Request for Proposals for 2023 Elevate Initiative

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 08/18/2023

Size of the Grant: $150,000

Details:

For this round of the Elevate Initiative, up to sixteen (16) grants 1 will be awarded to organizations nationwide who demonstrate a strong commitment to racial justice, and an ability to address economic disparities that affect Black and Brown 2 workers.

• Eight (8) Established Organizations will receive $150,000 to advance projects/programs to address economic growth within their communities. A typical profile for the Established Organizations category includes non-profits that have been operating for at least 7 years, can demonstrate success in their work and have an annual budget in the range of $500K to $2.5M.
• Eight (8) Emerging Organizations will receive $60,000 to expand their capacity as they drive projects/programs to support Black and Brown workers in their communities. A typical profile for the Emerging Organizations category includes non-profits that have formed within the past five years, can demonstrate potential in their work and have an annual budget of up to $1M. 3

Frontline Solutions, a Black-owned, national consulting firm, centers its work on intersectional equity, community-driven innovation, and activating broad networks for change. These are the tenets governing this process and the space for you to work within, from the release of this RFP, through the distribution of grants, and throughout the convening of a learning community.

Specifically, Frontline approaches this process being mindful of the following principles:

• Transparency – Frontline will provide complete information regarding the grant requirements, selection process, evaluation criteria, and the expectations of awardees.
• Context – Frontline will endeavor to provide potential applicants with the fullest possible understanding of the context of this initiative in order to elicit the best possible proposals for achieving the goals of the project.
• Respect – Frontline want to respect your organization’s time and work. It will not require superfluous information or documentation up front, but will clearly delineate what is required throughout the process in order to allow applicants the ability to determine whether this grant is appropriate for their work.
• Equity – Frontline interested in receiving applications from community-led organizations that have historically been underinvested in. As a result, its have developed a process that is designed to evaluate the quality of the proposals regardless of the resources applicants may have at their disposal to write them.

Funding Criteria

Frontline Solutions interested in receiving proposals for programs that seek to create or advance pathways to economic opportunity, and/or change systems and/or practices that adversely affect Black and Brown workers and other populations listed above. The specific vehicles or approaches to the work of building greater equity will factor in the evaluation of proposals and will ultimately enrich the community of practice. Examples of approaches include but are not limited to:

• Emerging or Impact Industry Access
  •  Initiatives that promote access to technology such as artificial intelligence (AI), or climate and environmental sectors and models in which economically vulnerable populations are currently underrepresented due to structural racism and lack of access.
• Systems Change Initiatives
  • Efforts that advance economic mobility for one or more of the target populations on a systemic level. This might include programs that address the effects of systemic racism in areas ranging from procurement policies, funding allocations, community-led initiatives, or broader recruitment and retention in emerging industries.
• Workforce Development Programs
  • Programs that build skills, promote skills transfer, or offer meaningful training opportunities that lead to living wage jobs and pathways to advancement. This also includes initiatives that work at scale and directly involve industry and public sector representatives, which seek to address systemic barriers to access or promotion within sectors, or which assist with system navigation, social enterprise development, or entrepreneurship pathways.
• Innovative Economic Models
  • Initiatives that seek to pilot and/or scale new approaches to more equitable wealth creation such as co-ops models, regenerative economies, social enterprise, or more equity centered approaches to compensation.

Target Populations

This RFP is focused on addressing structural and systemic barriers to economic opportunity and ensuring equitable outcomes in the American workforce. Applicant organizations should demonstrate a primary focus on addressing financial insecurity and poverty, with a priority on groups who have historically been affected by systemic inequity and injustice.

Below is a list of target populations with whom applicants might be working. Its include these not to indicate that applicants should address the entirety of complex and important issues facing these groups, but as populations that your work engages and who have traditionally faced systemic racism and disadvantages in the workforce. These groups may include, but are not limited to:

• Black and Brown workers
• Black and Brown businesses and entrepreneurs
• Immigrant communities (including those who speak languages other than English)
• Indigenous communities (including those who speak languages other than English)
• Returning citizens
• Workers experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity
• Rural residents and workers
• Young adults of color
• Women of color
• Workers of color with disabilities
• Elderly and multi-generational workers of color

Eligibility Criteria

Organizations applying for this grant opportunity must:

• Demonstrate organizational programmatic priorities seeking to advance economic mobility and have experience working in partnership with communities of color and including the perspectives of those with lived experience
• Be willing to engage in a community of practice with peer organizations for approximately 12 months
• Demonstrate 501(c)(3) status or be a social sector-focused organization with a fiscal sponsor that has a 501(c)(3)
• Be in good financial standing Be able to manage a grant of $150,000 for Established Organizations and $60,000 for Emerging Organizations
• Not solely engage in advocacy or any political lobbying efforts
• Be based and provide services in the United States
• Be committed to racial equity, both within the organization and in external work
• Have a demonstrable history of economic mobility programming

For more information, visit Frontline Solutions.