To achieve its mission to foster learning and improve the quality of life, Connelly Foundation provides grants toward costs associated with programs, direct services, general operations and capital projects to non-profit organizations and institutions working in the following fields:

• Education
• Health and Human Services
• Arts and Culture and Civic Enterprise

The Foundation supports non-profits with strong leadership, sound ideas, future viability, and attainable and well defined goals.  It directs its philanthropy toward 501(c)(3) organizations and institutions based in and serving Philadelphia and the counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and the City of Camden. 

The Foundation values the proposal process.  Given its preference to review a comprehensive package as a primer for discussion, letters of inquiry or requests for pre-proposal discussions are not deemed necessary. 

There are determined parameters to the Foundation’s support. It provides only one grant to non-profit organizations within a twelve month period.  As a general practice it does not fund advocacy, annual appeals, charter schools, conferences, environmental programs, feasibility or planning studies, general solicitations, historic preservation projects, national organizations or re-granting organizations, organizations focused on a single disease, public schools or research.