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COVID-19 Related Funding
Opportunities Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Enterprise Community Partners: Emergency Action for Resident and Partner Stability Program
In response to COVID-19, Enterprise Community Partner's Emergency Action for Resident and Partner Stability program is working to ensure that vulnerable, low-income families and individuals can remain in their homes and access support during this crisis. The program offers nonprofit community partners a broad range of support. Owners or operators of affordable housing that are interested in learning more about the program may submit an online inquiry at any time.
Arts Administrators of Color: Arts Leaders of Color Emergency Fund
Arts Administrators of Color has created the Arts Leaders of Color Emergency Fund, which supports BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) artists and arts administrators impacted by COVID-19 through $200 microgrants. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
Robin Hood Relief Fund
The Robin Hood Relief Fund is open to all frontline nonprofit organizations that are responding to the COVID-19 crisis in New York City. The focus is on organizations serving vulnerable populations, including low-income children and families, low-wage workers, individuals and families who are homeless, and immigrant communities. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
For more grant opportunities, visit our COVID-19 Related Funding page.
National Funding
Opportunities Throughout the U.S.
Challenge Seeks Creative Initiatives to Expand Women’s Influence in the U.S.
Equality Can't Wait Challenge
The Equality Can't Wait Challenge, sponsored by Pivotal Ventures with program support from Lever for Change, will award $30 million to help expand women's power and influence in the United States by 2030. The Challenge is calling on nonprofit organizations to submit creative solutions to expand power and influence for women of all backgrounds, especially women of color, so they can be in positions to make decisions, control resources, and shape policies and perspectives. The focus is on innovative ideas that will bring additional capital and energy into one or more of the following key areas: dismantling the barriers that hold women back in their careers and at home, fast tracking women in critical sectors by creating entry points and advancement opportunities, and calling society to action on gender equality. At least two grants of a minimum of $10 million will be awarded in the summer of 2021. An additional $10 million will be allocated among finalists. The registration deadline is September 1, 2020; applications must be submitted by September 22, 2020. Visit the Challenge's website to review the rules and to complete the Organizational Readiness Tool.
Grants for Grassroots Groups Addressing Environmental Justice
The Center for Health, Environment and Justice: Small Grants Program
The Center for Health, Environment and Justice (CHEJ) is a leading resource for grassroots environmental activism, with a vision for clean, green neighborhoods nationwide. CHEJ's Small Grants Program helps grassroots, community organizing groups build leadership, increase capacity, and provide training and education. The program is designed to especially reach people from low-wealth communities and communities of color who are impacted by environmental harms. Grant activities can include board development, membership outreach, and fundraising efforts. Grant amounts range from $1,000 to $20,000 depending on the size of the applying organization. The upcoming application deadline is July 17, 2020. Visit the CHEJ website to download the Small Grants Program guidelines.
Efforts to Explore the Intersection of Faith and Democracy Funded
Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement: Faith In/And Democracy
Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE) is a member-centric philanthropic laboratory that helps funders maximize their impact on democracy and civic life in the United States. PACE's funding and learning initiative, Faith In/And Democracy, invests in and promotes engagement at the intersection of faith and democracy. The initiative seeks to explore the ways faith and faith communities can support democracy and civic life. In 2020, PACE will award five to six grants, up to $50,000 each, to a cohort of leaders and organizations best prepared to help address the following framing questions: How do we encourage and support more people to build relationships and work with people who come from different racial, religious, cultural, and/or political backgrounds and perspectives? How do we invest in faith communities as viable sites for this work? Letters of intent must be submitted by July 7, 2020; invited proposals will be due August 14, 2020. Online application guidelines are available on the PACE website.
Support for Youth-Led Organizing and Activism
Third Wave Mobilize Power Fund
Third Wave Fund supports youth-led gender justice activism to advance the political power, well-being, and self-determination of communities of color and low-income communities in the United States. Third Wave's Mobilize Power Fund provides grants for urgent organizing and activism led by young cis women of color, low-income youth, or queer, trans, and intersex youth of color around the country who are taking on this country's most challenging issues. Grants range up to $10,000 for individual organizations and up to $20,000 for coalitions and partnerships. Grassroots organizations, groups, and collectives without 501(c)(3) status are encouraged to apply. Priority is given to organizations with budgets under $500,000 that are based in areas with limited access to philanthropic resources. Proposals are accepted all year and reviewed monthly on first Tuesdays; upcoming deadlines include July 7 and August 4, 2020. Visit the Third Wave website to learn more about the application process.
Regional Funding
Opportunities for Specific Areas
Grants Advance Social Change Initiatives in North Carolina
Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation: State-Level Systemic Change Strategy
The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation (ZSR) is dedicated to improving the quality of life for all North Carolinians. As part of the State-Level Systemic Change Strategy, ZSR seeks to support efforts aimed at making fundamental change in policies, processes, relationships, and power structures, as well as values and norms that impair the quality of life for the residents of the state. The focus is on the following four priority areas: Advancing Public Education, Fostering a Healthy and Sustainable Environment, Promoting Social and Economic Justice, and Strengthening Democracy. Particular emphasis is given to work targeted at improving opportunities and outcomes for populations who have been historically marginalized, subjected to systemic discrimination, or excluded from full participation in society, including immigrants, LGBTQ persons, low-income individuals, people of color, women, and young people. Nonprofit organizations, colleges and universities, religious entities, and government agencies are eligible to apply. The application deadline for State-Level Systemic Change Strategy applications is July 23, 2020. Detailed application information is available on the ZSR website.
