Deadline: 22-Feb-22
The Kessler Foundation is seeking applications for its Signature Employment Grants Program that are awarded nationally to fund new pilot initiatives, demonstration projects, or social ventures that lead to a generation of new ideas to solve the high unemployment and underemployment of individuals with disabilities.
Preference is given for interventions that address the intersection of race, class, gender, disability and poverty within the framework of helping individuals with disabilities obtain competitive, integrated employment in a cost-effective manner. Signature grants are not intended to fund project expansions or bring proven projects to new communities, unless there is a significant scale, scope or replicable component.
Funding Information
Organizations may apply for up to two years of funding. Yearly funding ranges from $100,000 – $250,000 with maximum project funding at $500,000. Application organizations must have operating budgets greater than $3,000,000. Indirect costs are funded up to 15 percent. Kessler Foundation does not fund any purely research-based projects.
What they Fund?
They look for new pilot initiatives or demonstration projects that generate new ideas. For their 2022 grant request for proposals, they have a special interest in projects that address the intersection of race, class, gender, disability and poverty within the framework of helping individuals with disabilities obtain employment or re-enter the job market following injury. Partnerships across sectors, such as public/private collaborations with economic development organizations, banks and municipalities are particularly of interest. However, all submitted innovative grant concepts on various topics are eligible for funding.
Eligibility Criteria
Any organization recognized as a tax-exempt entity according to the Internal Revenue Code may apply for funding. This includes non-profit agencies, public or private schools, and public institutions, such as universities and governmental entities (state, local, federal) based in the United States or any of its territories. They do not fund outside the United States. Kessler Foundation will not fund projects that discriminate in hiring staff or providing services on basis of race, gender, religion, marital status, sexual orientation or national origin. Organizations employing a large number of staff members self-identifying as having a disability is scored higher.
For more information, visit Kessler Foundation.
For more information, visit https://kesslerfoundation.org/what-we-fundcenter-grantmaking/signature-employment-grants
