Search Through Restorative Justice Grants in the U.S.

Crankstart Foundation Grant

Crankstart is a San Francisco-based family foundation devoted to bolstering the foundations of a just society - wider access to better education, jobs with prospects for advancement, housing security, social welfare and the protection of civil rights. Crankstart also supports the arts, basic science and efforts to mitigate climate change. About 60% of grants go to groups in the San Francisco Bay Area.

While the Bay Area is our home, on occasion we have made commitments elsewhere – particularly in Chicago and the United Kingdom. The bulk of our grants fall between $100k - $1m. Once we have developed confidence in an organization, we lean toward making multi-year commitments for general support.

Crankstart envisions a vibrant, thriving Bay Area, where our region’s prosperity is strengthened and shared more equitably by all who live here.

Programs

• Economic Mobility - Everyone should have choices and opportunities that lead to economic stability and security. Crankstart focuses on root causes of economic disenfranchisement, particularly in low-income communities hurt by generational poverty.
  • We support work that:
    • Provides the tools and training needed for careers and economic security.
    • Strengthens safety net programs that provide food and health services.
    • Increases access to public benefits programs serving low-income people.
    • Mitigates the insidious effects of fines and fees that erode wealth.
• Education: Our public education system should provide every child and adult, regardless of circumstances, an opportunity to shape their lives.
  • We support work that:
    • Expands post-secondary access to academic and vocational studies, to help students develop the tools and resilience needed to pursue upward mobility.
    • Develops more opportunities for early childhood education and out-of-school learning, particularly in historically marginalized communities.
    • Strengthens the teacher pipeline, to recruit and retain excellent educators in public schools.
• Democracy: We envision a robust democracy in which elections are held securely and with integrity, every person has the information they need to fully participate in civic life, and the underlying structure of our electoral system is fair.
  • We support work that:
    • Protects voting rights through mobilization and engagement.
    • Supports immigrants, ensuring they have the opportunities they need to thrive.
    • Works to change harmful and unfair criminal justice policies.
    • Develops robust interventions to mitigate recidivism and provide economic opportunity.
• Housing Security: Housing security means all people have a place to call home. They have choices that promote economic well-being, health and safety.
  • Crankstart supports work in San Francisco and Oakland that:
    • Reduces homelessness through preventive measures and targeted services.
    • Provides affordable housing choices that allow people to live near work and become involved in their communities. We emphasize housing opportunities for those who are most affected by displacement and high housing costs.
    • Uses policy, law, public resources and good governance to promote economically integrated communities.
• Environment: Communities disproportionately affected by climate change should be partners and the primary beneficiaries of mitigation efforts.
  • We support work that:
    • Accelerates the transition to clean energy.
    • Restores and protects ecosystems in ways that benefit local communities.
• Medical Science & Innovation: Basic science is a foundation for knowledge and discovery based on facts, hypotheses and replicable results. This painstaking endeavor enhances our understanding of the world around us, which may translate into breakthroughs that benefit humans and life on earth.
  • We support work that:
    • Gives researchers funding and time to test novel hypotheses.

Mission

The mission of the Independence Foundation is to build leadership, provide services, and encourage systems and cultural change through the support of organizations in the fields of healthcare, human services, legal aid, and the arts. The Foundation invests in people and programs that protect, improve and enrich the life experiences of residents of the Philadelphia and its surrounding Pennsylvania counties, with a focus on the vulnerable and excluded. Its work is based on the belief that a region that promotes physical well-being, provides equal access to justice and services, and appreciates the value of the arts will thrive for generations to come.

Independence Foundation primarily provides unrestricted funding to nonprofits to best help them achieve their missions. Our general operating support offers flexibility to our grantees by allowing funds to be used when and where they’re most needed. 

Funding Initiatives

Arts And Culture

Independence Foundation believes in bolstering the well-being of the region by supporting a variety of opportunities for involvement and participation in the arts. The arts can bind people through shared experience and understanding. Art plays a transformative role in society, one that enriches community and connects people. The Foundation supports programs in the arts that enhance the common artistic spirit through creation or performance. 

Programs which connect the arts with non-traditional participants and increase both access to and awareness of the arts, are of special interest. The Foundation awards general operating grants aimed at strengthening organizations by supporting creative work and administrative capacity, based on community involvement, artistic merit, and leadership in the field. With the exception of organizations currently funded, we do not give grants to dance, music, media arts or broadcasting, museums or historical societies, though we do continue to fund individual artists in some of these disciplines through our Fellowships in the Arts.

Health Care

Independence Foundation believes that high quality, comprehensive primary care and related services result in better health, improved quality of life, reduction in health disparities, and lower costs to the health care system. 

Funding within the health care initiative focuses on the following: 

• Existing nurse-managed health care centers undertaking capacity building projects to expand and/or improve the provision of primary care and related services
• Programs that support health policies and/or infrastructure for nurse-managed and other safety net providers
• Projects designed to inform health care-related planning
• Clinical, community, and/or educational programs designed to improve the health of older adults 

Human Services

Independence Foundation believes that the health of a community can only be as strong as the well-being of its citizens. Our region faces many challenges and continually changing demographics have contributed to increased demand for services, while local and federal funding for these services has declined. Community-based organizations fill in the gaps by providing much needed outreach and support.

The Foundation supports organizations that provide direct services to people who do not ordinarily have access to them for the most basic of needs. The current Human Services funding agenda focuses primarily on programs that address the following areas:

• adequate food and food distribution
• affordable housing and access to shelter by homeless persons
• services which support independence for people living with disabilities

Legal Aid

The Independence Foundation is committed to the support of free legal services for the underserved of the Philadelphia region. Grants provide core operating support to strengthen the administrative capacity and the direct service programs of those agencies that deliver critical legal services.

Agencies funded under the Public Interest Legal Aid Initiative address civil legal issues confronting individuals from diverse populations who do not traditionally have adequate access to legal representation, including the indigent, the elderly, the disabled, and the homeless.

Reentry, Recidivism & Restorative Justice 

The Foundation funds community-based organizations doing the following - either by directly assisting individuals, or working to change systems that cause or contribute to the harm addressed:  

• Providing supports to families and individuals involved with and affected by the criminal justice system
• Working to reduce the number of people who imminently face incarceration or a return to prison
• Providing resources to formerly incarcerated individuals that help them become integrated and contributing members once they are released back into society
• Working to reduce harm to families and neighborhoods caused by incarceration

Laird Norton Family Foundation

The Laird Norton Family Foundation (LNFF) is a private family foundation in Seattle, Washington, with a mission to honor and reflect the family’s shared values through giving and engage the family in philanthropy as a platform for strengthening family connections.

Primary Grantmaking Programs  

Our grantmaking reflects the values of the Laird Norton family. We give in program areas that reflect the family's shared interests:

Arts in Education

Our Arts in Education grantmaking program supports equitable educational opportunities for students using arts integrated and culturally informed instruction, including sustained professional development for public school teachers. Funding will be directed toward programs that seek to enhance students’ educational outcomes in public Pre-K through grade 12 classrooms rather than to simply increase participation in, or appreciation for, the arts.

• Our current support focuses on organizations that provide: long-term, push-in, professional development opportunities for public Pre-K through grade 12 teachers and schools; programs that aim to serve students furthest from educational justice; and programs with culturally relevant instruction and are focused on the whole child.

Climate Change

Climate change is a global, complex challenge facing our world. The goal of our Climate Change program is to help the planet heal and mitigate adverse impacts of climate change for all people, communities, and the natural world. Grantmaking is centered around carbon sequestration work and recognizes organizations as the experts and stewards to advance climate and environmental justice. Grantmaking is focused in the West Coast of the US.

•  We are focused on supporting work that increased the abilities of forests, coastal ecosystems, and agricultural lands to sequester carbon. Through projects involving healthy forests, blue carbon, and regenerative agriculture, we seek to learn from and follow the lead of communities impacted first and worst as our planet changes. 

Human Services

• Our Human Services grantmaking program supports organizations working directly with youth and young adults (age 12-25) who are experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness, and/or involved with child welfare, juvenile legal or behavioral health systems. Grantmaking is currently only with organizations in King County, WA. 

