Candidates for funding must meet the criteria of at least one of Cowell’s main program areas: Family Resource Centers, Youth Development, K-12 Public Education, and Affordable Housing. They also must be located in communities that exhibit potential for grantmaking in at least three of Cowell’s main program areas.

Prospective communities must also meet all of the following place-based funding criteria:

• Poverty in the affected community is acute and widespread, as evidenced for example by the number of students who qualify for the free and reduced lunch rate at the local schools
• The community has a strong “sense of place” arising from such factors as its location, its history, and the shared goals and deep-rooted relationships among its residents
• Public and nonprofit service providers have productive working relationships with one another and engage neighborhood residents with a spirit of inclusion and interdependence
• Local leaders champion issues and efforts beyond the scope of their particular roles and agencies, demonstrating commitment to the neighborhood as a whole

The Foundation gives priority to communities that have limited access to private and philanthropic resources. However, it avoids very small towns with declining populations, a lack of economic opportunity and absent or weak government support. Such communities find it difficult to sustain the work over time after Cowell is no longer funding.

What We Fund and Where We Fund