Find Grants for Your Nonprofit in Maryland

How to Find Grants for Nonprofits in Maryland

If you're reading this, you're probably juggling a dozen responsibilities at your nonprofit — and grant research just became one more thing on your plate. Maybe you're Googling at 10 p.m. on a Tuesday. Maybe you've clicked through 15 tabs only to find expired deadlines or grants that don't actually fit your mission.

You're not alone. Grant discovery can feel overwhelming, especially when you're working with a small team (or no team at all). The good news? Maryland has a strong network of state agencies, foundations, and support resources that want to help you succeed. This guide breaks it all down — step by step, with no jargon — so you can spend less time searching and more time doing the work that matters.

Start with What's Available in Maryland

Maryland doesn't have one centralized grant portal, but several state agencies offer funding directly to nonprofits. Here's where to start:

State Government Grants:

• Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) – Runs the Keep Maryland Beautiful Grant Program (annual), which supports environmental education, litter removal, and natural resource protection. Applications typically open in September with deadlines in November or December.
• Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) – Offers the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, Community Investment Tax Credits, and Homelessness Solutions funding.
• Chesapeake Bay Trust – A state-affiliated funder supporting watershed restoration, tree planting, environmental education, and resilience hubs. They have rolling deadlines throughout the year (often in December and January).
• Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) – Provides grants for energy efficiency and solar projects.
• Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) – Manages the Nonprofit Security Grant Program for organizations at risk.
• MD Two Fifty Program – A special initiative commemorating Maryland's 250th anniversary. Grants support local history and commemoration projects (deadlines often in January).

Pro tip: Bookmark the websites for DNR, DHCD, and Chesapeake Bay Trust. Check them monthly, especially in late summer and early fall when many annual programs open.

Top Foundations to Know in Maryland

Maryland is home to several strong private and community foundations. Here are a few worth getting to know:

Statewide Funders:

• Chesapeake Bay Trust – Funds environmental and community stewardship projects across the state. Great for conservation, education, and green infrastructure work.
• Maryland Humanities – Offers the Marilyn Hatza Memorial SHINE Grant Program (opens in June, closes in September). Supports nonprofits doing humanities work with an emphasis on equity and accessibility. They also host virtual info sessions and open office hours to help applicants.
• SECU MD Foundation – Provides grants to 501(c)(3) nonprofits in good standing with the state. Focus areas include education, health, and community development.
• Maryland Historical Trust – Funds historic preservation projects across Maryland.
• William G. Pomeroy Foundation – Offers grants for historical markers and preservation efforts (not Maryland-exclusive, but active in the state).

Pro tip: Many of these funders publish lists of past grantees on their websites. Use those lists to see if organizations like yours have been funded before — it's a good signal of fit.

Your Grant Search Toolkit

Here are the tools and resources Maryland nonprofits actually use to find grants:

Free Resources:

• Maryland.GrantWatch.com – A comprehensive grant database with Maryland-specific filters. You can search by cause area, deadline, and location.
• ForeverMaryland.org – Offers a "Funding Tools" section with links to state and private grant opportunities.
• Instrumentl.com – A grant discovery platform (paid, but offers a free trial). Lets you filter by location, cause, and funder type.
• Maryland Humanities – Provides free grant application support, including virtual info sessions and one-on-one office hours.

Paid Tools (if your budget allows):

• Candid (formerly Foundation Center) – A well-known grant database. Helpful for researching funders and reusing application content, though not exhaustive.
• GrantWatch Premium – Includes an AI grant writing tool and more advanced search filters.

Pro tip: Start with the free tools. If you're applying to 5+ grants a year and need deeper funder research, consider a paid subscription — but only if it saves you more time than it costs.

Eligibility and What Funders Look For

Most Maryland grants require your organization to be a registered 501(c)(3) with the IRS. Some state programs (like MD Two Fifty and SECU MD Foundation) also require you to be in good standing with the State of Maryland. You can verify your status at egov.maryland.gov/BusinessExpress/EntitySearch.