• Our current support prioritizes organizations that are created and led by the communities they seek to serve, that acknowledge and seek to address racial and social injustice in their work, and that offer programming with the aim of preventing youth and young adult homelessness and creating systems change.

Watershed Stewardship

​Watersheds have social, ecological, and economic significance. The goal of the Watershed Stewardship program is to create enabling conditions for long-term social and ecological health and resilience in places of importance to the Laird Norton Family. Currently, we prioritize work in Minnesota and Wisconsin as well as a few key watersheds in the Western United States, consistent with the Laird Norton family's priorities.

We take a long-term view on healthy watersheds and invest in organizational capacity with an eye to future resilience. We encourage our partners to focus not on single-species recovery or restoration to historical conditions as a primary end-goal, but to also consider the potential value of significantly altered — but functioning — ecosystems as we continue to face the impacts of climate change and other natural and human-caused changes into the future.

​We believe the wellbeing of the people who live in a place must be considered alongside ecological goals; understanding the diverse interests and values of a watershed’s human inhabitants is an important component of long-term success. ​

Mission & Values

Life Comes From It is a first of its kind grantmaking circle where decisions over funding are made by people heavily steeped in restorative justice, transformative justice and indigenous peacemaking. We seek to grow the movement for adopting restorative, transformative, and peacemaking practices throughout our society. We have come together around a shared vision of addressing harm through community solutions, without reliance on incarceration and punitive systems.

We aim to strengthen the foundation of restorative, transformative, and peacemaking practices led by people of color.

Our Mission

Life Comes From It is a grantmaking circle. We support grassroots movement-building work rooted in lived experience and relationships for restorative justice, transformative justice, and indigenous peacemaking.

Funding Values & Criteria

We aim to support projects, organizations and collaborations that embody these values:

• Commitment to working towards replacing criminalization and incarceration with alternative approaches to address violence and repair harm rooted in community solutions
• Prioritizing peacemaking development and indigenous initiatives led by Native people
• Rooting the work in the community’s own culture(s), language(s), place(s), faith(s), and belief system(s) so it reflects the people that engage in it
• Guided by the wisdom of people, families and communities of color
• Commitment to anti-oppression practices
• Supporting the creation of new thinking and language that is holistic, intersectional, interdependent, and liberatory
• Promoting and sustaining collective leadership, collaboration and partnership
• Living the values of the work internally and externally to build community and heal harm within and against communities
• Intergenerational inclusivity - people of all generations: youth, adults, elders are encouraged to apply​

The Four Fields

• Restorative Justice
• Transformative Justice
• Indigenous Peacemaking
• Land Based Projects 

What we Believe

• We believe that human relations can replace the work of institutions.
• ​We are invested in shifting power.
• ​We believe in doing no harm – not further victimizing people who have been victimized in the search for funding. We seek to keep an open door relationship with those who look for funding.
• ​We believe in interdependence and creating a culture where we do not pit one against another.
• ​We strive to build connections between restorative justice, transformative justice, indigenous peacemaking, and "justice, healing and soil."
• ​We hold an intersectional lens
• ​We emphasize the underlying spirit and values of the work rather than the categories we use to define our work. 
• ​Our vision is rooted in lived experience – as community activists, formerly incarcerated people, crime survivors, indigenous persons, and people of color— and has led us to 115 years of experience in restorative justice, transformative justice and indigenous peacebuilding.

Types Of Projects That We Fund

We support our grantee partners in implementing various independent revenue-generation projects. From optimizing online donation forms to selling climate justice walking tours on AirB&B Experiences to embedding peer-to-peer fundraising in relational organizing, our partners are experimenting with endless ways to grow their revenue.

Our Program Areas

REALIZING DEMOCRACY

We support work that creates informed and engaged communities, sparking civic participation and empowering them to hold companies and lawmakers accountable for the fair and equitable treatment of all people and communities.

ACHIEVING JUSTICE

We support work that addresses the barriers to equality that people face because of who they are, what they believe, a condition they have, something they have done or are trying to do, or a role they have (i.e gender justice, racial justice, LGBTQ rights, religious freedom, HIV/AIDS, immigration rights, economic justice, parental rights, education, incarceration, etc)

RESTORING THE ENVIRONMENT

We support work that protects and restores our earth and addresses the right that all people have to a clean and healthy environment.

Investing in nonprofits that are advancing a new, transformative system of justice with the core values of racial equity, economic well-being, and fundamental fairness for all.

Grants Overview

Public Welfare Foundation awards grants to nonprofits that honor the Foundation’s core values of racial equity, economic well-being, and fundamental fairness for all. The Foundation looks for strategic points where its funds can make a significant difference and improve lives through policy and system reform that results in transformative change.

Our Work

Public Welfare Foundation aims to catalyze a transformative approach to justice that is community-led, restorative, and racially just.

• Adult Criminal Justice
• Youth Justice
• Legacy Initiatives
• Jurisdictions

Working in Communities, With Communities

Public Welfare Foundation believes that the best ideas bubble up from communities so we work to engage deeply in and with the communities we fund.

We work with communities to drive transformation from multiple angles including policy advocacy, organizing, leadership development, and demonstration projects. Public Welfare Foundation is committed to funding innovative solutions and investing in the leadership of those most proximate to the issues facing this nation.

Focusing our efforts on criminal justice and youth justice reforms allows us to achieve greater impact in the overhaul of the systems that were created to marginalize and contain our nation’s most vulnerable populations.

Grants Process

The Public Welfare Foundation has a two-step application process that includes both a Letter of Inquiry (LOI) and a full proposal. We invite full proposals after reviewing letters of inquiry. We only consider full proposals we have invited that fit within the program guidelines and available resources.

Current focus areas include:

• Organizations and projects with a focus on structural and systemic changes in the U.S. criminal justice system.
  • The Foundation does not typically fund direct service work (ex. individual support services, case management).
  • However, the Foundation will consider initiatives that aim to further a demonstration project to make the case for non-carceral alternatives and transformative approaches to justice reform.
• Organizations, projects, or special initiatives with a focus on reducing harm and violence using community-centered interventions.
• Reframing the narrative and fostering greater transparency and urgency around the U.S. criminal justice system through storytelling, journalism and other targeted efforts.

Grant Types: How We Fund the Work

General Support Grants

• General support grants are for day-to-day operating costs or to further the work of your organization. These grants are not earmarked for a particular program or project.

Program or Project Support Grants

• Program or project support grants support a specific program or activity of the organization. These are restricted grants and must be used for that program or project.

Special Opportunities Grants

• The Special Opportunities Program supports projects reflecting the Foundation’s mission and underlying values. These are one-time only grants that are especially timely and compelling. At times, this kind of grant serves as a laboratory for new ideas.

Background

The Domestic Public Policy Program supports projects that will help the public and policy makers understand and address critical challenges facing the United States. To that end, the Foundation supports research on and evaluation of existing public policies and programs, as well as projects that inject new ideas into public debates. 

The Foundation believes that policy makers face a series of challenges that need to be met if the United States is going to continue to prosper and provide opportunity to all of its citizens. Even as public finances begin to recover in the wake of the financial crisis and recession, officials are confronting difficult choices that will have to be made in order to restore long-term fiscal balances while maintaining essential public services. These choices will include decisions regarding how best to raise revenues while also creating an environment conducive to economic growth. Policy makers are also looking for strategies that can deliver key public services, such as education and criminal justice, in an effective and efficient manner. There is also a need to develop strategies to improve the long-term growth rate of the U.S. economy and strengthen economic opportunity. Doing so will require a combination of more effective strategies to develop human capital and establishing an economic climate hospitable to entrepreneurship and growth.

To meet these broad objectives, the Foundation has developed a number of grant making portfolios.

• A group of grants is focused on the challenges of identifying mechanisms that can inform thinking on fiscal practices at the national, state, and municipal levels.
• In terms of human capital development, the Foundation has been supporting work to identify how schools can become more productive by, for example, increasing the quality of the teacher workforce or adopting more effective curricula.
• Because success in the contemporary economy requires individuals to acquire education and training beyond high school, the Foundation is building a portfolio of projects on post-secondary education.
• Finally, the Foundation is supporting work on the criminal justice system that will examine whether costs can be lowered while still protecting public safety.

