About the Fund

Established in 1963, the Fund is named for Philip L. Graham, who was publisher of The Washington Post and president of The Washington Post Company for many years before his death. Gifts from his widow, the late Katharine Meyer Graham, his friends, and The Washington Post Company formed the initial corpus of the Fund. From its earliest days, the Fund's mission has been, first, to use its resources for the betterment of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area and, second, to support activities that will foster improvements in the field of journalism and communications. Reflective of its determination to respond to a wide range of community needs, the Fund's grant lists have been broad and varied. However, most grants are made to organizations within the following five interest areas:

Arts and Humanities - especially major cultural organizations and those devoted to the visual or dramatic arts;

Community Endeavors - especially those building the infrastructure needed to make the community a better place in which to live;

Education - especially programs that promote healthy, early childhood development or improve public education at the pre-college level;

Health and Human Services - especially those that benefit children, youth and families; and

Journalism and Communications - especially those organizations that advance broad industry goals.

© Copyright 2007 Philip L. Graham Fund