One of the largest private charitable foundations in the U.S. donated roughly $100 million to various causes last year, and celebrated the mark at its annual community event, which was held this week in Baltimore.
The Harry and Jeannette Weinberg Foundation primarily targets the economically disadvantaged for assistants, and its reputation is such that smaller charities routinely depend on its largesse to stay solvent. When the foundation took a temporary break from accepting funding requests during the summer of 2009, they were inundated with over 1,100 requests when they reopened their mailbox in August.
The foundation has continued its activities into 2009, with the Harry and Jeannette Weinberg Foundation Family and Informal Caregiver Support Program RFP disbursing more than $8 million to 14 different projects and community initiatives. The funds are meant to help the friends and family of elderly people unable to afford professional nursing or other assistance take care of their aging relatives and let them live fuller lives.
The Weinberg Foundation also helps non-profits by granting them easier access to philanthropic funds through the Maryland Small Grants Program, which streamlines the process of applying for the foundation’s grants. Instead of the usual lengthy process, with reviews and safeguards at every turn, charities seeking grants below a certain amount can simply fill out a five-page form. The foundation says that the process usually takes less than two months from application to disbursement, and that response to the program has been overwhelming, saying that about $10.5 million has been distributed since December 2007.