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How to Apply

The Goldseker Foundation considers funding requests at four annual board meetings.

Interested applicants should review the steps to apply and the eligibility checklist below.

Steps to Apply

Confirm Eligibility

Step 1

Review our grantmaking priorities, policies, and list of ineligible projects to confirm that your proposal aligns with our stated interests.

Submit LOI

Step 2

Prepare and email a brief letter of interest (LOI) to our Program Officer. LOIs should contain:

  • Evidence of charitable status
  • Background information on the applicant
  • Objectives of the proposed organization or project
  • Methods of measuring success
  • Projected organizational or program budget

Follow Next Steps

Step 3

Follow next steps provided by our Program Officer. LOIs will be answered promptly by email. Follow-up meetings and/or full grant proposals may be invited, based on strategic alignment.

Grant proposals are typically due on or around the following dates:

  • January 1 for consideration at the winter meeting
  • April 1 for consideration at the spring meeting
  • July 1 for consideration at the summer meeting
  • September 1 for consideration at the fall meeting

Eligibility Checklist

Foundation Policies

The Foundation’s grantmaking policies reflect our donor’s wishes and the legal requirements governing private philanthropy. 
To be considered for funding, an organization must meet several requirements:

  1. Applicants (or their fiscal sponsors) must be nonprofit organizations as defined in Section 501(c)(3) or Section 509(a) of the Internal Revenue Code.
  2. Applicants must carry out their work principally in Baltimore.
  3. Applicants may not discriminate based on any protected class.

Foundation Priorities

The Foundation makes strategic grants to 501(c)(3), 509(a), and fiscally sponsored organizations, with the following focus.

  1. Community Development: We provide essential operating support to Baltimore’s leading community development organizations—particularly those driving neighborhood revitalization.
  2. Education: We support scholarships, schools, and systems-level change agents in Baltimore City.
  3. Growth & Competitiveness: We invest in programs that attract talent, develop leadership, and expand opportunity. Increasingly, this includes work with the City’s vibrant and growing immigrant communities.
  4. Capacity-Building: We strengthen the nonprofit sector with targeted support for organizational development.

Ineligible Projects

The Foundation does not provide funds for:

  • Arts and culture
  • Specific disabilities or diseases
  • Religious programs or purposes
  • Political action groups
  • Individuals
  • Capital projects (i.e. buildings, infrastructure, or equipment)
  • Endowments
  • Publications
  • Projects normally financed by government

Frequently Asked Questions

For convenience, many of our most frequently asked questions are answered in our FAQ's.

FAQ’s