Education grants and much more, building economic self-sufficiency

Geographic Focus

• Baltimore City and Baltimore County
• Northeastern Pennsylvania
• Hawaii
• Israel and Former Soviet Union for projects serving the Jewish community

Grantmaking in Israel

For the next several years, the Foundation is funding primarily capital grants within this program area. Capital grants are for new construction, renovations, major equipment, and some infrastructure. We have formal partnerships with Israeli government ministries or national programs to fund only the following three types of projects:

• Early Childhood Centers (Merkaz LaGil HaRach)
• Shelters for abused women and their children
• Supportive and Independent Housing for graduates of foster care homes, mishpachtons or boarding schools (pre- or post-army) who do not have any family support

Nonprofit providers may apply directly to the Weinberg Foundation via a Letter of Inquiry (LOI). If you have questions, please email Stan Goldman at sgoldman@hjweinberg.org or call 410-654-8500, ext. 263.

Goals

Early Childhood Education

Goal #1: Children up to the age of five enter school healthy and ready to learn.

1. Expand children’s access to quality instruction by teachers, child care providers, and volunteers in early childhood learning opportunities.
2. Provide quality support to parents in being their child’s first teacher.

K-12 Education

Goal #1: Children will graduate, ready to succeed in higher education or the workplace, with help from non-profit organizational involvement supplementing K-12 education in public schools.

1. Support supplemental programs (both in-school and out-of-school) that focus on increasing literacy, mathematical, entrepreneurial and college/work readiness skills, which can include academic, arts, and sports programs.
2. Support the recruitment, training, and mentoring of able instructional leaders to guide challenging schools.
3. Ensure that the school environment is a violence-free and safe place for children to learn.

Goal #2: Families will have ability to make educational choices for their children that prepare them for college and careers.

1. Expand the quality of career readiness skills programs in autonomous alternative governance public schools through operating support and small, moveable equipment to aid in instruction of career skills, including libraries, labs, and technical equipment.
2. Expand opportunities for economically disadvantaged children to attend independent school systems that provide high quality education.

Out of School Time

Goal #1: At-risk youth will be provided with consistent direction, motivation, and support from caring, competent adults.

1. Provide quality out-of-school time opportunities (after school and summer programs) that promote academic gain, career/entrepreneurship exploration, and/or personal development through academic, arts or sports programs.
2. Expand mentoring capacity of formal volunteer mentors and appropriate youth professionals to foster proper emotional and personal development of youth by capable role models.

Family Safety and Development

Goal #1: Parents will know how to, and will, support the proper emotional and physical development of their children.

Prevent child abuse/neglect or family violence; adequately provide treatment when such violence does occur; provide low-income parents with information, support, networks and capacity to successfully raise children.

Goal #2: Youth will have a safe place to live when living under legal guardianship is not viable.

1. Assisting homeless youth transition out of foster care
2. Providing supportive services for runaway youth

Seeking a grant?

Your first step in the grants process is the Letter of Inquiry (LOI)

Questions as part of your LOI:

1. Please identify which goal and objective under “Education, Children, Youth & Families” best fits your request. (We recognize your program might cover multiple goals and objectives).
2. In addition to listing how you track outcomes, please summarize outcomes from your last year for your program.
3. Please clarify if you are asking for funds to expand the program to more children/families or to fund the program at existing levels.
4. What is your rate of “successful” graduation/completion from your program, and how do you define success and how do you compute your graduation/completion rate?
5. What is your attendance rate and how is it computed? (Those applying under the Foundation’s family safety and development goals do not need to answer this question).

For more information, or if you have questions, please contact Amy Gross, Program Director; Education, Children, Youth & Families; agross@hjweinberg.org or 410-654-8500, x229.