Solon E. Summerfield Foundation Grant

Solon E. Summerfield Foundation Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Solon E. Summerfield Foundation
Last Updated: November 06, 2025

Summary

The Solon E. Summerfield Foundation Grant focuses on empowering youth in the NYC-Metro area by fostering partnerships with nonprofit organizations. The foundation aims to transform systems and pathways of opportunity, ensuring that young people facing social and economic injustices can lead choice-filled lives. Priorities include promoting mental health, addressing climate change, and enhancing youth participation in civic engagement. Through flexible, multiyear grants, the foundation supports initiatives that advance equity and create lasting impact.

Overview

Recognizing that grant applications take time and energy away from other organizational priorities, we only invite prospective grant partners to submit a proposal after discussion and/or site visits. We welcome organizations interested in partnering with us to share information about their mission and impact via the linked inquiry form. Why We Do What We Do The Solon E. Summerfield Foundation engages in grant partnerships in the NYC-Metro area that seek to transform systems and pathways of opportunity so that young people most impacted by social, racial, and economic injustice can live choice-filled lives. Current Priorities Because we believe systems need to change over time and young people need opportunities now, we engage in partnerships with organizations transforming pathways of opportunity for youth in the NYC-metro area as well as the broader systems in which they operate. In light of this, our current grantmaking priorities are: Pathways of opportunity for low-income students that allow them the opportunity to lead financially secure, choice-filled lives.Careers that address young peoples’ top priorities including:Mental and behavioral healthClimate change and the environmentInnovations and systemic changes that open pathways of opportunity for young people that improve the wellbeing of people and society, such as teaching, healthcare/caregiving, and public service.Youth participation in civics and government, including:Youth organizing, advocacy, and engagement with system leaders and policymakers on policymaking and system-level change.Youth-led research and other efforts that elevate youth voice in public discourse or budgetary and policy priorities.Collaborative and capacity-building efforts that substantially increase the effectiveness and well-being of multiple organizations and efforts that align with our mission and priorities. How We Work Because we believe that communities hold knowledge and solutions for change, SESF takes a community- and youth-centric approach to our grantmaking. This shows up in: How we interact with community and grant partners: We value and cultivate relationships with nonprofits, other funders, and relevant networks in our community that are built on respect, trust, and meaningful connection.Because we respect the knowledge, expertise, and experience of our nonprofit partners and acknowledge the limitations of our own, we strive to share our learnings and be a thought-partner to our grantees and fellow funders only where helpful.We support our partners beyond the grant dollars, including through capacity building, promoting their visibility, connecting them to other funders, and supporting them in adopting and evolving anti-racist practices in their programs, organizations and beyond. How we find and prioritize grant partnership opportunities: We move with deep respect in the circles of talented leaders in the nonprofit field. With these leaders and youth, we learn, research and seek to understand opportunities for partnership.We follow the lead of and partner with organizations that center and elevate proximate leadership, who authentically and robustly include youth and community voice.In exploring grant partnerships, we consider “why us” (is our approach, flexibility, risk-tolerance and all-around partnership a true value-add to this organization or effort?); and “why now” (does the size, timing or duration of our funding partnership meaningfully contributes to the effort’s launch, momentum, visibility, or success?).How we look for partnership opportunities that significantly enhance an organization or collaborative effort’s ability to advance equity of opportunity and outcomes for youth, typically by: Catalyzing or resourcing a new effort or idea; Filling a gap by establishing a unique and missing service or function; Bridging to or making accessible larger, ongoing funding; or Leading to policy or systems-level change. How we structure grant support: We provide flexible, multiyear grants.We seek opportunities for collaborative funding partnerships, knowing that no organization or funder can tackle these challenges alone. As much as we would love to be able to provide support indefinitely to our grant partners, we concentrate our grant resources on a smaller number of organizations at a time, partnering with them for a specific time, phase or purpose. Aspiration With these priorities and practices, we are grateful for the opportunity to play a small role in supporting partners working toward the shared goals of: Narrowing opportunity gaps and wealth gaps, thereby increasing social and economic mobility for youth who have been historically and systemically marginalized.Equipping youth to be engaged citizens in their communities.Increasing opportunities and agency for today’s young people to live choice-filled lives.Creating intergenerational prosperity.Uplifting and sustaining the wellbeing of nonprofit staff and leaders who dedicate their careers to this mission work.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. The Solon E. Summerfield Foundation, Inc. (SESF), awards grants only to nonprofit, charitable organizations that are designated as exempt from income taxes under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and identified by the IRS as public charities, and whose activities and programs are compatible with the mission and objectives of the Solon E. Summerfield Foundation.

Ineligibility

The Foundation does not make grants to individuals, for special events, or for fundraising benefits.