The Wawa Foundation Hero Award honors a non-profit organization, and its volunteers, serving Philadelphia by providing services that build stronger communities through preserving their independence, protecting their safety and mentoring and inspiring their youth.
Donor Name: The Wawa Foundation
State: Pennsylvania
City: Philadelphia
Type of Grant: Award
Deadline: 06/02/2023
Size of the Grant: $50,000
Details:
The Wawa Foundation would like to hear from your organization or an organization that has had a direct impact on you or someone you know. Let them know what being a hero means to your organization and how it’s working to inspire and improve the communities it serves.
Share your organization’s story—including its mission, purpose, and services—by completing the form. You may also share a video (up to 4 minutes long) in addition to your story. They’ll select 4 of the most compelling stories for voting by the public. Voting will occur from June 12, 2023 – June 28, 2023 and the organization with the most votes will be presented to The Wawa Foundation Hero Award Panel for final approval and determination.
Share your organization’s story—including its mission, purpose, and services—by completing the form below. You may also share a video (up to 4 minutes long) in addition to your story. They’ll select 4 of the most compelling stories for voting by the public. Voting will occur from June 12, 2023 – June 28, 2023 and the organization with the most votes will be presented to The Wawa Foundation Hero Award Panel for final approval and determination.
Focus Areas
Health
The Wawa Foundation will provide funding to organizations committed to saving and improving lives in the communities Wawa serves. Specifically, The Wawa Foundation will support programs dedicated to Championing Life-saving Research & Care for People in Need by:
- Providing grants to hospitals with a focus on pediatric institutions
- Funding research
- Supporting care and comfort Initiatives
Hunger
The Wawa Foundation will play a leading role in hunger relief in the communities Wawa serves. To achieve this, they will support programs that enable us to Lead Hunger Relief Efforts by:
- Providing food donations to local pantries daily through Wawa Share
- Improving access to food through financial grants
- Enabling Feeding America Food Banks to reach more communities through annual in-store campaigns
Heroes
The Wawa Foundation is committed to Supporting the Heroes Making a Difference Every Day by:
- Showing appreciation and care to their military, veterans, first responders and other heroes in their local communities
- Enhancing the education and mentoring of at-risk youth in grades K-12.
- Supporting heroes through crisis response, blood drives, and volunteering
Funding Information
The winning organization will receive a $50,000 grant from The Wawa Foundation, and three finalists will each receive a $10,000 grant. The Wawa Foundation Hero Award will be announced during the Independence Day morning ceremony, as part of the Wawa Welcome America! festivities.
Eligibility Criteria
The Contest is open only to organizations that are classified as a non-profit tax exempt 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code that provide products or services within Philadelphia, PA (each eligible organization, a “Contestant”). Contestants must also meet the following criteria to be eligible:
- clear and substantive fit within the focus area of Heroes committed to providing services that build stronger communities through preserving their independence, protecting their safety and mentoring and inspiring their youth,
- meet all of The Wawa Foundation’s Criteria for Success
- programs where The Wawa Foundation’s resources have the potential for significant impact, which typically include small to mid-size organizations/programs that are poised for growth (local connections),
- innovative and effective model programs with potential for replication that can contribute solutions to issues addressed by the Heroes focus area,
- opportunities to encourage philanthropy by leveraging The Wawa Foundation’s resources to stimulate giving from other sources and help build a global philanthropic community,
- existing or potential for strong organizational leadership/governance, and
- fiscal responsibility, which may be required to be shown through audited financial statements or equivalent documentation at the time of Notification
Contestants that:
- are outside of the Heroes focus area,
- discriminate on any basis,
- are individuals,
- are private charity or private foundations,
- are not exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code,
- are religious organizations, unless the organization/program will benefit a large portion of a community without regard to religious affiliation,
- support political causes, candidate, or campaigns,
- the primary purpose is to influence legislation,
- are sports or performing arts and/or
- have any commercial business purpose, are not eligible to participate.
Video Requirements
All videos must be no longer than four (4) minutes in length. Videos must be submitted as a link to a hosted video file on a social site (ie. YouTube.com, Vimeo, etc.). Video file size cannot exceed the requirements of the social site and comply with the requirements of the respective site. Videos that are password protected or private or which contain inactive links (or are otherwise inaccessible) will not be considered.
For more information, visit The Wawa Foundation.