Deadline: 2-May-25
Applications are now open for the Sparkplug Foundation Grant Program.
Areas of Funding
- Education
- Sparkplug funds projects to educate or support communities, including but not limited to school-age students, that move beyond traditional classroom instruction. In keeping with the justice-oriented framework, they fund education projects that engage excluded students in new ways, projects that restore knowledge that has been marginalized through racism or colonialism, and projects that rebuild community and collective problem-solving.
- They’re especially interested in supporting critical and investigative thinking, and projects that address race, gender, and class disparities in education. They do fund community-based education and social justice curriculum development, for example, they have funded the development and sharing of curriculum that explores connections between Palestine and the US/Mexico border region to teach students to think critically about the impact of militarized border zones on youth, families and the environment.
- Community Organizing
- Sparkplug funds work by members of a community for their community – work that aims to create justice by making systemic change and/or shifting power. Or in other words, they fund projects that are created, run by, and meet the needs of people with shared lived experience who face the same types of oppression, discrimination, violence, or barriers, who live in the same area, or who have a shared vision and aspirations for the future.
- For example, they do fund projects created and led by c to change policies that affect them, but they don’t fund programs that provide social services for LGBTQ youth.
- Music
- Recognizing the critical importance of music in bringing communities together and building collective creativity, Sparkplug supports emerging musicians in developing new work, sharing existing work with a wider community through events or media, bringing together musicians to collaborate on creating or performing pieces, or facilitating new workshops that bring music to oppressed communities.
Funding Information
- They consider grant applications for amounts from $1,000 to $20,000. Most grants are in the $10,000 to $15,000 range.
What they fund?
- They do fund early-stage organizations and projects. They offer grants to innovative and important work that has not yet established broad sources of support. For Sparkplug, what matters is that the project comes from and supports an engaged community.
- They do fund small-to-medium organizations or ideas. They most often fund projects with small budgets, and that are less likely to receive corporate, institutional, or government funding.
- They do fund 501c3 non-profits or individuals, communities or collectives that have a US-based 501c3 fiscal sponsor.
- They do fund materials and activities that make new ideas real and sustainable. This can include support for a new organization’s growth like outreach materials, short-term staff to get your project underway, and short-term general operating support for new organizations only. They have very occasionally funded website development or software purchases where it drives other work. A grant can cover capacity-building expenses like trainings that grow your community leadership.
- They do fund one-year grants. Since they focus on start-up projects and organizations, they accept applications for up to one year. If you’re a new organization interested in a start-up grant that spans beyond one year, you are invited to note that on your application – but can only apply for one year of funding. They ‘ll be in touch if they think they can do more.
What they don’t fund?
- They don’t fund businesses or any organization or individual without a fiscal sponsor.
- They don’t fund general operating expenses such as regular ongoing salaries, office space rental, etc., except for start-up projects and start-up organizations.
- They don’t fund lobbying or election campaigns.
- They don’t fund technology equipment such as computers, printers, etc.
- They don’t fund multi-year requests.
For more information, visit Sparkplug Foundation.
