The S.H. Cowell Foundation makes grants to establish and strengthen Family Resource Centers (FRCs) because they play a unique and pivotal role in bringing together services, resources and opportunities that improve the well-being of low-income children, their families and communities.

FRCs may be in a variety of settings such as a neighborhood home, school site or shipping center, but all are centrally located and easily accessible to the families most in need of support. They are comfortable, welcoming places for families with children of all ages across diverse family structures and different cultural, linguistic and racial backgrounds. FRCs are a common meeting ground where families can break through social isolation and develop mutually supportive relationships with their neighbors and peers.

The Foundation supports FRCs that establish themselves as hubs in a community-wide system of services designed to best serve families. They provide a platform for public, non-profit and other community organizations to collaboratively offer a range of supports that respond specifically and comprehensively to the needs and hopes of local families. Partner agencies work closely together to align and integrate services, often developing a common case management system, to ensure that families are easily able to get what they need to achieve their goals. Services cross a broad spectrum. These services include prevention efforts aimed at helping families avoid problems, early intervention and safety net services to help families reverse or overcome existing challenges and enrichment activities to sustain and further improve family well-being.

The Foundation supports FRCs that belong to the communities they serve. Within this model, families recognize and build on their own strengths and then use those strengths in service to others. Community residents actively participate in shaping the FRC's vision and direction. At their best, FRCs foster civic engagement, encouraging local residents to take on leadership roles and become catalysts for positive change in the neighborhoods where they live.

FRC Funding Criteria