Community Power Grantmaking
The Request for Proposals (RFP) for our 2023 Community Power Grantmaking Program is now closed.
What We Fund
iF, A Foundation for Radical Possibility is committed to community voice and engagement. As part of our community-centered transformation as a foundation, we are embedding community engagement in our programs and activities, including our grantmaking program.
We are implementing a participatory grantmaking approach, which “cedes decisionmaking power about funding decisions – including the strategy and criteria behind those decisions – to the very communities that a foundation aims to serve”.* iF seeks to cede power to members of our community who live at the sharpest intersection of systems of oppression, namely race, class and gender identity. We brought together community members from Washington, DC , Montgomery County and Prince George’s County, MD and Northern Virginia who decided on the grants that will support nonprofit organizations, which are undertaking community organizing and engagement and advocacy.
We would like to thank the following community members who participated in this program: Nayireth Castro, Mikki Charles, Nathaniel Harris, Patty Hernandez, London Jones, Troy Landsdown, May Soemin, Ingrid Vaca, and Kaniya Walker.
*Source: Deciding Together: Shifting Power and Resources Through Participatory Grantmaking, Grantcraft
Who We Fund – 2023 Community Power Grants
ASIAN AMERICAN LEAD $30,000 (two-year grant; $15,000 per year)
To provide general operating support.
BLACK DIRT FARM COLLECTIVE
$40,000(two-year grant; $20,000 per year)
To provide general operating support.
BLACK SWAN ACADEMY
$40,000(two-year grant; $20,000 per year)
To provide general operating support.
BREAD FOR THE CITY
$40,000(two-year grant; $20,000 per year)
To support its advocacy on housing.
CENTREVILLE IMMIGRATION FORUM
$30,000(two-year grant; $15,000 per year)
To provide general operating support.
COLLECTIVE ACTION FOR SAFE SPACES
$40,000(two-year grant; $20,000 per year)
To provide general operating support.
COMMUNITY MINISTRY OF PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY
$30,000(two-year grant; $15,000 per year)
To provide general operating support.
CONFLICT RESOLUTION CENTER OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
$40,000 (two-year grant; $20,000 per year)
To provide general operating support.
DC GIRLS’ COALITION
$30,000 (two-year grant; $15,000 per year) To provide general operating support.
EAST OF THE RIVER MUTUAL AID
$40,000 (two-year grant; $20,000 per year) To provide general operating support.
FAIR BUDGET COALITION
$40,000 (two-year grant; $20,000 per year)
To provide general operating support.
FIRST GENERATION COLLEGE BOUND
$40,000 (two-year grant; $20,000 per year)
To provide general operating support.
HARRIET’S WILDEST DREAMS
$40,000 (two-year grant; $20,000 per year)
To provide general operating support.
HOUSING ASSOCIATION OF NONPROFIT DEVELOPERS
$40,000(two-year grant; $20,000 per year)
To support its advocacy on affordable and equitable housing.
IDENTITY, INC.
$40,000(two-year grant; $20,000 per year)
To provide general operating support.
LA CLINICA DEL PUEBLO
$30,000 (two-year grant; $15,000 per year)
To advocate for health equity and language justice for the Latinx and other immigrant communities in the Washington, D.C. region
LEGAL AID JUSTICE CENTER
$40,000 (two-year grant; $20,000 per year)
To provide general operating support.
MADRE TIERRA
$30,000 (two-year grant; $15,000 per year)
To provide general operating support.
MARYLAND ASSOCIATION OF RESOURCES FOR FAMILIES AND YOUTH
$40,000 (two-year grant; $20,000 per year)
To provide general operating support.
MARYLAND LATINOS UNIDOS
$40,000 (two-year grant; $20,000 per year)
To provide general operating support.
MOSAIC
$40,000 (two-year grant; $20,000 per year)
To provide general operating support.
MUSLIM COUNTERPUBLICS LAB
$30,000 (two-year grant; $15,000 per year)
To provide general operating support.
NATIONAL COALITION OF 100 BLACK WOMEN – NORTHERN VIRGINIA
$30,000 (two-year grant; $15,000 per year)
To provide general operating support.
OUR MINDS MATTER
$30,000 (two-year grant; $15,000 per year)
To provide general operating support.
PEACE FOR DC
$40,000 (two-year grant; $20,000 per year)
To provide general operating support.
PROGRESSIVE MARYLAND
$40,000 (two-year grant; $20,000 per year)
To provide general operating support.
SERVE YOUR CITY/WARD 6 MUTUAL AID
$30,000 (two-year grant; $15,000 per year)
To provide general operating support.
TENANTS AND WORKERS UNITED
$30,000 (two-year grant; $15,000 per year)
To provide general operating support.
THE CAPITAL MARKET
$30,000 (two-year grant; $15,000 per year)
To provide general operating support.
TRABAJADORES UNIDOS DE WASHINGTON, DC
$40,000(two-year grant; $20,000 per year)
To support general operating support.
UNDOCUBLACK NETWORK
$30,000 (two-year grant; $15,000 per year)
To provide general operating support.
VIRGINIA COALITION FOR IMMIGRANT RIGHTS
$30,000 (two-year grant; $15,000 per year)
To provide project support for the capacity building of residents of a housing cooperative.
VIRGINIA COALITION OF LATINO ORGANIZATIONS
$30,000 (two-year grant; $15,000 per year)
To provide general operating support.
