Grants, Funding, Scholarships 

Below is an introductory list to some funding options to support Arts and Education. Check your local area for funding sources that might serve your town only.  Ask about Chambers of Commerce, Rotary Clubs, Women’s Clubs that are interested in funding arts programs for youth.  

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NH State Council on the Arts

Artist Residency in Schools (AIR) Grants: Maximum Grant Request: $1,000-$4,500. provide partial funding to bring juried teaching artists into classrooms and public schools to support creative learning and skills in the arts. AIR grants support artist residencies in a variety of arts disciplines, music; visual arts; theatre arts; dance; creative writing; film and traditional arts. 

Youth Arts Project Grants (YAP): For Extended Arts Learning & Out of School Programs: Maximum Request, $1,000-$4,500; Youth Arts Project Grants fund high quality arts and cultural education programs that encourage creativity, develop new arts skills and foster academic success for young people (k-12). 

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Community Funding

A

Ann Denicola Trust The improvement and development of the general health, education and welfare of persons in NH, and especially Bedford,  Merrimack and Nashua, NH. Submission Deadlines: September 1st. For more information, please write to Citizens Private Bank & Trust, Attn:   Foundation Department, 875 Elm Street NE4-6, Manchester, NH 03101.

Waldo and Alice Ayer Scholarships to assist serious students of music, seeking to become professional musicians or music teachers, to pursue studies at an institution offering courses of college or university grade, with preference for female students within the state of New Hampshire. For the support of any symphony orchestra or similar musical organization, or any chamber music group in New Hampshire. For any young artist, residing in New Hampshire, beginning a musical career. Submission Deadline: September 1st. For more information, please write to Citizens Private Bank & Trust, Attn: Foundation Department, 875 Elm Street NE4-6, Manchester, NH 03101.  

American Association of University Women (AAUW) Educational Foundation awards grants to individual women, AAUW branches, and community nonprofit organizations for innovative programs that promote education and equity of women.

American Craft Council makes grants to arts organizations for projects that advance understanding and appreciation of craft. They also make grants to individual emerging artists in all craft media.  http://www.craftcouncil.org

The American Honda Foundation makes grants to worthy non-profit causes, programs and organizations that directly benefit the people of the United States in the areas of youth education and scientific education. Since its inception, the American Honda Foundation has provided more than $20 million in grants.

B

Banknorth Charitable Foundation      
Deadline: Awards will be made shortly after the quarterly meetings
The TD Banknorth Charitable Foundation is now accepting online grant applications for charitable donations. The process is very simple and takes approximately 30 minutes after you have gathered all the required documents

Bechtel Foundation funds in areas where it has offices or projects. Most grants are preselected by Bechtel's managers and are typically youth and education programs, particularly those that focus on math and science education or directed toward engineering and business programs.

Ben and Jerry’s Foundation offers competitive grants to not-for-profit, grassroots organizations throughout the United States which facilitate progressive social change by addressing the underlying conditions of societal and environmental problems. Ben and Jerry’s provides product donations for special events.

Best Buy Children’s Foundation funds multicultural programs located in their market areas for children ages 5-18 that promote personal achievement through mentoring, developing life and leadership skills, and educational opportunities outside of regular classroom instruction.

Frank Stanley Beveridge Foundation, Inc. (NH) considers proposals in areas, including animal related, arts and culture, social action, employment/jobs, environment, health, housing/ shelter, human services, medical research, mental health, voluntarism, crime & delinquency prevention, public/society benefit, recreation, leisure, sports, athletics, religion, science and technology research, social science research , and youth development

Mary Louise Billings Trust Religious education and charitable purposes in the State of NH, with emphasis on assisting needy and deserving individuals of all ages. The maximum allowable request is limited to $5,000. Submission Deadline: September 1st. For more information, please write to Citizens Private Bank & Trust, Attn: Foundation Department, 875 Elm Street NE4-6, Manchester, NH 03101.

