A calendar of grants, resources, and funding opportunities listed by application or inquiry due date and tagged in various categories. For more information about grant, foundation, and other resources contact Laura Hennighausen at lhennighausen@purposepossible.com.
The Americana Foundation’s Early American Art and Heritage Projects
The Americana Foundation’s American Heritage program area supports projects and programs throughout the United States that seek to broaden the inclusivity of early American art and the early American historical narrative to “tell the full story of” the American experience. The Foundation seeks to support organizations and projects that elevate those whose perspectives have been traditionally underrepresented, especially people of color, Indigenous people, and women. Examples of eligible projects include interpretation or reinterpretation of art, decorative arts, or other objects of early American material culture (“Americana”) and their placement on public display for the appreciation and understanding of present and future generations; internships, fellowships, apprenticeships, and other career development opportunities for people interested in the curation, conservation, preservation, or restoration of Americana; and exhibits, visual media, interactive experiences, and other educational programs that contribute to better understanding or “tell the full story” of the American experience.
Grant amount: Typically $10,000 to $25,000
Concept letters and grant applications are accepted on a rolling basis and reviewed quarterly.
Race Forward and Americans for the Arts are seeking proposals for: Cultural Week of Action on Race and Democracy (CWA)
The first annual Cultural Week of Action on Race and Democracy (CWA) will take place September 27 to October 5, 2024. Race Forward and Americans for the Art are excited to sponsor select projects to encourage deep, bold, and long-term change. Through a competitive process, 12-15 local communities that represent the diversity of our country will receive $25,000-$40,000 for cultural organizers and community partners to design and implement projects that align with the theme of Building the Bigger We. This is an opportunity to deepen commitments to racial justice and inclusive democracy through cultural activities.
Participation in the CWA will also be encouraged and open to organizations not requesting funding.
Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium: Black Girls Dream Fund
Application deadline: The 2024 cycle is open through December 4, 2023, and several grantseeker workshops will be offered from November 14 through November 28, 2023.
Geographic scope: AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, East TX, WV, and VA
Grant amount: The average grant is $35,000.
The Black Girls Dream Fund, an initiative of the Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium, seeks to channel greater resources toward organizations that are intentionally supporting and empowering Black girls and women in the South.
For 2024, the Fund is providing general operating grants to support the capacity of organizations that care for Black girls. Black women-led and girl-led nonprofit organizations and fiscally sponsored projects within Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, East Texas, West Virginia, and Virginia are eligible to apply. Support is provided in five categories: education, health and wellness, economic opportunity, social justice, and leadership and empowerment.
William Talbott Hillman Foundation
Application deadline: The Foundation has a year-round, rolling application process. The last day to submit an application to be considered for the current year is November 1.
The William Talbott Hillman Foundation strives for a future where creativity is nurtured, democracy is upheld, and gun violence is no more. The William Talbott Hillman Foundation supports Pittsburgh- and New York City-based visual arts institutions, as well as national efforts around strengthening gun laws, preventing gun-related suicides, and driving voter and civic engagement, particularly among young people and BIPOC communities.
Black Futures Lab: Black Organizing Innovations Project
Geographic scope: United States, with priority given to the states of North Carolina, California, Louisiana, Wisconsin, and Georgia
Grant amount: Up to $250,000
Through the Black Organizing Innovations Project, Black Futures Lab, in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, will provide grants up to $250,000 for Black voter organizing innovations. The grants are intended to supercharge innovative or experimental ideas for how best to engage Black voters to participate civically and to stay engaged in the political process.
Grants support innovative or experimental strategies that engage and activate Black men in advance of the 2024 elections. Proposals must engage a minimum of 2,500 Black male voters, with priority given to proposals that focus on the target states of North Carolina, California, Louisiana, Wisconsin, and Georgia. Programs must be run, managed, and evaluated by Black-led, Black-focused organizations that have a track record of engagement and activation of Black community members.