Mission

The mission of the Smith Richardson Foundation is to contribute to important public debates and to address serious public policy challenges facing the United States. The Foundation seeks to help ensure the vitality of our social, economic, and governmental institutions. It also seeks to assist with the development of effective policies to compete internationally and to advance U.S. interests and values abroad.

The Foundation advances its mission through its two principal grant making programs: the International Security and Foreign Policy Program and the Domestic Public Policy Program. The Foundation believes that conflict and change in the international environment continually create needs in the U.S. policy community for analysis and guidance on critical foreign and defense policy issues. In the domestic arena, the Foundation believes that policy makers are seeking innovative and pragmatic solutions to the long-term challenges affecting the well being of all Americans.

Since its inception, the Foundation, which is still led by Lester T. Sunderland's descendants, has focused on supporting construction projects, awarding grants to nonprofits in the Kansas City region and other markets traditionally served by the Ash Grove Cement Company. 

 The Foundation prefers to make grants for construction and special interest projects rather than for annual operating expenses. 

Grants for planning, design, construction, renovation, repairs and restoration of facilities are considered. Areas of interest include higher education, youth serving agencies, health facilities, community buildings, museums, civic projects and energy efficient affordable housing projects sponsored by qualified tax-exempt organizations. 

Funding Areas

In recent grant cycles, the Board of Trustees has awarded the majority of grants in four broadly defined areas:

Higher Education

In 2022, the Foundation awarded $49 million to more than 35 educational organizations. Grantees included community colleges, private colleges, and public universities.

Human Services

The Foundation awarded $30 million to human service nonprofits in 2022, and many grants in this area went to groups that provide essential services to youth and families. Grantees included a range of youth-focused groups, including Reconciliation Services, the Nebraska Youth Justice Initiative in Omaha, Nebraska and the Sno-Valley Senior Center in Carnation, Washington. 

Arts and Culture

Arts and culture projects received $23 million in 2022, including grants to the Springfield Art Museum in Springfield, Missouri, the Omaha Zoo and the Seattle Aquarium in Seattle, Washington. Health Care and Hospitals.

Health Care and Hospitals

This is a growing area of need in many communities the Foundation serves. In 2022, $65 million was awarded to hospitals and health-care groups to build and improve their facilities.

ABOUT ROOTED IN JUSTICE

“Rooted in Justice” is a funding program designed to help amplify youth voices and actions in the environmental and food justice movements.  Rooted in Justice supports community-based organizations and groups that manage established, youth-led, urban greening programs within a justice framework as a core part of their work, with two-year grants of $25,000/year.  

Rooted in Justice recognizes the importance and undeniable right of every young person to have the ability to develop their own relationship with the environment, be it through growing food, spending time with nature, creating community green spaces, or becoming environmental stewards. Rooted in Justice also honors the power and possibilities that arise when young people collectively work to be change-makers in their communities.

Rooted in Justice supports organizations, groups, collectives, and programs that work with young people between the ages of 12 to 20 in youth-led programming for communities or cultures which have historically or currently experience:

• A lack of access to land or nature;
• Agricultural oppression and/or neglect;
• Food apartheid; and/or
• Other forms of injustice based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics and disability.

Rooted in Justice awards a small number of grants each year with applications due in the fall and decisions made the following spring. Final grant decisions are recommended to the Cedar Tree board via a participatory grantmaking process with outside reviewers who have experience in youth-led urban greening, as well as food or climate justice programming. So far the program has awarded multi-year grants to 21 organizations and one-time grants to 10 additional organizations since 2021. 

Definitions

Rooted in Justice grants support organizations or programs that include all four of the elements described below: social justice, youth-led, urban greening, and cohort-based youth work. We articulate our understanding of those terms below in an effort to provide a guide for prospective organizations to use in determining whether their program is a good fit. However as we continue our work towards questioning and dismantling some of our preconceived notions, we recognize that these are not finite definitions and encourage prospective applicants who still feel their work may be a good fit to describe in their proposals why this is the case.  

Social Justice-Based Programs

Programs dedicated to creating equitable outcomes for communities directly affected by different aspects of injustice by:

• Sharing and redistributing power and resources;
• Amplifying voices and leadership;
• Tackling root problems through ongoing engagement and collaboration to find solutions, organize against oppression of all kinds and create mechanisms for change; and
• Developing a critical analysis with youth and community members.

Youth-Led

The development of youth leadership skills is a core part of programs funded by Rooted in Justice. Young people have the opportunity to play a role in the planning and decision-making for their program and may help shape the internal workings of the organization. Examples of youth-led programs include programs where participants: 

• Managing a portion of their programming budget;
• Co-facilitating program activities, meetings and gatherings;
• Shape their own programming and/or organizational strategic planning;
• Have regular and end-of-program opportunities to provide program feedback and evaluation; and
• Have opportunities for personal and/or professional growth within the program and organization.

Urban Greening

For the purpose of this grant we define “urban greening” as any activity that creates a mutually beneficial relationship between city dwellers and their environments. Programs that are a strong fit for Rooted in Justice will have many opportunities for youth to be outdoors.  Project settings can include, but are not limited to: 

• Urban and aquaponic farms
• Greenhouses and rooftop gardens
• Community gardens, green spaces, and rain gardens
• Composting sites
• Land conservation efforts
• Urban forests
• River or other water restoration  

Cohort-Based Youth Works

Rooted in Justice looks to fund organizations that build community with cohorts of youth through intentional, recurring programming. This grant is intended to support programs that offer youth significant learning and leadership opportunities as a group and as individuals. Priority will be given to organizations that have program infrastructure that supports a cohort of youth over time.  Drop-in programming, one-time conferences, or individual internships are not a good fit for Rooted in Justice.  

Youth Budgeting

As part of grant proposal, all Rooted in Justice grantees must share a plan to allocate a portion of the grant funds for youth participants to manage. What do we mean by this? We ask applicants to specifically set aside some amount of grant funds for youth to allocate to priorities of their choosing.  For example, youth participants can use their allocated funding to:

• Fund an entrepreneurial endeavor;
• Design the brand or swag for their group;
• Hire a speaker or outside expert to teach a new skill;
• Purchase supplies for a community-based art project;
• Host a celebration for their families, friends and neighbors;
• Pay for transportation to programming, special events, or conferences; and/or
• Any other youth-led activity the group may find beneficial.

Use of Funds

Rooted in Justice funding must be used for project support of existing youth led, urban greening, social justice work and associated general operating expenses. Operating expenses can include anything from program costs like staff salaries and youth stipends to organizational sustainability needs like major equipment purchases and leadership/staff training. If your organization’s entire mission is youth led, urban greening, social justice work, the Rooted in Justice grant can be general support. 

Funding

Two Year Grant

• Rooted in Justice Grant awards are two-year grants of $25,000 per year.
• After the initial two year grant, grantees may be eligible for a third year of funding at the same or lower level through a simple renewal process.
• In the 2025-2026 grant cycle, the Cedar Tree Foundation expects to support 4 organizations with multi-year grant awards.

Funding for Professional Development

• Each Rooted in Justice grantee organization also has access to an additional $6,000 to support professional development opportunities identified by each organization.  Half of these funds must be used to directly support the professional development of youth. 
• Rooted in Justice grantees can request reimbursement from this professional development fund to attend conferences, hire consultants, purchase equipment or software that increases organizational capacity, or participate in any activities that strengthen youth programming or justice practice of program providers in support of their youth development programming. The funds set aside for youth professional development can be used for youth exchanges or youth participation in conferences and other professional development opportunities directly for youth.  

Community Professional Development Calls

• Cedar Tree works with grantee partners to assess their professional development interests and facilitates on-line gatherings of staff or youth for skill shares, trainings, and networking opportunities.
• These network calls will likely happen 2-3 times per year. 

Mission & Mandate

Within each area of funding, guided by Catholic values, the Foundation supports nonprofit organizations that improve the lives and futures of people and communities in Greater Los Angeles.

Focus Areas

Social Welfare

Social Welfare Funding includes nonprofits that serve those who are vulnerable in our society. Organizations that meet critical needs such as food and shelter, as well as programs that empower, inspire, and provide for the welfare of young people in underserved communities, are encouraged to apply. This funding is also directed towards camperships, mentoring programs, job training for the formerly incarcerated, transitional age youth, trauma victims, volunteer programs reflecting Catholic values, comprehensive community programming, and restorative justice programming. The Foundation strongly supports initiatives to advance economic self-reliance.