Capacity Building & Healing Justice Grants
2022 Grants
TRANS-LATINX DMV
$20,000
To provide support for its capacity building needs.
CAKE SOCIETY CO.
$20,000
To provide support for its capacity building needs.
BREAD FOR THE CITY
$15,000
To provide support for the creation of a healing space for Black and brown men.
VIRGINIA ORGANIZING
$15,000
To provide support for the healing justice activities of Madre Tierra a collective of Latinx and Indigenous women in Virginia.
“Foundation support for Black communities has declined during the late 1990s and through 2006,” according to the Association of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE) and Hill-SnowdonFoundation’s Case for Funding Black-led Social Change. Underinvestment in Black-led organizations is often caused by anti-Black racism, false narratives about their effectiveness and worthiness, and other biases. According to the Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity’s Mismatched: Philanthropy’s Response to the Call for Racial Justice, “After Ferguson in 2014, in spite of increased attention to the role and impact of Black organizers and the growing Black Lives Matter movement, funding for racial justice organizing in Black communities was lower in 2018 than it was in 2015 (both in terms of total dollar amount and percentage of all funding for Black communities).” Additionally, preliminary data concerning overall funding for racial equity work in 2020 suggests that majority of the increase did not reach Black organizers and organizers of color. Resourcing Black-led organizations and communities is necessary to support the infrastructure for Black institutional and political power to ensure a more just world for all.
The initiative to support Black-led organizations in Virginia is being funded by the Meyer Foundation, Weissberg Foundation and iF, A Foundation for Radical Possibility with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It is being undertaken in partnership with the Virginia Power Building Funders.
The participatory grantmaking committee that decided on the grants was composed of Black community members in Virginia with lived experiences of racial inequities who are rooted in their communities. We would like to thank the following committee members who participated in this initiative: Jacqueline Anderson, Mikki Charles, Q. Cogdell, N. McKeller Crosby and Karen Woodbery.
AFRICAN COMMUNITIES TOGETHER
$40,000 (two-year grant; $20,000 per year)
Empowers African immigrants to fight for their civil rights and opportunity for a better life for their families in the U.S. and worldwide.
AFRIKANA INSTITUTE
$40,000 (two-year grant; $20,000 per year)
Dedicated to storytelling through cinematic works of people of color with a special focus on the global Black narrative.
$40,000 (two-year grant; $20,000 per year)
Brings accessible healing centered practices to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities and advocates to advance individual and community health and well-being.
$40,000 (two-year grant; $20,000 per year)
Focuses on the promotion on and placement of culturally affirming literature in order to improve literacy rates, build community, and heal traumas inflicted by systemic racism within the African-American community.
CONCERNED CITIZENS NETWORK OF ALEXANDRIA
$40,000 (two-year grant; $20,000 per year)
Works collaboratively with community stakeholders to engage and educate community members to work for systemic change and to dismantle racial inequity in the areas of education, housing, economics and health.
$40,000 (two-year grant; $20,000 per year)
Empowers self-identifying Black girls in Central Virginia to visualize their bright futures and potential through discovery, development, innovation, and social change in their communities.
OFFENDER AID AND RESTORATION OF ARLINGTON
$40,000 (two-year grant; $20,000 per year)
Advocates and provides support services to individuals and their families in Northern Virginia who are impacted by the criminal legal system.
SOUTH RICHMOND ADULT DAY CARE CENTER
$40,000 (two-year grant; $20,000 per year)
Provides services and advocates to enhance the health and quality of life of older adults and adults with disabilities.
ST. LUKE LEGACY CENTER FOUNDATION
$40,000 (two-year grant; $20,000 per year)
Provides services and advocates for the needs of the Black community in Richmond.
$40,000 (two-year grant; $20,000 per year)
Organizes young people to successfully transition into adulthood using an intersectional approach to building systems of care and support.
$40,000 (two-year grant; $20,000 per year)
Drives restorative truth telling and redemptive story telling by capturing the pivotal role of Richmond, Virginia in particular Jackson Ward - the nation’s first historically registered Black urban neighborhood.
$40,000 (two-year grant; $20,000 per year)
Organizes community members in historically marginalized communities to realize their vision for their neighborhoods and advocates with institutions to respond effectively and equitably.
Grantseeker FAQ
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The Request for Proposals (RFP) for our 2023 Community Power Grantmaking Program is now closed. It is available in English and in Spanish.
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iF has implemented a participatory grantmaking approach to our community power grantmaking program. Participatory grantmaking involves “ced(ing) decisionmaking power about funding decisions – including the strategy and criteria behind those decisions – to the very communities that a foundation aims to serve.” The participatory grantmaking committee will decide on the grants. The committee will be composed of community members of color from across the region who have lived experience of racial inequities and are engaged in organizing and advocacy.
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We fund community and nonprofit organizations that are committed to racial equity and undertake community organizing, community engagement, and advocacy in the District of Columbia, Montgomery County and Prince George’s County in Maryland, and Northern Virginia.
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This narrative should include a description of the organization’s organizing and advocacy work that advances racial equity and engagement with Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian Pacific Islander, and other communities of color. It is similar to a letter of inquiry.
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Submit the following which are not included in the one page narrative.
Organization or project budget
Diversity matrix
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The grant range is $15,000 to $20,000.
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The foundation provides general operating support. For direct services organizations that undertake advocacy, they would receive a project support grant.
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Our grantee partners have tax-exempt status under Section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code or have fiscal sponsors.
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Applications for the capacity building program in 2023 is by invitation only.