In 2020, the DCF awarded $690,856 from our Community Impact Grants Program. Through our Community Impact Grants program, we make direct grants to initiatives throughout the state that demonstrate the greatest potential for impact.
During the pandemic crisis, community needs have changed, and many nonprofits have changed their business models, stepped up services and cancelled events. For this reason, our grants program was modified this year to allow recipients to use the grants for operations and pandemic-related needs as well as for the original projects.
For more information about the DCF’s grantmaking process, visit delcf.org/grants or contact Yolanda Rushdan at 302.504.5239.
Capital Grants
DCF Capital Grants Grants support construction, renovation or repair of buildings, and/or land purchases, so nonprofits statewide can operate as efficiently and effectively as possible. 2020 Capital Grant recipients were:
- CAMP Rehoboth, Inc. – $20,000
Repair two properties to increase safety and accessibility, including ensuring security of clients and staff. - C.E.R.T.S., Inc. – $20,000
Purchase and install a lift system in personal care rooms, to reduce chances of injury when lifting patients. - Central Delaware Habitat for Humanity, Inc. – $12,598
Replace HVAC system at A Home for Women, a shelter that will provide temporary housing to 20-22 women. - Children’s Beach House – $5,000 (+$5,000 Co-Funding from Donor Advised Funds)
Replace HVAC system and current lighting, enabling greater efficiencies and cost savings and improved comfort and safety for guests. - Community Legal Aid Society, Inc. – $15,000
Replace HVAC system at Dover location, enabling cost savings that can be applied to direct program costs. - Delaware Historical Society – $15,000
Update the climate control system and make the Coxe House more accessible as the home of the Jewish Historical Society. - Faithful Friends Animal Society – $20,000
Support the Building Compassion Capital Campaign – a facility expansion. - The Green Beret Project – $10,000 (+$5,000 Co-Funding from Donor Advised Funds)
Build and outfit The WorkShop, a facility in the vicinity of the Simon Circle Youth Center that will provide greater capacity for serving youth of the Dover area. - Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County – $15,000
Support construction of 12 affordable homes in Wilmington’s East Side. - Jewish Family Services of Delaware, Inc. – $7,750
Install a security system to ensure the safety of staff and clients. - Inner City Cultural League Inc. – $15,000
Build a storage shed behind its current facility, allowing more space for visitors and participants. - Latin American Community Center – $20,000
Restore and repair of 8 restrooms on 3 floors to comply with licensing standards for Early Development Centers and Before and After School Community Learning Centers. - New Castle Historical Society – $4,200
Replace gutters at the Amstel House. - Rehoboth Art League – $10,000
Restore and repair the Peter Marsh Homestead, which includes the exhibit hall, children’s classroom, space for visiting artists, and community space. - Second Street Players – $5,000 (+$5,000 Co-Funding from Donor Advised Funds)
Replace front and rear doors and side exit, providing a safe and secure entrance and exit. - Sojourners Place, Inc. – $15,000
Replace the roof, which will preserve indoor areas that have been recently renovated. - St. Michael’s School and Nursery, Inc. – $15,000
Purchase and install privacy and security fencing around its large outdoor play areas and parking lots. - UrbanPromise Wilmington – $20,000
Rehabilitate a property that will be the home for its Street Leader Job Training program. - Wilmington Head Start, Inc. – $20,000
Replace the roof at its largest location, providing childcare to 152 children and meal for all 486 children who participate in the program. - YWCA Delaware, Inc. – $9,500
Replace HVAC in nine units at its Home-Life Management Center, enabling families to have shelter.
