Corporate Grants for Nonprofits

What We Support

Children are at the heart of everything we do at the Kellogg Foundation. Our goal is lasting, transformational change for children. As a grantmaker, we recognize that children live in families and families live in communities. Therefore, our three areas of focused work – Thriving Children, Working Families and Equitable Communities – are dynamic and always interconnected.    

Achieving strong outcomes for children happens by connecting what families need – at home, in child care settings, at school, at work and in their communities. As a foundation, we use a variety of change-making tools – grantmaking, impact investing, networking and convening. With our support, grantees and partners work together to make measurable improvements in children’s lives.

Our Interconnected Priorities:

• Thriving Children: We support a healthy start and quality learning experiences for all children.
  • improving access to high quality, early childhood education
  • support healthy birth outcomes
  • quality maternal and infant health care
  • children's early development
  • increase breastfeeding rates
  • expand access to oral health care
  • increase access to fresh, local healthy food
  • improve nutrition for children and families in early child care settings
• Working Families: We invest in efforts to help families obtain stable, high-quality jobs.
  • widen pathways to stable, high-quality jobs
  • more equitable employment opportunities
  • expand support for tribal-, minority-, and women-owned business enterprises
  • accelerate small business growth
  • inform policies and change systems to create greater economic stability
• Equitable Communities: We want all communities to be vibrant, engaged and equitable. 

Embedded within all we do are commitments to advancing racial equity and racial healing, to developing leaders and to engaging communities in solving their own problems. We call these three approaches our DNA and believe they are essential to creating the conditions that propel vulnerable children to achieve success.

The Impact Fund

Our mission is to provide grants, advocacy and education to support impact litigation on behalf of marginalized communities 

Grants

The Impact Fund awards recoverable grants to legal services nonprofits, private attorneys, and/or small law firms who seek to advance justice in the areas of civil and human rights, environmental justice, and/or poverty law. 

Since being founded in 1992, the Impact Fund has granted more than $8 million in recoverable grants. We award grants four times per year, most within the range of US$10,000 to US$50,000.

Funding Sectors

Social Justice

The Impact Fund provides grants and legal support to assist in human and civil rights cases. We have helped to change dozens of laws and win cases to improve the rights of thousands.

The cases we are funding allege that:

• In California, police used excessive force against #BlackLivesMatter protesters.
• In Colorado, female police officers face losing their careers because they can’t do enough push-ups and sit-ups.
• In Ohio and New York, a gun manufacturer knowingly sells to dealers that arm criminals.
• In Massachusetts, prisoners with Hepatitis C are going untreated.
• In North Dakota, Native Americans can’t vote because of a recent voter suppression law.
• In Florida, prisoners who request mental health services are abused and, when they complain, the abuse gets worse.

Environmental Justice

The Impact Fund provides grants to support local litigation for environmental justice, with a focus on marginalized comunities. These are often cases no one else will support. 

The cases we are funding are to stop:

• Proposed mining in the Superior National Forest that would contaminate groundwater, damage wetlands, and destroy the local Native American wild-rice economy.
• Unwanted development, after a community garden in New York was bulldozed in the middle of the night.
• Pollution from a lighter fluid factory in New Jersey that is causing illness to residents in a low-income neighborhood.
• Clear-cut logging that is threatening the health and livelihood of the local indigenous community in Ontario.
• Spraying pesticides at will in California.
• A new highway bridge that is the latest in a long history of environmental hazards heaped upon an African American and Latino neighborhood in Corpus Christi, severing it from the rest of the city.

Economic Justice

The Impact Fund provides financial and other forms of support to cases fighting for economic justice. From workers' rights to consumer protection for vulnerable populations, impact litigation is a powerful tool to hold corporations accountable. 

The cases we are funding allege that:

• In Texas, people with unpaid tickets are sent to “debtors’ prison.”
• In California, landlords lose their insurance when they accept Section 8 vouchers from low-income tenants.
• In Idaho, homeless people are jailed for sleeping outdoors, even when there are no shelters to take them in.

Additional Considerations

Is your case set up for success?

No one can guarantee a victory. That's why we look for a coherent strategy and a legal team with sufficient experience and resources to give the case the best chance of success.

