Deadline: 13-Aug-21
The Ascend Fund seeks to fund local and state-based organizations that will build a creative coalition of organizations in each state that will work together to build a pathway for women to public office.
The Ascend Fund encourages organizations with backgrounds and experience in, but not limited to, civic engagement, leadership development, coalition building, advocacy campaigns, grassroots organizing, racial justice, or gender equity to apply.
Proposals should focus on approaches to make state legislative seats more accessible to women, including but not necessarily limited to:
- Coalition Building: Build state coalition of like-minded groups that share a commitment to gender parity, racial equity, and reproductive rights.
- Barrier Reduction: Identify common and unique barriers hindering women’s success in reaching state elected office and develop strategies to remove, reduce, or circumvent those barriers.
- Targeted Recruitment: Identify common and unique barriers hindering women’s success in reaching state elected office and develop strategies to remove, reduce, or circumvent those barriers.
- Candidate Training: Provide women with the training, tools, resources, and support necessary to successfully run for the state legislature.
- Messaging Campaign: Highlight women’s underrepresentation and normalize women’s leadership through public messaging campaigns.
The Ascend Fund seeks to accelerate the pace of change toward gender parity in U.S. politics. They pool philanthropic capital and make mission-driven investments in nonpartisan, nonprofit organizations that break down the barriers preventing women from running for office and winning. The approach is simple:
- Establish a pathway for more women to see themselves as candidates and normalize women’s leadership.
- Bridge the gap by providing women with the tools, training, and resources to successfully run for office.
- Transform the system by dismantling roadblocks so elected officials reflect the diversity of the population.
Funding Information
The Ascend Fund will provide project funding in the form of multi-year, general operating grants. Applicants may apply for funding up to $50,000 annually, and typical awards will range from $15,000-$30,000 annually.
Eligibility Criteria
- The Ascend Fund seeks proposals from state and local based, nonpartisan, nonprofit organizations in Michigan, Mississippi, and Washington that are working to empower women to seek elected office or become leaders in their community or are interested in beginning this work.
- Applicants must be a 501(c)(3) organization or be fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)(3) organization, and in good legal standing with the IRS.
- Applicants must be nonpartisan and not endorse any particular candidate(s) or political party’s agenda.
- The Ascend Fund generally does not provide funding that exceeds 25% of an organization’s annual budget, except under extenuating circumstances, though organizations are encouraged to apply for up to $50,000 annually.
- State and local organizations, as well as national organizations with staffed, state-based chapters are eligible to apply.
For more information, visit The Ascend Fund.
For more information, visit https://www.theascendfund.org/rfp