The Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation is a private foundation based in West Palm Beach, Florida. It was founded by the late Cornelia T. Bailey to carry on her philanthropic interests in the arts, education, and the environment, among other initiatives. Mrs. Bailey was a resident of Connecticut and Florida and enjoyed supporting many initiatives in those regions.

Eligible applicants are 501(c)(3) organizations whose programs and initiatives help to further our Foundation's mission and whose services benefit individuals and organizations identified within our priority funding areas.

Our Foundation does not grant to individuals, political organizations, lobbying groups, fraternal, foreign, civic organizations, or other private trusts/foundations.

Our Foundation does not grant to individuals, political organizations, lobbying groups, fraternal, foreign, civic organizations, or other private trusts/foundations. You may be able to contact an organization, such as a local YMCA or Cultural Council, who might agree to partner with you on your proposed project, but we cannot help with that process. We will only fund 501(c)(3) designated organizations.

The only way to know if a project or program is something we are interested in funding is by first submitting an LOI or program application. Our staff cannot decipher from an email or web inquiry whether or not the board will vote to move ahead with a full grant application or approve a program application.

After reviewing our FAQ, please take our eligibility quiz. If you determine that your organization is a good fit for our Foundation after taking the quiz, please submit a Letter of Inquiry or program application. Please allow our staff at least eight weeks to review your LOI or program application. If a grant is awarded, we will contact the e-mail address submitted with the inquiry.

The Foundation does not typically seek recognition for its philanthropic activities; however, we recognize the value a grantee organization may find in leveraging its private funding to demonstrate support for its programs and attract additional resources. The Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation reserves the right to approve all public uses of its name. Please contact us before doing so.

The Foundation will entertain requests for multi-year grants, which will be decided on a case-by-case basis. Grant applicants may apply for additional grants each year if a multi-year request is not granted. Each request will be considered independently. This does not apply to P/Arts, New ERA, or Eager grants, as they are strictly 1-year grants.

In 2023, the median grant from our Foundation was $25,000, and the average grant was $48,706.

Suppose we invite your organization to submit a full grant application, and you feel a site visit will help us decide on the grant application. In that case, we are happy to schedule a visit to your location to meet with your staff and learn more about your operations and the proposed project first-hand. Contact our office for more information.

Unless otherwise agreed upon, you will have one year from the award letter date to submit our form annual grant report, located on the reporting page of our website.