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Seeking a Grant

The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation is a private, grantmaking foundation based in Flint, Michigan. Prior to submitting a request for funding, we strongly recommend you click on the links below and review all of the information about our funding programs, funding limitations, and guidelines for organizations located outside the United States. If you determine your organization and project fit within the guidelines, please click the continue link to access our online letter of inquiry form.

What we fund

Vision: The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation affirms its founder's vision of a world in which each of us is in partnership with the rest of the human race — where each individual's quality of life is connected to the well-being of the community, both locally and globally. We pursue this vision through creative grantmaking, thoughtful communication and other activities that enhance community in its many forms. The same vision of shared learning shapes our internal culture as we strive to maintain an ethic of respect, integrity and responsibility. The Foundation seeks to strengthen, in people and their organizations, what Mr. Mott called "the capacity for accomplishment."


Foundation mission: To support efforts that promote a just, equitable and sustainable society.

PROGRAMS/MISSIONS

PROGRAM AREAS

CIVIL SOCIETY
Mission: To strengthen philanthropy and the nonprofit sector as vital vehicles for increasing civic engagement and improving communities and societies.
ENVIRONMENT
Mission: To support the efforts of an engaged citizenry working to create accountable and responsive institutions, sound public policies, and appropriate models of development that protect the diversity and integrity of selected ecosystems in North America and around the world.
FLINT AREA
Mission: To foster a well-functioning, connected community that is capable of meeting the economic, social and racial challenges ahead.
PATHWAYS OUT OF POVERTY
Mission: To identify, test and help sustain pathways out of poverty for low-income people and communities.
EXPLORATORY & SPECIAL PROJECTS
Mission: To support unusual or unique opportunities addressing significant national and international problems. (Proposals are by invitation only; unsolicited proposals are discouraged.)
  • Historically and Predominantly Black Colleges
  • Special Projects

What we do not fund

  • No grants or loans to individuals.
  • No grants (except in the Flint area) for capital development, research, project replication or endowment unless these activities grow out of work already being funded by Mott.
  • No grants for religious activities or programs serving specific religious groups or denominations. However, faith-based organizations may submit inquiries if the project falls within our guidelines and serves a broad segment of the population.
  • No grants (except in the Flint area) for local projects unless they are part of a Mott-planned national demonstration or network of grants.
  • No grants for projects that duplicate, or significantly overlap, the work of federal, state or local governmental agencies.
  • Film and video projects, books, scholarships, and fellowships rarely are funded.

Geographic limitations and non-U.S. organizations

In addition to funding organizations in the United States, the Foundation’s Civil Society program provides grants to organizations in Central and Eastern Europe, and the former Soviet Union and South Africa. The Foundation’s Environment program primarily funds organizations in the Great Lakes region. It also makes grants to selected organizations internationally that ensure international investment and trade, support sustainable development and reduce environmental degradation. The Flint Area program funds a broad range of projects in Flint, Michigan, and surrounding Genesee County. Outside of these regions, the Foundation accepts requests for funding by invitation only. The Pathways Out of Poverty program funds national demonstration projects in the United States. Each of these four programs has clearly stated guidelines, and we encourage you to review the guidelines before submitting a request for funding.

Non-U.S. organizations that wish to apply for funding are urged to submit a letter of inquiry using our online letter of inquiry form.