Wagner Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Wagner Foundation supports global health and economic development efforts in resource poor and rural communities in the U.S. and around the world. It also arts and culture and economic opportunity programs addressing systemic challenges in the United States.
IP TAKE: The Wagner Foundation conducts all of its grantmaking through the lens of systems change. Grantseekers interested in reaching out to this funder should have a good idea of how their organization operates at the systems level and how their work will fit into the foundation’s holistic overall strategy.
This is a rather transparent funder that maintains a list of recent grantees and routinely publishes news and reports about its ongoing work and current issues of concern. It is not very accessible, as it does not accept applications, but it is approachable and willing to entertain letters of inquiry from organizations who can show how their work aligns with the foundation’s strategy. While it does not impose geographical limitations on its global giving, it tends to focus on certain regions, particularly in Africa, Latin America, and Haiti. Its national giving, especially for the arts, tends to center around the Boston area. This foundation invests in both small and larger organizations that maintain a close relationship for the communities in which they serve.
PROFILE: The Boston-based Wagner Foundation was established in 2005 by Charlotte Wagner, wife of investment banker Herbert Wagner III. Herbert S. Wagner III spent 13 years at Baupost Group, becoming portfolio manager of the Boston-based firm and founded Finepoint Capital LP, which he runs. The Wagner Foundation works to “build a just and robust community where all people have equitable access to opportunity and the ability to live a life of purpose and dignity.” Its grantmaking initially focused on education and human service organizations based in the Boston area, but has expanded nationally and internationally with an eye towards social justice. The foundation’s current Focus Areas are Health Equity, Economic Prosperity, and Cultural Transformation.
The Wagner Foundation’s grantmaking strategy centers around Systems Change. It identifies the six components of systems change as policy, practice, resource flow, relationships, power dynamics, and mental models. It seeks to balance work addressing immediate needs with long-term approaches to root causes. Grantseekers are advised to review the foundation’s approach to grantmaking in order to have a strong idea of how their project will fit in with Wagner’s overall strategy.
Grants for Global Health
The Wagner Foundation’s Health Equity grantmaking supports access to quality healthcare services, health infrastructure, and medical training. Calling the lack of adequate healthcare “profoundly destabilizing to society as a whole,” the foundation makes long-term investments in public health and development and global healthcare networks. Wagner often focuses its global health investments on resource-poor communities and developing countries. One past grantee in the global health space is Integrate Health, which received funding for its work providing a better standard of healthcare in poor and forgotten communities and ending preventable deaths. Seed Global Health is also a Wagner grantee, having received funding for its work strengthening health education and delivery in areas of the world experiencing shortages in health professionals.
Grants for Economic Opportunity
The Wagner Foundation’s Economic Prosperity program supports “access to economic opportunity through training, apprenticeships, and other employment programs.” The foundation believes the key to opportunity is “greater investments in training and skill-building” and “challenging systemic barriers while augmenting existing pathways to economic mobility.” Year Up is one of the foundation’s biggest beneficiaries. Another is Root Capital, which promotes “inclusive agriculture” practices that “balance local conditions with broader goals like child poverty, economic mobility, and peace.” Other grantees include Summer Search Boston, Steppingstone Foundation, and Silver Lining Mentoring.
Grants for Arts and Culture
The Wagner Foundation’s Cultural Transformation grantmaking is committed to “encouraging visionary individuals, as well as arts institutions that expand cultural access.” It particularly prioritizes work involving “disadvantaged groups questioning fundamental issues impacting their lives.” In partnership with the VIA Art Fund, the Wagner Foundation’s Art Incubator Grant aims to promote the role of local cultural spaces as “vital gathering places which build stronger civic bonds, help people discover their own voice, and hear the voices of others.” Other grantees include The Drawing Center, Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art, Hope on a String, and the Boston Book Festival.
Important Grant Details:
The Wagner Foundation’s grants generally range from $10,000 to $100,000, although it sometimes makes grants in the hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. To learn more about the types of organizations the foundation supports, explore its grants list.
The Wagner Foundation does not apply geographic restrictions to its grantmaking, although it tends to favor organizations based in Massachusetts, especially Boston. Its international efforts currently target select countries in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
Wagner does not accept unsolicited grant applications or requests for funding, but grantseekers are welcome to send a brief letter of inquiry and project description to info@wfound.org. Note that the foundation will not reply if it is not interested in pursuing your project.
Grantseekers may reach out to info@wfound.org for further inquiries.
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