Blockbuster Video funds projects that are related to the film/video industry, that support a particular Blockbuster business objective, i.e., employment, or that impact children and families.

Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy seeks to develop or expand projects that are designed to support the development of literacy skills in families.

C

Captain Planet gives grants for projects that promote understanding of environmental issues, focus on hands-on involvement, and involve children and young adults 6-18 (elementary through high school).

Cisco Systems funds successful programs that attempt to make long lasting change in the communities where Cisco Systems, Inc. has a significant business presence. Cisco has offices in Chelmsford and Lowell, MA and Salem, NH.

Cooperative Fund of New England, Inc. (ME & NH) is a community development loan fund that is a bridge between socially responsible investors and cooperatives, community oriented non-profits, and worker-owned businesses in New England

Jessie B. Cox Charitable Trust supports projects in New England in health, education, environment and the development of philanthropy in New England. Projects usually benefit underserved populations and disadvantaged communities or focus on prevention.

Crayola Creative Leadership GrantsThe 2013 program provides grants for innovative, creative leadership team building within elementary schools.

Frances R. Dewing Foundation funds programs in early childhood education. Funding focuses on New England, including ME and NH. Grants average $5,000 and typically support program development. More information can be obtained from Susan Avery, Manager, Frances R. Dewing Foundation, P.O. BOX 1051, Acton, MA 01720 (No known website)

Draper Ricards Grants are set up to help entreprenuers start nonprofit organizations. The foundation annually awards up to six fellowships of $300,000 each over three years to support the establishment of organizations that are national or global in scope and whose focus may include the arts, community and economic development, education the environment, health, youth and families or another area.

Dunn Foundation grants foster visually distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place. Their current priority is K-12 and adult visual environment education through projects that promote the issues of the negative effect that sprawl, visual pollution, and poorly planned development have on the visual environment of communities and the resulting loss of quality of life, and encourage dialogue within communities on visual quality issues.

The Lane and Elizabeth C. Dwinell Charitable Trust  - The mission of the Lane and Elizabeth C. Dwinell Charitable Trust is to strengthen the community and support positive social change in the State of New Hampshire.  Accordingly, the Trustee accepts grant proposals from a wide variety of charitable organizations and will consider program, capital and operating requests.  There is a geographic preference for organizations serving needs in the City of Lebanon, NH and the Upper Valley region. Read more...

E

Educational Foundation of America (National) makes grants for specific projects in several areas including, but not limited to, the environment, the crisis of human overpopulation and reproductive freedom, Native Americans, arts, education, medicine, and human services.

Endowment for Health (NH only) funds a variety of projects that increase New Hampshire citizen’s access t health.

F

Fuller Foundation (Coastal NH) funds non-profit agencies that improve the quality of life for people, animals and the environment through focus areas of youth at risk, wildlife, endangered species - their environment, and animals helping people, and the arts.

G

Arthur Getz Trust The Arthur Getz Trust was created for general charitable purposes. The trustees have indicated they will consider requests for specific projects from qualified tax exempt organizations only. The maximum allowable request is limited to $5,000. Submission Deadlines: September 1st. For more information, please write to Citizens Private Bank & Trust, Attn: Foundation Department, 875 Elm Street NE4-6, Manchester, NH 03101.

GetEDFunding Website grants: easier access to education funding
A new website, GetEdFunding, offers a searchable databaseof available education-funding streams for education technology and curriculumprograms. The site, which is updated daily, offers information about 750 activegrants and awards. 

Graham Foundation grants are offered to individuals and institutions in support of activities focused on architecture and the built environment; generally activities that lead to the public dissemination of ideas through publication, exhibition, or educational programming.

Grants.gov was established as a governmental resource as a central storehouse for information on over 1,000 grant programs and provides access to approximately $400 billion in annual awards. 

