Samuel S. Fels Fund |
Home | Guidelines & Applications | 2010 Summer Internships in Community Service | Recent Grants | Staff & Trustees | Links
The Samuel S. Fels Fund was founded in 1935 by Samuel S. Fels, a Philadelphia philanthropist who made his money in the manufacture of Fels Naptha, a popular household soap. We are a private independent foundation with broad interests in community programs, education and the arts.
According to our charter, we seek to support projects “which prevent, lessen or resolve contemporary social problems”, or which seek to provide permanent improvements “in human daily life”.
THE SAMUEL S. FELS FUND
HISTORY AND PURPOSE
The Samuel S. Fels Fund was incorporated as a Pennsylvania nonprofit corporation on December 17, 1935. The Charter was accepted and the foundation’s work begun at the organizational meeting on January 27, 1936.
The Fund’s founder was Samuel S. Fels, Philadelphia philanthropist and civic leader who was president of Fels & Company, manufacturer of Fels Naptha, a vastly popular household soap. Sam Fels was born in Yanceyville, North Carolina in 1860 and died in Philadelphia on June 23, 1950.
The general purpose of the Fund, as stated in the Charter, is “to initiate and to assist any activities or projects of a scientific, educational or charitable nature which tend to improve human daily life and to bring to the average person greater health, happiness, and a fuller understanding of the meaning and purposes of life.”
To this end the Fund makes grants in the categories of Arts and Humanities, Education, Community Programs, and Health, all in the city of Philadelphia. The ideal proposal to Fels is one that addresses positive social change. We also mean to be useful to organizations at points of particular need such as expansion, experimentation, or reorganization or in times of particular need for advocacy. The Fund is unable to make grants to individuals and accepts proposals only from organizations which are designated tax-exempt (501-c-3) by the Internal Revenue Service. The Fund does not make grants for conferences, scholarships, fellowships or travel. Ordinarily, the Fund also avoids making grants for major programs of large institutions, capital and equipment, endowment, and the routine or direct services of social service agencies. Individual day care and after school care programs and computer centers cannot be accommodated, although agencies that serve these fields may apply.
The Fund also runs an annual program, the Fels Internships in Community Service. Recent grantees are invited to submit descriptions of projects that could be done by graduate students over the course of ten weeks in the summer. Organizations whose projects are selected receive $6,000 to pay the graduate students, whom they select. The program is a way to draw talent to the not-for-profit sector and to carry out serious work on the community’s behalf.
Applications are accepted at any time (with the exception of Arts and Humanities projects which are due by 5 p.m. on January 15th or May 15th). Please note: in 2010, May 15th falls on a Saturday. Applications for arts and humanities projects will be accepted the next business day--until 5 P.M. on Monday, May 17th. Agencies are asked to refrain from reapplying for a year after the proposal has been declined or until a final report has been accepted if a grant was awarded. Guidelines for applicants, with proposal requirements and cover sheet, are available on our website or by calling (215) 731-9455.
Letter from the President and Executive Director
The year 2009 was clearly the most difficult of the new millennium for the Fels Fund. We felt the impact of the drop in value of our endowment every day. Our overall budget for 2009 was down $300,000 from 2008, a large hit for a small foundation. We managed by trimming administrative costs and by shifting budgeted excise taxes (no gains – no taxes!) to the grants budget. We practiced a kind of triage that put the needs of the least fortunate ahead of all other grantmaking. To that end you’ll see grants to ACANA, the Arab-American Community Development Corporation, CARIE, CASA, the Energy Coordinating Agency, the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Agaist Hunger, Homeless Advocacy Project, Homeownership Counseling Association, Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania, Institute for Safe Families, JEVS, Juntos, Northwest Philadelphia Interfaith Hospitality Network, Nueva Esperanza, People’s Emergency Center, Philabundance, Philadelphia Area Jobs with Justice, Project H.O.M.E., SOWN, Taxi Workers Alliance, and the Unemployment Center – all of which are ministering to the most basic needs of Philadelphians for food, housing, safety, jobs, and human services. We turned down dozens of worthy organizations whose causes are important but less basic. In order to make these grants, we reduced the number of Fels Summer Interns in Community Service from our traditional 25 to 15. We cannot wait to be able once again to fund more broadly all the good civic projects that come our way.The year 2009 also brought major changes of another sort. David Melnicoff, who had served the Fels Fund as a Member-Director since 1956 died in February. Manny Ortiz rotated off the board after nine years of service. Beverly Coleman, John Rice, and Len Reiser joined the Fels board bringing new wisdom and fresh views.
It was a hard year and we did our best.
| Sandra Featherman | Helen Cunningham |
| President | Executive Director |