Council on Library and Information Resources: Digitizing Hidden Special Collections and Archives
Geographic scope: United States, Canada, and U.S. and Canadian territories
Grant amount: $50,000 to $300,000
The Digitizing Hidden Special Collections and Archives program, administered by the Council on Library and Information Resources, provides support to digitize rare and unique content stewarded by collecting organizations in the U.S. and Canada.
The focus of the 2023-24 call for proposals, Amplifying Unheard Voices, is to support efforts to digitize rare and unique historical and cultural materials in a variety of formats that deepen public understanding of the histories of people of color and other communities and populations whose work, experiences, and perspectives have been insufficiently recognized or unattended. Nonprofit, academic, independent, and community-based organizations, as well as government entities, in the U.S. and Canada that collect, preserve, and share rare and unique materials with the general public are eligible to apply.
William Talbott Hillman Foundation
Application deadline: The Foundation has a year-round, rolling application process. The last day to submit an application to be considered for the current year is November 1.
The William Talbott Hillman Foundation strives for a future where creativity is nurtured, democracy is upheld, and gun violence is no more. The William Talbott Hillman Foundation supports Pittsburgh- and New York City-based visual arts institutions, as well as national efforts around strengthening gun laws, preventing gun-related suicides, and driving voter and civic engagement, particularly among young people and BIPOC communities.
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Grant amount: $5,000 - $500,000
The Museum Grants for African American History and Culture program supports projects that nurture museum professionals, build institutional capacity, and increase access to museum and archival collections at African American museums and Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Projects designed to build the capacity of African American museums may involve increasing the number of museum professionals working at African American museums to enable the museum to expand educational programs, engage with the community, enhance organizational operations and resiliency, or provide for enhanced care of collections.
Sparkplug Foundation
Application deadline: November 2, 2023, for letters of intent
Grant amount: $1,000 to $20,000, with most grants ranging from $10,000 to $15,000
The Sparkplug Foundation provides grants to start-up nonprofit organizations and new projects of established nonprofits in the areas of education, community organizing, and music.
In the music category, the Foundation supports emerging professional musicians in developing new work, sharing existing work with a wider community, bringing together musicians to collaborate on creating or performing pieces, or facilitating new workshops that bring music to oppressed communities.
In the area of education, the Foundation funds projects that engage excluded students in new ways, that restore knowledge that has been marginalized through racism or colonialism, and that rebuild community and collective problem-solving.
In the area of community organizing, the Foundation funds work by members of a community for their community—work that aims to create justice by making systemic change and shifting power. The Foundation also provides limited support for projects in Palestine and in Israel that involve Palestinian communities and work for justice.
Prospective applicants should read the entire website carefully for the Foundation's mission, guidelines, FAQs, and previous grantees, and then may begin the application process online. Visit the Foundation's website at www.sparkplugfoundation.org to review the information for grantseekers, as well as the online application instructions.
Meyer Foundation Fund for Black-led Change
This Fund acknowledges the historic philanthropic divestment from Black communities and people, and makes explicit our commitment to resourcing local, Black-led organizations and their leadership as they grow their organizations; build enduring and sustainable infrastructure; grow deeper, wider bases of support and power; and advocate for better and just systems that will benefit all people.
In addition to our eligibility requirements, organizations or projects seeking funding should:
Address the root causes of inequity through systems change work. We define systems change as challenging and changing the culture, policies, practices, and priorities that create and perpetuate inequities. These inequities have only been further exposed and exacerbated during the pandemic.
Build power for purposes of advancing racial and/or economic justice.
Leverage one or more of these tactics for change:
Organizing & Base Building
Advocacy
Coalition Building
Actively participate in broader organizing, movement, and/or field-building work to advance racial and economic justice in Greater Washington.
NBA Foundation - Rolling Deadline
Application deadline: Applications are being accepted on a rolling basis.
Geographic scope: NBA markets
The mission of the NBA Foundation is to drive economic opportunity in the Black community through employment and career development by funding programs that generate successful transitions from school to meaningful employment for Black youth.
