RKMF General Application Grant

RKMF General Application Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Richard King Mellon Foundation
Last Updated: December 14, 2025

Summary

The Richard King Mellon Foundation invites innovative proposals that align with their 2021-2030 Strategic Plan, aiming to invest over $1.2 billion to enhance opportunities in southwestern Pennsylvania. Their funding focuses on conservation, economic development, economic mobility, health and well-being, organizational effectiveness, and social-impact investments. The General Application offers flexibility without deadlines, allowing for a variety of support types, including project-specific and general operating funding, aimed at enriching community vitality and environmental stewardship.

Overview

We welcome bold proposals that align with our 2021-2030 Strategic Plan. Our Strategic Plan is a roadmap to award more than $1.2 billion from 2021-2030. It is a plan to focus the Foundation’s resources on the most powerful pathways to greater opportunity and prosperity for the people of southwestern Pennsylvania. And to do even more to protect, steward, and activate environmentally sensitive land in southwestern Pennsylvania and across the United States. Funding Programs We strive to improve the competitive position of the region; strengthen the vitality of Southwestern Pennsylvania, particularly the City of Pittsburgh and its neighborhoods; and protect important habitats and natural amenities in Western Pennsylvania and across the United States. ConservationWildlife flourishes and people thrive in once-imperiled habitats, through strategic land protection, stewardship, and activation, and sustainable economic development that deploys renewable energy and new technologies that foster livable communities and healthy natural systems.Economic DevelopmentTo help make Southwestern Pennsylvania an engine for economic growth and vitality by investing in the ingenuity and creativity of its population, enhancing individuals’ economic prosperity, and strengthening our sense of community.Economic MobilityAll children and youth living in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties will be able to access their most promising future. We invest in pathways to opportunity for vulnerable children and youth to overcome the obstacles to achieving economic mobility.Health & Well-BeingEveryone in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, particularly the most vulnerable, has the opportunity to live a healthy life.Organizational EffectivenessOur partners will have the organizational strength and agility to pursue big ideas and take risks in service of accelerating achievement of their strategic priorities.Social-Impact InvestmentsThe Foundation's social-impact investing enables mission-driven for-profit companies to secure the risk capital, networks and resources they need to develop products, deploy services and address societal issues at the individual and community level. We welcome proposals that span funding programs. General Application The General Application is for proposals that align with our 2021 – 2030 Strategy and one – or several – of our funding programs. The General Application is our most flexible application option. The General Application does not have deadlines, so you can submit at any time throughout the year. Through the General Application, you can apply for general operating support or project-specific support. You can also seek funding for planning and innovation, implementation, or scaling activities.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Non-profit & Public Sector ApplicantsYour organization must have a valid U.S. IRS Tax ID. Each program focuses its funding on different regions.Conservation funds nationally.Economic Mobility and Health & Well-Being exclusively fund efforts that serve Allegheny and Westmoreland counties.Economic Development and Social-Impact Investments mostly fund efforts that serve Allegheny and Westmoreland counties. These programs will occasionally, on a case-by-case basis, consider funding projects based in other western Pennsylvania counties.Only nonprofit or public sector organizations that have received general operations or project support funding within the past three years are eligible for Organizational Effectiveness grants.  The Foundation provides general operating support for organizations that are not postsecondary institutions or research institutions.

Ineligibility

We do not consider applications on behalf of individuals or from outside the United States.The Foundation does not fund lobbying, advocacy, or political causes or events.We comply with all laws and regulations, including prohibitions on funding terrorist activities.The Foundation is generally not providing multi-year grants at this time.The Foundation will not fund ideas that include regranting to individuals.The Foundation may fund applications that include regranting from a lead agency to other agencies who are identified in the submission as participants in a collaboration.