Deadline: 18-Dec-20
The Greater New Orleans Foundation is currently accepting applications for Cohort 2 of the Greater Together Fund for Racial Equity.
The Greater Together Fund for Racial Equity will invest strategically in the ecosystem of nonprofits who are working to move the needle in seemingly intractable systems and who have had demonstrable success. The Greater Together Fund for Racial Equity made large, sustained investments to three nonprofits leading on racial equity whose work has scalable local, regional, and statewide impact.
Priority Areas
The Greater Together Fund for Racial Equity will support Black-led nonprofits across a range of disciplines that are working to combat institutional racism. Funding areas will include but are not limited to:
- Arts, Culture, and Humanities;
- Economic Justice and Access to Capital;
- Education and Educational Equity;
- Environmental Justice;
- Civil Rights, Social Action, and Advocacy (non-political);
- Community Improvement and Capacity Building;
- Leadership and Workforce Development.
Funding Information
- The Fund will support 20 or more organizations with grants of up to $50,000. Depending on the success of fundraising efforts, second-year support may be available.
The Fund will provide critical sustaining support to nonprofits working tirelessly on the community level. The overarching goals of the Fund are to:
- Bolster the work of black-led nonprofits leading on racial equity: making investments to sustain the work of local nonprofits that are having an impact in eliminating inequitable systems.
- Close the racial wealth gap by investing in initiatives to help small, minority businesses grow their share of gross receipts in the region from a mere two per cent currently to create meaningful prosperity, as well as investing in housing and other strategies that can build wealth for black families.
The Greater Together Fund for Racial Equity will support:
- General operations;
- Programs;
- Advocacy (solely non-political); community organizing; community leadership development; and policy development.
Eligibility Criteria
Black-led nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations that serve the Greater New Orleans region are eligible to apply for funding. Black-led organizations that are not tax-exempt but have a fiscal agent relationship with a 501(c)(3) organization are also eligible.
Priority will be given to Black-led organizations that demonstrate one or more of the following:
- Commitment to working on the frontlines and in neighbourhoods experiencing the impacts of systemic racism;
- Strong leadership at the staff and board level;
- Growing track record of success in working to eliminate inequitable systems;
- Making critical contributions to closing the racial wealth gap;
- Solid fiscal management, but may struggle to secure sustaining support;
- Commitment to racial equity for Black communities in high need;
- Thoughtful inclusion of Black community members as leaders, advisors, and decision-makers to shift the top-down location of traditional decision-making power.
Note: All grant applicants will need to create an account using their online system to apply. Basic information will be stored for future use when new applications are submitted. They have a simple two-step process:
- Use their online portal to submit an application along with all attachments by 11:59 pm (CT) on December 18, 2020.
- GNOF program staff will review all applications and will contact those organizations that are selected for a virtual meeting to answer questions if necessary.
Evaluation Criteria
Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Does the project and/or organization meet basic eligibility criteria? Does the project and/or organization meet the general and specific guidelines outlined above?
- Does the project and/or organization address a clearly articulated need? Do the project and/or organization have a clear understanding of what success would look like to it and/or its stakeholders? If the project and/or organization is addressing a social problem, does it address the root causes of the problem rather than simply provide a short-term solution? To what degree do the project and/or organization contribute to finding a long-term solution to the issue or problem being addressed?
- Does the organization’s leadership reflect the population served?
- Has the organization developed the partnerships necessary for succeeding in its work?
- Is the budget realistic and clearly linked to proposed activities?
For more information, visit https://www.gnof.org/program/greater-together-fund-for-racial-equity/