Have you collaborated with anyone else?

Legal work can be all-encompassing. But taking the time to talk with others who have argued (or are currently arguing) similar cases can make a huge difference in the long run.

Do you need the money?

You probably wouldn't be reading this if you didn't need financial support, but just in case: We prioritize requests from applicants who need funding to keep their case moving forward.

Have the expenses already been paid?

Our grants can only be used for expenses that have not yet been paid. Raising funds for litigation costs can feel like a juggling act, we know. We’re available to talk by phone if you need help determining when to apply.

Have you estimated what your case will cost?

Litigation costs can be hard to predict, but we’ve found there is value in planning. Once you run the numbers, you might move securing co-counsel to the top of your list. (We can help.)

Have we funded your case before?

Occasionally we will fund a case more than once. In these situations, the case has lasted several years and has a new set of challenges and expenses.

Targeted Small Grants Program 

Reinvestment Fund, in its capacity as National Fund Manager for the Healthy Food Financing Initiative at USDA Rural Business-Cooperative Service, requests applications for America’s Healthy Food Financing Initiative Targeted Small Grants Program (HFFI TSG Program) for 2021. At least $4,000,000 is available for grants in 2021. Reinvestment Fund may increase the total funding if additional funds become available.

The TSG program supports innovative fresh food retail and food system enterprises that seek to improve access to healthy food in underserved areas through food retail. Grants could assist projects with a variety of aspects of project development, renovation, and/or expansion. Grants are designed to be one-time investments of capital into a food retail or food enterprise project in order to address higher costs and initial barriers to entry in underserved rural and urban areas. Grant funds should unlock additional sources of capital, catalyze project sustainability, meet financing gaps, and/or enable deeper impact or project reach. 

Eligible applicants include for-profit, nonprofit, and cooperatively owned businesses, institutions of higher education, state and local governments and tribal governments. Applicants may include food retailers or non-retail food enterprises. Grants will be available to eligible organizations in eligible underserved areas to implement a project that is designed to improve access to fresh, healthy food through food retail. While the HFFI TSG Program is designed to support projects that respond to food access and food enterprise needs that were evolving prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, we recognize the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on communities, retail outlets, and the food supply chain. Applicants may use their discretion to propose a project that otherwise meets program guidelines, and is or is not related to recovery from the pandemic, directly or indirectly.. 

Funding

Grant awards may be from $20,000 - $200,000. We expect to make 20-30 grant awards. The first phase of applying to this grant is to submit an LOI. The LOI submission includes applicant information, project location(s), grant budget request, and a brief project summary describing the community needs, project team background, proposed project and business model, and project timeline. Reinvestment Fund will review all LOIs to determine if the proposed project is eligible for the program. Eligible projects will be invited to submit a full application.

Proposed projects could include (but are not limited to):

• Predevelopment: Projects should be ready for implementation or shovel-ready when applying for HFFI TSG Program grant funding, but grant needs can include predevelopment and soft costs, including market analysis, site location analysis, appraisals, architectural or design assistance, training, or other contractual or consulting uses.
• Brick and Mortar Facility Development: Hard capital costs including land or building acquisition; construction; and fixtures, furniture, and equipment for the construction, renovation, or expansion of a brick and mortar facility.
• Other capital needs: Hard costs for the creation, retrofit, expansion, or other one-time investment in capital needs for a retail operation or enterprise that isn’t for facility, including vehicles, machinery, equipment, technology, software, purchase of existing business assets, a one-time investment in inventory or raw materials, or other.
• Other soft costs: One-time soft costs such as training, consumer/community engagement, governance support, financial or development consultants, project management, marketing and merchandising work, environmental/energy assessments, food safety assistance, project learning and/or impact assessment, and other one-time soft costs that contribute to preserving or expanding access to food retail.

About Seeding Solutions

Launched in 2017, Seeding Solutions is our annual competitive grant program that supports bold research in any of our six Challenge Areas or builds bridges between our Challenge Areas. FFAR awards up to 10 grants ranging between $300,000 to $1 million. Grantees must provide matching funds from non-federal partners.

