The F. M. Kirby Foundation Announces $13.8 Million in Grants for 2020

The F. M. Kirby Foundation Board of Directors announced 248 grants totaling $13.8 million were made in 2020 to nonprofit organizations working to foster self-reliance and create strong, healthy communities in a year of unprecedented challenges.

The Foundation’s 2020 grantmaking included grants in support of COVID-19 relief, as well as increased contributions to nonprofit organizations in the arts and humanities, education, environment, health and medicine, human services, public policy, and religion. Some 102 grants totaling over $5.5 million were awarded to New Jersey-based nonprofit organizations working to make a direct impact on people’s lives throughout the state, 65 of which, totaling $3.6 million, supported work in Morris County, the Foundation’s home county. Additional grants totaling $8.3 million supported organizations in upstate New York, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina, regions connected to Kirby family members, as well as national nonprofits largely based in Washington D.C. and New York City.

“In a sense, the vast majority of our grantmaking this year was providing COVID-related relief to our grantee partners in response to a most difficult year. We stuck to our principles of general operating support, recognizing the necessity of flexible grants, especially as grantees were facing difficulty meeting payroll and paying for personal protective equipment. However, the exceptional circumstances provided exceptional opportunities, so we were excited to support some new initiatives for us, including COVID-related research at the American Lung Association, the Morristown Partnership Grant Relief Fund, rapid relief funds in North Carolina at both the Triangle Community Foundation and the United Way of Greater Triangle, and the New Jersey Arts and Culture Pandemic Relief Fund,” stated Justin Kiczek, Executive Vice President.