Health and Wellness 

Health and Wellness Funding includes illness, pregnancy and life, counseling, individuals with disabilities, senior assistance, free and low-cost care, elder care and research. This funding is directed to organizations that assist individuals to lead independent, satisfying lives. Research funding is primarily directed to the work of the Doheny Eye Institute and other causes which were of interest to Mrs. Doheny. Funding of hospitals and convalescent care facilities is an attempt to bring quality care to those who are otherwise underserved.

Education 

Education Funding includes support of Los Angeles underserved Catholic elementary schools and scholarship funds for Los Angeles Catholic high schools and Catholic universities in Los Angeles. Adult education, literacy programs, and programs supporting Catholic Education are also funded.

Religion

Religious Funding is directed to support the evangelization and mission-based work of the Los Angeles Roman Catholic community, as well as local faith-based organizations inspired and guided by similar gospel values. Grants in this area have been awarded to religious orders, seminaries, projects of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and retreat centers, as well as chaplain and outreach programs.

Sparkplug provides grants to start-up organizations and new projects of established non-profits in the following three areas:

Education

Sparkplug funds projects to educate or support communities, including but not limited to school-age students, that move beyond traditional classroom instruction. In keeping with our justice-oriented framework, we fund education projects that engage excluded students in new ways, projects that restore knowledge that has been marginalized through racism or colonialism, and projects that rebuild community and collective problem-solving.

We're especially interested in supporting critical and investigative thinking, and projects that address race, gender, and class disparities in education. We do fund community-based education and social justice curriculum development, For example, we have funded the development and sharing of curriculum that explores connections between Palestine and the US/Mexico border region to teach students to think critically about the impact of militarized border zones on youth, families and the environment.

Some examples of education projects that we have funded in the past include:

• A program using digital tools to educate consumers on how they can support farmworkers rights.
• A youth-led education campaign exposing and opposing militarization in their community.
• A digital platform to preserve the archives of a local black community.
• A year-long program bringing together social and environmental justice organizers to train new organizers and develop joint community projects.

Community Organizing

Sparkplug funds work by members of a community for their community -- work that aims to create justice by making systemic change and/or shifting power. Or in other words, we fund projects that are created, run by, and meet the needs of people with shared lived experience who face the same types of oppression, discrimination, violence, or barriers, who live in the same area, or who have a shared vision and aspirations for the future.

For example, We DO fund projects created and led by LGBTQ youth to change policies that affect them.

Some other examples of community organizing that we have funded in the past include:

• A farmworker-led campaign against deportations and for access to drivers licenses for undocumented people.
• Training community members as housing organizers as part of a campaign to build their leadership capacity and win local housing justice.
• Support to frontline communities in energy democracy organizing.
• A COVID-19 related mutual aid and advocacy project by and for people experiencing homelessness.

Music

Recognizing the critical importance of music in bringing communities together and building collective creativity, Sparkplug supports emerging musicians in developing new work, sharing existing work with a wider community through events or media, bringing together musicians to collaborate on creating or performing pieces, or facilitating new workshops that bring music to oppressed communities. Applicants for music grants will be asked to submit a sample of their music with their Letter of Intent form.

Some examples of music projects that we have funded in the past include:

• A music and other media production of a multi-ethnic Ottoman world, drawing on the stories and songs of Sephardic women.
• Commissioned compositions and the production of CDs in selected genres.
• The development of a musical program, using historical materials, memorializing the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in 1911.
• A multi-media, semi-staged performance based on the life and poetry of the celebrated Italian Renaissance poet, Torquato Tasso.

Nathan Cummings Foundation

We are a multigenerational family foundation, rooted in the Jewish tradition of social justice, working to create a more just, vibrant, sustainable, and democratic society. We partner with social movements, organizations, and individuals who have creative and catalytic solutions to climate change and inequality.

Our Approach + Focus

From our grants, to our investments, to our voice we are using all of our resources to advance our mission. We are committed to changemaking, not just grantmaking.

• Investing in Bold Leaders: Our partners are courageous leaders willing to work in innovative ways, forge powerful alliances, and push breakthrough ideas that make the “impossible” possible.
• Using All of Our Assets: We use a ‘totality of assets’ approach, meaning we leverage the full power of the foundation’s financial and non-financial assets for impact.
• Leveraging Our Voice: We leverage our voice and influence to amplify the voices and goals of our partners.

We believe the dual crises named in our mission (inequality and climate change) cannot be addressed without first addressing their root causes and oppressive manifestations. That’s why we are focused on the long-term and interconnected goal of advancing racial, economic, and environmental justice (REEJ).

Environmental Justice

Environmental justice is the right of all people and communities to a clean, healthy, and safe environment. It promotes equal environmental protection under the law and in fact. It empowers all communities to make informed decisions and fully participate civically and economically in the creation of environmental solutions.

Focus Areas

To advance environmental justice, we support organizations that address the following focus areas:

• Environmental Harms: BIPOC and low-income communities are disproportionately harmed by environmental hazards. We focus on efforts to prevent and repair these environmental disparities and ensure the affected communities can meaningfully engage in forging solutions.
• Inclusive Participation in the Green Economy: A Green Energy transition is well underway, but the economic opportunity that goes along with it is not distributed equitably. We focus on efforts to ensure that BIPOC-led environmental organizations and diverse companies can fully take advantage of the investments, benefits, and opportunities of the Green Economy.
• Regenerative Economic Models: Achieving environmental justice and addressing climate change requires a shift from extractive to regenerative economic models. We focus on social entrepreneurs and innovators who are building regenerative projects and models based on sustainability, ecological restoration, and community wealth-building and resilience.

Racial Justice

Our vision for racial justice is the removal of structural barriers and hierarchies based on race. It seeks to reimagine political, economic, and social systems in ways that allow all people to thrive, regardless of their racial identity.

Focus Areas

To advance racial justice, we support organizations that address the following focus areas:

• Civic Engagement: BIPOC and other marginalized communities face long-standing and concerted efforts to restrict and suppress their participation in the public sphere, especially in civic processes. We support efforts to ensure these communities have the access and capacity to participate freely in shaping the policies, practices, and institutions that impact their everyday lives.
• Racial Wealth Gap: As a product of centuries of policies and practices, extreme racial wealth inequality persists in the United States, especially among Black communities. We support efforts to repair this harm, build wealth, and address the root causes of the racial wealth gap.
• Racism + Oppression: White supremacy is at the root of our society’s most unequal systems, institutions, and policies. We support efforts to build the infrastructure and capacity necessary to create systems that are free from oppression and allow us all to thrive.

Economic Justice

Economic justice means that everyone has opportunities to participate and thrive in the economy, including those who are marginalized by our current economic systems. The principles of economic justice create a stronger economy because prosperity and equity go hand in hand.

Focus Areas

To advance economic justice, we support organizations that address the following focus areas:

• Economic Security: Economic security is a necessary baseline for people to survive and thrive, especially amidst conditions of rising inequality. We support efforts that systemically mitigate economic precarity and secure a path to a more stable future for poor and low-income people.
• Access to Capital: Generations of discriminatory lending and investment practices have prevented BIPOC and women from accessing the capital required to bring their innovative ideas to the marketplace and profit from them. We support efforts to provide more access to capital for historically excluded entrepreneurs and to cultivate an ecosystem in which they can prosper.
• Monopoly Power: Monopoly power drives many of the corrosive and pressing problems in our political, economic, and social systems. We support efforts to decrease corporate power and create a level playing field for workers, marginalized communities, and small businesses.

Program Related Investment (PRI)

Just like grants, PRIs must advance the foundation’s mission and accomplish one or more of the foundation’s tax-exempt purposes. Also, like grants, PRIs must not be used to influence legislation or take part in political campaigns on behalf of candidates.

Unlike grants, PRIs are made with the expectation that some or all the capital will be returned to the foundation in the future, according to terms that the foundation and the PRI recipient agree to. That said, we do not make PRIs for the purpose of financial gain. Therefore, we may be able to structure financing with more favorable and flexible terms than a traditional financial institution would.

