Patricia Kind Family Foundation Partners Fund

The Patricia Kind Family Foundation's Partners Fund has awarded grants to the following 27 non-profit organizations working in Philadelphia:

• Andrée Collective 
  The Andrée Collective serves female survivors of complex trauma who have fled intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking through supportive programs offering employment, therapy, and financial literacy. Their employment program uses wedding and event planning to teach participants transferable career skills through paid apprenticeships.

• Asylum Pride House
  The Asylum Pride House was founded in 2022 with the mission to provide long-term housing, initial resources, and case management services exclusively for LGBTQIA+ asylum-seeking immigrants.

• Azzim Dukes Initiative
  The Azzim Dukes Initiative (ADI), Philadelphia's authentic youth boxing nonprofit, uses boxing as a vehicle for youth development and violence reduction. ADI provides skill-based, age-appropriate boxing instruction, mentoring, and meals to people under 25 from across the region. We believe that every kid is a contender, and the best defense is knowing your options.

• Black Girls Love Math
  Black Girls Love Math (BGLM) builds positive math identities for Black girls by creating joyful out of school time learning spaces (experiences) that strengthen academic skills and inspire career pathways.

• Black Men Heal
  Black Men Heal (BMH) provides free access to mental health treatment, psycho-education, and community resources to men of color.

• Camp Sojourner
  The mission of Camp Sojourner is to help girls/youth ages 8–18 become leaders who take charge of their own lives and help create positive change in their communities. We accomplish this goal by providing educational opportunities for personal growth, community building, and social change, through our affordable overnight summer camp and year-round service projects, mentoring, and creative arts.

• Connectedly (formerly Supportive Older Women's Network)
  Connectedly strengthens community support networks, reduces social isolation, and improves the well-being of older adults. Resources and programming are provided to older adults who are the head of their household and raising their grandchildren.

• Diamond Beauty Cosmetics & Academy
  Diamond Beauty Academy's mission is to empower youth through the creative arts of beauty, cosmetic chemistry, and entrepreneurship by providing hands-on education, mental wellness support, financial wellness training, workforce development pathways, and social impact leadership that build confidence, creativity, and economic opportunity for young people from all backgrounds.

• Discovery Pathways
  Discovery Pathway's mission is to uplift the well-being of the community and environment through experiential, nature-based programs and by providing hands-on environmental education to urban youth.

• El Comité de Trabajadorxs de Restaurantes-the Restaurant Worker Collective
  El Comité de Trabajadorxs de Restaurantes empowers Philadelphia's restaurant workforce through a worker-led model that blends organizing, leadership development, and community-rooted support.

• Gentle Gratitude
  Gentle Gratitude provides under-resourced communities in Philadelphia access to fundamental resources such as menstrual products, food, and winter clothing. These resources empower those impacted to lead more dignified lives. 

• Hand2Paw Foundation
  Hand2Paw provides a safe and supportive work environment for youth, ages 15–24, who are experiencing housing insecurity or in foster care, as a means of building resilience, compassion, and connection with people, animals, and the community. Hand2Paw provides paid internships working with homeless animals that enhance social-emotional learning, job preparedness and healing.

• Karen Community Association of Philadelphia
  KCAP empowers Karen refugees by preserving Karen cultural heritage and traditional food practices, creating access to essential services and strengthening community wellbeing. KCAP was formed by Karen community leaders to address the unique needs of refugees from language barriers, technology inaccessibility, food insecurity, loss of culture, social isolation, and healing from trauma.

• New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia
  NSM supports Philadelphia’s immigrant communities through a three-pronged approach involving accompaniment, political education, and grassroots organizing.

• Northwest Mutual Aid Collective, Inc.
  NWMA's mission is to combat food insecurity and food waste by providing home-delivered fresh produce and pantry essentials to seniors, disabled residents, and low-income families in Northwest Philadelphia while also supporting local pantries, shelters, and community initiatives across the city to ensure no neighbor goes hungry.

• One House at a Time
  OHAAT's mission is to help families who are currently lacking resources to establish a self-sufficient life by providing them with the necessities of a functional home. Through the Beds for Kids program, they provide children and youth living in poverty with beds, bedding, and tools that encourage healthy bedtime habits, so they can get the quality and sufficient sleep they need to thrive.

