Mississippi Grants for Nonprofits
Grants for Mississippi nonprofits address a wide range of focus areas, from education grants to human services. Learn more about grants for Mississippi with our search tool available on Grant Finder. Become a member.
Funding landscape and giving trends in Mississippi
While the grantmaking landscape in Mississippi is among the smallest in the Southeast, its grantmakers are productive. In 2021, foundations made $143.2 million in grants as grantmaking appears to be decreasing in Mississippi. While giving in 2021 rose slightly from 2020, overall grantmaking in the state is down from previous years. It remains to be seen if grantmaking in Mississippi will increase in a state that continuously ranks in the bottom for education, child welfare, health and economic outcomes. However, the giving that does occur in Mississippi remains fundamental.
Knowledge about grantmaking in Mississippi filters through Philanthropy Southeast and Mississippi Alliance for Nonprofits and Philanthropy. Area of grantmaking interest overlap with that of other Southeastern states that are similar in giving profile. Education, human services, health and religion receive the most funding in the state, followed by community and economic development. This is not a state where environmental or arts giving loom large as the basic needs of many Mississippians go unmet by local governments and the state.
Mississippi’s top funders include a mix of private, public and community foundations, which maintain it’s grantmaking profile. Major funders in Mississippi remain regional, rather than national in scope, and include the Mississippi Common Fund Trust, Oakwood Foundation Charitable Trust, The Bower Foundation, Inc., Community Foundation for Mississippi, The Luckyday Foundation, The Riley Foundation, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation, and The Chisholm Foundation, among others.