We support innovative projects that address challenges in food supply and agroecosystem management through novel partnerships. Such collaborations provide opportunities to engage stakeholders as integral members of the research team and increase the likelihood of a project’s application beyond its scope.

What to know when applying for Seeding Solutions

Seeding Solutions proposals should:

• Demonstrate the potential for impact within our Challenge Area priorities.
• Address pervasive challenges in food supply and agroecosystem management.
• Benefit the public by advancing science-based decision support, enhancing transparency through open platforms or supporting economic development opportunities that strengthen the food and agriculture workforce.
• Maximize potential for real-world application by developing bold partnerships with stakeholders, including private and nonprofit organizations, non-federal government agencies, research institutions and farmers.

What are the requirements to apply?

FFAR seeks projects that foster innovation with the potential for transformative impact within FFAR’s Challenge Areas. Applications that address the following will receive preference:

• Contribute to the goal of sustainable food and agriculture, defined as practices that “satisfy human food and fiber needs; enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon which the agricultural economy depends; make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls; sustain the economic viability of farm operation; and enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole.” (Food and Agriculture, Conservation and Trade Act of 1990, Public Law 101-624, Title XVI, Subtitle A, Section 1603).
• Accelerate innovation within FFAR’s Challenge Areas. For this request for applications (RFA), FFAR defines innovation as follows:
• Radical Innovation: Development of new technologies, software, algorithms, methodology, or products with the potential to transform agricultural systems.
• Applied Innovation: Application and validation of new or emerging technologies, processes or management strategies to address significant challenges in food and agriculture systems.
• Re-imagined Innovation: Adaptation of existing technologies, processes or management strategies for entirely new agricultural applications.
• Address an aspect of the following Challenge Area priorities. Additional information is available through the Challenge Area links provided. We encourage applicants to reach out to the Scientific Program Director of the appropriate Challenge Area of interest to hone ideas before submitting a pre-application (see Application Assistance below).
• Soil Health: Advanced understanding of what soil health is, how it is measured and how to manage and optimize the sustainable delivery of the ecosystem services which soils provide
• Sustainable Water Management: Interdisciplinary, model-based research related to near-surface hydrology and designed to advance precision agriculture and water management
• Next Generation Crops: Advanced breeding methods and development of biotic and abiotic stress tolerance for crops grown in organic and conventional cropping systems to increase farmer profitability and environmental resilience
• Advanced Animal Systems: Improved animal health, welfare and productivity, antibiotic stewardship and the environment through innovative partnershipp
• Urban Food Systems: Elucidation of connections between urban food systems and the urban environment, in addition to the connections between rural and urban communities to improve food and nutritional security, human health outcomes, economic opportunities and food system resiliency through transdisciplinary partnerships
• Health- Agriculture Nexus: Systems-level approaches (both technological and non-technological) aimed at reducing food and nutritional insecurity and improving human health in the United States and worldwide
• Demonstrate fully integrated partnerships with different sectors (private, non-government organizations (NGO), governments, academia and other stakeholders) such that research outcomes may be scalable and applicable to food and agriculture systems.The development of public-private partnerships is central to FFAR’s vision and core mission: Building unique partnerships to support innovative science addressing today’s food and agriculture challenges. External matching funds (i.e., contributions provided by partners outside of an applicant’s home institution) will strengthen the application’s standing. These partners may include but are not limited to private and public corporations, non-profits, foundations, commodity and trade groups, and state and local governments. Unique partnerships including organizations that may not typically work in agriculture, are strongly encouraged.
• Serve the public good by making data open and accessible to the public, creating unique economic development opportunities, or contributing to food and agriculture workforce development.

FFAR, as a part of its mission, seeks “not only brilliant minds but also fresh perspectives tackling today’s challenges in food and agriculture. We embrace diversity and promote inclusiveness in all we do, from the teams we build to the grantees we support.” FFAR also understands that the outside-the-box thinking needed to drive innovation occurs when researchers with different skillsets and experience collaborate. With that spirit of diversity and inclusiveness in mind, cross-disciplinary research teams, especially those that include disciplines not traditionally associated with food or agriculture science, to develop innovative solutions to address current agricultural challenges are strongly encouraged to apply to the Seeding Solutions program.

