Deadline: Ongoing
The Community Foundation of South Puget Sound’s 2021 Resilience Fund Grant Program is now open for applications with the aim to address the impacts of COVID-19, strengthen our region’s long-term efforts to rebuild, respond to emerging opportunities, help nonprofits adapt, and support creative new approaches and partnerships.
Most Grants Will Be Unrestricted thus rather than being tied to a specific project or program, unrestricted grants allow grantees to use funds flexibly as they see fit to fulfill their mission and reach their goals.
This could mean funding a program or project, or it could mean funding salaries and overhead, technology, or a marketing campaign. It may even mean funding a change of plans, especially in times of uncertainty.
Purpose
- The Resilience Fund was established to further address the impacts of COVID-19, bolster our region’s long-term efforts to rebuild, respond to emerging opportunities, help nonprofits adapt, and support creative new approaches and partnerships that will ideally benefit our communities well beyond recovery.
- The purpose of this framework is to balance the need for flexibility, responsiveness, and learning with the need for decisive action that aligns with our mission, vision, and values.
- They expect this grantmaking framework to be a “living” document, updated as our understanding becomes more complete and the context around us unfolds.
Program Objectives
They are seeking a wide variety of proposals and do not expect any single proposal to align with all the program objectives listed below. In reviewing grant proposals, the Community Foundation will consider the following elements:
- Impact: They are interested in proposals that support multiple, deep, or interconnected needs, reach a broader cross-section of the community (e.g., racial equity, capacity building, recovery for low-income workers, mental health, or the arts), or fill gaps between the public sector response and unmet community needs.
- Geography: They are seeking to fund organizations that primarily operate or fill unmet needs within our service area (Thurston, Lewis, and Mason Counties).
- Innovation: They are interested in funding organizations that are adapting to the new social and economic environment, working successfully with other organizations, or making changes to better serve the long-term health and resilience of our communities.
- Equity: They are seeking to ensure that funds are invested as equitably as possible by identifying the needs of underserved populations, communities, and geographic areas.
- Accountability: They are interested in funding services that are designed appropriately for the communities they serve and organizations that engage meaningfully with the perspectives of those most affected by the issues they seek to address.
- Organizational Capacity: They are seeking organizations that demonstrate reasonable financial health and basic capacity (governance practices, nondiscrimination, etc.).
Funding Information
- Most grant awards will range from $2,500 – $30,000.
- Larger requests (over $10,000, for example) may be required to submit additional narrative or budget information after initial review.
- The Resilience Fund has raised $900,000 to date. They expect to award the total funds raised through this program over the next three calendar years (2021-2023), beginning with approximately $275,000 from May-December 2021.
Eligibility Criteria
- The Community Foundation of South Puget Sound generally makes grants to 501(c)(3) public charities that serve Thurston, Mason, and Lewis County residents.
- Not eligible:
- Organizations that discriminate regarding age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, national origin, religious affiliation, or presence of a disability
- Organizations with fewer than three board members
- Individuals
- Partisan political activities
- Religious organizations when funds would be used in whole or in part to further the
- organization’s religious purposes
- National and statewide organizations that cannot demonstrate a local presence in Lewis, Mason, or Thurston Counties
- Re-granting organizations
- Service clubs and service club foundations
- Schools, school districts, PTOs, preschools, and daycares
- Sports teams
- Exception:
- They will accept applications from organizations with a regional or statewide geography if organization acknowledges that 100% of grant funds will be used for programs and services within our geography.
- They will accept applications for programs run by religious organizations if the program meets a critical need in the community and does not require religious participation.
- If your organization or group is not a 501(c)(3), you must secure a fiscal sponsor or obtain prior approval to apply by contacting our Director of Community Programs and setting up a time to discuss.
For more information, visit https://www.thecommunityfoundation.com/resilience-fund-grants