The Foundation provides support to nonprofit organizations operating in NBA markets that promote school-to-career employment opportunities for Black youth, ages 14 to 24, including job readiness, skill training, job placement, and career advancement. Applicant organizations must serve Black youth within an NBA market; be a registered 501(c)(3) tax organization, or a T3010 if operating in Canada; and serve a minimum of 25 youth annually.
Atlanta Area Housing Organizations - Rolling Deadline
Nonprofit housing developers and builders are invited to apply for WORTH grant funding, an initiative from the Wells Fargo Foundation, to help create and preserve 6,000 homeowners of color by 2025. The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta is administering the WORTH funds, and the HouseATL Funders Collective and Enterprise Community Partners are assisting with the outreach and application process.
Eligible applicants can apply for grant funding to support predevelopment activities and “shovel-ready” housing developments in five core counties: Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett.Grants vary by affordability level and are eligible for homes priced up to 150% of Area Median Income (AMI). Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.
Imlay Foundation LOI
The Imlay Foundation currently funds organizations largely in Metro Atlanta, Georgia and Hilton Head, SC. First time grants are generally in the $10,000 – $15,000 range.
Meyer Foundation Fund for Black-led Change
This Fund acknowledges the historic philanthropic divestment from Black communities and people, and makes explicit our commitment to resourcing local, Black-led organizations and their leadership as they grow their organizations; build enduring and sustainable infrastructure; grow deeper, wider bases of support and power; and advocate for better and just systems that will benefit all people.
In addition to our eligibility requirements, organizations or projects seeking funding should:
Address the root causes of inequity through systems change work. We define systems change as challenging and changing the culture, policies, practices, and priorities that create and perpetuate inequities. These inequities have only been further exposed and exacerbated during the pandemic.
Build power for purposes of advancing racial and/or economic justice.
Leverage one or more of these tactics for change:
Organizing & Base Building
Advocacy
Coalition Building
Actively participate in broader organizing, movement, and/or field-building work to advance racial and economic justice in Greater Washington.
Diversity and Inclusion in Journalism
The Scripps Howard Fund is seeking innovative ideas to get post-secondary students from diverse backgrounds invested in journalism and foster environments where all journalism students can actively participate and feel welcome.
Diverse backgrounds include but are not limited to race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, gender identity, military background and or membership in another group that is under-represented in journalism.
Universities and nonprofit organizations can apply for one-time grants of up to $30,000 to address this challenge.
The deadline to apply is April 30, 2023. Several grant recipients will be selected, with funds disbursed in June. A second round of grants for this purpose will be offered in fall 2023.
Imlay Foundation LOI
The Imlay Foundation currently funds organizations largely in Metro Atlanta, Georgia and Hilton Head, SC. First time grants are generally in the $10,000 – $15,000 range.
Baltimore Children and Youth Grassroots Fund
The Grassroots Fund addresses traditional gaps in Baltimore’s funding landscape by providing funding for grassroots, Baltimore-based, youth-serving organizations to support its overall mission. BCYF is awarding $150,000 three-year grants to up to 30 eligible community-accountable organizations. Operating on a multi-year grant cycle allows BCYF to invest in building the capacity of its grantees, which positions organizations for success beyond BCYF funding. In addition to financial support, organizations awarded a Grassroots Fund grant will receive technical assistance and capacity-building support to help them sustain and grow.
Grassroots organizations that meet the following criteria are eligible to apply to this fund:
Baltimore City-based and serves children and youth ages 24 years and under;
Maryland 501(c)(3) organization or has a confirmed fiscal sponsor; and
An annual operating budget of $350,000 or less.
51% or more employees are Baltimore-City residents.
In existence for at least one year.
At least one year of experience running youth programs.
Meyer Foundation Fund for Black-led Change
This Fund acknowledges the historic philanthropic divestment from Black communities and people, and makes explicit our commitment to resourcing local, Black-led organizations and their leadership as they grow their organizations; build enduring and sustainable infrastructure; grow deeper, wider bases of support and power; and advocate for better and just systems that will benefit all people.
