Fels Fund accepts requests only from organizations that are designated tax-exempt 501(c)(3) by the Internal Revenue Code and focus on the City of Philadelphia.

In certain cases, we fund organizations who use a fiscal sponsor or are a Philadelphia office of a national organization. We prefer that local offices of national organizations have a local Advisory Board.

Please visit the Funding Focus page.

A group that is relegated to the lower or outer edge of society, often isolated or excluded from the social/political/economic mainstream.

The Fels Fund does not make grants for major programs of large institutions, capital and equipment, endowment and the routine or direct services of social service agencies. Individual daycare, after school programs and computer centers cannot be accommodated. As a general rule, we do not fund:

• Activities or services taking place outside of Philadelphia, PA
• Grants to individuals
• National or umbrella organizations except those with Philadelphia offices
• Endowments
• Capital programs
• Deficit financing or emergency aid
• Purchase of tickets, tables, ads or sponsorships
• Parties, conferences, fairs, fundraising and one-time events
• Routine social services/counseling
• Drug and alcohol addiction programs
• Healthcare and health research
• Support groups for individuals
• Summer recreation programs
• Individual daycare or after school programs
• Programs for animals
• Environmental programs
• Religious and private education
• Individual public or charter schools
• Higher education
• Community computer programs
• Scholarships, fellowships, grants-in-aid of travel or research
• Publications or university presses
• Arts and Culture organizations without a mission that is primarily social justice-focused

If you have questions about organizational fit, you can schedule a call with Sarah Martinez-Helfman, President, for Arts & Culture or Immigrants & Refugees funding or Shanell Ransom, Program Officer, for Social, Racial & Economic Justice funding.

If you have questions about eligibility or the application process, please contact Michelle Currica Hernandez, Grants & Operations Manager, at 215-731-9455 or by email.

No, we will not accept new applications or reopen grant cycles in 2023. We are approaching 2023 as a transition year to allow a runway for grantee partners as we work with CommunityBuild Ventures to hone our grant-making strategy moving forward. Read more about our transition year here.

Fels Fund has a two-stage application process: 1) funding inquiry and, if invited, 2) proposal.

Funding inquiries are accepted at any time, although Fels Fund will accept only one funding inquiry from an organization at a time. Proposals are accepted by invitation only based on the review of your funding inquiry.

Please note some funding streams have deadlines.

Typically, Arts & Culture and Immigrants & Refugees funding priorities have funding inquiry (stage one) deadlines.

Funding inquiries (stage one) and related proposals for the Social, Racial and Economic Justice streams will continue to be accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year. Please review the grant deadlines page for details about current funding cycles.

Once a deadline has passed no additional proposals will be accepted until the next funding cycle.  Please review the grant deadlines for details about current funding cycles.

Yes. You have the option to meet with Fels Fund staff or submit a written grant report. We will email full reporting details before the deadline. Please note: A new funding inquiry will not be considered until the grant report is submitted/meeting is scheduled.

Please review the funding inquiries what you will need to apply for more information. Similar information is required for the Arts & Culture and Immigrants & Refugees funding inquires.

No. Organizations are allowed to apply for only one funding priority. We encourage organizations to apply under the funding stream that best fits their organization’s mission or project. If you cannot determine which funding priority fits your request, please contact us.

Someone from the Fels Fund will need to witness some aspect of your work first hand as part of the application review process. This can include a performance, practice, presentation, etc. You may submit a funding inquiry prior to this happening. Please review the grant deadlines.

Education will continue to run through all funding streams, primarily in the form of advocacy and organizing for high quality and equitable public education for all.

Child welfare requests are now considered in the social, racial & economic justice funding stream. Funding inquiries are accepted on a rolling basis.

Most grants are in the $20,000-$25,000 range although some grants are smaller and others are larger. See recent grants to get an idea of the full range.

Typically, Fels Fund awards three-year grants for the Arts & Culture and Immigrants & Refugees funding streams. Occasionally multi-year grants are made in Social, Racial and Economic Justice funding stream and are considered on a case-by-case basis. Please visit the grant deadlines page.

If you are confident that your organization is a fit, we ask that you submit a funding inquiry as the first step.

If you have questions about organizational fit, you can schedule a call with Shanell Ransom, Program Officer, for Social, Racial & Economic Justice funding or Sarah Martinez-Helfman, President, for Arts & Culture or Immigrants & Refugees funding.

Most correspondence is sent electronically. Please ensure all contact information, especially emails and phone numbers are accurate.

If there are any changes, please contact us. If any information is missing from your funding inquiry or proposal or if there are additional questions, Fels Fund staff will call or email the request contact specified on your funding inquiry or proposal.

Electronic notifications are automatically sent when a funding inquiry or proposal is received. Fels Fund staff will contact you within four weeks of your submission (or within four weeks of the deadline) with a response, either electronically or by phone. You may be asked to meet or invited to submit a proposal. Alternatively, it may be deemed that your funding inquiry is not a fit at this time. Please note an invitation to submit a proposal does not guarantee funding. Please review the grant deadlines.

After submitting your invited proposal, a Fels Fund staff member will notify you with the date of the Board meeting at which your proposal will be considered. The Fels Fund Board makes funding decisions four times per year (March, June, September, December). Proposals are either approved, declined, or deferred until additional information is gathered. Organizations are notified within one week of the Board meeting concerning the grant decisions.

We encourage you to contact the Fels Fund at 215-731-9455 or email us.

Yes. We ask for feedback on each funding inquiry and proposal and welcome feedback calls or emails. If you prefer an anonymous feedback channel, feel free to use Grant Advisor to provide your comments/suggestions. Thank you in advance for helping us better serve you.

If your organization has not applied for a grant since July 2017, please create an account to access the online proposal system. Click here to create an account.

To access a saved funding inquiry or proposal, click here.

Go to your sign-in page, click on “Forgot your password,” enter the e-mail address associated with the account, click on “Send Password.” Password will be sent to that email.

Please contact the Fels Fund at 215-731-9455 or email us.

Click here to access the funding inquiry. If your organization has not applied for a grant since July 2017, please create an account to access the online proposal system. Please create only one account per organization.

Organizations submitting a funding inquiry or proposal for funding must have or create an account within our online proposal system. We recommend that your organization establish one account to be used by the person responsible for submitting grant requests. (i.e.info@yourorganization.org). Please only create one account per organization. Once the account is created, organizations can:

• Access saved, but not yet submitted funding inquiries and proposals.
• Submit saved funding inquiries and proposals.
• View copies and dates of submitted funding inquiries and proposals.
• Access your existing account, click here.

Every submission has an on-screen confirmation and email confirmation sent.

Michelle Currica Hernandez, Grants & Operations Manager, via phone 215-731-9455 or email us.

Michelle Currica Hernandez, Grants & Operations Manager, via phone 215-731-9455 or email us.