement at Bank of America itself or its partners, financial education for veterans transitioning to civilian life, and partnerships with nonprofits and organizations across the country that provide services to veterans. The Veteran Entrepreneur Lending Program provides access to affordable loans for veteran-owned businesses.
Grants for Arts and Culture
Bank of America’s Arts and Culture grantmaking supports institutions that “help economies thrive, help individuals connect with each other and across cultures, and educate and enrich societies.” The Art Conservation Project provides grants to museums in over thirty countries—such as the National Portrait Gallery, London, the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. and the Diego Rivera Museum in Mexico City—to preserve and restore art housed in their collections. The Art in Our Communities program offers loans of artworks in Bank of America’s private collection to museums around the world. Finally, like many corporate funders, Bank of America funds and sponsors theaters, museums, and artistic institutions around the world, such as Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Ackland Art Museum, Art Institute of Chicago and the Tate Modern.
Important Grant Details:
This foundation made over $300 million in grants in a recent year. Grants ranged broadly in size from $10,000 to $5 million, but more than half of all grants remain under the $30,000 mark. To be eligible for funding, grantseekers must be based in and serve communities in one of Bank of America’s target geographical areas. Future requests for proposals may not reflect the areas listed above, so review the site for the most current funding priorities and eligibility criteria.
Please note that this organization is a separate entity from the Bank of America Client Foundation, which largely focuses on supporting organizations in the Sarasota, Florida, area (though, like the BFCA, education is a part of its giving portfolio).
PEOPLE:
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