Grants for Churches

NOTE: We reply to requests of $5,000 or less within 30 days. We reply to requests of $5,000 or more within 90 days.

Mission

The Fish Family Foundation of Maine is a faith based charitable organization located in Bangor, Maine. Founded in 2007, our mission is to provide resources for many initiatives including, but not limited to, missions, education scholarships, ministries, medical research, and employment creation. The Fish Family Foundation of Maine is primarily funded by the family. However, contributions from like minded individuals and organizations is appreciated. The Fish Family Foundation of Maine has a balanced strategy of making funds available for immediate needs, while also investing to build a perpetual earning endowment ensuring the Foundation's successful future.

Missions:

We support needs of missionary organizations including sponsorships for young people who wish to attend youth group sponsored mission trips. We ordinarily make one time contributions but on occasion have made up to a three year commitment. 

Education/Scholarships:

The Foundation makes scholarships available to Colleges, Universities, and other Schools for student enrollment and expenses. We also consider new construction, existing renovation, equipment, and support material contributions.

Independent Churches and Ministries:

We accept a wide variety of requests, including, but not limited to: materials, equipment, new construction, renovations, programs, and services. 

Medical Research:

We support medical research opportunities close to our hearts and organizations that our family and friends have experienced. 

Job Creation:

We Support organizations that fund entrepreneurs in impoverished areas to start small businesses providing services and employment to the community.

Requests are considered by the trustees the first week of each month. Foundation payments are made by paper check in US dollars and are reported to the appropriate tax agencies. While we certainly wish that we could contribute to all the applications that meet our funding criteria, there are times when when available funding is limited and we are not able to contribute to some very worthy causes. If we are not in a position to help in the timeline requested, we will keep the information on file for possible consideration in the future. 

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 Snee-Reinhardt Charitable Foundation is a family foundation based on the philanthropic principals and traditions that began with William Snee and his wife Katherine Reinhardt-Snee several decades ago. 

Their contributions supported the continued development of humanitarian programs, food and clothing for disaster relief, growth of the fine arts, advancement in medical research and innovation in educational programming. Even though the Snee-Reinhardt Charitable Foundation encompasses many broad areas of concern, or categories, there is no one area deemed more important than the next. Nevertheless, the Foundation has found it beneficial underwriting grants that are tangible in nature or serve a higher number of individuals within the community and surrounding areas. The Foundation continually aids organizations that are endlessly striving to serve the community in various ways such as improving social conditions, expanding education, and working to better the environment.

Category Definitions

The Snee-Reinhardt Charitable Foundation’s Board of Directors has designated several areas of concern comprised of specific intentions.

• Arts/Culture: Performing arts, humanities, media and communications, multipurpose museums, public broadcasting, and historical preservations.
• Education: Promotional programs for elementary, secondary and vocational systems, colleges/universities, graduate programs, adult and multipurpose libraries.
• Environmental: Support of natural resources, beautification programs, pollution control, environmental education, and horticultural/botanical programs.
• Health/Medical: Rural health care, crisis intervention, special programs in health centers, and prevention/treatment of specific diseases.
• Human Services: Youth development and recreation, disaster relief, employment training/ placement, multipurpose agencies, and abuse prevention.
• Religion: The theological education and ecumenical programs as well as the mission of many churches, synagogues, and religious charities.
• Miscellaneous: Because every grant cannot be included into a category, the Snee-Reinhardt Charitable Foundation permits grants for animal welfare, community development, sports, camps, fire and police departments and economic development as miscellaneous grants.  

Our Mission

The Sorenson Legacy Foundation is a non-profit corporation established by the late biotechnology pioneer and entrepreneur James LeVoy Sorenson and his wife, education philanthropist Beverley Taylor Sorenson, for the purpose of promoting charitable, artistic, religious, educational, literary and scientific endeavors. The foundation is based in Salt Lake City, Utah and is qualified under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

The Sorenson Legacy Foundation was created to improve the lives of others and the world in which we live. The foundation supports a wide range of endeavors, from community development and education to health care, scientific and artistic pursuits.

