Grant opportunities and updates for 2026

Dear friends,

Thank you for the work you do. Thank you for showing up, for caring about the New Hampshire community, for adapting, innovating and providing the critical services that make New Hampshire better for everyone. As you all know, nonprofits and the people and communities they serve continue to face unprecedented challenges in this new year.

The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation is committed to supporting the sector and the people it serves through this extremely difficult time. While we are planning for Dick Ober’s retirement and a CEO transition this year, we remain dedicated to our purpose of helping to make New Hampshire a community where everyone can thrive, and doing so through a focus on equity, racial justice and economic security across our work. We are here and always will be here as a committed partner to nonprofits across the state.

The Foundation awards about $70 million in grants and scholarships each year, via application programs, donor-advised fund grants, designated funds and more. We work closely with nonprofits and generous donors and provide significant funding in the dedicated initiative areas of basic needs, environment, civic health, behavioral health, education and career pathways and early childhood and family supports.

In addition to those dedicated areas of work, in which many of you are important partners, the Foundation offers many application-based grant programs. We have recently established two new grant programs and wanted to share upcoming revisions to an existing program along with some grant deadlines and opportunities. Please visit our website for a full listing of grant programs and deadlines.

Opioid Abatement Community Grants

As those of you working in the behavioral health field are keenly aware, recent days have brought drastic federal funding cuts — and then reversals of those cuts — through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). These cuts — which would have amounted to tens of millions of dollars in New Hampshire — would have had a direct impact on critical services across the state. We recognize the incredible stress and uncertainty that such events create, and we are in conversation with nonprofit and public-sector partners to learn more as events continue to unfold.

Two new grant programs will be distributing $10 million in opioid settlement funds in New Hampshire over the next two years.

The Opioid Abatement Community Grants Program is administered by Granite United Way, in partnership with the Foundation, on behalf of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services and the New Hampshire Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission. Through this program, $10 million in opioid settlement funds will be invested over two years to support community-based efforts that prevent, reduce, and address the harms of the opioid crisis across New Hampshire. The program strengthens prevention, treatment, recovery, and long-term well-being by funding nonprofit organizations, municipalities, school districts, and other eligible entities serving New Hampshire communities.

Two grant opportunities are available, one through the Charitable Foundation and one through Granite United Way. Granite United Way is accepting applications for short-term responsive grants of up to $15,000 for timely projects that address emerging needs, fill gaps, or strengthen community capacity. Visit Granite United Way’s website to apply.

The Charitable Foundation will be administering a multiyear project grants program offering up to $75,000 per year to advance sustained prevention, treatment, recovery, and systems-level efforts. Applications will open at the end of January through the Charitable Foundation’s website and further details on this grant program will be posted on our website in the coming days.

Racial Justice Fund

The Foundation established the Racial Justice Fund in 2021 with dedicated funding. The Foundation’s purpose is to help make New Hampshire a more just, sustainable and vibrant community where everyone can thrive. Because people face unfair barriers to thriving based on factors including race, ability, income, gender identity and more, the Foundation is focused on advancing equity, racial justice and economic security in all areas of our work. The Racial Justice Fund is one of the ways we are acting on that commitment.

The Racial Justice Fund is led by a Community Design Team of people from across New Hampshire. The Fund was created and is managed and supported by the Charitable Foundation with decisions about vision, priorities and grantmaking made by the Community Design Team. The first round of 19 grants was made from this fund last year. This work builds on the Foundation’s long history of bringing people together to address pressing challenges, and relying on hundreds of volunteers and donors to advise on grant and scholarship decisions.

We recently announced a new application-based grant program through this Fund. Applications will open on Monday, February 2, and are open to all nonprofits advancing racial justice as part of their work. The deadline for applications is Monday, February 16. Visit our website to read more about the Fund, upcoming information sessions and how to apply.

Community Grants

We recently wrapped up our 2025 Community Grants program and are looking ahead to 2026. While we are focusing efforts and resources on the initiative areas mentioned above (basic needs, environment, civic health, behavioral health, education and career pathways and early childhood and family supports) we are also committed to preserving an open-door grant program to be responsive to the sector as a whole. We are finalizing revisions for 2026, and will post information on our website by Monday, March 2. Applications will open on Monday, March 9.

Additional grant opportunities available

The Foundation manages many application-based grant programs with deadlines throughout the year.

The Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund, dedicated to the North Country and surrounding communities, has distributed $68 million in grants and scholarships since 2006 and offers multiple grant programs.

Additional grant programs support everything from ecology education in the Upper Valley to music education in public schools.

Visit our website to learn more about these application-based grant programs.

Please reach out

We have heard from many of you in recent months about emerging needs, and are always grateful for your input that helps to shape our work. We always want to hear from nonprofits about challenges and needs that arise, and are always open to hearing your questions and concerns. Please reach out to your staff contact or email us at tenagncc@aups.bet or call (603) 225-6641, ext. 5.

Thank you for your partnership and for all that you continue to do.

Simon Delekta
Vice President for Community Engagement and Impact