We will consider PRIs in a variety of forms, including debt and equity instruments.

Funding

Our target budget for funding program-related investments is approximately $3 million.

Versacare Foundation

We are an independent foundation which has been serving Seventh-day Adventist ministries and a select few other humanitarian efforts with financial grants since 1990. We are a self-funded lay organization, and our board is comprised of both lay Adventists and present and former Adventist church employees, all committed to furthering the Kingdom of God and to restoring the “image of God” in those in need. 

Versafund Grant Program: Impact Grant

The Versafund Grant Program offers three levels of potential funding.

• Impact Grant: $40,001 to $100,000

The Impact Grant is offered by invitation to applicants implementing proven successful practices as well as organizations demonstrating creativity and innovation in the delivery of services that meet the needs of individuals or groups.

Project Priorities: Versacare Foundation funds projects that address the following needs:

• Church community engagement
• Disadvantaged or underserved communities
• General education and science education
• Health and wellness
• Humanitarian efforts
• Social justice
• Women and children’s efforts
• Youth and young adults

Background

The Foundation seeks to be responsive to community issues and needs. Our process is highly competitive and is open to new projects and new organizations. The following summary, Examples of our Grant-Making, is offered to help guide applicants. While this is not intended to be an exhaustive description and may, as appropriate, change over time, we hope that the following will suggest the kind of meaningful work in which the Foundation is seeking to invest.

Generally, the Foundation looks to support work that improves the lives of DC-area residents, with a particular emphasis on vulnerable and underserved individuals. We encourage organizations that provide comprehensive services and work towards systemic change, which addresses all levels of, and all who are affected by, the issue. The goal is that all in the region become self-sufficient and lead healthy, fulfilling lives. We search for nonprofits that also employ effective partnering and show cultural competence in engaging effectively with communities and people of various cultures and socio-economic backgrounds. On occasion, the Foundation invests directly in strengthening the nonprofit sector by helping current grantees to build organizational capacity and by supporting advocacy and other efforts.

Grants are made in five program areas:

Arts and Humanities

The Foundation recognizes the intrinsic value of the Arts and Humanities, as well as their power to innovate and create social change. The funds distributed support an array of artistic disciplines, as well as organizations that promote the humanities. These nonprofits demonstrate the depth and breadth of their initiatives, including how to meaningfully engage communities that have been historically underrepresented in the Arts and Humanities.

Community Services - The Community Services portfolio includes, but is not limited to:

• Community Development
  • The Foundation seeks to ensure access to safe housing and economic development across the region. These awards support affordable housing production and preservation, services for people experiencing homelessness or housing instability, programs to address wealth disparities, as well as civic engagement and volunteerism.
• Children, Youth and Families
  • Grants in this area help young people improve their academic performance, gain employment, develop relationships with trusted adults and make connections to the larger community. The Foundation prioritizes programs that promote youth voice, empowering young people to advocate for change within their schools and communities.
• Justice
  • The Foundation seeks to ensure access to justice for all individuals in order to create a more equitable region. These grants support civil legal aid, services to survivors of violence, efforts to help people stay out of the criminal justice system and advocacy for system reform.
• Workforce Development
  • The Foundation supports organizations that focus on specific fields and career pathways as well as those that concentrate on broader job- and career-readiness.
• Capacity Building
  • The Foundation supports capacity building organizations that improve the sustainability, quality and impact of nonprofits in the region.

Education

The Foundation recognizes that a high-quality and equitable education system can reduce barriers to opportunity and transform lives. These grants aim to ensure that from the first day children enter an early childhood setting, to the day they receive a technical certificate or a degree, they are receiving an education that is founded in strong relationships, responds to their unique needs, and equips them with the skills they need to thrive and succeed in life.

Environment

The Foundation strives to restore and protect our region’s natural resources so that all individuals can have equal access to clean water, air and land. These grants focus on the restoration and protection of local parks, the Anacostia and Potomac rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Grants to environmental education and stewardship programs for people of all ages create greater awareness of the dangers of an unhealthy environment and the need to protect open natural spaces.

Health & Wellness

The Foundation takes a holistic view of health and wellness to ensure that across the region people of all ages can live healthier lives, regardless of income or zip code. These grants include healthcare provision and supportive services, food and nutrition, as well as coalition building and advocacy.

Who We Are

Today, our purpose remains as our founders originally envisioned.

Dedicated to Indigenous Peoples’ self-determination and the sovereignty of Native nations.

Founded in 1977, Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples emerged from Indigenous communities during the cultural, social, and political renaissance era of the ’60s and ’70s. Leaders of the time, such as our primary founder the late Daniel Bomberry (Salish/Cayuga), included chiefs, clan mothers, youth, and community activists. These leaders established the organization to respond to the needs of grassroots Indigenous communities and initiatives.

Seventh Generation Fund focuses on cultural revitalization, leadership development, tribal sovereignty, and culturally appropriate economic development. Our organization grew and evolved into the foremost Indigenous social-profit organization in the U.S. serving transnational community-based organizations.

We recognize the critical need at the grassroots level for access to resources, technical assistance, and training. Our work has consistently been based on traditional Indigenous concepts of holistic ecological stewardship. We have long understood the direct relationships between a healthy environment, social justice, and community well-being. We remain focused on grassroots development through Indigenous community empowerment and action.

Our organization derives its name from a precept of the Great Law of Peace of the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy). This precept mandates that chiefs consider the impact of their decisions on the seventh generation yet to come. This principle guides us in our frontline work of revitalization, restoration, preservation, planning, and development projects.

Seventh Generation Fund

Seventh Generation Fund annually raises funds to grant out and has limited funds to distribute throughout different regions of the Indigenous World across our four program pathways.

We are an independent foundation which has been serving Seventh-day Adventist ministries and a select few other humanitarian efforts with financial grants since 1990. We are a self-funded lay organization, and our board is comprised of both lay Adventists and present and former Adventist church employees, all committed to furthering the Kingdom of God and to restoring the “image of God” in those in need. 

Versafund Grant Program: Venture Grant

The Versafund Grant Program offers three levels of potential funding.

• Venture Grant: $10,001 to $40,000

The Venture Grant is designed to assist projects and programs in reaching clearly stated goals and objectives. It is also intended to help projects and programs become self-sustaining. Venture Grant applicants are expected to provide information based on objective assessments of their programs. 

Project Priorities: Versacare Foundation funds projects that address the following needs:

• Church community engagement
• Disadvantaged or underserved communities
• General education and science education
• Health and wellness
• Humanitarian efforts
• Social justice
• Women and children’s efforts
• Youth and young adults

Versacare Foundation

We are an independent foundation which has been serving Seventh-day Adventist ministries and a select few other humanitarian efforts with financial grants since 1990. We are a self-funded lay organization, and our board is comprised of both lay Adventists and present and former Adventist church employees, all committed to furthering the Kingdom of God and to restoring the “image of God” in those in need. 

Versafund Grant Program: Catalyst Grant

The Versafund Grant Program offers three levels of potential funding.

• Catalyst Grant: $2,500 to $10,000

The Catalyst Grant is Versacare Foundation’s smallest grant. It is designed to give programs and projects a financial boost as needed. It is also for applicants not accustomed to applying for grants who may find the information required by the typical grant application process daunting.

Project Priorities: Versacare Foundation funds projects that address the following needs:

• Church community engagement
• Disadvantaged or underserved communities
• General education and science education
• Health and wellness
• Humanitarian efforts
• Social justice
• Women and children’s efforts
• Youth and young adults

NDN Collective

NDN is an Indigenous-led organization dedicated to building Indigenous power. Through organizing, activism, philanthropy, grantmaking, capacity-building and narrative change, we are creating sustainable solutions on Indigenous terms.

Community Self-Determination Grants 

Purpose and Approach

Community Self-Determination Grants are intended to support community-based and community-driven sustainable solutions in all three of NDN Collective’s core strategies to Defend, Develop and Decolonize. Grants are intended to support and invest in the long-term visions and sustainability of Indigenous communities and Indigenous-led organizations, fortifying the self-determination of Indigenous Peoples to create a just, equitable, and sustainable world for all people and the planet. Significant, flexible, multi-year funding will include the infusion of general operating support, capacity building, capital and holistic support for comprehensive initiatives and specific programs.

