Yawkey Foundation: Program and Small Capital Grants - Conservation & Wildlife

NOTE:
It is suggested, though not required, that organizations which have not been previously funded by the Foundation submit Initial Proposals (indicated above as Letter of Inquiry) for Program & Small Capital Grants as a way to familiarize the Foundation with their work.
Nonprofit organizations seeking to be considered for Yawkey Foundation funding will be required to complete an online Eligibility Quiz and upon completion, may submit an Initial Proposal for a specific Type of Grant. Please note that all Initial Proposals must be accompanied by a detailed project or program budget specific to the request. It is recommended that project budgets accompanying Initial Proposals do not include salaries or related items (such as fringe, and insurance) and request funding for other program or capital needs.
There are six areas of funding for the Program and Small Capital Grants: Human Services; Youth & Amateur Athletics; Education; Conservation & Wildlife; Arts & Culture; and Health Care.
The story of Tom and Jean Yawkey and their impact on the lives of children and families goes back over eight decades to the commitments they made to the people of Massachusetts, New England, and Georgetown County, South Carolina. The Yawkeys’ love for these communities, and their quiet sense of responsibility for those in need, is captured in the careful steps they took to ensure that their legacy would live on through the work of the Yawkey Foundation. The Yawkeys were perhaps best known for their longtime ownership of the Boston Red Sox. More quietly, but with just as much passion and commitment, Tom and Jean Yawkey were also engaged in an unwavering dedication to those most in need.
Today, the Yawkey Foundation remains as committed as ever to continuing to honor Tom and Jean Yawkey and their commitment to those in need. Having awarded more than $620 million to-date in charitable grants to organizations focused on Health Care, Education, Human Services, Youth and Amateur Athletics, Arts and Culture, and Conservation and Wildlife, the Yawkey Foundation is committed to preserving and sustaining the charitable values of the Yawkeys by investing in impactful nonprofits providing resources, opportunity, and dignity to the vulnerable and underserved.
Program and Small Capital Grants support high-impact, strategic, and responsive nonprofit organizations in delivering their core missions through discrete and timebound projects. Program & Small Capital Grants help address an immediate need that is critical to the organization’s work.
Program and Small Capital Grants may fund a discrete timebound program need, one small project, or a piece of equipment aligned with a nonprofit’s purpose. These grants are extremely competitive, and the Yawkey Foundation will receive many more compelling Initial Proposals than it will be able to fund. Initial Proposals should demonstrate an awareness of and alignment with the Yawkey Foundation’s mission and Areas of Giving. Additionally, the most competitive Initial Proposals will reflect a nonprofit’s strong leadership and proven impact in providing direct services and programs for unmet needs in underserved regions aligned with the Yawkey Foundation’s geographic priority areas, including Gateway Cities in Eastern Massachusetts.
Nonprofits may submit only one Initial Proposal to the Yawkey Foundation during a calendar year, irrespective of the Type of Grant. Organizations that have not been previously funded by the Foundation in recent years are encouraged to submit Initial Proposals for Program & Small Capital Grants to familiarize the Foundation with its work before submitting an Initial Proposal for Strategic Investment or Transformational Capital.
Areas of Giving: Human Services; Youth & Amateur Athletics; Education; Conservation & Wildlife; Arts & Culture; and Health Care.
The Yawkeys’ gift of more than 20,000 acres of shorefront land to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources is their most enduring legacy in conservation.
In 1914, Tom Yawkey’s uncle purchased a small amount of land along the shoreline in Georgetown County, South Carolina. Tom inherited the land from his uncle and went on to purchase additional parcels until the area totaled over 20,000 acres. Upon his death in 1977, Tom bequeathed the land to the State of South Carolina.
Today, the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center is considered one of the most outstanding grants to wildlife conservation efforts in North America; the world’s longest alligator study started there over 40 years ago and the area remains one of the premier nesting locations for endangered Loggerhead Sea Turtles and is home to hundreds of species of migratory birds. Over the years, the Yawkey Foundation has developed collaborative research partnerships with institutions such as Clemson University, the University of South Carolina, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Horry-Georgetown Technical College and many others using the Wildlife Center as a research laboratory for important wildlife conservation efforts.

Eligibility

The Yawkey Foundation supports 501(c)3 tax-exempt nonprofit organizations (fiscal sponsors acceptable) making a meaningful difference in the lives of individuals, families and communities through direct programs and services in its six priority Areas of Giving: Health Care, Education, Human Services, Youth and Amateur Athletics, Arts and Culture, and Conservation and Wildlife.At this time, the Yawkey Foundation’s primary geographic focus areas are Eastern Massachusetts and Georgetown County, South Carolina. For the purposes of Yawkey Foundation’s grantmaking, the Eastern Massachusetts region encompasses nonprofits providing direct programs and services in cities and towns within the following counties: Suffolk, Norfolk, Bristol, Plymouth, Barnstable, Middlesex and Essex.The Yawkey Foundation is committed to providing support for program and small capital needs connected to a nonprofit’s established mission and proven program/service delivery connected to the mission.Nonprofits may submit only one Initial Proposal to the Yawkey Foundation in the course of a calendar year, irrespective of the Type of Grant.

Ineligibility

The Yawkey Foundation does not fund the following:
Organizations that are not 501(c)(3) public charities, including private operating foundations and 509(a)(3) Type III non-functionally integrated organizationsPublic entities (e.g., school districts, charter/public schools, libraries, government agencies) and nonprofits/quasi-public nonprofits whose core programming relies on access to or partnership with these entitiesFunding for specific staff positions, stipends, consultants, or recruitment effortsEmergency response efforts, events, conferences, sponsorships, advertisements, films, travel, or individual benefit requestsIntermediaries, pass-through organizations, funder collaboratives, private foundations, or general endowmentsSectarian activities of faith-based organizationsAthletic and sports programs not primarily focused on baseball or softballScholarshipsEarly education, preschool, or elementary school programsOrganizations whose direct services primarily benefit individuals or communities outside the United States

Nonprofits serving Eastern Massachusetts (Suffolk, Norfolk, Bristol, Plymouth, Barnstable, Middlesex, Essex counties) or Georgetown County, South Carolina. Conservation & Wildlife Initial Proposals are accepted once a year in March (2026 window: March 2-20) after an online Eligibility Quiz. No general operating or personnel costs.