Local Connection Grants

Local Connection Grants is sponsored by The Wawa Foundation. The Wawa Foundation offers financial grants to local non-profit organizations operating within Wawa's six-state area, focusing on health, hunger, or everyday heroes.

Wawa Foundation | Inside Philanthropy OVERVIEW: The Wawa Foundation is a corporate funder that supports health, hunger, and everyday heroes in six East Coast states. It is headquartered near Philadelphia, and much of its grantmaking is focused there. PROFILE: Established in 2014, the Wawa Foundation is the grantmaking arm of the Wawa chain of convenience stores and gas stations throughout the East Coast.

The company’s headquarters are outside Philadelphia, and the Greater Philadelphia area is a priority area. The first Wawa store opened in 1964. The funder’s purpose is “championing life-saving research and care for people in need, leading hunger-relief efforts and supporting the heroes making a difference every day.

” Grantmaking includes health, hunger, and everyday heroes. The Wawa Foundation operates three separate grant programs available to nonprofits located in Wawa’s service area: Its main Grants program supports organizations at the local, regional and national levels with a minimum of $2,500 in funding with programs aligning with the foundation’s focus areas and funding priorities.

The Local Connection Grants program considers funding requests of no more than $2,500 from local nonprofits whose missions align with Wawa’s focus areas. Key Issue Grants award a total of $200,000 in grants annually to nonprofits focused on a key issue area, which changes each year. Previous key issues have included food pantries and breast cancer care and research organizations.

Grants for Public Health and Access Health grants focus on “programs dedicated to championing life-saving research & care for people in need. ” Funding typically supports hospitals with pediatric programs, medical research, and “care and comfort initiatives. ” In 2023, the foundation donated $6.

15 million to help fund Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Wawa Volunteer Services It has also supported programs aimed at pediatric care and research. The Wawa Foundation has been a long-standing partner of the American Red Cross, contributing over $6 million to support disaster relief and emergency preparedness, which includes health-related services like blood drives and emergency medical aid.

Other health grantees include Riddle Healthcare Foundation, Children’s Miracle Network, Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, Deborah Hospital Foundation, Orlando Health Foundation, and Children’s Hospital and Healthcare Services Foundation in Virginia.

Wawa addresses food insecurity in local communities by working to increase access to nutritious food for children and families, support food banks and pantries in its service areas, and fund school and community meal programs that serve vulnerable populations. The foundation primarily funds food banks that are part of the Feeding America network, ensuring broad geographic impact.

Grantees include Community Food Bank of New Jersey, Food Bank of South Jersey, Food Bank of Delaware, Philabundance, America’s Grow-a-Row, and Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida. Grants for Veterans, First Responders, and K-12 Education Support for heroes goes to members of the military, veterans, and first responders such as local police and fire departments.

However, it also supports “other heroes,” including educators and mentors of at-risk-youth and K-12 students, as well as “supporting heroes” that contribute through “crisis response, blood drives, and volunteering.

” Grantees include Big Brothers Big Sisters Philadelphia, Community Volunteers in Medicine, Police Athletic League of Philadelphia, Veterans Multi-Service Center, The Philadelphia Education Fund, Joyful Readers, and Families Behind the Badge Children’s Foundation. A big part of this funder’s local giving is the Wawa Foundation Hero Award .

The funder encourages the public to choose and vote on Greater Philadelphia nonprofits for a chance to win these grants. The winner of this grant competition receives $50,000, and three runners-up receive $10,000. In addition to grants, this company and its foundation participate in volunteering at community events and in-store fundraising .

Grant amounts typically range between $1,000 to $50,000. The most common amount is $10,000. The foundation awards around $10 million to $15 million annually.

The foundation awards grants in six states: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and Florida. Only nonprofits in Wawa’s service area are eligible to apply for grants. The Wawa Foundation accepts unsolicited grant requests from nonprofits.

To apply for a Wawa Foundation grant, visit the funder’s Apply for Support This is the place to go for local grants, regional grants, national grants, in-kind donations, and sponsorships for charitable events. Grants over $2,500 may be applied for in January, April, July, and October. There are several grantmaking cycles throughout the year; online applications are welcome.

Local connections grants are less than $2,500. Nonprofits can request one of these small grants at any time of the year and expect to hear back from the foundation within about a month. Grant seekers should direct general questions to the foundation via TheWawaFoundation@wawa.

com or by mail to 260 West Baltimore Pike, Wawa, Pennsylvania 19063. Enable JavaScript to continue This site uses JavaScript to verify your account, display articles, and provide other features. Please enable JavaScript or allow scripts for Inside Philanthropy, then reload the page.

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