The Currier Museum of Art is a shared source of beauty and inspiration — making the power of art accessible to all. Read more.

The Currier Museum of Art is a shared source of beauty and inspiration — making the power of art accessible to all. Read more.

Apply for a grant

New Hampshire's nonprofit organizations help make New Hampshire a great place to live.
Thanks to the generosity of hundreds of New Hampshire citizens, the Foundation awards thousands of grants every year to organizations doing critical work in our communities, and improving quality of life for all. Together, we are doing great things.

What we fund

Through our competitive grant programs, we fund programs and operations of qualified nonprofits working in the areas of health and well-being, civic engagement, education, economic development, environmental protection and arts and culture.

We also make grants to nonprofit partners working in specific areas of strategic Foundation priorities – like fighting substance use disorders and increasing youth opportunity.

And we work closely with generous donors to connect them with funding opportunities that match their areas of interest in fulfilling community needs. Please create an organizational profile on GrantSource to help us connect your work with donor interest, and to have funding needs listed on Greater Giving, our online giving platform for donors.

Explore our grant opportunities for nonprofit organizations

  • Career Pathways Partnership Grants Program

    Deadline: February 28, 2020

    The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and the Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire have launched the Career Pathways Partnership grants program to create career pathways for New Hampshire public school students — especially those furthest from opportunity — by supporting partnerships led by local chambers of commerce, nonprofit organizations or school districts that work collaboratively with area businesses and educational institutions.

    Learn more

  • Community Grants Program - Express Grants

    Deadline: May 15, 2020

    This competitive grants program awards project support (a set of activities conducted during a specified period of time and with clear deliverables that further the organization’s mission or build organization capacity) of $5,000 or less to eligible organizations.

    Learn more

  • Community Grants Program - Unrestricted Grants

    Deadline: August 6, 2020

    This competitive grants program awards unrestricted grants that support an organization’s general operations as a whole rather than a particular project or capacity-building effort. This program was formerly called ‘Operating Grants.’

    Learn more

  • Mary Gale Foundation

    Please check back for 2020 application deadline.

    The Mary Gale Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation that supports housing, health and other in-home services and programs for low-income women age 65 and older living in the Greater Manchester area.

    Learn more

  • Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund - Empower Coös Youth Grants Program

    Deadline: January 16, 2020

    The Empower Coos Youth Grants Program supports programs in Coos County, NH and Essex County, VT and surrounding communities in both states that focus on reducing carbon emissions; increasing extracurricular activities for youth; and strengthening community engagement. This grant program awards support of up to $10,000 to eligible organizations.

    Learn more

  • Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund - Local Grants Program

    Deadline: January 16, 2020 or July 16, 2020

    The Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund supports projects in Coös County, NH and bordering communities in the United States and Canada that focus on community revitalization. This grant program awards support of $20,000 or less to eligible organizations.

    Learn more

  • Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund - Large Grants Program

    Deadline: January 16, 2020

    The Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund supports projects in Coös County, NH and bordering communities in the United States and Canada that focus on community revitalization. This grant program awards support of $20,001 to $300,000 to eligible organizations.

    Learn more

  • Nonprofit Loan Program

    Deadline: Rolling

    The Nonprofit Loan Program is focused on strengthening nonprofits, helping them have greater impact in the community, through sound financial management and greater access to working capital.

    Learn more

  • Upper Connecticut River Mitigation and Enhancement Fund

    Deadline: January 13, 2020

    The fund supports restoration, protection, and enhancement of the river, wetlands, and shore lands within the Connecticut River watershed upstream of the confluence of the White River and the Connecticut River at White River Junction, VT and West Lebanon, NH.

    Learn more

  • Wellborn Ecology Fund

    Deadline: July 1, 2020

    The Wellborn Ecology Fund is dedicated to increasing environmental and ecological science knowledge in the Foundation’s Upper Valley Region.

    Learn more

Grants for teachers, artists and public officials

  • Caroline and Martin Gross Fellowship

    Deadline: February 7, 2020

    The Caroline and Martin Gross Fellowship honors individuals for their extraordinary work in public service.

    Learn more

  • Christa McAuliffe Sabbatical

    Deadline: February 14, 2020

    Each year, the Christa McAuliffe Sabbatical awards a year-long leave of absence to an exceptional New Hampshire public school teacher.

    Learn more

  • David M. Brooks Music Fund

    Deadline:: April 20, 2020

    The David M. Brooks Music Fund supports music education in New Hampshire’s public schools.

    Learn more

  • Louise Tillotson Teaching Fellowship

    Deadline: April 24, 2020

    The Louise Tillotson Teaching Fellowship program strives to raise public awareness about the value of excellence in education and to retain good public teachers in the New Hampshire’s North Country and in Essex County, VT.

    Learn more

  • Louise Tillotson Teaching Professional Development Scholarship

    Please check back for 2020 application deadline.

    The Louise Tillotson Teaching Professional Development Scholarship offers North Country and Essex County, VT teachers scholarships for continuing education and professional development.

    Learn more

  • Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund - Community Practitioners Network

    Please check back for 2020 application deadline.

    The Community Practitioners Network is an 18-month program designed to advance the resiliency of Coös County and surrounding communities in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine by cultivating the leadership and networking skills of 15 talented local residents.

