Grants
Programs
The Seabury Foundation has two grant programs: Family Grants and Community Grants.
Who can apply?
- Family Grants: 501(c)(3) organizations invited by a Seabury Family sponsor
- Community Grants: 501(c)(3) organizations based in the City of Chicago or Benzie County, MI with annual operating expenses under $2.5 million
Please note, we do not contribute to religious activities, political campaigns, or legislative lobbying.
Focus Areas
Education: The Seabury Foundation supports organizations that instruct, inform, and guide people toward the development of knowledge, skills, and understanding. With this as the throughline, we have five focus areas for our grantmaking:
- Academic Support – literacy, social & emotional learning, mentorship
- Arts Enrichment – access to the creative process through theatre, dance, music, film, and a variety of other arts, crafts, and cultural practices
- Lifelong Learning – adult education, job training, career development
- Environmental Sustainability – protection of environmental health, sustainability practices, urban gardening
- Wellness – food access, housing access, healthcare, mental health support, sports & movement
Please note, for each area above, we have listed examples of the kinds of work done by current nonprofit partners. This list is by no means exhaustive. If you have a project or program that you believe aligns with our values that you do not see reflected below, please feel free to contact us to share information about your work.
Family Grants
Organizations who have been invited by a member of the Seabury Family are eligible to apply for up to $25,000 in general operating or project/program support.*
*Organizations with annual operating expenses in excess of $2.5 million (in their most recently completed fiscal year) may only apply for project/program support.
We accept proposals through our online grants portal on a rolling basis with two grant cycles per year, one in the spring and one in the fall.
Spring 2023
- February 3, 2023 – Proposal due date
- May 15, 2023 – Award decisions
Fall 2023
- July 28, 2023 – Proposal due date
- November 17, 2023 – Award decisions
Please note: After receiving three years of Family Grant funding in a four-year period, organizations will not be eligible for Family Grant funding until three years have elapsed.
The Family Grant application is password protected; to access this application, please contact us at grants@seaburyfoundation.org.
Community Grants
Chicago
Organizations headquartered in the City of Chicago working in one or more of our focus areas are eligible to apply for general operating or project/program support. Award amounts are fixed based on the size of the organization according to the table below.
We accept Letters of Introduction (LOIs) through our online grants portal on a rolling basis with two grant cycles per year, one in the spring and one in the fall. We ask organizations to wait a year after their most recent LOI submission before submitting a new one (so if you most recently submitted an LOI in Spring 2023, we ask that you wait until our Spring 2024 cycle to submit another LOI).
Spring 2023
- November 18, 2022 – LOI due date
- December 9, 2022 – Full proposals invitations sent
- February 3, 2023 – Proposal due date
- May 15, 2023 – Award decisions
Fall 2023
- May 12, 2023 – LOI due date
- May 26, 2023 – Full proposal invitations sent
- July 28, 2023 – Proposal due date
- November 17, 2023 – Award decisions
Any application materials received after the above due dates will be held and reviewed during the next cycle. If you have questions about the application process, please contact us at grants@seaburyfoundation.org.
Benzie County, MI
Organizations headquartered in Benzie County, MI working in one or more of our focus areas are eligible to apply for general operating or project/program support. Award amounts are fixed based on the size of the organization according to the table below.
We accept Letters of Introduction (LOIs) through our online grants portal on a rolling basis with one grant cycle per year in the summer.
Summer 2023
- February 17, 2023 – LOI due date
- March 10, 2023 – Full proposal invitations sent
- May 5, 2023 – Proposal due date
- August 7, 2023 – Award decisions
Summer 2024
- February 16, 2024 – LOI due date
- March 8, 2024 – Full proposal invitations sent
- May 3, 2024– Proposal due date
- August 5, 2024 – Award decisions
Any application materials received after the above due dates will be held and reviewed during the next cycle. If you have questions about the application process, please contact us at grants@seaburyfoundation.org.
Community Grant Award Amounts
| Organization Annual Expenses (most recently completed fiscal year) | Award Amount* |
|---|---|
| Up to $100,000 | 10% of annual operating expenses |
| $100,000 to $1,000,000 | $10,000 |
| $1M to $1,500,000 | $15,000 |
| $1.5M to $2,000,000 | $20,000 |
| $2M to $2,500,000 | $25,000 |
| over $2,500,000 | No funding** |
*These amounts are minimums. The Foundation reserves the right to exceed them on a case-by-case basis or (under special circumstances) to go below them.
**On very rare occasions, the Foundation will consider supporting projects or programs from organizations with annual expenses exceeding $2.5M (in their most recently completed fiscal year). If your organization exceeds this limit, please contact us before applying.