The Central Valley Community Foundation (CVCF) is pleased to offer this Request for Proposals (RFP), with the goal of selecting ten (10) grassroots organizations who will work together in a Learning Community to strengthen and mobilize as a base for inclusive economic development in Fresno.
Donor Name: Central Valley Community Foundation
State: California
City: Fresno
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 02/13/2023
Size of the Grant: $130,000
Grant Duration: 10 months
Details:
The Informed Narratives for Community Healing and Equitable Systems (INCHES) Initiative is made possible by a grant to CVCF by The James Irvine Foundation (JIF). JIF and CVCF believe that communities will experience greater economic and political opportunity when they are well informed about issues impacting their economic prospects and mobility and have the skills, relationships, and resources they need to implement and sustain changes that benefit their lives.
The goals of the INCHES Initiative are:
- To strengthen the capacity of grassroots, community-driven organizations in Fresno’s most underserved communities to create restorative spaces for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) essential workers to heal from the economic effects of COVID and its associated pandemic.
- To build the leadership capacity of residents and essential workers to lead community-wide dialoguing sessions about the root causes and impact of racism and economic injustice, creating shared understanding and analysis of the problems and opportunities to improve economic justice in Fresno.
- To inform and shift institutional policies and practices of civic and institutional leaders whose daily work impacts education, economic, and workforce development in Fresno by improving their capacity and skill sets to engage in meaningful dialogue, learning, and reconciling activities associated with a shared understanding and analysis of the root causes of racism and their continued effects on today’s economic disparities.
Funding Information
The INCHES Initiative will provide both financial and leadership development support for the selected grassroots organizations. Specifically, the selected applicants will:
- Receive up to a maximum grant amount of $130,000 per organization, including a significant portion for general operating support and/or overhead.
- Allocate a portion of the grant funds to compensate their resident leaders’ participation in the initiative and their own staff time dedicated to the initiative, including data collection and reporting performed in partnership with CVCF.
- Participate in the 10-months long Learning Community that consists of organization staff and resident leaders.
Each grantee will be expected to:
- Engage at least two (2) staff members in the Learning Community.
- Recruit, support, and compensate six (6) essential frontline workers or residents to participate in the Learning Community.
- Engage a minimum of 40 essential/frontline workers and residents in a dialogue on the effects of racism in the Fresno economy
- Participate in all eight (8) Learning Community convenings.
- Participate in a learning exchange to share your findings and learnings on creating an inclusive economy.
- Participate in data collection, reporting, and evaluation as it pertains to participation in the learning community and engagement with residents on understanding the effects of racism in the Fresno economy.
Eligibility Criteria
Eligible organizations will meet the following criteria:
- 501c3 Status
- 501c3 community-based organizations (nonprofits) are preferred. Community initiatives that are in the process of obtaining 501c3 status may apply through fiscal sponsorship by another nonprofit entity, but the initiative must be able to demonstrate its separate 501c3 application is under way.
- Grassroots Organizations
- The organization, in both theory and practice, engages the people where they do work and work alongside the community; they serve to find solutions to improve conditions and outcomes of the community.
- Involving Residents in Positive Change
- The organization’s work has focused on one or more of the following activities:
- Involving residents in developing a new vision for their neighborhoods and/or identifying priorities for improving their community;
- Working with residents and supporting their efforts to lead and advocate for positive changes in their community;
- Increasing leadership opportunities and the role of community members to improve their community; and/or
- Supporting the creation of resident-led neighborhood associations or other forms of community organizations that are focused on improving the specific neighborhood or community.
- The organization’s work has focused on one or more of the following activities:
- Dedicated Staff
- The organization has at least one part-time or full-time staff member that dedicates a minimum average of 10 hours per week to move the work forward, in addition to others’ contributions.
- Committed Advisors or a Board of Directors
- The organization has a stable and committed board of directors or (if not yet a 501c3) advisory committee.
- Committed to Participating in the Learning Community
- The organization is committed to participating in the Learning Community by attending monthly convenings as set forth in the Learning Community schedule.
Selection criteria for the INCHES Initiative
The selection criteria below provide the framework that will be used for evaluating the proposals. The most competitive organizations will:
- Meet all the eligibility criteria outlined above.
- Demonstrate that they have gained the trust and support of residents/community members;
- Demonstrate that they have had meaningful engagement with residents and/or the community they serve.
- Demonstrate that they have the capacity or will develop the capacity to meaningfully participate in a group effort, i.e. collective impact efforts, coalition building, alliance building, community organizing.
- Demonstrate that its staff, boards of directors, and/or advisory groups are committed to the mission of their organizations and dedicate time, talent, fundraising support and/or leadership of the efforts.
For more information, visit INCHES Grant.
