Comis Foundation Grant

The Comis Foundation Grant aims to provide equitable opportunities for children to thrive through education and community engagement. It supports innovative programs that enhance educational outcomes, focusing on areas such as capacity building and pilot projects. With funding ranging from $5,000 to $75,000, the foundation prioritizes nonprofit organizations that foster inclusive environments. By emphasizing trust and collaboration, Comis Foundation strives to create lasting impacts in the communities it serves.

Guiding Principles
Comis Foundation has 5 principles which guide our focus: We work to build relationships of mutual trust with our grantees; We value sustainable systems and solutions; We are not experts, we want to learn and enable learning; We are willing to accept risk when warranted to achieve greater impact; We value both new and established ways of serving communities.
Area of Interest
Comis Foundation supports programs and policy work that drive improvements in educational outcomes for children and youth. We are interested in programs that support the community as well as children and youth directly.
Pilot and Proof of Concept: $5,000 – $25,000
New programs within existing organizations, standalone new organizations just getting off the ground, or testing new approaches within a current scopeSmaller-scale research or data collecting project or other similar short-duration investigationsTimeframe is single-year; multi-year research or evaluation projects will not be considered under this program
Capacity Building and Innovation: $25,000 up to $75,000 per year
Capacity building for organizations, including but not limited to staff professional development, strategic planning, leadership development, and supplemental expertise (e.g., communications)General operating support for innovative organizations. We consider the concept of innovation broadly: organizations that create opportunity for children to explore, learn and thrive are by definition innovative until all children can engage with the world through the same set of opportunities.Multi-year research or evaluation projects will be considered under this program, particularly as a pre-cursor to scaling innovative programsMulti-year grants will be considered under this program at $25,000 – $75,000 per year

Eligibility

All potential grantees must be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.Comis Foundation will be narrowing our geographic focus for more concentrated positive impact in the communities that are home to our Trustees:San Francisco Bay Area: San Francisco, Marin and Alameda CountiesColorado: Northern Front Range and solutions in early childhood education for rural & mountain communitiesMetro Washington, D.C.: those portions of Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia bounded by the inner loop of I-495 (inside the beltway)Comis Foundation will also continue to fund a small number of organizations with national scope and reach.

Ineligibility

The Foundation will not support organizations that discriminate against a person or group on the basis of age, political affiliation, race, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation or religious beliefThe Foundation does not fund internationally.We also do not consider funding for:individualsscholarshipssponsorshipscapitalloans