In addition to our eligibility requirements, organizations or projects seeking funding should:
Address the root causes of inequity through systems change work. We define systems change as challenging and changing the culture, policies, practices, and priorities that create and perpetuate inequities. These inequities have only been further exposed and exacerbated during the pandemic.
Build power for purposes of advancing racial and/or economic justice.
Leverage one or more of these tactics for change:
Organizing & Base Building
Advocacy
Coalition Building
Actively participate in broader organizing, movement, and/or field-building work to advance racial and economic justice in Greater Washington.
Liberated Capital Food and Land Justice Fund
The Food & Land Justice Fund is excited to announce a $1 million funding opportunity for Black farmers in the Southeast region of the United States who are working toward food justice.
The Request for Proposals comes as Black farmers fight to reclaim land ownerships that have declined by over 16 million acres in the last century. Access to land and food has always been an important pillar of security and economic mobility for communities of color. However, today Black farmers make up only 1.34% of farmers in the U.S.
The grantee partners selected as part of the Food and Land Justice Fund are building on these efforts while addressing the disparities that their communities have faced for generations. They are employing a range of strategies, from intervening directly in local food production and expanding access to fresh food for Black communities, to providing technical assistance and capacity-building support to Black farmers, to engaging in local and national advocacy efforts for Black farmer debt relief.
Third Wave Fund Mobilize Power Fund
Third Wave Fund's Mobilize Power Fund is a rapid response fund that resources gender justice organizations in the U.S. and U.S. territories to adapt or pivot their work when met with unanticipated, time-sensitive opportunities or threats to their movement building work and organizing conditions. Supported efforts can include community organizing and mobilization, healing justice work, conflict resolution, community accountability, transformative and restorative justice work, direct action, and more. Support is provided to organizations that are led by young women of color and trans, queer, gender non conforming, and intersex young people of color under 35. Organizations must demonstrate how the issues they are responding to are connected to patriarchy, transphobia, homophobia, gender inequity, or gender-based violence; be led by and for communities directly impacted by the issues they focus on; and have a total organizational budget under $500,000. Click here for more.
Henry Luce Foundation
The Henry Luce Foundation’s Religion and Theology Program seeks new ideas for projects that will deepen public understanding of — and promote more productive public discussions about — democracy, race and religion in America.
The Luce Foundation invites the submission of concept notes from a wide range of knowledge organizations, including community arts organizations, media outlets, museums, colleges and universities, independent seminaries, and other organizations committed to envisioning and building a more open, democratic, and equitable world through critical and creative engagement with religion and communities of faith.
We define knowledge broadly and aim to support its creation and public circulation in many forms, including (but not limited to) independent media, visual art, film and video, educational curricula, policy analysis, community advocacy, research and scholarship.
Due no later than February 15, 2023, concept notes should be submitted through the Foundation’s online portal. Grants awarded will range from $200,000 to $400,000 and will typically fund work that can be completed in less than five years.
Panera Bread Foundation
The Panera Bread Foundation's mission is to support and strengthen communities by investing in underserved and at-risk children and youth to become leaders. The Foundation awards grants to nonprofit organizations in the U.S. who provide access to programs for at-risk, underserved, or historically underrepresented children and youth. (Part of the services provided must be within 25 miles of a Panera U.S. location.) Qualified organizations are 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations serving predominantly children and youth of color, ages 10-18, that have a new or existing program focused on college readiness, skills building, workforce or leadership development, post-high school planning, or mentorship. Eligible organizations can apply for grants between $25,000 and $150,000. The application deadline is November 14, 2022. Visit the Panera Bread website for more information on the Foundation and apply online to submit a grant application. In addition, Panera's Day-End Dough-Nation program donates unsold bread, bagels, and baked goods from Panera's bakery-cafes to local nonprofit organizations, public schools, and religious organizations. Applicants must distribute the donated products to people in need, people who are ill, or to underserved and at-risk children and youth and must commit to picking up and distributing the donations on a weekly and continuous basis. Organizations who are interested in the program can apply online. Panera's Donation Team will respond to all applicants.