The Harris & Frances Block Foundation is a private, family-operated foundation established in 2001 to honor Harris and Frances Block and their daughter Carol Block Maurer. The foundation is guided by family values that emphasize community, justice, equality, access, and sustainability. It maintains a focus on supporting small grassroots nonprofit organizations that work toward building just and sustainable communities, particularly within the geographic areas of Vermont, North Carolina, Virginia, and New York City.
The foundation's grantmaking is concentrated on projects addressing environmental and social justice issues through grassroots community engagement. Specifically, funding priorities include environmental education and justice, as well as food and farm initiatives such as farm and garden programs, farmworkers’ rights, and food justice. These thematic areas reflect the foundation’s mission to support equitable solutions to complex social and environmental challenges. Grants are intended to assist small and emerging nonprofit organizations in achieving localized, transformative change.
The Harris & Frances Block Foundation offers grants of varying sizes up to a maximum of $35,000. Grants will only be awarded to U.S.-based nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations or groups that operate through a fiscal sponsor with tax-exempt status. The foundation does not fund lobbying efforts, land acquisition, capital construction projects, endowments, deficit financing, scholarships, or activities designed to influence public elections.
Applications begin with a Letter of Inquiry (LOI), which can be submitted at any time via the foundation’s online portal. This process is non-competitive and open on a rolling basis. Organizations that submit an LOI and are deemed to be aligned with the foundation’s funding priorities may be invited to submit a full proposal for review by the Board of Trustees. There is no set application deadline, and funding decisions are typically made within six weeks of proposal submission.
Successful applicants are required to submit one final report approximately nine months after the grant is disbursed. Specific instructions and the final reporting deadline are sent by email roughly one month in advance of the due date. The foundation emphasizes transparency and maintains open communication with applicants throughout the funding process. Additional inquiries can be directed to the foundation via phone at (802) 426-2026.
Emphasize alignment with values of community, justice, sustainability, and working at a grassroots scale within the eligible geographic focus.
