Rose Community Foundation is accepting funding requests to support efforts aimed at elevating the voices and priorities of those furthest from opportunity through voter participation and engagement, community organizing around local issues, and civic leadership development programs to help build a base for strong and inclusive civic engagement in the seven-county Greater Denver region.
Donor Name: Rose Community Foundation
State: Colorado
County: Adams County (CO), Arapahoe County (CO), Boulder County (CO), Broomfield County (CO), Denver County (CO), Douglas County (CO), Jefferson County (CO)
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 04/01/2024
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: 1 Year
Details:
Grants will be made to support organizations and programs that engage diverse communities leading up to and outside of elections and equip historically under-reached populations to participate in civic, policy and electoral processes around local issues. Activities that support or oppose specific candidates, political parties, legislation or ballot issues will not be considered.
Civic engagement gives residents a voice and more proximity to the systems of governance that affect their daily lives and is a powerful vehicle for advancing empowerment, belonging and representation. Rose Community Foundation seeks to fund organizations and projects that promote equitable and inclusive nonpartisan efforts to strengthen the civic fabric of the region.
Examples of projects that may be funded through this opportunity include, but are not limited to:
- Nonpartisan voter registration, turnout and education efforts.
- Civic fellowships and leadership development programs that create pathways to policy and civic engagement and/or representation for historically under-reached communities.
- Community engagement or organizing efforts that elevate the voices of individuals who are furthest from opportunity. Please note that efforts focused on advocacy for specific local/state policies are a better fit for the Policy and Advocacy Ecosystem grant cycle, which launches in summer 2024.
Types of Support
- General Operating Support: With the intention of providing maximum flexibility for nonprofit organizations engaging in civic engagement work, they aim for most grants to be for general operating support.
- Program or Project Support:
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- Organizations that have a primary organizational focus that does not include civic engagement.
- Organizations that do national or multi-state work should apply for program funding and specify that dollars would be used exclusively for regional activities.
- 501(c)(4) organizations are required to apply for program funding to distinguish from candidate or partisan work, which the Foundation cannot fund.
- Any grant applicants may opt to have funding structured as program support if that is preferred.
Funding Information
- Total funding available: $350,000. They anticipate making around 20 grants.
- Funding amounts will typically range between $5,000 and $30,000, with amounts determined based on alignment with the grant cycle objectives. Please note that not all grant requests will be funded and those that are may not all be funded at the full amount requested.
- Grant duration: Grants approved for work specific to the 2024 election cycle will typically end December 31, 2024. All other approved grants will be for a 12-month period unless applicants provide a reason for requesting a shorter grant period.
Eligibility Criteria
This opportunity is open to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, government agencies or fiscally sponsored projects in the seven-county Denver Metro region: Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties. 501(c)(4) organizations are eligible to apply for project support only (not unrestricted or general operating grants).
- Organizations funded through donor-advised funds or Rose Community Foundation giving circles (i.e., Rose Youth Foundation, Roots and Branches, Generation Now, Rose Women’s Circle) are eligible to apply, as long as other eligibility requirements are met.
- Organizations that house endowments at Rose Community Foundation are eligible to apply, as long as other eligibility requirements are met, but are not guaranteed to receive a grants.
- Organizations that have current funding at Rose Community Foundation are eligible to apply for this opportunity, but prioritization will be given to applicants that do not have open grants (including via the Colorado Education Organizing funder collaborative) in an effort to expand the reach to and inclusion of organizations, communities, and types of work or projects that are not eligible for funding via other Rose Community Foundation grantmaking opportunities.
For more information, visit RCF.
