Many Hands Grant Cycle (Economic Empowerment, Education, Health, and Housing)

Many Hands Grant Cycle (Economic Empowerment, Education, Health, and Housing) is sponsored by Many Hands. Many Hands supports local nonprofits serving women, children, and families in socioeconomic need in the Washington, DC area. Grants provide unrestricted funding for operating, program, or capital expenses in four focus areas: economic empowerment, education, health, and housing.

Grant Process – Many Hands The grant process opens in January, when we invite area nonprofit organizations to apply for a Many Hands grant. Once the submission period has closed, we pass all qualifying applications on to our Focus Area Committees, which are open to all members. The Focus Area Committees–Economic Empowerment, Education, Health, and Housing–meet half a dozen times in February and March to review grant applications.

After discussing all the applications, they conduct site visits, typically at three or four organizations, and, following a more extensive financial review, select one grantee per committee. The four grantees are invited to make presentations to Many Hands members at the Annual Meeting in May. Following the presentations, members vote to determine the allocation of the grant fund.

The Many Hands $100,000 Impact Grant is awarded to the organization with the highest number of votes. Each of the other grantees receives a Many Hands Partner Grant, the value of which is determined by the total amount raised during the year. In 2026, each Partner Grant was $73,000.

Partner Grant recipients must sit out one grant cycle before applying again for a Many Hands grant. Impact Grant recipients and other grantees who have received $100,000 or more in cumulative Many Hands funding are no longer eligible to apply. However, we maintain strong relationships with our grantees, which include collaboration on education events and in highlighting their work.

Strengthening Communities Our grants support women, children, and families in socioeconomic need. We combine donors’ gifts into large unrestricted grants that respect nonprofit expertise. Members drive the grantmaking process in our collaborative, all-volunteer model.

In the News: “Community Lodgings secures $73K grant to boost youth education in Alexandria” Watch the 2026 Annual Meeting And the 2026 Impact Grant Goes to… Many Hands is a 501(c)(3) organization | EIN 51-0486987