Funds for LGBTQ+ Organizations in the Pacific Northwest
Pride Foundation
The Pride Foundation fuels transformational movements to advance equity and justice for LGBTQ+ people in all communities across the Northwest region of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. The Foundation's Community Grants program supports smaller, grassroots, LGBTQ+ led and focused organizations, especially those working with and in communities that have been most harmed by systemic injustices like racism, xenophobia, misogyny, ableism, and transphobia. Priority is given to organizations that are 1) serving Black, Indigenous, and other people of color whose leadership reflects these communities; 2) innovatively supporting communities when or where nobody else is; and 3) smaller, grassroots groups that don't have access to mainstream funding. Grants average around $5,000, although a few larger awards of $15,000 to $20,000 will likely be provided. Applications will be accepted through July 10, 2020. Visit Pride Foundation's website to review the funding guidelines for the Community Grants program.
Support for Educational Equity to Benefit Minnesota's Youth
Ciresi Walburn Foundation for Children
The Ciresi Walburn Foundation for Children is dedicated to promoting education and equitable opportunities for all of Minnesota's children and youth. The Foundation provides Annual Grants to nonprofit organizations, higher education institutions, and K-12 schools that support children and families throughout the state. The Foundation's focus is on funding efforts to eliminate inequities in the educational system, including early learning programs, education policy and advocacy, programs that support educators, high performing K-12 schools, and wrap-around programs focused on children and families in high-needs neighborhoods. The deadline for letters of inquiry is August 7, 2020; invited full proposals will be due October 9, 2020. Visit the Foundation's website to learn more about the grant priorities and online application process.
Grants Enhance the Quality of Life for Arizonans
Cardinals Charities
Cardinals Charities, the grantmaking program of the Arizona Cardinals, supports initiatives designed to improve the quality of life and enhance opportunities for children, women, and minorities in the state of Arizona. Grant requests of up to $5,000 are preferred, with priority given to grants that support special programs that have the greatest impact while addressing the most critical needs. Nonprofit organizations throughout the state are eligible to apply. Online applications will be accepted through August 14, 2020. Visit the Cardinals' website for more information.
Federal Funding
Opportunities from the U.S. Government
Funds Available for Rural Workforce Development
Department of Labor
The Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities (WORC) program seeks to address economic distress and workforce development activities in the Appalachian and Delta regions. The goal is to ensure a workforce capable of succeeding in current and future job opportunities. The WORC program takes a long-term view toward assisting eligible communities in diversifying their economies by investing in local strategies developed by regional partners. This long-term view also acknowledges the impact of the opioid crisis and the significant challenges it presents to a community's workforce. The application deadline is July 29, 2020.
Habitat Protection on Private Land Supported
Fish and Wildlife Service
The Partners for Fish and Wildlife program provides direct technical assistance and financial assistance to private landowners to restore and conserve fish and wildlife habitat for the benefit of federal trust resources. Program priorities include restoring trust with local communities; modernizing infrastructure, such as fish passages, wetland levees, water control structures, and fencing projects; ensuring sovereignty means something, including working with tribal operations; hunting and fishing, including habitat preservation to support robust populations of wildlife for recreational use by the American public; the National Wildlife Refuge System, with a focus on conservation activities and projects that are on private lands near National Wildlife Refuge lands; and expanding priority habitats, reducing habitat fragmentation, establishing conservation buffers, and providing wildlife movement corridors that result in self-sustaining systems. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis through September 30, 2020.
Partner Depot
Are You a Certified Grant Professional?
(Learn More and Win a Grant Professionals Association Membership Too!)
Are you a grantwriter looking to further your career? Or do you want to earn recognition for the skills, expertise, and knowledge you've acquired? The Grant Professionals Certification Institute (GPCI) administers the nationally accredited Grant Professional Certification (GPC) credential.
Visit the GPCI website to learn:
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- if you are eligible to pursue the GPC credential; and,
- why you should consider getting your GPC.
Sign up for the GPCI newsletter to automatically enter the drawing for a FREE one-year Grant Professionals Association (GPA) membership—a $220 value! (Can also be applied to membership renewals.) Enter Today! The lucky winner will be notified on July 15th.
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Enter today to win a free year of Foundant Technologies' GrantHub, the intuitive grants management solution specifically designed to increase your efficiency and funding success. The lucky winner will be chosen on June 30th!
PathFinder: Featured Resource
A library of quality resources designed to help you develop your career path as a grants professional.
