Charles M. and Mary D. Grant Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Charles M. and Mary D. Grant Foundation supports work and opportunity, affordable housing, public health, environmental conservation, education and racial justice and equity. Grantmaking prioritizes low-income areas of the Southeast.
IP TAKE: This funder has demonstrated a strong interest in supporting the shift away from coal mining economies in Appalachia and other areas in the Southeastern states. It supports equity for the poor and for people of color across all its funding areas. Although it has traditionally offered grants to support specific programs, since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, it has been offering general operating support to its grantees.
The Grant Foundation no longer appears to accept proposals.
PROFILE: The Charles M. and Mary D. Grant Foundation was established in 1967 after the death of Mary Grant. Its funding interests are community and economic development, health and human services, environment, and education. The foundation prioritizes the Southeast United States, and grantmaking is facilitated by J.P. Morgan Chase Bank in New York City. It maintains a sparse website, limiting information about its specific grantmaking goals.
Grants for Work and Economic Opportunity
Work and opportunity are the foundation’s largest area of grantmaking. While the foundation does not outline specific goals for its giving in this area, past grants demonstrate a strong interest in developing economic opportunity in the poorest areas of rural Appalachia. Past grantees include the Central Appalachian Network of the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development and Appalachian Voices, which aims to help communities shift away from coal-dependent economies to healthier, sustainable livelihoods. Grantees in other geographic areas include chapters of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation in Washington, D.C., and New York City.
Grants for Housing, Homelessness and Community Development
The Charles M. and Mary D. Grant Foundation does not outline specific goals for its housing grants but has demonstrated a strong interest in affordable housing development. Past grantees include Louisiana’s Gulf Coast Housing Partnership, Kentucky’s Federation of Appalachian Housing, Inc. and Enterprise Community Partners, which advocates for and develops housing for low-income families in the U.S.
Grants for Public Health
Public health is one of the foundation’s smaller areas of giving. The foundation has, however, provided ongoing support to Atlanta Legal Aid Society’s Health Law Partnership which works toward improving healthcare and healthcare access for low-income individuals and families. Other past health grantees include the Regional AIDS Interfaith Network of the Southern Piedmont in North Carolina and Vanderbilt University’s Maternal Infant Health Outreach Worker Program.
Grants for Environmental Conservation and Justice
The Grant Foundation has recently begun to make grants in the area of environmental conservation. It has supported the National Forest Foundation and American Rivers, which received an $80,000 grant for maintaining clean water sources and healthy ecosystems in the American Southeast.
Grants for Education
The Grant Foundation has supported programs that train early childhood educators at Vanderbilt University and Berry College. It has also given to programs that support vocational education and job training for underserved populations. Past grantees include the Collaborative for the 21st Century Appalachia, which used funding to develop online vocational and agricultural education courses, and the North Carolina’s Manpower Development Corp., which used funding for its vocational education and job training programs.
Grants for Racial Justice and Equity
Recent grantmaking in the area of racial justice has focused on men of color in the U.S. The Foundation Center of Atlanta received a grant for its Boys and Men of Color Collaborative Circle. Another grantee, Profound Gentlemen, creates communities for male educators of color and aims to mobilize these professionals to improve educational experiences for boys of color.
Other Grantmaking Opportunities
The Grant Foundation has supported several organizations that support legal advocacy and protective services for children, with grants prioritizing organizations that support children from poor areas of the Southeast. Grantees include the national organization Children’s Rights, Stand for Children Louisiana and Kentucky Youth Advocates.
Important Grant Details:
The Charles M. and Mary D. Grant Foundation makes over $300,000 a year in grants ranging between $10,000 and $100,000. Its average grant size is about $25,000. Although its funding is usually designated for program support, since 2020 the foundation has provided general operating support to grantees as a response to the COVID-19 crisis. Funding prioritizes but is not strictly limited to organizations operating in Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida.
The foundation does not appear to accept unsolicited proposals or requests for funding. General inquiries may be addressed to the foundation’s program officer, Carolyn O’Brien, via email.
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