Grantmakers in the Arts - Arts Education Funders, Coalition K-12 Education Policy Agenda, June 2012

The Harry Gregg Foundation makes financial grants to New Hampshire residents with physical, developmental and emotional disabilities to help them further their efforts toward independence. Since 1990, the Harry Gregg Foundation has awarded over 5,000 grants to individuals in New Hampshire totaling more than $2 million for a wide array of equipment and services. Grants are limited to $1200, and award amounts are dependent upon an applicant’s financial need and available funds.  Examples of eligible projects include wheelchairs , driver evaluation and training, adaptive equipment, ramps,  summer camp , prostheses, therapeutic recreation , specialized therapies, respite care and computer equipment.

H

Hannaford provides grants within the New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine and Massachusetts and New York. Hannaford also sponsors non-profit youth athletic leagues, school events, and environmental and health organizations.

Hasbro Children's Foundation (National) strives to improve the quality of life for disadvantaged children, birth through age 12, through the support of innovative, model direct service programs in the areas of health, education and social services. The Foundation also funds universally accessible playspaces.

Haymarket People’s Fund  gives money to grassroots groups of local people working for radical social change. Twice a year Haymarket awards money to local organizations in New England. Deadlines for proposals are Oct. 1 and Feb. 1

Samuel P. Hunt Foundation The Samuel P. Hunt Foundation was created for general charitable purposes. For more information for the Samuel P. Hunt Foundation, please write or call: Samuel P. Hunt Foundation, Wall Street Tower, Suite 710, 555 Canal Street, Manchester, NH 03101, Attn: Janet Magee, Phone: (603) 627-1121

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K

Kellogg Foundation (National) funds major initiatives in health, philanthropy and volunteerism, food systems and rural development and youth and education. While a large portion of Kellogg funding for initiatives is committed to projects, the Foundation will entertain proposals for creative new ideas that align with their program initiatives.

Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation (ME) makes grants that strengthen and support communities. The Foundation has a special interest in organizations and people who have less recourse to usual channels of resources, focusing on community-based initiatives, especially in the State of Maine. They are interested in projects that address the underlying causes of social and environmental problems, as well as those that address the consequences. The foundation also has a strong interest in literacy, community services and the arts.

L

LEF Foundation supports artists and arts organizations in New England. The Foundation also funds the presentation of work by artists outside the region for New England audiences. LEF New England funds through two funds, the General Fund, for visual arts, performing arts, literary arts, architecture and design; and the Moving Image Fund, a special initiative that supports independent film and video.

Lincoln Financial Group awards grants to support arts education in the non-profit sector

Agnes M. Lindsay Trust  awards grants for capital campaigns, capital items, renovation needs and equipment in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts. They have an interest in health and welfare organizations, health projects, special needs, including the blind, deaf and learning disabled, the elderly, children's hospitals, children's homes, youth organizations, youth/family services and summer camperships. Occasionally they award a grant for the start-up of a new project.

LL Bean funds national, regional, and local nonprofits in the areas of conservation and recreation, education, health and human services and culture and the arts.

 

M

Microsoft field offices located across the country provide Connected Learning Community grants of cash and software to support initiatives that expand access to information technology to enhance learning and communication in disadvantaged communities. In addition a limited number of other cash and software grants are made to community-based nonprofit organizations by Microsoft field offices.

Milagro Foundation was established by Carlos and Deborah Santana to support the well-being of children and youth through educational programs. Milagro focuses upon three areas: (A) helping children and youth live healthy lives through education and prevention; (B) helping live literate lives through learning; and (3) helping live culturally enriched lives through arts education.

Mockingbird Foundation is a non-profit organization of Phish fans, founded in 1997 to generate proceeds for charity. The Foundation supports music education for children. Mockingbird Foundation accepts Letter of Inquiry on Feb. 28, June 30 and Oct. 30.

 

N

Nathan Cummings Foundation (National) supports programs in the arts, environment, health, Jewish life, and interprogram, which includes three special initiatives--democratic values, contemplative practice, and the nonprofit sector.