    Learn more

  • Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund - Empower Coös Youth Grants Committee Member

    Deadline: April 15, 2020

    The Empower Coös Youth Grants Program seeks area high-school students from Coös County and surrounding communities in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont to help decide how to award up to $30,000 in grants to nonprofit organizations that focus on reducing carbon emissions; increasing extracurricular activities; and strengthening community engagement.

    Learn more

  • Piscataqua Region Artist Advancement Grant

    Deadline: April 30, 2020

    The Artist Advancement Grant Program provides financial support to individual visual artists and craftspeople in the Piscataqua Region to promote their artistic growth.

    Learn more

Nonprofit Resources

Webinars and presentations

Grantee press kit

CEP Grantee Perception Survey

Final and interim grant reports

Fiscal sponsorship agreement form

Grant change request form

 

Guidance for tracking and reporting lobbying grants

New Hampshire Eligibility Checklist

Strategic Plans



Grants in Action

The Granite State News Collaborative hosted “Solutions from the Frontlines,” a community conversation on behavioral health in May. (Photo by Cheryl Senter.)

News goes collaborative

The Granite State News Collaborative is a new venture that has media outlets working together to give more people access to well-reported local news. The Charitable Foundation and the Knight Foundation are supporting its work.

WISE staff at their Bank Street office in Lebanon, NH. (Photo by Cheryl Senter.)

‘We are here for you, we believe you, we will support you.’

WISE of the Upper Valley provides advocacy and support for victims of gender-based violence — and invites the wider community to join in its mission of making that violence a thing of the past

Berlin, NH. (Photo by Cheryl Senter.)

Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund announces more than $210,000 in grants to support efforts in the North Country

Hikers exploring the Cohos Trail in Pittsburg will cross bogs using new bridges — and leave vegetation intact. The City of Berlin will update its master plan. Teachers in Colebrook will get the tools they need to support the social and emotional well-being of their students. And more

Anthony Poore, executive director of New Hampshire Humanities. (Photo by Cheryl Senter.)

Anthony Poore on the urgency of the humanities

The executive director of New Hampshire Humanities in conversation with the Charitable Foundation's Lois Shea about the urgency of the humanities at this moment in history; bringing new voices into the conversation in New Hampshire; and how politically conscious hip-hop changed his world

Greengard Center for Autism staff enjoying lunch with participants at Graylag Cabins. (Courtesy photo.)

More than $240k in Express Grants awarded

Weekly grocery deliveries are being made to children during summer break and school vacation weeks; high school cross-country skiers will be able to participate on teams and enjoy New Hampshire’s official state sport; new art will be installed on the Franconia ArtWalk — and much more. The Charitable Foundation’s Express Grants program, which has a streamlined application process and short turnaround time, provides small grants (less than $5,000) to nonprofits in need of flexible funding to help with specific projects and programs

Roselle Higgins shares her family story. (Photo by Cheryl Senter.)

Community happens when it’s safe to talk about the hard things

The New Hampshire Theatre Project's “Elephant in the Room” series uses theatre to bring people together to talk about immensely difficult things — suicide, eating disorders, substance misuse — and connect people with resources available to help

Teen Trail Crew, a NH-JAG summer youth program. (Courtesy photo.)

Students garner life lessons on the trail

Jobs for America's Graduates and the Appalachian Mountain Club have partnered up to offer Berlin students meaningful, paid summer employment, skill-building work in environmental stewardship, and exposure to careers in conservation and land management

Kathy St. Louis reads to preschoolers at the Penacook Community Center. (Photo by Cheryl Senter.)

Community happens when seniors are connected

The Penacook Community Center offers programs for neighbors of all ages — from infants to elders. For Kathy and Paul St. Louis, the center's senior programs gave them a way to create strong community connections when they moved to town

Justin Fuller (right), an Austin17 House volunteer, shows his appreciation for Mark Anderson. (Photo by Cheryl Senter.)

Community happens when good is built from tragedy

The Austin17 House in Brentwood is a place where young people feel connected, and heard, and celebrated

The Lancaster Community Garden managed by Taproot Farm and Environmental Education Center provides the community with green space to grow their own garden.

Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund awards nearly $1 million to support the North Country

Families will have increased access to nutritious foods. Community forests in Gorham and Milan will expand, providing additional income, lumber and open space for recreation. A local community college will train students for high-demand careers in industrial mechanics. And more

Brandon Pierre (center) with Jayson (left) and Arandea, two of the boys whom Brandon mentors through the Mayhew Program. (Photo by Cheryl Senter.)

Community happens when a young man becomes a mentor

Brandon Pierre is a mentor with the Mayhew Program. Mayhew doesn’t change people, Brandon says. It gives boys “an authentic, honest belief in themselves — which allows them to change their future.”

Asuka Thompson (right) with her daughter, Athena, and teacher Lien Harris. (Photo by Cheryl Senter.)

Community happens when new neighbors become old friends

The Dover Adult Learning Center serves about 1,000 students a year in its core classes — from high school diploma and equivalency classes to English for speakers of other languages, adult literacy, computer skills and career pathways


We're here to help

  • Wendy Cahill
  • Senior Community Grants Associate