The Hoffberger Foundation, governed by a Board of Trustees and an Advisory Board comprised of members of the Hoffberger family, desires to be as flexible as possible in responding to unmet needs in the Baltimore community while maintaining a clear direction for effective grantmaking within the limits of available resources.  In this context, the Hoffberger Foundation has adopted a broad mission:

To respond with available resources to unmet needs in the greater Baltimore community with a significant commitment to the Jewish community.

Developing specific funding policies within this broad mission is subject to the needs in the community, and therefore is a continuing challenge for the Foundation as it works to respond to the ever-changing needs in the community.  The Foundation will give highest priority to funding opportunities within the Jewish community and the general Baltimore community which address the interests of the Foundation in the following ways.

The Jewish Community

The Hoffberger Foundation supports the Jewish community in Baltimore, Israel and worldwide, primarily, through annual support of The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore.  In addition, the Foundation supports Jewish education, and is particularly interested in projects which promote positive relationships between Jews and their neighbors in other communities.

The Greater Baltimore Community

The Foundation recognizes that the issues of hunger, homelessness, family instability, teen pregnancy, substance abuse and poor mental and physical health are often interrelated and interconnected to poverty, unemployment and access to adequate education.  Therefore, the Foundation will give highest priority to those projects which are part of a comprehensive neighborhood redevelopment strategy, where community members are given the opportunity to participate in this strategy, and where personal responsibility is at the core of any service delivery.  A high priority within this area will be given to projects which address employment, training and job creation.

Greatest consideration will be given to proposals which meet the following criteria:

1.  The project aims to enhance and support self-reliance.
2.  The project addresses an unmet need.
3.  The project has measurable goals and objectives.
4.  The project has a long-term funding strategy.
5.  The project has an evaluation component.

In order to pursue its programmatic interests, The Hoffberger Foundation will consider proposals from the community, as well as initiate its own projects.