Common eligibility factors include:

• Your organization's mission and focus area
• Geographic location (some grants are county- or region-specific)
• Annual budget size
• Whether you have certain policies in place (e.g., whistleblower policy, nondiscrimination policy)
• Whether you operate a physical office in Maryland (this can disqualify remote or national orgs, even if you serve Maryland residents)

Pro tip: Read eligibility criteria carefully before you invest time in an application. If a grant funded 10 organizations last year and none of them look like yours, it's probably not a good fit.

When to Apply

Maryland grant cycles tend to follow a few seasonal patterns:

• Late summer/early fall (September–October): Many annual programs open, including Keep Maryland Beautiful.
• Late fall/early winter (November–January): Common deadline window for state and foundation grants. Chesapeake Bay Trust, MD Two Fifty, and others often close applications during this period.
• Spring/summer (June–September): Maryland Humanities SHINE Grant opens in June and closes in September.

Pro tip: Set calendar reminders for August and November to check your favorite funders' websites. Many grants reopen at the same time each year.

Getting Started: Your First 3 Weeks

If you're new to grant searching in Maryland, here's a realistic plan to get moving:

Week 1: Set Up Your System

• Bookmark the websites for DNR, DHCD, Chesapeake Bay Trust, and Maryland Humanities.
• Sign up for email alerts from Maryland.GrantWatch.com and ForeverMaryland.org.
• Create a simple spreadsheet to track grants you find (columns: Grant Name, Funder, Deadline, Amount, Eligibility, Status).

Week 2: Research and Filter

• Search for grants using 2–3 keywords that match your mission (see the list below).
• Read eligibility criteria first — skip anything that doesn't fit.
• Look at past grantees to see if organizations like yours have won before.
• Add 5–10 relevant grants to your tracker.

Week 3: Prepare Your Documents

• Gather the basics: your 501(c)(3) letter, mission statement, annual budget, and board list.
• Draft a 1-paragraph summary of your organization (you'll reuse this constantly).
• Pick 1–2 grants with upcoming deadlines and start reading the application requirements.

Pro tip: Don't try to apply to everything at once. Start with 1 or 2 grants that feel like a strong fit. You'll learn the process and build confidence as you go.

Search Keywords That Work

When you're searching for grants in Maryland, try these keyword combinations:

• "Maryland nonprofit grants"
• "grants for [your cause] in Maryland" (e.g., "grants for animal rescue in Maryland")
• "Chesapeake Bay Trust grants"
• "Maryland environmental grants"
• "Maryland housing grants"
• "Maryland humanities grants"
• "Keep Maryland Beautiful grants"
• "grants for Black-led nonprofits Maryland"
• "Maryland community foundation grants"
• "grants for small nonprofits Maryland"

Pro tip: Use Zeffy's Grant Finder to filter by cause, location, and deadline — it'll save you hours of manual searching.

Getting Help When You Need It

You don't have to figure this out alone. Here are a few places to turn when you need support:

• Maryland Humanities – Offers free virtual info sessions and open office hours for grant applicants. They're especially helpful if you're working in arts, culture, or education.
• ForeverMaryland.org – Provides funding tools and resources for Maryland nonprofits.
• Maryland Nonprofits – A statewide association that offers training, networking, and advocacy for the nonprofit sector.
• GrantWatch.com – Includes an AI grant writing tool (paid feature) if you need help drafting narratives.

Final Encouragement

Grant seeking is a skill — and like any skill, it gets easier with practice. You don't need to be perfect. You don't need to apply to 50 grants in your first month. You just need to start.

Find one grant that feels like a good fit. Read the guidelines. Ask a question if you're stuck. Submit the application. Then do it again.

Maryland has funding available for organizations like yours. The key is knowing where to look, how to filter, and when to move forward. You've got this — and you don't have to do it alone.