The Rose Community Foundation is pleased to announce an open funding opportunity for nonprofit organizations and government agencies in the Greater Denver region. This opportunity is intended to support the work of organizations working to close gaps in access and opportunity by increasing financial freedom, dismantling generational cycles of poverty, and growing assets for individuals and communities furthest from opportunity.
Donor Name: Rose Community Foundation
State: Colorado
County: Selected Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 09/06/2022
Size of the Grant: $25,000 to $75,000
Grant Duration: One year
Details:
Purpose
To support the work of organizations that increase financial freedom, dismantle generational cycles of poverty, and increase assets for individuals and communities furthest from opportunity. Who and where do they want to impact? They are interested in hearing from applicants serving populations encountering barriers to economic opportunity, be they related to racial, gender or situational inequities. They recognize that intersectionality of identities may often compound the barriers to opportunity that individuals face, and they welcome applications from organizations serving multiple or overlapping priority population areas. They are especially interested in supporting organizations that serve populations/individuals earning less than 200 percent of the FPL and working on multiple strategies as defined in this RFP.
Although they fund in the seven-county Greater Denver region, priority will be given to applications focused on Adams, Arapahoe and Denver counties, or specific neighborhoods in Boulder, Broomfield, Douglas and Jefferson counties with demonstrated need established through data.
They are interested in seeing proposals that:
- Increase social and financial capital.
- Support community development efforts at neighborhood, local or regional levels. They define community development as planned efforts to build assets that increase the capacity of residents to improve their quality of life. These assets may include several forms of community capital: physical, human, social, financial, environmental, political, and cultural1.
- Increase access to capital for individuals, communities, entrepreneurs and local businesses through mechanisms such as grants and loans, including Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and other alternative financing organizations.
- Scale peer-to-peer programs where people with lived experience are paid to support others experiencing the same or similar challenges.
- Preserve and expand local quality jobs.
- Enhance small and family businesses within their priority populations and create opportunities for new businesses, including entrepreneurial support and business creation.
- Increase cooperative models and social enterprises.
- Support or mobilize values-driven local businesses with a focus on worker and community benefit.
- Support nonprofits in establishing or maintaining social enterprises that hire from constituents served.
- Mobilize informal networks and mutual aid societies that support networked job and career opportunities.
- Support equitable provision of public services.
- Support organizations that provide person-centered benefits counseling so that individuals do not face the “cliff effect” for needed support as income and wealth increase.
- Improve, build and protect equitable safety-net services that intersect and support wealth building strategies through programs or advocacy.
- Advance local economic stability.
- Support and mobilize community development efforts at the neighborhood level.
- Minimize gentrification and displacement.
- Increase civic participation and leadership opportunities within neighborhoods.
- Enhance workforce development, training and job placement for people making up to 200 percent of FPL with a focus on those furthest from opportunity, as defined in this RFP.
- Increase housing affordability for individuals and families that are cost burdened.
- Support eviction prevention programs and advocacy.
- Support affordable home ownership programs and advocacy.
- Ensure rental or home-purchase benefits counseling and navigation programs are available to meet immediate and long-term needs.
- Support promising practices and opportunities such as the creation of auxiliary dwelling units and older home maintenance to create and maintain wealth in families.
- Build policy and organize advocacy to implement strategies that advance inclusionary zoning, subsidized and affordable housing opportunities.
Types of support
- General Operating Support – for organizations where the majority of their work drives economic opportunity and community wealth building work.
- Program or Project Support – for organizations where the majority of their work does not have a primary focus on economic opportunity or community wealth building work.
Funding Information
- Grant amounts will typically range from $25,000 to $75,000.
- Grant duration: One year.
Eligibility Criteria
- This opportunity is open to nonprofit organizations, government agencies or fiscally sponsored projects in the seven-county Greater Denver region: Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties.
- Organizations with a Civic Engagement Through Arts & Culture, Nonpartisan Voter Participation & Engagement grant or who are funded through donor-advised funds, Rose Youth Foundation, Roots & Branches Foundation or other giving circles at Rose Community Foundation are eligible for this opportunity, as long as other eligibility requirements are met.
- Organizations that house endowments at Rose Community Foundation are eligible to apply but, like everyone else, are not guaranteed to receive a grant.
- Organizations with a currently active grant period end date of November 1, 2022, or later are not eligible for this opportunity (except as listed above).
- Organizations with open applications for the Social Emotional Learning or Policy and Advocacy grant cycles are eligible to apply but will only be able to receive funding for one application.
For more information, visit RCF.
