OVERVIEW: The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation devotes millions to global health programs and prioritizes organizations working with children impacted by HIV/AIDS, blindness prevention, safe water and multiple sclerosis. Other areas of interest include organizations that work to transition young adults from foster care to independent living, homelessness prevention, mental health and substance abuse treatment for young people. It also distributes a small portion of its funds to disaster preparedness, emergency response and relief efforts.
IP TAKE: Hilton Foundation’s funding base is built on the family’s personal fortunes. While Hilton is a sizable foundation in terms of assets, it is extremely selective in its grantmaking. Smaller grassroots organizations will have to approach Hilton with a transformative and innovative project if they want to step out of the shadows of the large global development NGOs Hilton tends to fund. Concrete, measurable results and the potential for a long-term partnership are the way to attain Hilton Foundation grants.
This funder does not accept unsolicited applications for funding, but its website features detailed information about its staff and board, who may be contacted via social media.
PROFILE: The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation was established in 1944 by hotel magnate Conrad Hilton, with the mandate to “relieve the suffering, the distressed and the destitute.” A family foundation, this funder’s articles of incorporation require that “direct descendants of Conrad Hilton constitute a majority of the board.” Today, the foundation operates around the globe, with assets recently reported at around $2.5 billion, total grantmaking at more than $1 billion and about $100 million in giving in a recent year. The foundation names grantmaking focus areas in Catholic Sisters, Foster Youth, Global Early Childhood Development, Homelessness, Opportunity Youth, Refugees and Safe Water.
Grants for Global Development and Health
The Hilton Foundation makes grants for global development and heath through its Catholic Sisters, Global Early Childhood Development and Safe Water programs. The initiative to support Catholic Sisters focuses on “providing resources to strengthen the skills of individual sisters, reinforcing the leadership and sustainability of congregations while fostering collaborative networks among Catholic sisters worldwide.” In a recent year, the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas received about $2 million for their human services mission in rural areas of Haiti. Another grant went to the Catholic University of Africa, which used funding to support the capacity of a training program for Catholic sisters working in education. Other grantees include the Catholic Health Association of India, the Catholic Caritas Foundation of Nigeria and the Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego, which provides “safety net” support and counseling services to vulnerable people.
Hilton’s Safe Water initiative operates in Ethiopia, Ghana and Uganda and collaborates with communities, governmental agencies and others to “create solutions that will sustain quality services for one million people in low-income households, health facilities, and schools in sub-Saharan Africa by 2025.” In addition to increasing access to clean water, the initiative maintains an evaluative component, identifying successful strategies and technologies for replication in other parts of the world. Grantees of this program include Water Aid America, Water.org, Splash International and Care, Inc.
Grants for Immigrants and Refugees
The Hilton Foundation’s grantmaking for refugees recognizes the “unprecedented global challenge” of people displaced by natural disasters and other situations and aims to “improve the lives and livelihoods of refugee children and families, as well as the communities hosting them.” The program’s specific goals include early childhood development programs, job and career development programs, forging collaborations with governments and communities and analyzing data for contribution to “to the global research and evidence base to drive innovative, sustainable and locally-led solutions.” Recent grantees of this program include Colombia’s Fundacion Juan Felipe Gomez Escobar, which works toward the socioeconomic inclusion of migrant women, and the Acumen Fund, which supports “refugee owned and serving businesses in Uganda and Ethiopia.”
Grants for Housing, Homelessness, Work and Opportunity
The Hilton Foundation runs three programs that work in the areas of homelessness, housing and economic opportunity. Grantmaking for homelessness focuses on Los Angeles County and prioritizes the maintenance and expansion of permanent, affordable housing for high risk residents. In addition to housing programs, this initiative supports health and human services for vulnerable people, policy development for the prevention of homelessness and data analysis and research on successful interventions. Grantees of this program include the L.A. Family Housing Corporation, the Los Angels Homeless Services Authority and the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty.
Hilton’s grantmaking for foster youth prioritizes young people between the ages of 14 and 26 who are either in or transitioning out of foster programs. Supports for transition age foster youth (TAY) include mental health, career development, educational and housing programs, as well as programs that support caregivers, counselors and others who work with TAY. Recent grantmaking has prioritized interventions for exceptionally high risk youth, including “young people of color, young people who have been exploited […] and young women who are pregnant.” This grantmaking program is national in scope. Grants have gone to New York City’s Anthos Home, Los Angeles’s Alliance for Children’s Rights and the Multi-Agency Alliance for Children in Atlanta.
The Hilton Foundation’s grantmaking program for opportunity youth focuses on young people between the ages of 14 and 24 “who are neither working nor in school.” Grantmaking stemming from this program invests in programs and initiatives that work toward improved outcomes for this population. The program funds direct services in the areas of career and skills development, as well as outreach to employers, policymakers and other stakeholders that impact the lives of opportunity youth. As with several other of Hilton’s grantmaking program, funding prioritizes “equity for those hisotrically excluded,” including women, youth of color, immigrants and LGBTQ youth. Recent opportunity youth grants have gone to the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, the Forum for Youth Investment and the Children’s Bureau of New Orleans, which used funding for its healthcare career development program.
Important Grant Details:
The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation typically makes over $100 million a year in grants. Grants typically range from $500,000 to $2 million. Grants tend to support large national organizations and NGOs. This funder also supports many Catholic organizations. U.S. grantmaking prioritizes California’s Los Angeles County, but grants have supported national organizations and organizations operating in other areas. For additional information about past grantmaking, see the foundation’s searchable grants database.
The foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals, except for its award competitions. The foundation’s staff may be reached by telephone at 818-815-3700 or via its contact page.
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