Apply for the Elevate Initiative Grant and Community of Practice (US)

Deadline: 18-Aug-23

The Elevate Initiative, a partnership between Frontline Solutions and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is requesting proposals from organizations seeking to advance economic mobility and promote job quality.

This time around in 2023, they are merging those efforts–and the learnings that came with them–into one process that reflects an effort to expand relationships with organizations and leaders on the ground who are working to advance economic mobility within their communities.

Funding Information

• For this round of the Elevate Initiative, up to sixteen (16) grants will be awarded to organizations nationwide who demonstrate a strong commitment to racial justice, and an ability to address economic disparities that affect Black and Brown workers.
• Eight (8) Established Organizations will receive $150,000 to advance projects/programs to address economic growth within their communities. A typical profile for the Established Organizations category includes non-profits that have been operating for at least 7 years, can demonstrate success in their work and have an annual budget in the range of $500K to $2.5M.
• Eight (8) Emerging Organizations will receive $60,000 to expand their capacity as they drive projects/programs to support Black and Brown workers in their communities. A typical profile for the Emerging Organizations category includes non-profits that have formed within the past five years, can demonstrate potential in their work and have an annual budget of up to $1M.

Funding Criteria

• Target Populations
  • This RFP is focused on addressing structural and systemic barriers to economic opportunity and ensuring equitable outcomes in the American workforce. Applicant organizations should demonstrate a primary focus on addressing financial insecurity and poverty, with a priority on groups who have historically been affected by systemic inequity and injustice. Below is a list of target populations with whom applicants might be working. They include these not to indicate that applicants should address the entirety of complex and important issues facing these groups, but as populations that your work engages and who have traditionally faced systemic racism and disadvantages in the workforce.
  • These groups may include, but are not limited to:
    • Black and Brown workers
    • Black and Brown businesses and entrepreneurs
    • Immigrant communities (including those who speak languages other than English)
    • Indigenous communities (including those who speak languages other than English)
    • Returning citizens
    • Workers experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity
    • Rural residents and workers
    • Young adults of color
    • Women of color
    • Workers of color with disabilities
    • Elderly and multi-generational workers of color
  • Note: While they greatly value work that centers young people, the focus of this RFP is on populations who are 18 and older.
• Approaches
  • They are interested in receiving proposals for programs that seek to create or advance pathways to economic opportunity, and/or change systems and/or practices that adversely affect Black and Brown workers and other populations listed above. The specific vehicles or approaches to the work of building greater equity will factor in the evaluation of proposals and will ultimately enrich the community of practice. Examples of approaches include but are not limited to:
    • Emerging or Impact Industry Access: Initiatives that promote access to technology such as artificial intelligence (AI), or climate and environmental sectors and models in which economically vulnerable populations are currently underrepresented due to structural racism and lack of access.
    • Systems Change Initiatives: Efforts that advance economic mobility for one or more of the target populations on a systemic level. This might include programs that address the effects of systemic racism in areas ranging from procurement policies, funding allocations, community-led initiatives, or broader recruitment and retention in emerging industries.
    • Workforce Development Programs: Programs that build skills, promote skills transfer, or offer meaningful training opportunities that lead to living wage jobs and pathways to advancement. This also includes initiatives that work at scale and directly involve industry and public sector representatives, which seek to address systemic barriers to access or promotion within sectors, or which assist with system navigation, social enterprise development, or entrepreneurship pathways.
    • Innovative Economic Models: Initiatives that seek to pilot and/or scale new approaches to more equitable wealth creation such as co-ops models, regenerative economies, social enterprise, or more equity centered approaches to compensation.

Principles

• Transparency: They will provide complete information regarding the grant requirements, selection process, evaluation criteria, and the expectations of awardees.
• Context: Frontline will endeavor to provide potential applicants with the fullest possible understanding of the context of this initiative in order to elicit the best possible proposals for achieving the goals of the project.
• Respect: They want to respect your organization’s time and work. They will not require superfluous information or documentation up front, but will clearly delineate what is required throughout the process in order to allow applicants the ability to determine whether this grant is appropriate for their work.
• Equity: They are interested in receiving applications from community-led organizations that have historically been underinvested in. As a result, they have developed a process that is designed to evaluate the quality of the proposals regardless of the resources applicants may have at their disposal to write them.

Eligibility Criteria

• Organizations applying for this grant opportunity must:
  • Demonstrate organizational programmatic priorities seeking to advance economic mobility and have experience working in partnership with communities of color and including the perspectives of those with lived experience
  • Be willing to engage in a community of practice with peer organizations for approximately 12 months
  • Demonstrate 501(c)(3) status or be a social sector-focused organization with a fiscal sponsor that has a 501(c)(3)
  • Be in good financial standing
  • Be able to manage a grant of $150,000 for Established Organizations and $60,000 for Emerging Organizations
  • Not solely engage in advocacy or any political lobbying efforts
  • Be based and provide services in the United States
  • Be committed to racial equity, both within the organization and in external work
  • Have a demonstrable history of economic mobility programming

Selection Criteria

• Impact: Potential impact of programs that address structural racism and intergenerational mobility gaps for Black and Brown workers and other populations facing structural bias
• Reach: Scope of the project and the strength of its dissemination strategy or ability to be replicated with and in populations facing structural bias
• Credibility: The degree to which the organization demonstrates success in addressing the issue of structural racism as it affects the Black and Brown workforce and other population groups referenced above
• Alignment: The project scope and proposed outputs align with the desired outcomes of the RFP
• Shared Learning: The organization is committed to actively participating in a learning community that includes grantees across many geographies and sectors, and is facilitated by Frontline Solutions for the duration of the grant.
• Collaboration: The organization is able and willing to build and participate in a community of practice with other grantees to enhance collaboration, share strategies, and refine learnings. The organization builds coalitions, develops partnerships, and organizes formally and informally to strengthen/scale impact while addressing the needs of the community.
• Commitment to racial equity: The organization represents, listens to, and is deeply connected to the community it aims to support through its work (preference for organizations led by people of color).

For more information, visit Elevate Initiative.