About W&GF Grants		Apply or Re-Apply for a Grant
	W&GF Calendar		View Current Grant Recipients
	Grant Guidelines		View Prior Grant Recipients

About W&GF Grants

The endowment of the Women & Girls Fund exists solely for the purpose of funding grants to organizations that address significant needs of women and girls on the Mid-Shore.  We take great care to review each application against our guidelines and to select programs that meet eligibility requirements and have the greatest potential impact.

We look for non-profit organizations that target the needs of women and girls in our region and groups or organizations that want to submit an application through a fiscal sponsor (i.e. a tax-exempt organization under the IRS code 501(c)3 that agrees to accept funds on their behalf). 

Applications and guidelines are sent upon request to qualifying organizations or can be downloaded from this site.  You can also call 410-770-8347 to request an application or to discuss questions concerning eligibility.

To date, the Fund has awarded $152,516.55 in grants to 44 Mid-Shore organizations. To see a list, click on View Grant Recipients above.

W&GF Calendar

To select the organizations to be funded and to determine the funds available for distribution the following year, W&GF follows this calendar:

Grant Guidelines

	Form for applying or reapplying for a grant.		Form used in the grant evaluation process.

CASA of Queen Anne’s County, Inc.
$4,500.00
CASA of Queen Anne’s, formed in 2007, has trained its first group of volunteer advocates and seen them sworn in as officers of the court who now are working to meet the needs of abused, neglected, and abandoned children who are in the Queen Anne’s County court system. With the success and strength of this program, the circuit court judges in Queen Anne’s and Kent counties have urged the creation of a multi-jurisdictional program by expanding into Kent County, one of the seven remaining Maryland counties without these valuable services. This grant will provide support to raise public awareness and community support as well as volunteer management in Kent County.

Eastern Shore Area Health Education Center
$2,000.00
The mission of the Eastern Shore Area Health Education Center (AHEC) is to recruit and retain health care professionals and build healthy communities through educational opportunities and collaborative partnerships. AHEC’s Health Careers Program focuses on recruitment of students into the wide variety of health careers needed on the shore. This grant will fund field trips to campuses such as the University of Maryland Eastern Shore to broaden the choices of Eastern Shore students interested in a career in the health care field. 

Easton Recreational Opportunities and Clubs for Kids, Inc. (Easton ROCKS)
$1,500.00
Easton ROCKS After School, Inc. provides Talbot County middle-school aged students with special interest programs and physical activities. This grant will support a new program, Our Whole Lives (O.W.L.), developed by the Unitarian Universalist Association and United Church of Christ, providing sexual education for students in grades 7-12. The 25-hour program, which will be led by three trained and certified facilitators, is nonsectarian. The goal is to provide facts about anatomy and human development and to help participants clarify their values, build interpersonal skills, and understand the spiritual, emotional, and social aspects of sexuality. The grant will fund purchase of the curricula, visuals (slides and video), and materials. 

Family Support Center of Queen Anne’s County (a Judy Center Partner)
$4,000.00
Family Support is a child-centered, family-focused program to improve the lives of families with children up to three years of age. Services and resources are offered to enhance adults’ parenting skills, life skills, and peer support. Children are placed in the child development program, which includes regular developmental screening tests. The Center plans to offer a drivers education program to assist six “mature mothers” (with access to automobiles) in obtaining their driver’s license. This will allow these women to make themselves and their families more self-sufficient. The grant will fund this program, which includes the cost of learner’s permits, classes, classroom location certification, childcare, and transportation to and from class.

Girl Talk: Read to Achieve
$2,780.00
Girl Talk will improve educational outcomes for at-risk, adolescent girls by creating a network of school-based, after-school book clubs to empower them, through discussion of literature, to become self-aware, active leaders in their communities while increasing their reading achievement and critical thinking skills.  The grant will provide funding for Girl Talk clubs for 6th - 8th grade girls at North Dorchester Middle School and Mace’s Lane Middle School in Dorchester County.

Healthy Partners - $3,000.00
BodyWatts, a lifestyle studio in Easton, will offer a pilot program, “Girls Reaching for Real Life,” in conjunction with a Talbot County non-profit organization. Designed for 20 teenage girls at risk for obesity, the program will meet two hours daily, Monday-Friday, for eight weeks. Half the time will be devoted to group exercise and half to education and support. The goal is to educate, motivate, and encourage the young women to develop a healthy lifestyle. A fitness assessment and workout assignment will be included, along with coaching to address self-esteem issues. The grant will support the cost of materials and stipends for certified trainers, a licensed dietitian, and a nurse practitioner.  

Kingdom Church and Ministries - $3,000.00
For five years the Kingdom Church & Ministries, located in Cambridge, has sponsored a successful “Ladies of Destiny” youth program for girls ages 11 - 18 whose mission is to encourage them to be “ladies of excellence.” Through monthly workshops on health, safety, relationships, and other pertinent topics, the program has developed integrity and self-respect among its participants.  The ministry has discovered that the young women are not fully prepared for jobs available in Dorchester County in retail and hospitality and therefore plans to enrich the program by adding resume writing, understanding application forms, interview skills, and dressing for success. The grant will support costs of the project, including a facilitator’s stipend, materials, and field trips to local businesses and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. The program will serve 20 at-risk young women from Dorchester County.

