Grant Opportunity - SOW CT Rest and Renewal Grants Program - due 8/14

[Kara Straun]

Hello Community Organizers and Groups!

 

We’d like to share an opportunity from the Supporting Organizing Work Connecticut (SOW-CT) funder collaborative → Round 2 of the SOW-CT Rest and Renewal Grants Program available to community organizing groups is live!

 

We’ve been listening to organizers: organizing is hard work and often it is challenging to get funding for wellness and capacity building. This program is meant to get money into your hands for these purposes.

 

Who is this opportunity for?

Are you a BILPOC-led group involved with grassroots organizing? Is your organization low on resources (do you have a small staff, rely heavily on volunteers, little to no back-office administration, staff development, or supervision capacity)? This opportunity is for you!

 

How much support is available?

Each request has a limit of $2,000. Groups may make more than one request per year, limited to a maximum of $6,000 per year. There is currently a $25,000 pool this round.

 

The Funders Collaborative has raised $100,000 to launch additional rounds. The plan is to launch a 2^nd and 3^rd round this summer with a $25,000 pool each round ($50,000 total). There will be a pause in the summer for reflection and revisions to the process. Please be on the lookout for an invitation to an input session with funders during this time. By November, plans for the remaining $50,000 will be available.

 

Who is eligible to apply?

We are looking to support groups that align with the criteria below:

• BILPOC organizers and BILPOC-led groups, working with BILPOC folks
• Those doing organizing work (such as community organizing, activism and advocacy, or electoral engagement)
• Those working on grassroots efforts (working primarily with residents, parents, youth, students rather than organizations, professions, congregations, unions, etc.)
• Low or under-resourced organizations/groups

 

Types of supports can you request funding for?

What do we mean by wellness and capacity building support? We are open to what you – our partners in this work – identify as a need to achieve your organizing goals. Here are some examples:

• Staff retreat needs – facilitator, facilities/space, etc.
• Conflict resolution within your group or with external partners and allies
• Yoga sessions for your staff team
• Conference registration, travel and lodging
• Therapist costs for an organizer
• Trainings and professional development

 

Feel free to request funds for what you feel will strengthen and support the goals of grassroots organizing groups/organizations – you do not need to stick to our examples.

 

Interested?

To put in a request, please fill out this short application form.  The deadline for the first month of this program is August 14, 2023, but we encourage folks to apply as soon as possible –  we will accept applications on a rolling basis and make decisions by the end of each month.

 

For more information, feel free to email Alexis Bivens at [e-mail].