Meet the Moment Fund is sponsored by France-Merrick Foundation Inc.. A one-year grantmaking strategy for 2025-2026 designed to address the impacts of recent public policy changes and funding disruptions. The fund provides short-term financial support to safeguard progress in essential sectors such as health, housing, safety, education, and economic mobility, as well as maintaining Baltimore's vibrancy through arts and the environment.

Geographic focus: Greater Baltimore, Maryland

Focus areas: Health, Housing, Safety, Education, Economic Mobility, Arts, Environment, Historic Preservation, Community Development

Meet the Moment Fund - France-Merrick Foundation Community & Economic Development Home / Apply for a Grant / Meet the Moment Fund The France-Merrick Foundation will provide short-term financial support to organizations working to advance one or Preventing and addressing disruptions that negatively impact essential community needs and services, such as health, housing, safety, education, and environmental protection.

Supporting strategic responses to sustain organizations and/or vital services. Investing in collaborative structures and practices to meet complex needs with reduced resources. Gap support for nonprofits with a plan for operational sustainability.

One-time operating grants, including: Bridge funding for organizations awaiting new, withheld, or restructured resources. Costs related to smoothing service discontinuation or workforce reductions, transitioning clients to new providers or services, and determining revised business models. Strategic response support for nonprofits or groups of nonprofits collaboratively working to address dramatic organizational or sector changes.

One-time grants to sustain services, including: Costs related to organizational collaborations or restructurings, consolidations, wind-downs, and/or mergers to sustain programs and/or effectively deploy limited financial resources across sectors. Costs related to developing or implementing new ideas or approaches to support the sector with capacity building, pooled or aligned funds, cohorts for planning, and/or shared services.

Prior France-Merrick grantees are eligible for this fund. We encourage you to reach out to a program officer to discuss your idea. The Fund is not intended to sustain programs or organizations impacted by long-term funding cuts without a plan for operating sustainability.

FUNd eligibilIty & application For an organization interested in applying to the Meet the Moment Fund, please consider: Geography : Do you serve the Baltimore area? Past Grantee : Have you been funded by the France-Merrick Foundation in the past? (Note: Organizations currently funded by France-Merrick via traditional grantmaking are eligible for Meet the Moment Funding.)

Area of Focus : Does your organization advance Foundation priorities? Timeliness : Is your work or organizational structure facing risks and losses due to changes in public policy or funding? If so, please send the Foundation a 2-3 page request via the Foundation’s online portal .

The request should be on official letterhead, signed by the Chief Executive Officer/Executive Director and contain the following information: Legal organization name, mailing address, and 501(c)(3) Tax ID number of the organization/fiscal sponsor Contact information (name, title, phone number, and email address) for the person who can best answer questions about the request Brief description of organization including mission, population served, scope of activities/programs, current organizational budget, and finances/work at risk Brief description of the proposed idea/project for which funding is sought and why/how it advances the aims and priorities of the Meet the Moment Fund Brief narrative description of funding loss/policy change impact and proposed pathway to sustainability including funds already committed, the gap, and outstanding requests Timeline over which funding is needed, and overall timeline of the project Please also include as attachments: A list of the board of directors, including professional affiliations, percent of board member giving, and amount contributed in the last year A copy of the current organizational operating budget (12 months) A copy of the latest audit, if applicable A copy of the 501(c)(3) determination letter from the IRS Requests will be accepted on a rolling basis and decided once a month.

Additional information may be requested during review of your request. Receiving Meet the Moment Funding will not impact an organization’s eligibility to apply for traditional France-Merrick funding. Please reach out to a program officer if you have any questions.

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