2022 Fund 4 the Frontlines Base Building Grant (US)

Deadline: 4-Feb-22

The Social Justice Fund (SFJ) Northwest is happy to announce that the second and final round of SJF’s Fund 4 the Frontlines Base Building Grant is now open! These grants will support base building strategies across the region.

Focus Areas

They are looking for organizations that fit the community organizing framework AND whose work demonstrates EACH of the following four areas:

• Collective Power
  • Working with a diverse membership to build collective power
  • Building a critical mass of collective power that can win changes in policy, culture, or institution-building, and defend those wins
• Widening the Base
  • Building authentic relationships with those in the base who are most affected by the issues the organization works on
  • Bringing new people into the base who are not already engaged in organizing work
  • Using varied methods of recruitment by uplifting differences through tailored communication and outreach
  • Engaging in face-to-face (physical or virtual) conversation and relationship building
• Leadership Development
  • Provide clear entry points for members to move to leadership positions
  • Clear and accessible programs for political education and meaningful engagement
  • Continual education and agitation
• Strategy and Long-Term Planning
  • Developing, using, and continually adapting a base building plan which includes goals, timelines, infrastructure, leadership, opportunities for engagement, etc.
  • Organizing strategies with clear goals
  • Structures that hold the leadership accountable to its base

 Funding Information

• Grant amount: $250,000 total, five year grant ($50,000 a year for five years)
• Total Number: there will be 10 total grants made

What they will fund

• They understand base building as a community organizing tactic that grows the breadth and depth of people who share a vision for social justice and who develop and execute the organizing strategies to make that vision a reality. With strong base building organizations as part of the ecosystem, the movements have more leadership and more power to change policies, transform culture, and build new models and institutions — and to defend and maintain those victories over time.
• Because there is no one definition of base building, they interviewed community organizers across the region and country to determine the markers of good base building strategies. 

Eligibility Criteria 

Eligible organizations must meet the following criteria:

• Nonprofit organizations or tribal agencies, or groups sponsored by a nonprofit organization or tribal agency
  • This grant can fund:
    • Organizations with 501(c)3 or 501(c)4 status as determined by the IRS
    • Federally recognized American Indian tribal government or agency
    • Organizations that are fiscally sponsored by 501(c)3 or 501(c)4 organizations or by federally recognized tribal governments
  • Unlike the other grants, this grant will not fund organizations which are neither incorporated nor fiscally sponsored
• Organizations that use community organizing as their primary strategy and do base building as described in the section above: collective power, widening the base, leadership development, and strategy and long-term planning.
• Organizations that are led by people who are most directly affected by the problems that the organization or project is addressing
• Organizations that carry out most of their work in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and/or Wyoming
• Organizations that have been funded by an SJF Giving Project grant in the past
• Organizations must have satisfied evaluation requirements for any previous Social Justice Fund grants

For more information, visit Social Justice Fund.

For more information, visit https://socialjusticefund.org/announcing-the-2022-fund-4-the-frontlines-base-building-grant/