About the Chorus Foundation

The Chorus Foundation works for a just transition to a regenerative economy in the United States. We support communities on the front lines of the old, extractive economy to build new bases of political, economic, and cultural power for systemic change.

We envision an economy in which everyone can find meaningful work; an environment in which everyone has access to clean air, clean water, and a stable climate; and a democracy in which everyone has a say.

The long-term plan is for the foundation to spend out our principal in its entirety – or to “sunset” – by 2024. We believe that the climate crisis is simply too urgent for us to do otherwise.

Our Grant Making Approach

If we’re going to meet the challenge of climate change, then we must address the injustice and dysfunction that created the problem in the first place. This means building new power in communities across the country:

• New political power to offset the influence of the fossil fuel and financial sectors;
• New economic power to create alternative structures for business and finance; and
• New cultural power to provide a new narrative and vision of what is possible.

Our grants program focuses on helping organizations, especially those on the frontlines of the old extractive economy, build these new kinds of power.

In 2013, the Chorus Foundation made a ten-year funding commitment to Eastern Kentucky — through the Foundation’s anticipated spend down in 2023 — to speed a just transition in the region. This investment aligned with the Foundation’s intention to strengthen the US movement to address climate change, especially in the regions of the country that have been most impacted by the fossil fuel industry.

Then, after a year-long process that concluded in 2016, the Foundation made eight-year funding commitments to three additional Focus Communities: Alaska; Buffalo, New York; and Richmond, California. These Focus Communities, including Eastern Kentucky, are working to build a new economy based on the principles of broadly shared economic prosperity, democratic governance and ownership, and climate and environmental justice. Through its long-term, unrestricted funding commitments to Anchor Organizations in each community — as well as through additional funding for other organizations and projects in each region — the Foundation supports a variety of activities aimed at building local power and leadership.

The Anchor Organizations in each Focus Community include:

Alaska

• Alaska Engagement Partnership (AEP)
• Native American Rights Fund (NARF), Alaska Office
• Native Peoples Action 

Eastern Kentucky

• Kentuckians For The Commonwealth (KFTC)
• Mountain Association for Community Economic Development (MACED)

Richmond, California

• Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN)
• Communities for a Better Environment (CBE)
• Urban Tilth

Buffalo, New York

• Open Buffalo
• People United for Sustainable Housing (PUSH) Buffalo

In addition, the Chorus Foundation also provides support to a small number of movement support organizations (such as Movement Generation) and networks (such as the Climate Justice Alliance) that work with local communities to build a stronger, more coordinated national movement.

We ask that any organization seeking support from the Chorus Foundation note the following:

• The Foundation will only consider funding national organizations that work with our existing grantees in two or more of the Foundation’s four Focus Communities (Alaska; Kentucky; Buffalo, New York; and Richmond, California). If this is true of your organization, then we ask that you secure brief letters of support from at least two of our existing Focus Community grantees, each from a different community in which you work.
• Local funding decisions in each of the Foundation’s four Focus Communities are made through a grantee-led process that is unique to that community. If your organization works locally in only one of the Focus Communities, then we ask that you engage directly with that process and can provide you with the appropriate information to do so.

Grant Amounts

The Foundation’s grants typically range from $15,000 to $100,000 per year to any individual organization. The exact amount generally will be determined upon reviewing materials submitted by an organization and through conversations with representatives of the organization.

The Lawrence Foundation is a private family foundation focused on making grants to support environmental, human services and other causes.

The Lawrence Foundation was established in mid-2000. We make both program and operating grants and do not have any geographical restrictions on our grants. Nonprofit organizations that qualify for public charity status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or other similar organizations are eligible for grants from The Lawrence Foundation.  

Grant Amount and Types

Grants typically range between $5,000 - $10,000. In some limited cases we may make larger grants, but that is typically after we have gotten to know your organization over a period of time. We also generally don’t make multi-year grants, although we may fund the same organization on a year by year basis over a period of years.

General operating or program/project grant requests within our areas of interests are accepted. In general, regardless of whether a grant request is for general operating or program/project expenses, all of our grants will be issued as unrestricted grants.

About the American Floral Endowment

The American Floral Endowment (AFE) is the trusted source and catalyst for floriculture advancement through funding of innovative research, scholarships, internships, and educational grants that best serve the dynamic needs and demographics of all industry sectors.

