Grants overview

Starting in January 2025, the Kempner Fund looks forward to embarking on our new grantmaking strategy and welcoming proposals from applicants who align with core values, fall into our grantmaking priorities, and fulfill the community’s vision for Galveston.

We believe in building trusted, transparent relationships with grantee partners and reducing the barriers to access funding. Read more about our strategy here>

2025 ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible for a grant, organizations must have a 501(c)(3) non-profit status from the IRS, seek funding to support Galveston, and submit proposals that are directly related to our grantmaking program areas.

For more details on eligibility for each grant program, please visit Types of Investments.

OUR COMMITMENT TO OUR PARTNERS

Here’s what you can expect from our application:

  1. We will do our best to communicate quickly, provide feedback on your application when appropriate, and be transparent at every step of the process.

  2. We prioritize applicants whose work aligns with our core values, mission, and vision, which are informed by the Galveston community’s needs and aspirations.

  3. We practice a trust-based approach to philanthropy. That means a few things for grantees, like:

    • We hope to limit the amount of paperwork you do. For example, our application has no word or character limit, so you have the space to tell us what we need to know about the important work you do.

    • We believe in mutual accountability, which means we hope to continue to hear regular feedback from grantees to improve our practices.

    • We offer support beyond the check, providing non-monetary support where we can, such as connecting like-minded organizations and sharing resources.