Grantmaking

Learn more about
Giving Together's Grants

Giving Together awards substantial grants to nonprofit organizations that help women and children in the Washington, DC area. Our grants program is continually evolving in an effort to better meet the needs of local non-profits.

Currently we have two grant tracks. Our Multiyear Thematic grant is a two-year grant focusing on a theme selected by members each year. The theme for 2024 was women's health. In 2025, we will be awarding our Multiyear grat to an organization we have previously funded. Prior years’ themes have included housing and homelessness, education, workforce development, services to immigrants and refugees, and food insecurity. In 2021 we added an Accelerator grant focusing on Black-led, Black-benefiting non-profits. In 2024 the Accelerator program was expanded to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)-led and BIPOC-community benefiting nonprofits. The grants are funded by yearly contributions of GT members. Grant applications are by invitation only.

Who serves on the Grants Committee?

All interested members of Giving Together can serve on our Grants Committee. Committee members evaluate proposals, conduct site visits and recommend the finalists to the GT board and membership, who choose the grantees at the Annual Meeting each fall. Participating in the grants process is one of the most rewarding aspects of Giving Together membership.

Criteria for grantees

Multiyear Grant: We fund organizations that are:

in existence for at least three years
focused on serving women and families in the Washington, DC metropolitan area
locally based
neither religiously nor politically affiliated

We fund new programs, expansion of existing programs with demonstrated effectiveness, and general operating expenses.

Accelerator Grant: We fund organizations that are:

BIPOC-led and primarily BIPOC-benefiting
have revenue between $50,000 and $750,000 per year
in existence for at least two years and no more than 20 years
focused on serving women and families in the Washington, DC metropolitan area
locally based
neither religiously nor politically affiliated

Accelerator grants can be used for general operating expenses or other purposes of the non-profit's choice.

GT grant applications

Grant applications are by invitation only. Interested nonprofits that meet the above criteria and are active in the year's theme may contact the co-chairs below by February 15 for more information. We will reply to discuss our grants cycle, whether an organization is eligible to receive our invitation to apply and the types of initiatives we would like to support.

The deadline for filing grant applications is normally late spring. Multiyear grant proposals generally follow the format of the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers' common application, which is available at https://philanthropydmv.org/resources/. The application for the Accelerator grant is more streamlined. This recognizes that the Accelerator grant nonprofits we consider are often smaller and younger than candidates for our multiyear grant; we want to minimize the application burdens for these organization.

How decisions are made

Our Grants Committee reviews solicited applications to ensure they meet our criteria. Committee members may request additional information, such as financial information necessary for our diligence review. We schedule in person or virtual site visits as necessary so we can see the organizations at work and meet the people involved, including, when appropriate, clients served. Committee members meet to review and discuss each proposal. The committee recommends the finalist organizations to the GT board, which considers the organizations before announcing them to the full GT membership.

At GT’s Annual Meeting at the end of September, we invite these organizations to briefly present their proposals to our full membership. The members vote for the proposals they believe will best further the Giving Together mission.