What We Fund

Education

As a teacher, Beverley believed the arts are essential to broadening our children’s minds starting in elementary. She helped promote legislation so Utahn children would be exposed to more of the arts. She saw the arts as equal in importance in the development and success of children as sciences and math. Education continues to be a focus area for the foundation because she was a champion for the cause.

The foundation continues to support seven major universities in the development of elementary arts studies. The goal of education funding will always be to improve the breadth and depth of the art education and experiences of young students. Whether that be by supporting elementary programs or teachers who develop the talents of students.

Health Care

Having never fulfilled his dream of becoming a doctor, James devoted much of his fortune to provide better medical assistance for saving lives and alleviating pain and suffering.

Grants are awarded to facilities that work toward improving these aims as well as medical research, medical technologies, and other innovations that provide safe health care and quick recoveries.

Innovation

James was always interested in how to improve products or processes and never settled for the status quo. His 60+ patents are proof of his desire to innovate areas in order to improve quality of life and equality of experience.

Grants are awarded to organizations that share the same passion for technological advances and care for humanity. Unlike the other areas funded, grants for innovation are open to any category or sector where innovative ideas and technologies can change the lives of people for the better.

Community

Both James and Beverley Sorenson were committed to improving the lives of those in their communities. From a young age, James served others including through a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The foundation recognizes the ways to help our communities are vast. Grants are given to programs that focus on protecting and preserving the environment, assist the disenfranchised of society, and promote understanding and tolerance in our world.

Projects

Ideas include, but are not limited to, projects and programs which: 

Education

• promote the development of the arts, including art education in schools
• assist promising young artists
• support performing arts organizations
• promote education and job training

Innovation

• enhance the quality of life of all humankind
• promote the development of science, culture, and recreation
• protect and enhance the environment
• promote the development of parks and green spaces

Health Care

• promote medical research
• develop innovative medical technologies for saving lives
• alleviate pain and suffering

Community

• encourage and support the long-term preservation of families and children;
• assist the disenfranchised of society, such as abused spouses and children
• promote community development and security and adequate and affordable housing
• promote law and order generally
• provide youth with alternatives to gangs, crime, and socially nonproductive behavior
• promote world peace and unity through greater understanding and tolerance
• advance the mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Our Story 

Some people dream of success; others get up early and work to achieve it. Art and Mary Schmuckal spent their 53 years of marriage achieving success and supporting many others through their philanthropic endeavors. Their life was a balance of family, Church, work, play, public service, and, within their means, charitable giving.

Many organizations have not only been financial benefactors, but also benefactors of the volunteer time and talents of Art and Mary. The success of their business, Schmuckal Oil Company, and the value of real estate acquired during the lifetime of Art and Mary, presented the opportunity to “jump start” an organization whose purpose was solely dedicated to philanthropy. 

A family foundation is a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Michigan. The Art and Mary Schmuckal Family Foundation is administered by a volunteer Board of Directors composed of the founder’s four children, three grandsons, and two non-family, long time family friends (an attorney and a CPA). 

As is true in every charitable organization, there has been a learning curve of how best to be good stewards of the assets entrusted to the Foundation. Wise investments help grow the funds and grants must be wisely awarded to organizations who make a difference in the lives of the community they serve. 

Art Schmuckal was actively involved in the Foundation for 12 years until his death in 2012. Art and Mary both had a positive impact on their local community during their lifetime. The Art and Mary Family Foundation is intended to remain in good standing in perpetuity and to be a lasting legacy to the Art and Mary Schmuckal Family. 

Make A Difference

The Art and Mary Schmuckal Family Foundation is a private family foundation established in September 1999 to support charitable tax-exempt organizations, including religious, health and educational organizations serving citizens in the greater Grand Traverse region.  The Art and Mary Schmuckal Family Foundation has an open grant application policy.

NOTE: Applications may be submitted at any time during this funding cycle, open from Feb 1 to the deadline above. Please note that applications will only remain active in our system for 90 days, and at the end of this period they will be automatically rejected.

Guidelines

Local Community grants range from a minimum of $250 to a maximum of $5,000. Eligible nonprofit organizations must operate on the local level (or be an affiliate/chapter of a larger organization that operates locally) and directly benefit the service area of the facility from which they are requesting funding.Organizations may only submit a total number of 25 applications and/or receive up to 25 grants within the 2019 grant cycle.