National Art Education Association maintains a listing of news and funding opportunities for arts education.

National Endowment for the Arts provides funding for the arts through national, state, and local initiatives.

National Youth Development Information Center maintains a database of funding opportunities for youth development programs.

National Cristina Foundation provides computer technology and solutions to give people with disabilities, students at risk and economically disadvantaged persons the opportunity, through training, to lead more independent and productive lives.

Nellie Mae Education Foundation funds initiatives that focus on adult literacy, college preparation, minority high achievement and out-of-school time.

Parker-Nelson Foundation The Parker-Nelson Foundation was created for general charitable purposes. The trustees have indicated that they prefer grants be made for specific projects, equipment or seed money, but not for operating budgets. The maximum allowable request is limited to $5,000. Submission Deadline: August 15. For more information, please write to Citizens Wealth Management, Attn: Foundation Department, 875 Elm Street NE4-6, Manchester, NH 03101.

New England Foundation for the Arts provides funding for touring artists and arts based community development projects.

New England Grassroots Environment Fund (NEGEF)  is a small grants program designed to foster and give voice to grassroots environmental initiatives in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It provides grants of up to $2,500 to fuel civic engagement, local activism, and social change. It has three deadlines annually: January 15th for a March decision, May 1st for a June decision or September 15th for a November decision.

State of NH DHHS lists opportunities for funding through the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.

New Hampshire Charitable Foundation funds grants to nonprofits across a broad spectrum of service areas such as the arts, education, health and human services, and the environment as well as scholarship funds for students. It is headquartered in Concord and roots itself in communities across the state through a seven-region structure in the Lakes, Manchester, Monadnock, Nashua, North Country, Piscataqua and Upper Valley Regions.

NH Charitable Trusts Unit publishes the Directory of Charitable Trusts in New Hampshire that lists charitable trusts registered in New Hampshire with some basic details about their purpose, assets and giving guidelines.

NH Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP)  (NH only) funds community efforts to preserve important land and historic structures in New Hampshire.

New Hampshire State Council on the Arts provides funding to New Hampshire artists and arts organizations and includes funding for the creation of new works, arts in education, arts in schools, arts in the community, arts advancement, and artist fellowships.

NH Humanities Council (NH only) funds the development and implementation of programs in the humanities in New Hampshire.

Newman’s Own Foundation concentrates on giving for groups that don't always have a strong voice in society - the elderly, children and the disabled, among others.

O

Open Meadows Foundation funds projects that are designed and implemented by women and girls; projects which have limited financial access which reflect the cultural and ethnic diversity of our society and promote the empowerment of women and girls; and projects for social change. Small grants, under $2,000, fund projects that focus on women's empowerment, indigenous women, young women activists, older lesbians, or women in music. Deadlines are Feb.15 and August 15. Full details can be found at http://www.openmeadows.org/

Orchard Foundation makes grants to non-profit organizations concerned with the environment and children, youth and families in New York and New England. The foundation also funds, on a very small scale, organizations concerned with campaign finance reform at the state level.

P

Samuel Pardoe Foundation supports programs that provide educational and economic opportunities for underprivileged persons. They are also interested in health and social services, cultural programs, and community development activities. Application guidelines can be requested by letter or telephone. For more information contact Mary Phillips, Samuel P. Pardoe Foundation, c/o GMA Foundations, 77 Summer Street 8th Floor., Boston, MA 02110, (617) 426-7080. 

Philip Morris U.S.A. grants focus on positive youth development by supporting after-school programs, summer programs, and food expenditures for youth programs.

List of Playground Funding Sources can be found at Schoolgrants.org.

Providian makes grants for projects in child care, consumer education, consumer financial literacy, and credit awareness. They also sponsor events for a wide variety of causes. Funding in New Hampshire tends to focus on the Concord area or statewide programs.

Public Service of NH’s Community Development Grant program

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R

RGK Foundation (National) funds projects in the areas of health, education, human services and community affairs in communities across the US.

