Grant Guidelines

Priorities:
The Memorial Foundation for Children awards grants annually to nonprofit organizations in the Greater Richmond Area that address significant issues within our major funding categories, Education and Health and Wellness of children from birth through the age of 21. The Richmond area is defined as the City of Richmond and the counties of Chesterfield, Goochland, Hanover, and Henrico.

Education Grants should engage children over a period of time in a series of interactions that culminate in improved knowledge or skill. Preference will be given to schools, organizations and programs that support success in school and motivate children to thrive in life. We place emphasis on supporting programs that improve Early Childhood and K-12 Education.

Health and Wellness Grants are awarded to organizations that provide quality, meaningful medical care, physical and mental health services, and health education programs to benefit children.

Priority will be given to grants that:

demonstrate long-term impact
fund evidence-based programs that enhance educational experiences or promote optimal health
primarily serve children from asset-limited households, which includes families living at or below 200% of federal poverty guidelines
are designed to achieve measurable results
provide support to organizations that collaborate to improve the lives of children living in poverty

Geographic Focus:

Generally, grants are made only to organizations located in the Richmond metropolitan area, which is defined as the City of Richmond and the counties of Chesterfield, Goochland, Hanover and Henrico. However, funds are sometimes awarded to agencies located outside of the geographic region for grant proposals specifically serving children who reside within the Richmond metropolitan area.

Types of Support:

The Foundation makes grants for specific programs or projects as well as general operating expenses.

Eligibility and Restrictions:

Grants are made to organizations that qualify under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and to qualifying government instrumentalities, such as public schools.
Requests for endowments, private foundations, private operating foundations, individuals, annual fund campaigns or fundraising expenses will not be considered.
Grants for individual tuition, scholarships, and camperships are NOT funded, and generally, one-time event grants are not favored. Grants requests that include field trips and/or event tickets to enhance programming that engages children over a period of time will be considered.
Generally, requests for multi-year payments are not considered.
Grants are not typically made for “bricks and mortar” projects.
Grants are awarded on an every other year basis.

If you should have questions about the Foundation’s grant funding priorities or guidelines, please contact the Grants Chair at MFCRichmond@gmail.com.