NOTE: Select applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal.

Using Bold Wireless Technologies for Big Impact

5G – the fifth generation of wireless – will transform the next decade of innovation in unprecedented ways, making our lives better, our communities stronger and our nation more prosperous. While 4G advanced the ways people connect and communicate with each other, 5G’s lightning-fast speeds, ultra-low latency and greater network capacity will revolutionize how humans interact with and shape the world around them.

The potential for groundbreaking, lifesaving innovation powered by 5G connectivity is increasingly apparent. As America’s wireless industry has already built out 5G networks across the country, ninety-one percent of U.S. consumers believe 5G’s impact will be significant for society.

The “connected everything” 5G-era will impact our communities, inspiring change, disrupting the status quo and helping address some of our country’s biggest challenges that often impact marginalized populations the most.

The emergence of 5G brings with it the promise of connecting people with the tools they need to engage with their own communities and gain access to broader global perspectives. When combined with cloud, edge computing, IoT and other technologies, 5G wireless offers a significant opportunity to make meaningful advances and tap into a powerful infrastructure for social good.

5G will touch every facet of our lives, but we’ve only scratched the surface of what is possible. In order to fully recognize how the 5G decade will change the world for the better, we need agile, innovative, and daring visionaries who can put 5G to work to improve our society. 

Catalyst Grant Program

Catalyst is a competitive grants program for ambitious social entrepreneurs using the power of 5G and leading edge wireless technologies to enhance our lives and address pressing challenges in American communities.

Up to six applicants will receive financial and non-financial benefits, with a first-place grant of $100,000.

What Does Catalyst Do?

Catalyst seeks to attract and fund solutions that take advantage of the speed, efficiency and versatility of 5G and leading-edge wireless technologies to deepen our connection to one another and make our communities stronger.

CTIA Wireless Foundation supports emerging changemakers and social impact projects that will benefit greatly from infusions of capital in their early stages of development. Catalyst Winners are bold innovators who are addressing some of our country’s biggest challenges that often impact marginalized populations the most.

Catalyst applicants must be using 5G and leading edge wireless technologies, including Virtual Reality (VR)/Augmented Reality (AR)/Extended Reality (ER), Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Machine Learning (ML), IoT and sensor technologies and big data analysis. Wireless should be integral to the solution.

ASPCA Fund to End Factory Farming

This year’s funded projects will pursue new data, evidence, or narratives that can inspire consumers, companies, farmers, institutions, and/or policymakers in transitioning away from factory farming to more humane, equitable, and sustainable food production.

Research may be conducted formally or informally.

The project need not be directly related to animal welfare, provided benefits ultimately flow to animals.

Grants will generally range from $15,000 - $25,000, with a maximum individual grant amount of $50,000. The total funding amount available for this grant opportunity is $100,000. 

Projects will be considered if they contribute new research (whether formal or informal), evidence, reports, or narratives that have the potential to move farmers, consumers, lawmakers, policymakers, corporations, and/or institutional buyers from conventional animal agriculture to more humane, equitable, and sustainable alternatives including higher-welfare farming practices, pasture-based and regenerative animal agriculture, and plant-based alternatives.

We are interested in funding projects related to:

• Documenting or quantifying the prevalence of industrial animal agriculture practices that cause animal suffering, worker health or safety issues, food safety risks, damage to local economies, farmer financial instability, environmental damage, or other social harms. (e.g., intensive confinement, waste management issues, anticompetitive practices, misleading product claims)
• Unexplored or unquantified connections between higher-welfare farming practices (e.g., confinement-free, pasture-based, or otherwise animal-centered systems) and benefits to the environment, public health, local economies, worker wellbeing or business viability
• Quantifying the financial costs of factory farms on individuals, communities, and taxpayers, and strategies to increase accountability for these costs
• Unexplored strategies to assist farmers to transition from conventional animal agriculture to more humane, equitable, and sustainable alternatives, including higher-welfare farming practices, pasture-based and regenerative animal agriculture, and plant-based alternatives. 
• Public surveys, social media trials, or other research approaches to determine the best messaging to motivate and persuade key stakeholders to adopt more humane, equitable, and sustainable practices.