Building A Stronger Floriculture Industry

AFE strongly believes in funding educational programs to promote and strengthen the floriculture industry. The majority of the programs funded are wide-reaching and focus on attracting young people to the industry or are educational endeavors to identify and solve industry needs and/or challenges.

Meinders Retail Florist Education Grant Fund

The Meinders Retail Florist Education Grant Fund (previously Herman and LaDonna Meinders Fund) was established in September 2021 by Herman and LaDonna Meinders, longtime industry members and AFE supporters, with a new contribution of $224,000 added to the previous unrestricted contributions reaching a total of over $500,000.

This educational grant will specifically support reduced or free registration fees to floral industry events for retail florists by providing grants or scholarships to nonprofit floral industry organizations for this purpose. The fund is fully sustainable and is expected to grow year over year, allowing for increased contributions of important industry educational programs. In its first year, it will provide over $10,000 in grant funding.

The annual distribution from this named fund will be administered by the AFE Education Committee as part of the AFE Educational Grants application process in July of each year. The AFE Education Committee will review grant applications received and discuss annual retail floral educational events or opportunities to determine the distribution levels to fulfill the intent of this retail florist educational grant.

Our goal is to empower nonprofit organizations to prioritize technology as a mission-critical component of their projects and provide support for organizations pursuing technology driven goals. As part of the program, we are seeking proposals for pilot projects, proofs of concept, or existing programs that utilize technology in a new or expanded way.

AWS Imagine Grant Award categories

The AWS Imagine Grant program offers two distinct award categories for nonprofits to receive support based on their organizational goals and the stage in their technology adoption journeys. As part of the program, we are seeking proposals from eligible nonprofits that fit the requirements below:

The Go Further, Faster Award

The Go Further, Faster award will provide support for highly innovative projects that leverage the cloud. These projects will have the potential to produce scaled, repeatable solutions and may impact an entire industry or field. They will be force multipliers for organizations and will include the application of and/or seek integrations with advanced cloud services, such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), high performance computing, Internet of Things (IoT), and more. The Go Further, Faster Award includes unrestricted cash funding, AWS Promotional Credit, Amazon Web Services (AWS) marketing support, engagement with AWS technical specialists, and more.

The Momentum to Modernize Award

As nonprofit organizations seek to transform and enhance their core mission operations with technology, many organizations need funding for foundational technology projects, such as migrating servers to the cloud and modernizing new and existing applications. The Momentum to Modernize award will provide funding for these transformational infrastructure projects, alongside AWS Promotional Credit and implementation support. Nonprofit organizations with specific workloads and outcomes that meet the program criteria are welcome to apply. Projects may include application migration and optimization, net-new application development, data warehouse projects, infrastructure expansion, and more.

NOTE: CASE will review up to the first 250 applications.

About the Fred Morgan Kirby Prize for Scaling Social Impact

The Fred Morgan Kirby Prize for Scaling Social Impact (F. M. Kirby Impact Prize) is an annual global prize of $100,000 USD in unrestricted funds that amplifies and accelerates the work of enterprises working to scale their impact on social or environmental problems around the world.

Background

At F5, we believe that world-changing ideas should not be limited by an individual’s gender, race, nationality, or socio-economic status. F5 is committed to helping build the pipeline of tomorrow’s female changemakers and future leaders through our science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) Education Grants by investing in programs to increase access to STEM education and career opportunities for girls and women of color.

Grant Details

• Those served through the funding must be majority (>50%) women of color and/or girls of color
• Grant funding is unrestricted
• Grant amount is a one-time $50,000 USD grant
• Nonprofits in all countries are eligible for funding
• There are no reporting requirements for this grant

NOTE: NMV has changed to a rolling deadline submission process, however, we will have two suggested deadlines each season. Priority will be given to those submitted by that season’s recommended submission date. 

NMV's Continuous Investment Cycle

Our Criteria/Focus

New Media Ventures funds for-profit companies and nonprofit organizations building progressive power. Our primary focus areas are media & narrative, organizing & advocacy, and elections & civic engagement.

Scalable with a proof of concept

We prefer ventures with an existing user base (even if they are only beta users), demonstrated proof of concept, and a clear plan for generating revenue and/or growth. In some cases, we will fund ventures with little or no user base if there is compelling research proving the efficacy of the idea, or a clear opportunity to build power.

