Powerbuilding & Systems Change Grant for the US ($5 million over 2 years)

Deadline: 13-Sep-2024

The Black Equity Initiative – Inland Empire (BEI-IE) is excited to announce an open call for proposals for its Powerbuilding and Systems Change Grant!

The Black Equity Initiative – Inland Empire (BEI-IE) and the Inland Empire Funders Alliance (IEFA) have established a Black Equity Fund, an effort to raise and grant $5 million over 2 years to Black led/Black empowering organizations in the Inland Empire region.

This grant is designed to support transformative projects that advance systems change and power building work in the IE’s Black community.

Focus

• They recognize that the battles for equity and justice are especially heavy when situated in a place with a deeply rooted and painful history of white supremacy. They uplift the legacy and memory of Black people in the Inland Empire and their allies who led courageous fights for justice and equity and paved the way for new generations of leaders to emerge. They know the fight to und structural racism must be sustained through intentional power building among Black-led and Black empowering movements and organizations in the Inland Empire and abroad.
  • Systems Change: To develop, strengthen and scale Black-led and empowering organizations’ sustainability and collective ability to engage in systems change work to promote racial equity in important issue areas.
  • Power Building: To support strategies that focus on engaging and mobilizing diverse constituencies of Black people (young people, families, system impacted persons, faith leaders, and communities) to build Black power and for long-term impact.

Project Scope 

• The project scope is limited to the Inland Empire, and all funded activities will be limited to Riverside County and San Bernardino County only. Organizations will be provided resources to advance systems change and power building work in these priority areas:
  • Civic Engagement: Funding may support efforts to develop and involve leaders in civic life which may include but is not limited to identifying new voters, educating and engaging voters on election issues and other policy priorities; and involving leaders in shaping public policy.
  • Criminal Justice Transformation: Funding may support efforts to identify and reform flaws and inequities in the criminal justice and legal system, and redress systemic racism that leads to mass incarceration, over-policing, and criminalization of communities of color and black people specifically.
  • Housing Justice: Funding may support efforts to center community voices and interest in housing development, fighting gentrification, combating racial segregation, forced displacement, housing discrimination, and poor housing conditions impacting Black people.
  • Health Equity: Funds may support efforts to address systemic barriers that result in racial and ethnic disparities in health access, care and supports in a range of areas including but not limited to: birth equity, reproductive justice, mental health, social determinants of health, and factors contributing to COVID-disparities.
  • Education Equity: Funds may support efforts to put systems, structures, and resources in place to address the unique challenges and barriers to academic success as early as pre-K through college.
  • Economic Liberation (Development): Funding may support efforts that result in the creation of new policies, systems, sustainable structures and institutions for an inclusive economy and the economic well-being and liberation of Black people.
  • Youth & Family Engagement (AD 60 Applicants Only): Funds for the AD60 Grant Applicants only may be used towards investing in the futures of Black youth and/or their families.

Funding Tiers 

• Applicants may apply for funding in one of four tiers:
  • Learning Grants, up to $20,000 (up to 12 months) Funding supports their unique learning needs related to systems change and power building in their priority focus areas. Learning funds also pays for staff participation in at least (2) required grantee learning sessions. Learning applicants may be invited to apply for emerging track after one year.
    • Criteria: An organization may not have experience in systems change/power building work but are interested and committed to learning and growing the organization capacity to support racial equity work and desire to contribute to collective policy agenda setting through BEI Coalition.
  • Emerging grants, up to $71,000 (24 months) to support the emerging systems change/powerbuilding work that is already underway and is emerging. Emerging grantees must participate in at least (2) required learning sessions and BEI coalition meetings.
    • Criteria: An organization that has initiated systems change/power building work (1-3 years) and is seeking to move that work forward; and committed to moving that work forward; is currently participating in a coalition; and is interested in contributing to collective policy agenda setting through BEI Coalition.
  • Scale Up grants, up to $100,000 (24 months) to existing systems change/power building work that already has a demonstrated impact but is ready to scale up. Scale up grantees must participate in at least (2) required learning sessions and BEI coalition meetings.
    • Criteria: An organization that has significant track record for systems change/power building work (3 or more years) and is seeking to take that work to scale or it’s next phase; staff capacity to engage with policymakers and to monitor and address policies and practices in a strategic and ongoing manner; is currently leading and/or participating in a coalition; and is interested in contributing to collective policy agenda setting through BEI Coalition.
  • AD60 grants, up to $70,000 (12 months) to existing systems change/power building work (minimum of 3 years) that already has a demonstrated impact specifically focused on Assembly District 60 of Riverside County as represented by Assemblymember Corey Jackson. Efforts must service or directly impact the residents of Assembly District 60 (Including: East Hemet, Good Hope, Green Acres, Hemet, Homeland, Lakeview, March ARB, Mead Valley, Moreno Valley, Nuevo, Perris, Riverside, Romoland, San Jacinto).
    • Criteria: Organizations that are located in and/or serve residents of Assembly District 60 of Riverside County.

Eligibility Criteria

• The Black Equity Fund intends to fund Black-led, Black empowering and/or Black serving nonprofit organizations (NPO) based in the Inland Empire as defined by the following identity criteria:
  • Black Led
    • Black leaders are in a position of influence within the organization
      • A Majority of the Board is Black,
      • Executive Director is Black, or the Executive Leadership/Organizational Lead is majority Black
  • Black Empowering
    • The organization demonstrates an institutional commitment to justice and liberation for Black people, evidenced by one or more of the following:
      • Developing a constituent base working to advance structural and systemic changes that improves the material conditions for Black life,
      • Embedding Black voice and the lived experiences of Black people as critical expertise that guides the fabric of the organization’s mission, vision, values, and core work; and develops both individual agency and community capacity to advocate for conditions that enable Black people to thrive.
  • Black Serving
    • Organizations that are committed to serving and empowering Black people as evidenced by:
      • Programmatic services that prioritizes and target the needs of Black people
      • Has a history of serving Black people

Criteria

• Seek local, regional, or state policy solutions;
• Address a high need impacting Black people; and
• Have clear objectives that are compelling, measurable and can lead to successful outcomes and impact.
• Nonprofit, public benefit organizations based in the Inland Empire, with evidence of tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or Fiscal sponsor sponsored by at 501(c)(3) and not classified as a private foundation
• Organizations that operate on a non-discriminatory basis in the hiring of staff or in providing services on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin or disability.

For more information, visit IEFA.