Grant Guidelines

Good news! We can now accept electronic applications! Here’s how:

The Foundation awards three kinds of grants: 

• Mini-grants of up to $350

• Fall and Spring grants of up to $2,500

• Arnold Keller, Jr. award of $10,000

Mini-grants of up to $350 are considered and awarded any time throughout the year. They are usually given for one-time or emergency needs.

To apply, please fill out the Grant Application Cover Page and email to minigrants@capitolhillcommunityfoundation.org. Click here to download the Grant Application Cover Page.

If you prefer, you may fax it to 202-547-6333, or mail it to the Foundation office at 419 East Capitol St. SE, Washington, D.C. 20003.

Fall and spring Grants of up to $2,500 are awarded in November and May each year. These grants are given to a wide variety of projects benefiting the community by assisting:

• Schools and teachers

• After-school academic, recreation and arts programs

• Social service programs

• Arts, dance and theater activities

• Neighborhood beautification

On occasion, awards of more than $2,500 are made for projects of particular merit.

To apply for a fall or spring grant, please email all of the following documents to grants@capitolhillcommunityfoundation.org.

1. The grant application cover page. Click here to fill-in or print the cover page. DocumentName: cover.
2. A proposal of no more than 3 pages explaining the goals and anticipated outcomes of the project. DocumentName: proposal. This proposal should include:

• A description of the project indicating who will benefit from it and how
• A detailed budget for the project and a financial statement for the sponsoring organization
• A statement of exactly how the funds provided by the grant will be used and an indication of other sources of funding.
• The names of staff, Board of Directors and other primary participants
• Optional:  Supporting documents such as brochures, newspaper articles etc. DocumentName: supportdocs or, if necessary, supportdoc1, supportdoc2, etc. 

Here's how to name your electronic files: Organization-DocumentName-SeasonYear (PDF format preferred).  For Organization, put the name of your organization. For DocumentName, use the following names: Cover, Proposal, or SupportDocs. For SeasonYear, use Spring2010 or Fall2010. Here are examples: KidsLearn-Cover-Spring2010 or KidsLearn-Proposal-Spring2010 or KidsLearn-SupportDocs-Spring2010.

If you are unable to email the documents, you may mail or deliver the application to the Foundation office at 419 East Capitol St., SE, 20003 providing:

• Three copies of the Cover Sheet
• One copy of all other documentation listed above

Applications for spring grants are due by 5 pm, Friday March 26, 2010. Spring grants will be distributed in person at a ceremony in late May 2010, time and place to be announced.

Applications for fall grants are due by 5 pm, Friday, September 24, 2010. Fall grants will be distributed in person at a ceremony in early December 2010, time and place to be announced.

The Arnold F. Keller, Jr. Award of $10,000 is made each year at the Capitol Hill Community Achievement Awards dinner in May. It recognizes projects or organizations making significant, ongoing contributions to the life of the community. 

To be considered for the Arnold F. Keller, Jr. Award, please send a letter of Inquiry to the Foundation describing how you might use this award to benefit the community. 

For the 2011 award, the letter of inquiry is due by 5 pm, Friday, September 24, 2010. The recipient of the Arnold F. Keller, Jr. Award will be announced in late fall. The letter may be emailed to grants@capitolhillcommunityfoundation.org or mail/delivered to the Foundation office at 419 East Capitol St., SE, 20003.

If you would like to discuss your application before submitting it or have any questions about this process, please contact Grants Committee Chairman Stephanie Deutsch at 202-547-8624 or scd@his.com.