New Beginnings Youth and Family Services, Inc. - $3,000.00
New Beginnings Youth and Family Services, Inc. is a non-profit service organization located on the grounds of the Bay Country apartment complex in Cambridge.  Bay Country is a model affordable housing development that offers services focused on self-sufficiency skills for its residents, many of whom live there rent-free through federally subsidized housing credits. In 2001 the Bay Country Girl’s Program began as an informal group of girls aged 7 to 16 and has since grown in size and scope. New Beginnings is pleased that no female teenager involved in their programs has become a teen mother. This grant will fund a new “Girls Circle,” a weekly structured support program for 25 girls between the ages of 9 and 18 to foster self-esteem and help them maintain authentic connection with peers and adult women in their community.

Phillips Wharf Environmental Center - $5,000.00
Founded in 2005, Phillips Wharf Environmental Center (PWEC) is an environmental/nature/education institution located on Tilghman Island that supports the efforts of Chesapeake Bay restoration through education of sound environmental practices.  This grant will fund two sessions of a pilot program, “Building Environmental Leadership Capacity in Bay Hundred Adolescent Girls,” for 6th grade girls from Tilghman and St. Michaels elementary schools. It will provide environmental stewardship strategies and basic ecology concepts while developing confidence and friendships that will nurture a sense of collegiality and friendship and help the participants’ entry into middle school. The grant will fund equipment, supplies, and instructors for the 12-hour 6-session program.

Queen Anne’s County Christian Assistance - $2,500.00
Our Haven Shelter, operated by Queen Anne’s County Christian Assistance, is an emergency winter shelter from December through mid-April. Services have included three daily meals, bedding, clothing, toiletries, and payment of services (doctor visits, prescription medications, and counseling). The shelter program has just finished its fourth year and plans to continue that operation as well as opening a transitional housing program.  This grant will fund an assistant director/case manager for the 2009/10 shelter year whose responsibilities will include a broad array of services for shelter guests and coordination of private and public assistance.

Queen Anne’s County Office of the Sheriff - $2,400.00
The Trust Fund for Queen Anne’s County Traffic Safety, through the Queen Anne’s County Partnerships for Children and Families, will support the RESET program to be offered by the Office of the Sheriff. The mission is to ensure availability of appropriate prevention, intervention, and treatment resources. RESET is a 4-session early drug and alcohol intervention educational program for youths ages 14 - 21 who have been referred by Queen Anne’s County Teen Court, Department of Social Services, Health Department, or Circuit and District courts. The goal is to reduce drunk driving, illegal substance use, and drug/alcohol-related crime. RESET provides an opportunity for participants to avoid a criminal record and a chance to reset their attitude and behavior. The grant will fund need-based scholarships for the program. 

Rebuilding Together – Caroline County, Md, Inc. - $3,000.00
Rebuilding Together – Caroline County, incorporated in 2007, is an affiliate of the national Rebuilding Together, the largest volunteer home rehabilitation organization in the country. Its free home repair services are available to low-income elderly, the disabled, or families with children who own and live in homes requiring necessary but unaffordable repairs or improvements. Each applicant is assisted by a qualified volunteer who helps determine if financial need requirements are met and to verify the structural needs of the dwelling. Work is done by volunteers under the direction of a qualified and experienced volunteer “House Captain.” Rebuilding Together – Caroline County also operates a salvage depot to recycle reusable building materials. This grant will fund installation of two or more access ramps for needy women homeowners in Caroline County.

St. Martin’s Ministries, Inc. - $2,000.00
The mission of St. Martin’s Ministries is “to help meet the basic human needs of impoverished people, to respect and affirm their dignity, and to address the root problems that perpetuate the cycle of poverty.” Services are offered through St. Martin’s Barn, which provides food, financial subsidies, and clothing to those in need, and St. Martin’s House, which provides a full array of support services and temporary housing for homeless women and their children. This grant, which is augmented by a 1-1 match from another organization, will support a pilot program called “Women Working for Change.” In the past, residents’ attendance at skills-based classes offered at local social service and other governmental agencies often conflicted with jobs and appointments. By bringing the classes onsite, “Women Working for a Change” will avoid such conflicts, so that no matter when a resident enters St. Martin’s House, the same educational content will be offered as part of a coordinated cycle. Classes include financial management, employment readiness, basic computer skills, parenting skills, and nutrition and wellness education.

Summer Days Math and Science Camp for Girls - $1,960.00

Summer Days Math and Science for Girls was founded in 1994 to encourage adolescent girls to pursue these subjects. This grant will fund full scholarships for two Queen Anne’s County public school girls to attend camp and will support the Director’s need to improve the camp’s e-mail and web capabilities through the purchase of an updated cell phone and one year of service.

©2009, Women and Girls Fund