The Clowes Fund aims to support organizations and programs focusing on socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals, with a keen interest in assisting immigrants, refugees, and asylees integrate into U.S. society and its economy. They prioritize efforts that address economic, linguistic, legal, and mental challenges during this integration process, alongside facilitating access to job skills training and support services to enable full participation in community economic life. This includes youth development efforts aimed at preventing school dropouts and assisting their return to education or pursuit of economic self-sufficiency.
The Clowes Fund offers grants with the goal of assisting socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals. The grant program provides two application pathways: Introductory Grants for first-time applicants in the areas of Immigrant Services or Workforce Development, and Continuation Grants for existing or previous grantees, which may also include Arts Education and K-12 Education projects. Introductory Grants aim for organizations with smaller operating budgets, offering $40,000 over two years, whereas Continuation Grants provide $60,000 to $150,000 over three years for a broader scope of projects, including Immigrant Services, Workforce Development, Arts Education, or K-12 Education. The program especially focuses on supporting efforts that address challenges faced by immigrants, refugees, and asylees, ensuring access to job skills training, supporting youth development to prevent school dropouts, and enhancing primary and secondary education through classroom instruction improvement initiatives. There is a noted emphasis on transparency in the application process, with a higher success rate for Continuation Grants compared to Introductory Grants.