Crossing Divides Grantmaking Program in the US

Deadline: 1-Dec-21

Kindle Project and Cotyledon Fund are pleased to announce Crossing Divides, a pilot grantmaking program for groups in Arizona, Mississippi, and Nebraska who are attempting to resolve conflicts in their communities, across aisles and despite differences.

Objectives

The objectives are:

To understand how people define conflict and the “other” or the “enemy,” and how they work toward deeper understanding and possible resolution within their particular context, and
To identify ways that they can extend the reach and impact of the most effective approaches to cultivate more durable peace, mutuality, and resilience across all sectors of U.S. society.

What kind of projects will be considered?

To help inspire your thinking and to give you an idea of the breadth of approaches they will consider, they have put together a list of possible projects that may be funded:

Local media that cultivates different voices and helps people deconstruct their own biases and fears, in order to come up with solutions;
Artists or other culture-makers and projects that bring together people in conflict to co-create something meaningful (such as murals, peace gardens, community performance art, etc.);
Restorative justice;
Non-violent communication;
Conversation cafes;
Trauma healing approaches, etc;
Healing divisions through spiritual practice or faith-based community activities (strictly non-proselytizing);
Working the land as a tool to bring people together;
Cultivation, preparation, and sharing of food to educate and bring disparate sides literally to the table.

Funding Information

Grant range up to $10,000.

Eligibility Criteria

A grantee must:
- Be a 501c3, or fiscally sponsored by one;
- Be an entity that works within Arizona, Mississippi, and/or Nebraska;
- Be an entity working specifically in some manner of localized conflict resolution and reconciliation pertaining to a specific community-level crisis, discord, or conflict. The issue must be measurable in that there is the possibility for tangible and visible results from actions funded by the grant and where not resolving the conflict could have real consequences for people’s lives, their livelihoods, and/or the area’s natural resources;
- Be able to articulate and define “community” as it pertains to the project to be funded by the grant. The grantee must also be able to define and articulate the conflict or “divide” based on the local context;
- Be strictly non-proselytizing in approach and action within the project funded through the grant;
- Be non-partisan in the engagement of the project funded through the grant;
- Be engaged in work which furthers the well-being and dignity for all people and species;
- Be applying for a project that moves beyond a community “getting to know each other” and instead into a community working and engaging together toward a shared purpose, although with a recognition that the engagement may be in its early stages. An example spectrum of these stages might be:
  - No dialogue at all
  - Some willingness to start talking
  - A few people are talking
  - Most key players are talking and listening
  - The community is working together.
- Be willing to “come together” with other grant recipients to share learning and experience (format and date to be determined).
A grantee should:
- Be an entity with an annual budget of $750,000 or less;
- Be comfortable with, and open to experimentation and adaptation in their efforts and readiness to try something different where other tactics have not succeeded;
- Demonstrate creativity in approach and thinking;
- Be rooted in their community and grassroots in their approaches;
- Be able to convey a sense of having stake in a peaceful resolution for all involved, even if it seems difficult to achieve;
- Be able to move beyond the national left-right narratives and think/act locally and with understanding of local perspectives.