East Mount Airy Neighbors to Make Inaugural Grants Between $2,000 and 50,000

The East Mount Airy Neighbors (EMAN) Community Fund is seeking nonprofit applicants for its inaugural round of grantmaking. The Philadelphia Foundation helped the group establish a donor advised fund, a flexible alternative to the creation of a private foundation or direct giving. The Foundation will also manage the grant application and award process.

Nonprofits working on innovative solutions to enhance the health, welfare and quality of life for Northwest Philadelphians are encouraged to apply for grants between $2,000 and $50,000. The Fund’s four focus areas are aging, building community, children and youth, and mental health/mental retardation.

Applicants are not required to be located in Northwest Philadelphia, but priority is given to organizations serving the area represented by EMAN, which is roughly bounded by Stenton Avenue, Washington Lane, Germantown Avenue and Cresheim Valley Drive.

East Mount Airy Neighbors, a grassroots community group, has been around for nearly 50 years. Its Community Fund, however, is relatively new. It was established after EMAN’s group home for people with intellectual disabilities merged with SPIN, a Northeast Philadelphia nonprofit working with similar populations.

Proceeds from the sale of the properties will support the grantmaking, noted Bill Ewing, the former chairman of the board and a community resident.

He does not anticipate that its approximately $1 million Fund will be around for long. “We might spend it down over ten years,” Ewing said. “We want to make meaningful grants.”

To accomplish this, East Mount Airy Neighbors has intentionally kept its guidelines loose. Organizations can apply for one-year or multi-year grants that support general operating or specific program expenses. The Fund will also consider applications for equipment, furnishings, and limited renovations.

Because the Fund does not have a designated number of grantees in mind, the strength of the applications will determine the total amount awarded.

“It depends how good a case the applicants can make,” Ewing said.

Submissions are due on January 16, 2015. For more information or to download the application, go here. Questions about the application process can be directed to EMAN@philafound.org.

Image via EMAN Facebook page