The Emergency Assistance Fund for Graham Holdings Company Employees and Retirees, originally established by the Graham family, provides tax-free, short-term financial assistance to help employees and retirees who experience unexpected economic hardships as a result of a disaster or personal emergency and who otherwise would not have the ability to cover basic or emergency expenses as a result. The Fund is not an employee benefit, and employees and retirees have no entitlement to assistance. 

For more information about the program guidelines, click here.
To access the program application, click here. 

Grant eligibility:

• U.S.-based employees of Graham Holdings Company (GHC) and its participating affiliates.
  • Generally, grants are limited to individuals earning below $100,000 annually.
  • Employees with less than one year of tenure are limited to grants related to natural or federally or state-declared disasters.
• Former employees (“retirees”), based in the U.S., who have completed 20 or more years of active employment with GHC or an affiliate company post-acquisition by GHC.
• In some limited situations, the immediate family of an employee may submit a request immediately after the employee’s death.
• Current or former executive officers of GHC or its affiliates are ineligible for Fund assistance.

Eligible expenses: Grants are intended to help cover emergency expenses resulting from personal emergencies or emergencies as a result of natural, federal, or state disasters. Expenses must be unexpected and create a financial crisis for the individual who lacks other available resources. Some examples include:

• Out-of-pocket medical expenses
• Funeral and burial expenses for an immediate family member
• Expenses related to repairing damage to the individual’s home or property, which makes it uninhabitable, e.g. flood, fire, etc.
• Food and shelter expenses related to an emergency situation, e.g. domestic abuse, weather evacuations, power and water outages, etc.

Grant applications:

• The resources and scope of the Emergency Fund are limited. Grants may not be large enough to cover all expenses incurred.
• The grant amount is determined based on an evaluation of the event, expenses, financial need, other available resources, and the size of prior grants for similar situations. No grant will exceed the amount of the documented expenses.
• Generally, no more than two grants per applicant are approved, however additional grants will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Application and process:

• Individuals seeking grants are required to complete the Emergency Assistance Fund application form and provide sufficient documentation to validate the grant request, including invoices and receipts.
• The full grant process typically takes a minimum of two (2) weeks.
• The Greater Washington Community Foundation has sole discretion over the determination of each grant request. In situations where extenuating circumstances exist, the Fund may consider exceptions to these guidelines.

Privacy:
The Fund’s administrators will respect the applicant’s privacy and confidentiality, consistent with
the grant decision-making process. The Fund administrators will verify identity and request
personal information (such as financial, benefits, and medical information) to support the grant
request.