Applying for a Grant

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"Georgia Groups Only"

Reclaim Our Vote Grant Opportunity

for "Georgia" Groups Only

Deadline: Proposals must be received by June 16, 2008 Awards will be announced early August 2008

Please contact our office before submitting a proposal

Questions? Please call 404.371.8404

Reclaim the Vote Initiative ( Georgia Only)

Request for Proposals

Deadline for Submissions:

*Must be in our office by June 16, 2008

The Fund for Southern Communities, a member foundation of the Funding Exchange, is requesting proposals from organizations working to increase voter participation and education, and voting rights in Georgia .

Background

The Reclaim the Vote Initiative is a continuation and expansion of Funding Exchange's Mobilize the Vote Fund, established in 2004. It is a strategic partnership between Funding Exchange donors, member foundations and the Nonprofit Voter Engagement Network to harness the strength of the social justice infrastructure embodied in the broad network of community organizations that Funding Exchange and member foundations have supported for over 25 years. The Reclaim the Vote Initiative is built on the belief that organizations with demonstrated community ties and connections to issues that matter in people's lives such as immigration, fair wages, access to quality education and health care are best situated to engage disenfranchised groups in civic activities. By enhancing capacity and building new infrastructure, the Reclaim the Vote Initiative seeks to increase voter registration, education, activism and overall engagement.

Purpose of the grant

Funding will support projects that register new voters, educate voters on local and national policies that impact their communities, protect the right to vote in fair and accessible elections, and encourage people to exercise their voting rights. Groups seeking funding should be involved in ongoing grassroots activism, working in partnership with other social justice organizations to advance a social justice agenda.

Funding priorities

We are interested in disenfranchised communities, including but not limited to people of color, youth, women, immigrants, working class people and rural populations. We will prioritize groups with annual organizational budgets of under $500,000. The minimum grant award will be $10,000.

Grantees will be Required to:

• Integrate a year-round, non-partisan voter outreach and education effort with existing programmatic work;

• Participate in voting rights efforts to address barriers facing voters;

• Participate in trainings hosted by the Fund for Southern Communities and/or its Reclaim our Vote Partners

• Collaborate with other community organizations and networks; and,

• Provide a progress report after the election and/or grant period.

How to apply for a grant

A. 3 - 5 page letter that includes:

• a brief description of your organization, its mission and how voter engagement fits within that mission

• a project description of the voter engagement program that you are seeking funding for that includes:

• measurable goals and objectives

• target constituencies and geographic scope of voter engagement project

• an implementation plan that describes strategies for reaching the target constituency and activities that you plan to undertake to register new voters, educate and mobilize the voting base, and/or protect the right to vote.

• a project budget and an organizational budget that itemizes income and expenses .

• proof of tax status or fiscal sponsorship agreement (and the sponsoring organization's IRS determination letter).

Send 8 copies of Grant Applications to:

The Fund for Southern Communities

315 West Ponce de Leon Avenue, Suite 1061

Decatur , Georgia 30030

The Fund for Southern Communities will only make grants to organizations with a 501(c)(3) IRS tax status, a limited number of 501(c)(4) groups, or organizations that have a fiscal sponsor agreement.

About the partners

The Funding Exchange and the Nonprofit Voter Engagement Network have joined forces to provide funding and technical assistance to nonprofit and grassroots organizations that promote voter registration, voter turnout and voting rights at the local and national levels. They are dedicated to base building at the community level and creating sustainable, local voter engagement initiatives that work to increase the number and capacity of nonprofit and social justice organizations that participate in ongoing voter engagement and voting rights work.

If you have questions regarding this RFP, please contact

404-371-8404 or grants@fundforsouth.org

__________________________________________________

Our next general proposal deadline is September 1, 2008

PLEASE NOTE: Late or incomplete proposals will not be considered for funding! - Please contact our office 404-371-8404 if you have any questions about applying for a grant through the Fund for Southern Communities or if you would like to consult with a Program Officer.

Some things to consider before applying-

Is your organization working for social change? (What is social change?)
Is your total organizational budget $150,000 or less?
Is your organization located and doing work in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina?
We do not fund direct services, social services or special events.

If you fit these basic guidelines, your organization may be a good fit for the Fund for Southern Communities.

Call us at 404.371.8404 to schedule a one-on-one phone conversation with our Program Officer to have an intimate and comprehensive discussion about your organization, mission, programs, and how they may fit our funding guidelines.

Download our Application here:

Grant Application- MS Word format

Grant Application- .RTF format (use only if you do not have MS word)

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