IMA Foundation

IMA Foundation Grants

The IMA Foundation provides grants to organizations that have a primary focus on advancing youth, with five key areas identified: education, mental health, arts & culture, food insecurity and homelessness. Eligible organizations and programs must focus on youth under the age of 26. We strive to empower our communities by creating opportunities where we work and live to protect assets and make a difference.

The Spring 2024 grant cycle is now closed. All nonprofit applicants will be notified by May 31 and funding will be processed starting in early June. The fall grant cycle will open in early August and the deadline is October 4, 2024.

Email foundation@imacorp.com with any questions.

Shortly after the incorporation of IMA more than 50 years ago, the company’s founders showed true vision and commitment to the community by creating the IMA Foundation. With employee owners at the core of our business, the goal of the IMA Foundation is to represent the passions of our associates and make strategic contributions within the foundation focus areas.

IMA Foundation Vision: Empowering our communities to create opportunities which protect assets and make a difference.

IMA Foundation Mission: To provide philanthropic support in the communities where we work and live.

Introducing IMA’s first Purpose Report. Previously known as the annual Community Report, the 2023 Purpose Report dives into what it means to be driven by purpose, highlights IMA’s history of service and community involvement, showcases the company’s journey and measures its impact made in the last year. In it you’ll find:

Associate giving and volunteering programs
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion initiatives
Sustainability programs and services
Insights from our associates
Game-changing benefits
Governance highlights

View IMA's Impact in the Community >

Advancing Youth (over-arching)

The IMA Foundation provides grants to organizations that have a primary focus on advancing youth, with five key areas identified: education, mental health, arts & culture, food insecurity and homelessness. Eligible organizations and programs must focus on youth under the age of 26. We strive to empower our communities by creating opportunities where we work and live to protect assets and make a difference.

Advancing Youth_Foundation Priorities_1108233 (002)

Education

To support organizations and programs that encourage youth and help develop the necessary skills and mindset needed to achieve success in their future careers and make a difference in their communities.

Samples include but are not limited to:

Mentoring or after-school programs
K-12 public education
Higher education
Scholarship programs
Workforce development

Mental Health

To support organizations and programs that provide access or direct programming of mental health services, promoting resiliency and mental well-being, specifically, depression, stress, anxiety, and death by suicide.

Mental health education and/or training
Training and education for staff
Awareness and prevention programs

Arts & Culture

To foster cultural vitality in our communities, we support arts and cultural organizations or programs that encourage inclusive creative expression, creating a well-rounded and connected community.

Cultural institutions with focused programming for underserved K-12 youth
Arts in Education programs
Arts programs delivered to public schools

Food Insecurity

To increase access to healthy and nutritious food for our communities. Our goal is to provide funding to organizations addressing the root causes of hunger, eliminating barriers related to food insecurity and promoting equitable access to quality food.

Food banks
Public school assistance programs
Organizations or programs that address “food deserts”

Homelessness

To support youth experiencing homelessness, we endorse programs and organizations that focus on the coordination, operation, and administration of homeless assistance projects. Our goal is to better serve youth by providing them with a path to safe and stable housing.

Homeless shelters or drop-in centers
Support services for youth experiencing homelessness

2023 IMA Foundation Grant Recipients – $995K+

Twice a year, the IMA Foundation board of trustees reviews hundreds of applications and determines grants to award to deserving nonprofits whose missions reflect the IMA Foundation’s focus areas of Education, Arts & Culture, and Advancing Youth. In 2023, the IMA Foundation awarded $995K+ to 100 deserving nonprofits in the communities where IMA associates live and work.