The Steele-Reese Foundation funds ONLY projects that lie in the following categories:

Rural Education

Examples include assistance to small public libraries, funding for supplemental programs for preschools and elementary schools, and the support of literacy programs. In southern Appalachia, a small number of grants are made to private colleges and universities.

Rural Welfare

Examples include programs for the disadvantaged and the disabled, including the aged, homeless, blind, young children, troubled youth, and abused women; local fire-protection services; parks and other civic improvements; food banks; and human rights organizations.

Rural Conservation

Examples include composting programs, wildlife projects, ecosystem protection programs, and water projects. All conservation/environmental programs must be locally, rather than regionally, focused. National organizations are eligible for support only if all Steele-Reese funds will be employed directly in projects located in the geographical areas served by this foundation.

Rural Health

Examples include hospices; preventive health programs; equipment for clinics, small hospitals, EMS and ambulance units; family-planning programs.

Rural Humanities

Examples include local arts groups and local historical projects.