Community Self-Determination Grants are intended to strengthen and leverage long-term financial sustainability of Indigenous-led organizations, including capital support and investments. This type of funding will not only give Indigenous organizations the kind of runway that has been long understood as healthy for startups and private-sector companies, but transformative for community-based and grass-roots organizations, including those who are closest to the issues and the impact. While we fund national efforts, we intentionally prioritize grassroots, community-based efforts. Climate justice and Indigenous justice are at the heart of the intent behind the Community Self-Determination Grant.

NDN’s grantmaking approach is based on reciprocity and mutual aid, which may include thought partnership and capacity building resources. Relationship is at the core of this approach, encouraging systemic change and participation in which the people most affected take responsibility for one another and for changing systemic conditions. It is up to the community to determine the steps for true self-determination. NDN funds can support the material needs of communities while also addressing root causes and solution building that is shaped by the community. This approach encourages innovative, creative and free thinking for long-term change.

NDN will remain steadfast in its commitment to uphold and advance regenerative, Earth-centered principles of community and economic development. ‘Regenerative’ is the ability to regrow, renew or restore, particularly after loss or damage. NDN’s commitment to a new and better normal is also part of community self-determination, resilience and sustainability, therefore NDN seeks to support Tribes, Indigenous nations, communities and organizations who are also committed to more innovative, sustainable solutions. NDN is deeply committed to supporting Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination that supports justice and equity for people and the planet.

These principles and the NDN Collective’s framework of Defend, Develop, Decolonize will be utilized as a lens in which to review and select grantee-partners.

Community Driven Solutions

Because this program focuses on community-driven solutions, we encourage larger nations and organizations to coordinate among your various departments to submit an application reflecting your community’s efforts to Defend, Develop and Decolonize.

It is the intent of NDN Collective to provide meaningful support across multiple regions, therefore, applicants will be expected to describe their community self-determination efforts within one of the following strategic focus areas that is best suited for their community’s intentions and goals. New or expanded initiatives, or capacity building of existing efforts and entities may also be supported.

Defend

Efforts may include but are not limited to protecting and reclaiming lands, water, and natural resources, such as:

• Grassroots, frontline organizing and community mobilization to defend and protect clean water, air and land from extractive industries and exploitation;
• Indigenous-led environmental movements and efforts to stop the extraction of the earth’s natural resources on and near tribal territories.
• Direct action efforts of the climate and environmental justice movement.

Develop

Efforts may include but are not limited to community and economic development/resilience based on sustainable, regenerative principles, climate change solutions and mitigation, such as:

• Sustainable food systems, food sovereignty and security initiatives; sustainable community agriculture, gardens, food harvesting and processing, community hunting and fishing, sustainable herd management, shared community food pantries and food distribution;
• Community water initiatives; protecting or developing clean water sources; community pumps or wells, water purification and sanitation, ecological wastewater treatment systems, such as constructed wetlands, greywater systems, and composting toilet implementation, and bioremediation of contaminated soils and water;
• Community planning and implementation of sustainable, regenerative, and innovative solutions for community preparedness and resiliency;
• Renewable energy sources, i.e.; wind, solar, geo-thermal
• Energy transition that is environmentally, socially and economically just; that reduces carbon emissions and footprints; Net-Zero initiatives;
• Financial planning and transition to new or alternative revenue streams based on regenerative principles of economic and community development;
• Resilient and regenerative infrastructure improvements or development, including housing, broadband or increased internet speed and capacity; improved or upgraded software systems and technological training to support virtual and tele-abilities to learn, access health, conduct business, up-to-date communications access;
• Capital investments for economic mobility to diversify economies, long-term regenerative business development in various sectors, including decreasing risk of a larger investment; investments in building the capacity of people through education, training, and consulting to be well-equipped leaders in creating just, and resilient economies and infrastructure.

Decolonize

Efforts may include, but are not limited to intergenerational transmission and continuity of language, culture, ceremonial practices, traditional governance and decision-making structures, and lifeways, such as:

• Governance and leadership transformation, transition or development grounded in Indigenous values and practices, including constitutional reforms, reintegration of traditional governance structures, or decentralized, consensus-based decision making practices;
• Indigenous health and safety; providing and reclamation of Indigenous health, wellness, community care, healing and medicinal practices, including social, emotional, and cultural support;
• Language revitalization – Community immersion programs; teacher preparation and language apprentice programs; family language nests;
• Decolonized education models;
• Youth, family and community initiatives to restore, renew and support Indigenous language, cultural practices, creativity and lifeways;
• Community harmony, safety and protection efforts, including addressing physical and sexual violence; Indigenous peace-making and conflict resolution initiatives, community restorative justice practices, protocols and teachings.

Funding

Grants of $100,000 per year, with commitments of two years, are available to Indigenous-led organizations working in the defense, development, and/or decolonization of Indigenous Peoples and Mother Earth, with a maximum grant award of $200,000 for commitments over two years.  

Established in 1978, the Acorn Foundation is a family foundation dedicated to supporting community-based organizations working to advance environmental conservation, sustainability and environmental justice. The Foundation’s name was taken from the street where the family lived.

The Foundation is particularly interested in small and innovative community-based projects that engage in community organizing in order to:

• Advocate for environmental health and justice, particularly in low-income communities, communities of color and indigenous communities
• Preserve and restore habitats supporting biological diversity and wildlife
• Prevent or remedy toxic pollution.

The California Environmental Grassroots Fund supports small and emerging local groups across California that are building climate resilience and advancing environmental justice. Grassroots Fund grantees tackle the toughest environmental problems facing their communities from toxic pollution, urban sprawl, sustainable agriculture, and climate advocacy, to the environmental degradation of our rivers and wild places and the health of our communities. They are rooted in the communities they serve and committed to building the environmental movement through broad outreach, engagement, and organizing.

Priorities

Movement–building: Preference is given to groups building broad community support and engaging in effective public outreach. 

Impacted and Underserved Communities: The fund prioritizes groups that serve and represent historically marginalized or impacted communities, especially BIPOC, frontline, immigrant, and low-income communities.

Community-Oriented with a Big Picture Vision: Priority is given to organizations grounded in the communities they serve and addressing important local problems, but who are also thinking strategically about how their work fits into the larger landscape of environmental challenges we face today. 

Climate Resilience and Environmental Justice: We see these as the priority issues of our time, and they are deeply interconnected. The same extractive systems that have caused our climate crisis have heaped disproportionate harms on marginalized communities. Sustainable solutions must come from the communities that have born the most harm. On a practical level, these priority areas encompass a wide scope of work, from fighting to protect our forests and natural biodiversity, planning for sustainable and equitable management of our water resources, reimagining our food and transportation systems, and addressing the disproportionate effects of pollution and climate impacts on poor, BIPOC, and immigrant communities.

With major support from Toyota Motor North America, the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) is excited to announce $200,000 in grant funding to support shovel-ready pollinator habitat enhancement projects on America’s public lands.

Habitat enhancement projects should directly support the creation, restoration, remediation, improvement, and/or protection of habitats for important pollinator species such as butterflies, bees, bats, and more. The project should impact pollinators on at least 150 acres of public land. Additionally, projects should incorporate community outreach and engagement activities designed to educate and empower the public to help enhance pollinator habitats.

Funding Priorities

Habitat Enhancement Projects

Projects must implement on-the-ground activities designed to increase the quality, quantity, and connectivity of pollinator habitats. Applicants must define a step-by-step plan including site preparation, size of the project area, and description of target pollinator(s). Due to the time needed for large-scale habitat restoration projects, NEEF will consider proposals that are already underway or that propose a distinct piece of an existing restoration project. Conservation and habitat restoration activities should be varied and science-based. If preparing a proposal that includes collecting seeds or cultivating native seedlings, applicants should describe the intended use of the seed or seedlings, and it should only represent one piece of the project. For new projects, they must be shovel-ready, meaning ready to implement the proposed project within 3 months of the award date.

Community Engagement

All project proposals must provide opportunities for public engagement through education- or volunteer-focused events. Projects should aim to collaborate with a diverse group of community partners to achieve engagement and educational outcomes. Grantees will be required to report on the number of events implemented and the number of participants engaged during the grant period. Priority will be given to proposals that serve underrepresented audiences in the outdoors with an emphasis on serving communities marked disadvantaged by the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool.

