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

  • Community Grants Program - Express Grants

    Please check back for 2020 application deadline.

    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 1, 2019

    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

    Deadline: September 9, 2019

    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

    Please check back for 2020 application deadline.

    This competitive grant program supports specific projects, operating expenses, planning, evaluation and technical assistance for programs that benefit Coös County, NH and Essex County, VT and surrounding communities in New Hampshire and Vermont. This grant program awards support of $10,000 or less to eligible organizations.

    Learn more

  • Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund - Local Grants Program

    Deadline: July 18, 2019

    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

    Please check back for 2020 application deadline.

    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

    Please check back for 2020 application deadline.

    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 22, 2019

    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

    Please check back for 2020 application deadline.

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

    Learn more

  • Christa McAuliffe Sabbatical

    Please check back for 2020 application deadline.

    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

    Please check back for 2020 application deadline.

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

    Learn more

  • Louise Tillotson Teaching Fellowship

    Please check back for 2020 application deadline.

    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: May 6, 2019

    Designed by high school students, the Empower Coös Youth Grants Program, convenes youth in grantmaking, deepens connection to place and develops leadership skills.

    Learn more

  • Piscataqua Region Artist Advancement Grant

    Deadline: April 30, 2019

    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

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

Justin Milliken laughs with Sue-Ellen Provenchia, a licensed nurse assistant at Cedarcrest. (Photo by Cheryl Senter.)

Cedarcrest Center helps kids and families thrive

Center for children with disabilities in Keene has been caring for children with complex needs for more than a half-century

The Laconia Middle School Band plays for local elementary school students. (Courtesy photo.)

New instruments headed to Laconia, Manchester

Grants from the David M. Brooks Music Fund are sending new cellos, trumpets, trombones, flutes, violins and more to children in Manchester public schools; and guitars, keyboards, ukuleles and xylophones to public-school children in Laconia

Kristin Lizotte, a teacher at Kearsarge Regional Elementary School, has been awarded the 2019 Christa McAuliffe Sabbatical from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. (Photo by Cheryl Senter.)

The Power of Many: giving and working together for NH

A few examples of recent grants making a difference in communities around the Granite State: Portsmouth Music and Arts Center builds community through the arts; Christa McAuliffe's legacy continues; Kids in Chichester get new playground equipment; Empower Coös Youth Grant Committee makes its first round of grants; Veterans get support and services; History is preserved in Manchester; The largest remaining dairy farm in the Monadnock region is conserved

Teacher Martha Sharp (left) works with Lincoln and behavior support coach Stephanie Therrien at Easterseals Child Development Center in Manchester. (Photo by Cheryl Senter.)

All-in for the youngest among us

Project LAUNCH, a coalition of nonprofits and public agencies, has been building a coordinated system of services and care to make sure that every child in Manchester has the social and emotional supports she needs to learn, thrive and grow: developmental screening that leads to earlier interventions; professional coaching and development for early childhood teachers; making behavioral health a routine part of pediatric visits; parenting classes and home visiting; a rapid-response team for children who have been affected by trauma.

Mobile STEM Lab delivers ‘awesome’ to North Country students

White Mountain Science, Inc.'s Mobile STEM Lab crisscrosses the North Country to bring STEM — Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics — programs to students who may not otherwise have the opportunity to dive into this modern curriculum. The mobile lab was launched with support from the Charitable Foundation's Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund


We're here to help

  • Wendy Cahill
  • Senior Community Grants Associate