Request for Ideas for ACE Innovation Fund

MetLife Foundation is launching a 2-year, $10 million fund to identify and amplify solutions that address thepersistent and growing income and wealth divide in the United States.

Donor Name: MetLife Foundation

State: Selected States

County: Selected Counties

City: Selected Cities

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 07/17/2023

Size of the Grant: Up to $250,000

Grant Duration: 2 years

Details:

Accelerating Commitment to Equity Innovation Fund (ACE Innovation Fund) will support visionary, bold and forward-looking solutions that address barriers and systems that disproportionately impact Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) and historically marginalized people from building wealth and living with grace and dignity.

MetLife Foundation seeks the following in partnership with grant recipients:

Uplifting, thoughtful, brave, and visionary ideas at the nexus of issues that impact economic mobility that seek to create a more equitable, inclusive, and just future for BIPOC and historically marginalized people impacted by the growing income and wealth divide.
Development of a strong network of leaders and non-profit organizations to ensure ideas have the capacity for broader impact across communities and sectors and the opportunity to scale.
Empower non-profits through flexible program support and access to technical assistance and capacity building services to strengthen grantees’ leadership, organization, and ability to serve.

Focus Areas

Financial Security and Longevity solutions that deploy financial security optimally throughout a person’s life stages, such as the promotion of integrated financial capability services in parallel with savings mechanisms; programs that help individuals gain greater financial security; and asset building strategies that reduce income and wealth inequality.
Small Business Growth and Job Creation interventions that enable a pathway to scale, transfer and capitalize small businesses so they can grow ownership and employment opportunities for minorities; solutions that focus on business sustainability, including ongoing access to capital and supports; and enable protection gaps that build economic resilience.
Narrative Change to dismantle negative and harmful narratives that put the power back into the hands of the community to create narratives that accurately reflect lived experiences; combat harmful narratives to rethink the notions of risk; shifting from a narrative of attaining financial security/wealth to preserving and passing on generational wealth.
Homeownership, Affordable Housing and Community Revitalization to support opportunities related to sustaining the home, including valuation, retention, and ability to pass on real estate-related wealth; efforts to promote housing affordability due to economic fluctuations, slow wage growth, and gentrification; provision of resident services to help people more easily access employment, education, health, and childcare.
Climate and Environmental Justice efforts that address environmental health and safety; support climate resilience planning; expand access to public amenities including sustainable transportation that reduces the impact of climate change.
Good Jobs that open access to young people and adults to upskill/reskill to be competitive in an ever-changing workforce and connect to high-income jobs or career tracks; secure jobs that provide family sustaining wages and stable schedules; access to benefits including retirement and wealth building tools that lead to financial security and sustainable living.

Funding Information

MetLife Foundation will award up to 24 non-profit organizations each up to $250,000 to Implement or Accelerate their programs.
Grantees will be eligible to apply for up to $150,000 in follow-on funding based on continued viability of the program, impact and demonstrated outcomes.

Eligibility Criteria

They MetLife Foundation encourages proposals from applicants that represent a wide range of organizations and areas of expertise in the non-profit sector.
They encourage applicants that have authentic relationships with communities hardest hit by income and wealth inequality, including organizations that focus on communities including BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and People with Disabilities. MetLife Foundation will be intentional in its approach to support non-profit organizations led by BIPOC and leaders proximate to the issues.
Applicants must have an annual operating budget of $750,000 or more.
Applicants must demonstrate a commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) or Racial Equity within their organizations with particular emphasis at the senior—staff and board levels—and through strategy and/or programmatic focus.
Organizations must be tax-exempt public charities as per Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code (any organization whose 501(c)(3) status is still pending must have a fiscal sponsor).
Organizations must have significant work serving at least one of the communities and must also plan to Implement or Accelerate their program in one of these communities:
- County: DeKalb, Fulton
  - Cities: Atlanta, GA
- County: Chatham, Durham, Wake
  - Cities: Cary, Raleigh, Durham, NC
- County: Cook, DuPage, Kane
  - Cities: Chicago, IL
- County: Bronx, New York, Queens, Kings, Richmond
  - Cities: New York City
- County: Essex, Hudson
  - Cities: Newark, NJ
- County: San Francisco, Alameda
  - Cities: San Francisco, CA
- County: Hillsborough
  - Cities: Tampa, FL