Project Metrics

To better gauge progress on individual grants and to ensure greater consistency of project data provided by multiple grantees, NEEF has provided a list of recommended project metrics. All applicants must commit to collecting and reporting on key project metrics listed below. 

Acres Enhanced: 

• Number of Acres 
• Number of Acres of Monarch Habitat
• Number of Individual Project Work Sites

Biodiversity Enhanced: 

• Number of Pollinator Species Promoted
• Number of Imperiled Species Protected
• Number of Native Plant Species Installed
• Number of Milkweed Plants Installed

Community Members Engaged: 

• Number of Individuals Engaged in Volunteer Activities 
• Number of Individuals Engaged in Outreach Activities 
• Number of Landowners Engaged
• Number of Toyota Employees Engaged
• Number of Individuals Engaged from Underserved Communities

Please see FAQs for additional guidelines.

Circle for Justice Innovations

Mission

CJI’s mission is to end mass criminalization and incarceration by building and strengthening the infrastructure of the grassroots criminal justice movement to fundamentally transform the U.S. criminal legal system. We fund where the movement is developing, shifting, and growing. We believe this movement should be led by those most impacted by the injustices of the current system, working in alliances across race, class, faith, gender, gender identity, sexuality, immigration status, and age.

Until She’s Free

Launched by CJI in 2020, the Until She’s Free is a necessary, strategic, and timely response to this growing crisis. Until She’s Free is an innovative, participatory grantmaking circle comprised of community organizers, many of whom have experienced incarceration, working alongside donors and donor activists. We share power and a passion for supporting a meaningful, transformative, and systemic change in the criminal legal system, as well as a commitment to interrogating the elements of a Just Sisterhood.

Until She’s Free is a grantmaking initiative strictly supporting women-led organizations addressing state-sanctioned violence against women and girls, including trans women and trans girls, and gender-nonconforming people, and their criminalization and subsequent incarceration, while also elevating their leadership in bringing about foundational change.

UNTIL SHE’S FREE FUND

The Until She’s Free Circle, a fund of Circle for Justice Innovations, is seeking applications from women, girls, trans and gender expansive people-led organizations tackling the Systems faced by incarcerated, detained, criminalized or formerly incarcerated women, girls, trans and gender expansive people.  We are committed to flanking organizations that are addressing current realities of incarcerated and criminalized women, girls, trans and gender expansive people and the innovative solutions needed to build power and create transformative systems change.

If this is your work and mission, we encourage you to apply including but not limited to formerly incarcerated women, girls, trans people, undocumented activists; focused on forward thinking approaches to transform the criminal legal system and sustain our communities.

BACKGROUND

The Circle for Justice Innovations (CJI) resources organizations seeking to end mass incarceration and criminalization. Celebrating 25 years of grantmaking, CJI was founded to combat prison expansion, mass incarceration, and racial disparities affecting marginalized communities and seed organizations whose work is led by formerly incarcerated and directly impacted leadership

The Until She’s Free Circle (USF) is a participatory grant-making circle of community organizers, many with lived incarceration experience, alongside donors and donor-activists. The Until She’s Free Fund shares consensus decision making power and commitment to a Just Sisterhood process in philanthropy. The Circle seeks to end the racialized carceral state, creating new frameworks for safety, and accountability models. This Circle was launched to provide vital support for addressing the criminal legal system's impact on women, girls, trans and gender-expansive people, while uplifting their leadership in this critical work.

This year’s USF funding priorities include:

• Carcel Conditions and Systems Control focused work organizations committed to improving conditions for those incarcerated, advocating for basic human dignity, as well as addressing harmful alternatives to incarceration (e.g., e- incarceration) and the economic related profits from Systems surveillance.
• Black and Latine Trans-led organizations advocating for ending incarceration and criminalization of trans and gender expansive people. Including but not limited to conditions and access while incarcerated and/or detained, participation in survival economy strategies, and gender-based affirming justice solutions.
• Immigration & Detention organizing around immigrant detention, family separation, and ICE deportations; political education and Know Your Rights trainings for community safety.
• Gender Affirming Care & Reproductive Justice, Health and Access for justice and systems involved women, girls, trans, and gender expansive people, including those in jails, prisons, detention centers and other forms of state supervision.
• Indigenous Practice Based and Cultural Organizing work using indigenous practices to disrupt incarceration and criminalization. Including narrative shifts, cultural organizing, and storytelling.
• Restorative, Healing and Transformative Justice work - innovative solutions to combat incarcerations and criminalization in communities, behind the wall and as an interruption and intervention to incarceration.

Community Ties Giving Program

As part of the Community Ties Giving Program, Local Grants help us achieve our mission by providing small and medium-sized grants within our priority cause areas to local organizations spread widely across Union Pacific's footprint.

Funding Priorities & Objectives

Throughout its existence, the success of Union Pacific's business has been inextricably linked to the economic and community wellbeing of cities and towns across the nation. We take pride in the role we have played in helping communities thrive and believe the impact we can have on local communities is greatest when it is authentic to our history and reflective of the diverse company we are today.

As such, we have carefully aligned our Local Grants cause areas to our company's unique heritage, strengths, and assets. Specifically, we prioritize funding for direct services and efforts that build the capacity of organizations focused on the following causes within our local operating communities. Within each focus area, we aim to support programs and organizations working to advance the diversity, equity and inclusion of underrepresented populations within the local context and issue areas addressed. Find more information about our commitment to DEI in our FAQs.

Safety

In order for communities to thrive, all residents must feel safe. Just as the safety of our employees and community members is paramount to how we operate, Union Pacific is committed to helping communities prevent and prepare for incidents and emergencies, and helping residents get home safely at the end of each day. As such, we prioritize funding for projects and programs that seek to: 

• Encourage safe behaviors and prevent incidents through education and awareness, particularly projects which focus on rail, driver, bike, and pedestrian safety, and ensure outreach efforts reach underserved populations.
• Eliminate risks and improve safe and equitable access to community spaces through infrastructure improvements, such as signage, proper lighting, and public trail improvements.
• Prepare and equip residents and emergency responders* to effectively respond to incidents and emergencies if or when they occur.
  • *Union Pacific supports publicly funded emergency responders through a variety of corporate programs; only independent nonprofit, 501(c)(3) emergency response organizations, such as volunteer departments, are eligible for funding through this grant program
• Prevent crime and violent incidents and support survivors of domestic violence through efforts that address the root causes of these issues and seek to mitigate their occurrence.
• Build the capacity of safety-focused organizations to integrate practices that improve upon the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts of the organization. This can take the form of internal capacity building or the creation/expansion of culturally relevant programming and services that seek to impact a broad and diverse audience. 

Workforce Development

For more than 160 years, Union Pacific has helped stimulate economic growth in cities and towns throughout the nation by training and providing employment to millions of workers. More than ever, we are committed to helping underrepresented residents in our communities achieve family-supporting careers like those offered by Union Pacific. As such, we prioritize funding for programs that seek to:

• Put youth on the right track by creating awareness of and pathways toward employment opportunities; building foundational skills, especially in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM); establishing necessary technical skills and life skills; and providing mentorship and positive role models for the future.
• Raise awareness of, educate and prepare young adults for middle skills jobs like those Union Pacific offers, for instance through community colleges, vocational and career training programs, workforce readiness initiatives, and programs that assist with job placement and/or on-the-job experience.
  • Programs that develop proficiency in areas relevant to Union Pacific operations such as welding, electrical work, machine operations, and civil and electrical engineering are given priority.
• "Up-skill" the existing workforce by providing training and resources that enable them to reach the next level of their career.
  • Programs that develop proficiency in areas of relevance to Union Pacific operations are given priority.
• Resolve barriers to employment such as transportation, childcare, acquiring necessary equipment for work, and second chance employment programs.
• Build the capacity of workforce development-focused organizations to integrate practices that improve upon the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts of the organization. This can take the form of internal capacity building or the creation/expansion of culturally relevant programming and services that seek to impact a broad and diverse audience. 