Sustainable model and impact

We have a preference for work that is sustainable and builds progressive power. We’d like to invest in ventures who expect to generate revenue, although they may not now, or who have a plan for a sustainable operating model. Note: We do not invest in one-off media projects like documentaries, although we might invest in a company building a sustainable business model for making documentaries!

Strong, diverse team

We look for leadership teams that have both the technical and business talent to create something great and who understand their market intimately. We are especially interested in democratizing access to capital and encourage people who have been historically overlooked in the startup community to apply. In our experience, founders with direct experience of the challenges they are working to solve are best positioned to do so.

Progressive & mission-driven

NMV is mission-driven and works to invest in entrepreneurs and activists building progressive power in the United States. We care about environmental protection, economic equality, racial justice, a thriving democracy, and more. The startups we support are mission-driven and seeking to make the world a better place.

What support do selected organizations receive?

$50K to $150K in funding. We typically make investments in for-profits (most often via convertible notes) and give unrestricted grants to nonprofits. Additionally, NMV supports the portfolio through:

• A network of founders where leaders ask questions, identify problems, and surface solutions in community.
• Webinars and one-on-one coaching to help new leaders navigate organizational and operational challenges, like setting goals and managing cash on hand.
• Catalyzing additional funding by connecting them to donors and investors at our flagship event, the NMV Summit, and at other times of the year when possible.
• We’re currently refining our program in response to feedback from current portfolio members and look forward to rolling out the next iteration of our support program in the months ahead.

Who Should Apply?

New Media Ventures funds across various fiscal structures, including for profit and nonprofit.. We’re looking for scalable solutions from diverse, mission-driven teams that are working to advance progressive change. We’ll consider supporting:

• Early stage ventures working to build and scale solutions in this context
• New programs and / or collaborations of larger organizations that are positioned to develop new tech tools or other cutting edge approaches that could be transformative for the progressive movement

NMV funding is best suited for early-stage projects or startups (pre-seed/seed stage) for which a one-time investment of $50K to $150K can make a meaningful difference. Our mission is to support entrepreneurs and activists who are strengthening our democracy, building progressive political power, and/or empowering historically marginalized communities.

Ultimately, we hope to find the best technology and innovations and love to be surprised by things we haven’t seen or considered before. You should look at our portfolio and our most recent investment slate to get a sense of the breadth of organizations we support.

NOTE: Our open slots for calls for interest have all been filled which is represented by the Letter of Inquiry deadline. Please note that as long as your organization meets all of the eligibility criteria highlighted below – you are still eligible to apply for the cohort even if you did not have the chance to have a call for interest with our team.

Mental Health Equity Catalyze Cohort

This Health Equity Catalyze Cohort will provide $100K in catalytic, unrestricted funding and cohort-based capacity-building programming for up to 16 social entrepreneurs. 

Our nation is experiencing a collective mental and behavioral health crisis. Over 50 million adults in the United States are living with a mental illness, 12 million adults report having serious thoughts of suicide, and in 2020, over 40 million people reported having a substance use disorder in the past year. For young people, even before the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health challenges were the leading cause of disability and poor life outcomes, with up to 1 in 5 children ages 3 to 17 in the United States having a mental, emotional, developmental, or behavioral disorder. This has been exacerbated further by the pandemic, which disrupted in-person schooling; social opportunities with peers; access to healthcare, social services, food, and housing; and the health of caregivers.

Furthermore, we know that a person’s zip code, race, income, and other social, environmental, and economic conditions play a significant part in determining their mental health. For example, while racially and ethnically diverse individuals have rates of mental health disorders similar to white people, their disorders are more likely to last longer and result in more significant disability. Most mental illness goes untreated, especially in racially and ethnically diverse communities; 48 percent of white people with any mental illness received mental health services in 2015, compared to 31 percent of Black people and Hispanics, and 22 percent of Asians.

New Profit believes that good mental and behavioral health is necessary for all people to live lives of their choosing – and that we should address the mental health needs of systemically disadvantaged populations to achieve health equity overall. To that end, in collaboration with the Deloitte Health Equity Institute, we are launching our second health equity cohort, focused specifically on mental health equity.