Philanthropic Foundations in Canada: Landscapes, Indigenous Perspectives and Pathways to Change
Are you looking to learn more about philanthropy in Canada? If so, you may want to start by reading the new book Philanthropic Foundations in Canada: Landscapes, Indigenous Perspectives and Pathways to Change, by Peter E. Elson, Sylvain A, Lefèvre, and Jean-Marc Fontan. This book examines Canada's foundation sector, including established and emerging landscapes, Indigenous perspectives on philanthropy, and creative and innovative pathways to change.
Upcoming Online Education Trainings
Live Webinars
Unless otherwise noted, all Online Education Trainings are webinars,
are 90 minutes in duration, and are scheduled to begin at 2 PM Eastern Time.
LIVE Workshop: Tracking Volunteers in QuickBooks (DESKTOP Version and ONLINE Version)
Are you tracking your volunteers' contact information somewhere? What about the hours they worked? What they did? Many grantors will allow volunteer hours to count towards meeting the matching requirements for a grant, so it is important to keep track of volunteer activity. All of this information can be easily tracked right in your QuickBooks software. To help you with this process, we are very excited to have Gregg Bossen, a CPA specializing in nonprofits and president of QuickBooks Made Easy for Nonprofits, deliver one of his most popular webinars exclusively for us. In this webinar, you will learn how to set up your volunteers in QuickBooks either manually or by import, query to find a volunteer that possesses a skill that you may need, set up and enter time for volunteers by activity, generate volunteer reports, and get QuickBooks to calculate the exact amount of match created. Don't miss this opportunity! You will be VERY glad you came! The webinar for the DESKTOP version of QuickBooks will be held on Wednesday, July 22, 2020. The webinar for the ONLINE version of QuickBooks will be held on Thursday, July 23, 2020.
How to Know if Your Programs Are Effective (NEW)
Strong programmatic outcomes are vital to the success of any grant program. As a nonprofit professional, you know that measuring these outcomes and understanding your organization's impact is important—not only to achieve your mission, but also to communicate your work effectively. But programmatic monitoring and evaluation can be complicated! This 90-minute webinar, presented by Alana Buckner, CEO of Elevate, is for non-experts who want to understand the fundamentals better. It will make monitoring and evaluation easy to understand and focus on practical tips and case studies. We will cover the answers to questions like these: Why is monitoring and evaluation important for every nonprofit? What does monitoring and evaluation mean exactly? What about concepts like theory of change, logic model, data collection, assessment, and instrument, as well as qualitative and quantitative data? How does a nonprofit get started, or improve, their existing monitoring and evaluation? By the end of the webinar, you will be able to understand the purposes of program evaluation, link it to your organization's goals, and have concrete tips and techniques to begin or improve your evaluation efforts. The webinar will be held on Wednesday, July 29, 2020.
FREE Webinar: Mapping Your Capital Campaign During the COVID-19 Crisis (NEW)
Before COVID-19, you had a brilliant roadmap to guide you to your fundraising destinations. This pandemic presented a major roadblock, but it's time to get behind the wheel again! In this FREE 45-minute webinar with additional time for questions, learn from the capital campaign planning and management experts at CampaignCounsel.org how you can plan and manage your capital campaign during COVID-19. We will discuss the importance of evaluating where you are now in your feasibility study or capital campaign and the ways in which COVID-19 impacts how you'll move forward and at what pace. Fear of the unknown, your board's outlook, re-evaluation of your case for support, and fundraising through virtual meetings will be addressed. The perceived internal relevance of your fundraising effort by staff and board, the external relevance of your campaign to the community, and creative, strategic interaction with donors will be explored. The webinar will be held on Thursday, July 30, 2020.
GrantStation Announcements
The latest updates from GrantStation.
Please Participate
NTEN is leading a research project to illustrate the realities, challenges, and plans for data use in nonprofits. We're eager to provide data for the sector that can serve as benchmarks for future research. The findings in the NTEN Data Empowerment Survey will be used to inform the creation of a number of additional resources to support challenges and needs nonprofits report from their organizations. At the end of the survey, there will also be an optional opt-in for those who may be willing to work with us on case studies or further interviews about your experience.
Funding Alerts
Interested in GrantStation's funder profiles? View the weekly Funding Alerts to see profiles of grantmakers currently accepting applications.
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Editor: Julie Kaufman
Copy Editor: Ashlyn Simmons
Contributing Writer: Kevin Peters
COVID-19 Related Funding
Enterprise Community Partners: Emergency Action for Resident and Partner Stability Program
Arts Administrators of Color: Arts Leaders of Color Emergency Fund
Robin Hood Relief Fund
National Funding Opportunities
Challenge Seeks Creative Initiatives to Expand Women’s Influence in the U.S.
Grants for Grassroots Groups Addressing Environmental Justice
Efforts to Explore the Intersection of Faith and Democracy Funded
Support for Youth-Led Organizing and Activism
Regional Funding Opportunities
Grants Advance Social Change Initiatives in North Carolina
Funds for LGBTQ+ Organizations in the Pacific Northwest
Support for Educational Equity to Benefit Minnesota’s Youth
Grants Enhance the Quality of Life for Arizonans
Federal Funding Opportunities
Funds Available for Rural Workforce Development
Habitat Protection on Private Land Supported