Community Vitality

Union Pacific Railroad is committed to establishing vibrant, healthy and inclusive communities for employees, customers and residents to work, visit and call home. Just as the railroad opened avenues for economic development and opportunity more than 160 years ago, we maintain this tradition by cultivating unique cultural and recreational experiences and equipping community members with opportunities to live healthy, vital lives. As such, we prioritize funding for projects and programs that seek to:

• Create, sustain or expand artistic and cultural experiences offered to a broad and diverse audience (e.g., museums, theaters, zoos, cultural and local heritage, visual and performing arts, etc.)
• Provide recreational opportunities that foster wellbeing, enrichment and/or an appreciation for our natural environment (e.g., parks, libraries, senior centers, recreation centers, learning centers, etc.).
• Revive neighborhoods and main street areas, especially in historically underinvested neighborhoods, to improve livability, promote commerce and attract more residents, businesses and visitors to town.
• Ensure residents’ basic needs are met and barriers are overcome (e.g., safe shelter and homelessness prevention, hunger relief, mental health and community health needs, etc.).
• Offer youth development and educational opportunities to ensure young people can thrive into healthy and productive community members (e.g., mentoring, leadership development, tutoring, services for youth in foster care, etc.).
• Build the capacity of community vitality-focused organizations to integrate practices that improve upon the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts of the organization. This can take the form of internal capacity building or the creation/expansion of culturally relevant programming and services that seek to impact a broad and diverse audience. 

Environmental Sustainability

The future of our business, communities and planet depends on bold, collective action to reduce and slow the impacts of climate change while building a more sustainable economy for the next generation. Union Pacific is taking deliberate steps to reduce our environmental impact and helping our partners improve their own. Extending this commitment to our community investments, we seek to support leading environmental nonprofits and community-based organizations to advance the health of our environment. As such, we prioritize funding for projects and programs that seek to:

• Preserve and restore nature, including programs focused on natural habitats, ecosystems, and biodiversity.
• Protect and enhance water, soil and air quality through innovative and proactive solutions such as water conservation, carbon sequestration and emission reduction programs.
• Reduce waste through initiatives focused on promoting recycling and circularity throughout the community, including recycling and composting programs and other efforts that reduce waste.
• Develop environmental stewards through youth programs focused on fostering environmental appreciation, responsibility, and leadership.
• Advance a sustainable economy by helping communities accelerate their transition to environmental jobs and renewable energy, as well as helping nonprofits and small businesses build their own capacity to operate more sustainably.
• Promote environmental justice through initiatives that ensure access to clean air, water, and land and protect underserved populations from disproportionate and adverse environmental effects.
• Build the capacity of sustainability-focused organizations to integrate practices that improve upon the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts of the organization. This can take the form of internal capacity building or the creation/expansion of culturally relevant programming and services that seek to impact a broad and diverse audience.

About

We are women from all walks of life who have come together to make a collective and significant difference in our community. Impact100 Global Veterans exists to empower women to award large grants that transform lives.

Focus Areas

• Art & Culture
  • Initiatives that cultivate, develop, enhance and preserve Veteran's artistic, cultural, and historic character.
• Education
  • Initiatives that further the educational process or improve access to education for Veterans.
• Environment, Preservation & Recreation
  • Initiatives that restore, revitalize, or enhance the environment and/or create or improve recreational opportunities for Veterans.
  • Conservation and preservation of natural resources; environmental justice; parks and recreation; agricultural sustainability; environmental education and climate action.
• Family
  • Initiatives that strengthen and enhance the lives of Veterans.
• Health & Wellness
  • Initiatives that improve the mental and/or physical well-being of Veterans.

Funding

Eligible nonprofits may submit a Letter of Intent to apply for grant funding of up to $100,000.

Leadership Circle Grant Program

CJI’s Leadership Circle is requesting proposals from formerly incarcerated people and directly impacted people-led grassroots organizations working to transform and reimagine the current U.S. criminal legal system, building to create new alternative community-based solutions and organizing to stop the criminalization of marginalized identities and communities.

We fund alternatives outside of the current legal and cultural systems of oppression, prioritizing those that empower communities to lead their own alternatives. In supporting the crucial work of building infrastructure that replaces the current system, which is rooted in racism and inequity, CJI also prioritizes groups enhancing the safety of communities that are victims of state-sponsored violence (both overt and insidious), those affected by the criminalization of protests and those working toward community healing. We will support the crucial work of building infrastructure that replaces the current system.

CJI believes that formerly incarcerated movement leaders and their organizations, working at the grassroots and drawing from experience, must be at the forefront of determining the solutions that will move us forward. The movement must also push back against the emergence of tools of repression, however disguised. The time is now for innovative approaches to building a vibrant movement that engages the imaginations of directly impacted communities creating the solutions and alternatives to disrupt, dismantle and establish new systems for justice.

This year, CJI will support movement-building* organizing that is based in Creating the World –WE Demand NOW! We want to support the efforts that:

• build alternatives to create safe and healthy communities that don't rely on arrest and incarceration
• invest in approaches that seek to end mass criminalization and incarceration
• create policies to reform and dismantle current repressive criminal legal systems
• lift up the leadership and experience of those affected by the criminal legal system, regardless of the type of detention (e.g. jail, prison, ICE detention, etc)
• re-establish rights and access to those formerly incarcerated and newly criminalized; e.g. intersections of reproductive health & justice, protesting & resisting oppression and repression
• promote transformative and restorative justice that heals, builds across movements and collaborations to effectively address the current criminal legal system.

CJI defines movement building as:

An ongoing collaboration, both within and across communities, intended to eradicate core systems of injustice. Collaborations may include those among grassroots or community organizations and/or between grassroots/community organizations and people or groups working with transparency and integrity inside the institutions they seek to transform; eg (Community Review Boards, Arrest Divergence Programs, etc. 

About the Innovation Prize

The J.M.K. Innovation Prize seeks out innovators who are spearheading transformative early-stage projects in the fields of the environment, heritage conservation, and social justice.

The J.M.K. Innovation Prize is open to non-profit and mission-driven for-profit organizations that are tackling America’s most pressing challenges through social innovation. In 2019, we will award up to ten Prizes, each including a cash award of $150,000 over three years, plus $25,000 for project expenses, for a total award of $175,000. Awardees also receive guidance through the Fund and its resource network, providing tools and training for ascendant change agents.

For more than three generations, The J.M. Kaplan Fund has provided catalytic funding for projects in their early stages of development. Whether a pilot project, a new organization, or a nascent initiative, work supported by the Fund has involved a certain measured risk that ultimately led to large-scale, transformative results. We launched the J.M.K. Innovation Prize in 2015 to leverage this legacy of catalytic grant-making in the field of social innovation. Currently on a biennial schedule, the Prize has to date funded twenty wildly creative solutions to social and environmental challenges, ranging from high-tech efforts to restore imperiled coral reefs, to the nation’s first farm labor trust. Each awardee takes a visionary approach to a societal need, working within one or more of the Fund’s three program areas:

• The Environment: Protecting natural resources and reducing the impacts of climate change.
• Heritage Conservation: Conserving the places that communities care about most.
• Social Justice: Supporting just alternatives and reforms to the criminal justice and immigration systems.

Tailored for Early-Stage Social Entrepreneurs

We know there is a scarcity of funding for untested ideas being piloted in the social innovation field. The Prize is designed to fill this gap in innovation philanthropy, supporting ideas that other funders may deem too risky or too small. We also know that early-stage innovators need the freedom to seize opportunities when and where they arise. The Prize’s unrestricted funding offers this flexibility, letting awardees deploy resources where they are most needed, whether investing in core projects, hiring staff, or just keeping the lights on.

We know each organization must follow its own path to achieving a change-making vision. With its three-year period, the Prize gives awardees room to evolve at their own pace, with an infrastructure of support tailored to their specific needs as early-stage innovators.

An Innovation Community

Beyond the cash award, the Innovation Prize provides tools to help turn ideas into action. Over the three-year Prize term, we bring awardees together for two convenings each year. Each of these meetings, spotlighting a different awardee’s organization, offers opportunities for peer learning and mentoring from experts in organizational development, board cultivation, media coaching, leadership training, and more. From West Virginia coal country to Monterey, California, our awardees have shared powerful learning moments, embedded in one another’s work and reflecting on their role as change agents.