This cohort will support a range of cross-cutting systems-change approaches (e.g., narrative change, ecosystem development, advocacy, movement building) at the intersection of mental health & well-being and the social determinants or drivers of health. We are especially seeking to invest in organizations that are focused on creating change with/through behavioral and mental health care and services, as well as programs that intentionally focus their efforts on non-medical drivers of behavioral and mental health (e.g., access to healthy food, jobs, housing, social connection, etc.).

As we build the cohort, we are searching for organizations that are addressing systemic mental and behavioral health issues at each life stage and transition point where these issues may be most acute (e.g., youth transitioning between educational settings, young adults transitioning into the workforce, individuals undergoing re-entry after incarceration or rehabilitation from substance abuse, etc.). We also aim to support some organizations that are already connected to or interested in working in school settings, given how many young people are experiencing mental health challenges in the wake of the pandemic.

New Profit’s investments are guided by four principles:

• We believe systems change entrepreneurs who are proximate to the communities disproportionately affected by mental health disparities should be at the helm of leading efforts to achieve equity in mental health.
• We invest in organizations that bring heightened awareness to the importance of centering equity and proximity within approaches to mental health equity.
• We need innovative, integrated solutions that target the underlying structural and systemic conditions that work to undermine fair access to mental health resources and opportunities for communities that have been historically oppressed and overlooked.
• We are committed to diversity of demographics, thought, and geography to unleash solutions targeting many systems levels and pain points contributing to mental health inequities.

Funding

We will invest $100,000 in up to 16 innovative systems-change leaders and nonprofit organizations through this cohort. Alongside the investment, we will also provide capacity-building programming and access to a peer learning community over the course of one year.

NOTE: Full proposal is by invite only.

About Us

VIA Art Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit philanthropic arts organization founded by an international coalition of individuals and private foundations who believe in the central role art plays in society. VIA’s activities support innovative, ambitious and rigorous works of art and endeavors with far-reaching public impact realized in various forms including institutional production and acquisition, exhibitions, public installations, curatorial research, publications and symposia. Funding artists, curators and arts organizations around the world, VIA Art Fund awards grants in three categories –Artistic Production Grants, Incubator Grants and an annual Curatorial Fellowship grant –that exemplify VIA’s core values of Artistic Production, Thought Leadership, and Public Engagement. 

Wagner Foundation is a 501 (c)(3)nonprofit private foundation working to build just and robust community where all people have equitable access to opportunity and the ability to live a life of purpose and dignity. Wagner Foundation supports organizations that improve health equity, increase economic mobility, expand institutional fairness, and strive for cultural transformation. In these efforts, we welcome creative solutions bringing communities together. We are committed to encouraging visionary individuals, as well as arts institutions that expand cultural access. The willingness to explore, ask questions, and support one another makes new solutions possible, transforming culture in the process.

Incubator Grant Fund Mission & Beliefs

Building upon their individual philanthropic missions and achievements, VIA Art Fund and Wagner Foundation partnered in 2019 to establish a $1 million Incubator Grant Fund. This fund aims to build a robust and inclusive national arts ecosystem by awarding unrestricted funding to small nonprofit visual arts organizations throughout the United States, with a particular focus on regional diversity.

We share the belief that:

• Art has the power to engage, challenge, inspire, and transform individuals.
• Local arts organizations play a critical role in creating inclusive and supportive communities, and expanding access to creativity and well-being through engagement with the arts.
• A geographically diverse and programmatically dynamic network of small arts organizations cultivates innovative and creative artistic voices, and is vital to the overall health of arts in the United States.
• Small arts organizations face considerable challenges in attracting and sustaining both capital and human resources.

Core Values & Assessment Criteria:

• Artistic Production- We champion the production of new work –from creation to exhibition, documentation, and dissemination –that reflects artistic excellence and innovation.
• Thought Leadership - We support the work of both established and emerging voices in contemporary art that brings new knowledge and dynamic avenues of understanding to the field. The creative output of these thought leaders generates entry points for dialogue and collaboration and fosters vital intellectual exchange.
• Public Engagement - We promote work that penetrates social, cultural, geographic, and economic barriers to inspire and educate diverse and expanded audiences. These initiatives act as platforms for inquiry and investigation, generating meaningful collective experiences for the public.