Ceres Foundation Grant

The Ceres Foundation Grant focuses on supporting nonprofit organizations that enhance education and career pathways for historically underserved communities. With a commitment to measurable outcomes, the foundation prioritizes initiatives in college access, career pathways, and family strengthening. While currently not accepting new partnerships until Summer 2025, existing grantees can submit proposals for continued support. Grants typically average $70K annually, aimed at fostering long-term collaborations and capacity building.

NOTE:
New to The Ceres Foundation: ‍Thank you for your interest in partnering with the Ceres Foundation. After undergoing substantial growth in the last couple of years, we have decided to use this as a learning period that will inform our grantmaking approach going forward. As such, we have decided to take a step back from growing our new partnerships and are not accepting concept papers. We are hopeful that we’ll have more opportunities for new partnerships in Summer 2025 and will have more information available once this process reopens.Recent Grantees: If your organization has received a grant from The Ceres Foundation within the past two years, you may go straight to the submission of a Full Proposal using our online application. We operate four grant review cycles annually. Organizations are invited to submit a proposal for the cycle that is most convenient for them. However, we ask that returning grantees submit a final report prior to making a new funding request.
Funding Priorities
We make lasting investments in nonprofit organizations demonstrating measurable outcomes that advance education and career pathways for historically underserved populations. Our funding helps strengthen these organizations and provides them with the flexibility to determine their spending priorities.
Impact: We prioritize investing in programs that provide a range of integrated, holistic services, set high goals and deliver high supports, thoroughly and accurately assess opportunities for the individuals they serve, and follow through to make sure their impact is lasting.College Access & Success: Initiatives to help historically underserved youth graduate high school, prepare for and get into college, and ultimately obtain a post-secondary credential. This includes academic persistence and support programs, mentoring and life skills development programs, and related youth development areas.Career Pathways: Post-secondary education, training, work-experience, or job placement programs that provide pathways to careers that offer sustaining wages and opportunities for advancement.Family Strengthening: Programs that deploy a two-generation approach by working simultaneously with children and parents to promote healthy parenting, prevent child and spouse abuse, build resilient families, and help achieve a level of stability essential to the ultimate attainment of our broader education and employment goals.
Types of Support
Our goal is to make lasting investments and we value long-term collaborations, often awarding successive-year or multi-year grants. We primarily provide general operating support and capacity building investments as our funding is intended to strengthen nonprofit organizations and to provide them with the flexibility to determine their spending priorities. However, we do sometimes earmark support for specific programs or initiatives. Ceres median annual grant size is $70K and generally we only provide one grant per calendar year to any organization.
We invest in capacity building and knowledge sharing to more completely support our grantees and the communities they serve.

Eligibility

We fund nonprofit organizations in LA + Orange County, CA, Washington, DC, and Western, MA focused on advancing education and employment outcomes for historically underserved youth through College Access & Success, Career Pathways, and Family Strengthening programs.Grantees must be 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations that are also described in IRS section 509(a)(1), 509(a)(2) or (in certain cases) 509(a)(3).We invest in organizations who focus on serving one or more of the following disadvantaged populations:Low-income youth ages 10-26

Ineligibility

What We Don't Fund:Scholarships or direct financial awards to individuals
Sectarian activities for religious organizations
Organizations that discriminate on the basis of age, race, national origin, ethnicity, religion, cultural beliefs, disability or sex, including sexual orientation or gender identity or expression
Political causes, candidates, organizations or campaigns
Organizations whose primary purpose is to influence legislation