Maryland Small Grants Program

Launching an Innovative Grant Program

At The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, we understand the difficulties many nonprofit organizations face in applying for philanthropic grants— complex application forms, confusing procedures, long delays waiting for a response, and so forth. That’s why we initiated the Maryland Small Grants Program, for nonprofits seeking general operating grants of up to $50,000 a year for two years. All that’s required is a simple, five-page proposal, and The Weinberg Foundation will quickly review and respond. In most cases it takes only 50 days to go from “Our application is enclosed” to “Your check is in the mail.”

In most cases it takes only 50 days to go from "Our application is enclosed" to "Your check is in the mail."

Download the Brochure! (pdf)

Maryland Small Grants: Frequently Asked Questions (pdf)

Who is Eligible?

To participate in The Maryland Small Grants Program, an applicant must:

• Be a nonprofit organization with 501(c)(3) status
• Be headquartered in the State of Maryland or provide direct services primarily to residents of the State of Maryland
• Meet The Weinberg Foundation’s mission of providing direct services to poor and vulnerable populations
• Request funds only for general operating support or program support; capital grants are not eligible
  For both challenge grants and non-challenge grants, the maximum award available under the Maryland Small Grants Program is $50,000 per year for each of two years (for a maximum of $100,000) Grant requests must not represent more than 25% of an organization’s total annual operating budget
• Have annual operating budgets below $5 Million

The Foundation does not provide funds for the following:

• Individuals
• Debt reduction
• Annual appeals and fundraising events (in most cases)
• Endowments (in most cases)
• Publications
• Arts and culture
• Colleges and universities
• Political action groups
• Academic or health research
• Scholarships for higher education
• Think tanks
• Organizations that have been declined in the LOI or DD process within the past 12 months for the same request
• More than one grant per organization

How to Apply

In brief, every applicant organization must complete a five page proposal (excluding attachments) containing the following information:

• Name of nonprofit
• Purpose of nonprofit (please include the mission and the geographic scope of services)
• Purpose of the grant (please include the specific population served and any specific program or agency objectives for the current year, etc. Please also include the specific number of individuals served in the most recent fiscal year)
• Total amount requested and total number of years requested
• The area of giving that the grant request falls under (general community support; older adults; disabilities; hunger; health; workforce development; education; children; youth and families; homelessness; or addictions)
• Current year and previous year’s budgets (please provide summary numbers on no more than one page)
• Number of years the organization has been in operation (three years of operation is a minimum requirement for grant consideration)
• Organization’s total annual administrative percentage (please provide a percentage and a definition of what is included in the percentage)
• History, if any, with The Weinberg Foundation (including grants awarded and grant requests declined). If your organization has asked for similar funding from the Foundation in the past, please provide details of when and the funding provided (or if the grant was declined).
• List of current major contributors (please include individuals, agencies, foundations, government contracts and grants, etc.)
• Examples of partnerships and collaborations with other nonprofit organizations
• Contact information (name, title, address, phone number, fax number, email address, website, etc.)
• Any recent program evaluation results that demonstrates evidence of the success of your program
• Complete program budget if the application is for a specific program (rather then general operating support)
• Specific information regarding other foundations supporting the organization (and the grant amounts), government funding (total amount) and other private, individual, and corporate donations (Beyond a list of funders, funding amounts need to be provided)
• Disclose if this specific proposal is under review with any other funders, and if so which funders and for what amounts
• Please list any and all subsidiaries and affiliates (both above and below the organization in structure)

Attachments

• Proof of nonprofit status [501(c)(3)]
• Two most recent audited financial statements and 990s

Completed proposals should be submitted to The Weinberg Foundation in an envelope marked “Small Grants Program Application.”

After the Grant

The Weinberg Foundation has established special in-house procedures to ensure maximum responsiveness and efficiency in managing smaller grants. Grant recipients have an important role to play in this process as well. Each grantee will submit a Final Narrative and Statistical Report to The Weinberg Foundation at the conclusion of the grant year. Its purpose will be to provide us with relevant information about the funded program, an evaluation of the program’s effectiveness using concrete benchmarks, and a description of any modifications to the original grant request that may be necessary in the second year, if applicable.

Other information could include:

• List of objectives not met and an explanation
• Identification of any problem areas and suggested solutions
• Estimated percentage of the target population that was helped
• Brief summary of goals and objectives for the coming year
• Submission of financial documents such as audited financial report, comparison of budget with funding goals
• Annual report
• A grantee organization’s Final Narrative and Statistical Report must be submitted to The Weinberg Foundation no later than one year after the last grant funds have been received.