S

Salmon Foundation funds services for children and youth and education, including adult education. They have a particular interest in literacy. They provide building/renovation funds, continuing support, matching support, program development, and seed money. They give in Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Vermont, New York City, and New Hampshire. They publish application guidelines that should be requested in writing. Their deadlines are February 15 and September 15. For more information contact: Ann Brownell Sloane, Admin., The Salmon Foundation, Inc., 67A E. 77th St., New York, NY 10021. (No known web site)

SchoolGrants maintains a comprehensive list of PK-12 education and school funding opportunities

William E. Simon Foundation (National) awards grants in several areas, including, but not restricted to education, religion, youth welfare, athletics, and social welfare.

Shaw’s Supermarkets supports United Way, Second Harvest Food Banks, and capitol development and sponsorship programs that have a significant impact on the community. Shaw's also supports organizations in their market area by participating in charitable grants, community relations activities, sponsorships and public relations activities. Store based funding supports non-profit, youth service organizations and local activities and neighborhood projects.

Sociological Initiatives Foundation support projects that focus on understanding and finding solutions to a broad array of social problems and is especially interested in supporting projects initiated by citizens living and working in communities most deeply affected by social problems. Areas of interest include but are not limited to social welfare, human rights, literacy, language learning and use, dialect use and curricular issues in teaching second languages and non-native languages. Preference is given to providing support in areas that tend to be under-funded and for projects of a size where a Sociological Initiatives Foundation grant can make a difference.

Sundance Documentary Fund supports international documentary films and videos focused on current and significant issues and movements in contemporary human rights, freedom of expression, social justice, and civil liberties. Two categories of funding are available: Development funds for projects in the research or preproduction phase (up to $15,000); Works in Progress for projects in production or post production (average $25,000) There are no deadlines.

T

Target funds grants in arts culture & design in schools. Supporting programs that bring the arts to school kids helps expand their horizons and stay on track for a brighter future. They also offer grants for assitance with transportation for school field trips.

Tech Learning maintains of database of grants, contests, and awards for funding technology in education.

Texaco through its Early Notes and Musical Roots programs funds projects that enhance the role of music in early education and programs that explore musical traditions and heritage.

Three Guineas Fund promotes social justice by expanding access to opportunity for women and girls in education and the economy. They fund model programs that advance social change for women and girls and that can be replicated on a broader scale.

Toshiba America Foundation contributes to the quality of science and mathematics education in US communities by investing in projects designed by classroom teachers to improve science and science-related education.

Tom’s of Maine (Maine is geographic priority) provides funding and product donations for projects in animal welfare, protection and conservation of natural resources, wildlife, wildlife habitat and issues related to biodiversity and a sustainable planet; social issues, especially those affecting youth, people with disabilities and indigenous peoples; health and well-being; and family and community life, nurture a sense of community among diverse groups and build community capacity to address and solve local problems; performing arts (music, drama, dance) and visual arts; programs and resources for the arts; and artistic cultural programs with interactive and educational components and innovative educational programs for children and adults, especially projects that will foster understanding of the natural environment and encourage community outreach.

U

Unity Foundation makes grants to nonprofits and schools for projects that improve the educational, cultural, civic and economic life of Maine, New England and the nation.

V

Verizon Foundation provides funding for community development, literacy, women in economic development, education and the digital divide.

Madeline G. von Weber Trust funds projects in community development, neighborhood development, human services and the performing arts primarily in New Hampshire. For information contact: Madelaine G. von Weber Trust, c/o William C. Tucker, 95 Market St., Manchester, NH 03101. (No known website)

W

Women’s Fund of New Hampshire seeks to increase resources and opportunities for women and girls to insure their advancement, self-sufficiency and economic and social equality. Through its grantmaking, the WFNH seeks to support innovative and creative approaches to problems facing women and girls by funding New Hampshire organizations and groups.