Focus Grants
The DCF awarded $240,000 in Focus Grants to programs enriching the lives of Delaware youth and Latino communities. 2020 Focus Grants recipients were:
Youth Serving
- Choir School of Delaware – $12,250
To expand their transportation program for choristers as they expand their program to include a summer session. - Multiplying Good (SIA4Good- Serving the State of Delaware) – $12,250
To support the Students in Action (SIA) program to prepare Delaware youth for leadership and public service. - Read Aloud Delaware – $9,800
To continue expanding the Volunteer Reading Program in New Castle County. - CAMP Rehoboth – $12,066
To support LGBTQ+ youth in middle and high schools through promoting and strengthening school GSA clubs. - Arise Delaware – $7,350
To support building relationships among special needs participants and volunteer “buddies,” and among parents. - Jobs for Delaware Graduates – $12,250
To provide academic, workforce preparation, and life skills education to some of the most at risk middle- and high-school students in Delaware. - Summer Learning Collaborative – $9,800
To support the six-week Tyler’s Camp program for Sussex County middle school students, including sports, arts, STEM and academics. - YearUp Wilmington – $12,250
To support a workforce development program for young adults who have not progressed past a high school diploma or GED. - Urban Garden Initiative – $5,145
To expand their student gardening program to a workshop series that will serve about 200 students at five Wilmington community centers. - Mom’s House of Dover – $4,900
To provide free child care and other support services to low-income single parents who are pursuing secondary or post-secondary education. - Latin American Community Center – $12,250
To implement a new trauma-informed youth drugs and violence prevention program. - Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch Up – $11,144
To begin providing an Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC) home visiting program to families at imminent risk of their children being removed to foster care. - Plastic Free Delaware – $4,900
To host high school students from across the state for a new Youth Environmental Summit. - Teen Warehouse – $12,250
To support the Teens in Motion program for personal development and soft skills training designed to move teens to employment. - United Way of Delaware – $12,250
To implement their Step on It program to increase the capacity of two middle schools in Wilmington Promise Communities by engaging community stakeholders. - Christiana Care Health Systems – $5,145
To support the annual spring overnight field trip of the First State School, which serves chronically ill children and adolescents.
Latino Serving
- Habitat for Humanity Sussex County – $21,250
To support the anticipated growth of Latino clients in the Sussex County Habitat for Humanity’s (SCHFH) Family Empowerment Program for financial literacy education. - TeenSHARP – $11,750
To support the Delaware Goes to College Academy (DGCA), which provides academic advising and college guidance in English and Spanish to Latino high school students and their families across Sussex County. - Children and Families First – $8,500
To allow the Sussex Community of Hope Latino Community Outreach project to translate outreach and survey materials into Spanish. - ESL Lutheran Church of Our Savior – $4,250
To expand the English as a Second Language program to serve the growing population of non-English speakers in Sussex County from South and Central American countries. - La Esperanza – $8,500
To support a New Citizenship Program to provide education, outreach, and full naturalization preparation for eligible Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR). - Literacy Delaware – $8,500
To expand Literacy Delaware’s services into Sussex County. - Autism Delaware – $8,500
To expand the Autism Care Team (ACT) program in Sussex County, with a focus on Spanish-speaking families in Sussex County with a child affected by autism. - Sussex Tech Adult Division – $12,750
To provide continuing GED instruction for English Language Learners in English and Spanish at James H. Groves High School in Sussex County.
Specific Interest Grants
There are a variety of funds at the DCF that provide a structured opportunity for eligible nonprofits whose missions align with specific interest areas to apply for grants. In 2020, these funds awarded a total of $70,808 to 17 nonprofit organizations statewide.
Arts In Wilmington
- $1,250 to Ministry of Caring Inc for its Storyteller Project
- $2,500 to Delaware Center for Horticulture for The Gravity Festival: Forests and Youth in Action
- $1,325 to Wilmington Alliance for the West Center City Drumming Circle
- $2,500 to Delaware Shakespeare for its 2020 Community Tour: Twelfth Night
- $2,500 to Cornerstone West CDC for the 4th Street Visionaries Community Mural
- $1,133 to Cityfest, Inc. for The 2020 Summer Camp of the Wilmington Children’s Chorus
- $1,600 to Cab Calloway School Fund for its summer Healing Arts Program partnership with Nemours/A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children
Long-Term Care of Delawareans
- $7,500 to Cancer Support Community Delaware for Health Coaching for Cancer Survivors
- $7,500 to Lori’s Hands, Inc. for Impact and Outcomes Evaluation
Fulfillment of Terminally Ill Children’s Wishes
- $7,500 to Make-A-Wish Philadelphia, Delaware & Susquehanna Valley for Wishes Transforming Lives in Delaware
- $7,500 to Preston’s March For Energy for Adaptive Bikes for Better Lives
Training & Treatment of Animals
- $7,000 to Forgotten Cats, Inc. for Adoption Preparation for Cats, in partnership with the City of Dover
- $5,000 to PAWS for People for the Specialized Pet Support program
- $4,500 to the Brandywine Valley SPCA for the statewide Humane Education program
- $7,000 to Canine Partners for Life for the Team Training for Future Partnerships program
- $4,500 to Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research for Care for Injured and Orphaned Baby Birds