• People's Kitchen Philadelphia
  The People's Kitchen's (PKP) mission is to build community by making and serving food with dignity--without stigma, and free to all who need it. They combine perfectly sound rescued food with the highest-quality organic vegetables and pasture-raised meats from local Pennsylvania farms to fight both hunger and the waste of our industrial food system.

• Philly Community Wireless
  Philly Community Wireless' (PCW) mission is to bridge the digital divide by building large-scale, no-cost internet networks in marginalized neighborhoods of Philadelphia. By developing an alternative model for expanding broadband access and adoption, PCW empowers communities to be involved in the construction, maintenance, and design of a public utility that provides sustainable connectivity for all.

• Philly Goat Project, Inc.
  The Philly Goat Project (PGP) was founded in 2018 with a mission to provide nature-based programming in education, wellness, and community engagement. The teen internship program offers paid opportunities to neighborhood students, providing leadership training and post-internship employment assistance.

• PMichael Boone Foundation
  The PMichael Boone Foundation empowers youth in Philadelphia through education, workforce skills, and personal development. They provide hands-on programs in barbering, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and wellness to help young people build confidence, discipline, and real career pathways.

• Power of Paint Art Academy & Management
  Power of Paint delivers preventive, direct-service programming through after-school programs, summer and winter recess camps, community workshops, and intergenerational initiatives. These programs serve as a pathway to healing, emotional wellness, leadership, and equity for youth and communities most impacted by systemic harm.

• Rubye's Kids
  Rubye's Kids empowers children in need, especially those experiencing homelessness, by providing educational and personal care items, as well as joyful, enriching experiences that promote strong values, education, respect for self and others.

• Sanctuary Farm Philadelphia
  Sanctuary Farm seeks to address the health inequities resulting from systemic racial oppression and economic injustice by converting abandoned and neglected areas in our community into spaces that promote safety, hospitality, nutrition, and growth.

• Sankofa Healing Studio
  Sankofa Healing Studio fosters healing, empowerment, and resilience for low-income people and families in Philadelphia impacted by incarceration, adverse life experiences, and systemic inequities. SHS provides direct services, advocacy, and resource navigation from inside and beyond the walls of incarceration.

• Sunday LOVE Project
  The mission of The Sunday LOVE Project is to share food amongst those experiencing food insecurity in our community. The Project operates as a free-choice community grocery store.

• The Center-Philadelphia
  The Center-Philadelphia serves as daytime drop-in shelter for adults experiencing homelessness in Center City, providing a safe environment where guests can access essential hygiene services, warm meals, and comprehensive social support without requiring identification or proof of income.

• Unscripted Project
  The Unscripted Project equips students with the social emotional building blocks to achieve personal and professional success through the power of improvisational theater education. We aim to create a world in which every child graduates from school prepared to embrace life's challenges, seize opportunities, and unlock their own potential.
  
  These grants were made possible through the generous support of our donors to the Partners Fund:

• Hamilton Family Charitable Trust
• Independence Foundation
• Regional Foundation
• Scattergood Foundation
• Scholler Foundation
• The Philadelphia City Fund
• William Penn Foundation
• AFE Strategies LLC
• Anonymous Business
• Glenmede
• Jimenez Strategies
• Peachtree Catering and Events
• PWP Video
• Shift Capital
• Two Five One Consulting
• Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program
• Zenith Wealth Partners
• Martin Alfaro
• Anonymous Individual Donors (6)
• David and Margaret Berger Bradley
• Richard Binswanger
• Nina Cohen
• Jennifer and Sahil Dhawan
• Carol Gerard Lynn
• Greg Goldman
• Hilary Green
• Alexandra and Paul Herzan
• Amy Holdsman
• Helen and Bryan Horstmann-Allen
• Megha Kulshreshtha
• Christina Kind
• Andy and Valerie Kind-Rubin
• Emily Kind-Rubin
• Liz Kind-Rubin
• Molly Kind-Rubin
• Heidi Knoblauch and Kelly McNamee
• Vanessa Lowe
• Laura and Marc McKenna
• Clemens and Claudia Pietzner

The Patricia Kind Family Foundation (PKFF) launched the Partners Fund, a new initiative designed to amplify philanthropic impact across Philadelphia. Through this fund, PKFF collaborates with other contributors to significantly expand support for historically marginalized communities. The Partners Fund represents a model for concentrated and aligned cross-sector giving—one that pools resources from multiple foundations, businesses, financial institutions, and individual donors.


By combining financial and non-financial support, the Partners Fund directs resources toward nonprofit organizations (NPOs) that have less access to traditional funding networks but are doing exceptional work in their communities. These organizations operate in critical fields such as Education, Youth Development, Mental and Physical Health, Human Services, and Community Building. PKFF’s goal is to leverage its expertise, relationships, and credibility within the philanthropic ecosystem to help these NPOs operate more efficiently, expand their reach, and strengthen their long-term sustainability.

Philadelphia faces persistent economic inequities. The city continues to hold the highest poverty rate of any major U.S. city, with roughly 20% of its population living at or below the federal poverty level. The majority of those most affected are people of color.


Within this context, the region is home to approximately 2,300 nonprofit organizations, each providing essential services across sectors. Yet many of the smaller nonprofits—especially those with annual budgets under $1 million—struggle to access funding from the established philanthropic community. These organizations are often led by individuals from historically marginalized backgrounds and operate without the social capital needed to build relationships with large funders.

 

As public funding becomes increasingly uncertain, these organizations face heightened challenges in maintaining stability. The philanthropic private sector therefore plays a crucial role in ensuring sustained, long-term investment and partnership with these community-based organizations.

Since its founding in 1996, the Patricia Kind Family Foundation has focused its grantmaking on supporting historically marginalized communities throughout the Philadelphia region. PKFF is widely recognized for its deep community relationships, hands-on approach, and commitment to general operating and multi-year funding.


To date, PKFF has awarded over $63 million in more than 4,100 grants to nonprofit organizations across Greater Philadelphia. These grants have supported smaller, grassroots organizations that deliver direct, essential services in their neighborhoods. PKFF’s reputation as a thoughtful and engaged funder has positioned it as a leader in the region’s philanthropic landscape.


Beyond financial support, PKFF has built enduring partnerships with its grantees—relationships that often take years to develop and are essential for meaningful, long-term impact. Many of these nonprofits have expanded their programs and funding bases thanks to PKFF’s introductions to new funders and strategic guidance.


In 2023, PKFF piloted a successful collaboration with the William Penn Foundation, awarding more than 30 capacity-building grants. This partnership demonstrated that collective philanthropy leads to more effective, systemic change. PKFF has since complemented its direct grant-making with programming designed to strengthen the organizational health and capacity of its grantees.

PKFF has established a Donor Advised Fund (DAF) to serve as the giving mechanism of the Partners Fund. PKFF provides the anchor funds and matches contributions from other donors—up to $500,000. The Fund invited individuals, businesses, and foundations to commit resources to a shared giving vehicle that offers the advantages of contributing to a public charity.

This structure allows for greater flexibility and efficiency in philanthropic giving. Donors benefit from simplified reporting, optional anonymity, and favorable tax treatment—private foundation contributions count toward annual distribution requirements, and individuals and corporations may qualify for enhanced deductions.

The National Philanthropic Trust (NPT) administers the DAF, while Glenmede Trust Company manages investments. PKFF oversees the Partners Fund’s grantmaking process, applying its decades of experience and strong relationships within Philadelphia’s nonprofit sector to ensure strategic, impactful distribution of funds.

PKFF’s Board Managing Trustee serves as the Donor Advisor for the DAF. In addition, PKFF has convened an Advisory Committee composed of contributors, nonprofit leaders, and other key stakeholders to provide input and guidance.

During this initial phase, PKFF has taken responsibility for recruiting funders and establishing the Advisory Committee. The initial fundraising goal was $3 million, with financial commitments secured in January 2026.


The first round of grant awards were made in the summer of 2026, following an application cycle that opened in early 2026. During the pilot period, PKFF provides its grant-making and administrative services to the Fund at no cost, ensuring a strong foundation for future growth.


Through the Partners Fund, PKFF has matched contributions up to $500,000, signaling its deep commitment to building a collaborative philanthropic model that advances equity and opportunity across Philadelphia.