Applications open now for organizations to apply for Community Empowerment Grants to build capacity and increase programming and support for men and boys across Boston’s neighborhoods.
Donor Name: City of Boston
State: Massachusetts
City: Boston
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 01/06/2025
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
The Community Empowerment Small Grants are awarded to community based organizations to scale up their work and deepen their impact. This year, a total of $500,000 will be awarded to nonprofit organizations throughout Boston’s neighborhoods. Through the FY25 Community Empowerment Small Grants, the Office of Black Male Advancement will award grants of up to $20,000 to support programs that expand one of the following seven focus areas:
- Mentoring and Out-of-School Time: providing quality mentoring, literacy and out-of-school time programs when and where they are needed, offering developmentally appropriate learning environments that support social emotional and physical wellbeing.
- Youth and Young Adult Pathways: providing educational and career pathways for youth and young adults navigating their own course to economic prosperity.
- Housing Mobility: providing a continuum of housing opportunities, resources, and supports that are effectively resulting in pathways to affordable housing and homeownership.
- Economic Inclusion and Wealth Building: supporting individuals to experience financial empowerment and economic mobility.
- Workforce Training and Development: helping unemployed and underemployed individuals attain livable wage jobs and helping businesses with training for employees to support a pipeline of skilled workers.
- Fatherhood Engagement: supporting fatherhood education, case management, and peer-to-peer support to strengthen positive father-child interaction, improve social and economic outcomes for fathers and their families and improve healthy relationships.
- Mental Health and Wellness: helping support and improve the mental health and wellbeing of men.
Grant Criteria
For your awareness, the following criteria will be used to review all applications:
- Recipients must be a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit or a community-based organization partnering with a fiscal sponsor (a 501(c)(3) nonprofit). No grants can be awarded to individuals, for-profit businesses or City of Boston departments.
- Recipients must be located in Boston.
- Recipients must be working to metrically advance the well-being of historically marginalized residents with a focus on Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan and Hyde Park neighborhoods of Boston.
- Recipients budget must be $1 million or below.
- Recipients can demonstrate a need for funding to scale up their work and deepen their impact.
- Recipients have been in operation for at least 2 years.
- Recipients should explain their experience (or interest in) working with historically marginalized residents in the neighborhoods identified above or similar neighborhoods within or outside of Boston.
Scoring Criteria
- Focus Area of Program Proposal: The proposed program falls under one of the seven focus areas (listed above under Grant Program Description).
- Track Record and Experience: The organization has been a trusted community partner/advocate and has experience with delivering a similar project, or clearly states why they are prepared to try a new program.
- Clarity, Measurability, and Attainability of Intended Outcomes: The application presents a timeline of activities that are exceptionally clear, measurable, and highly attainable, showcases an understanding of the program’s desired outcomes.
- Appropriate Budget Justification: The proposed budget is detailed and reasonable to implement the proposed program AND is based on the number of residents served and activities described.
- Effectiveness of Outreach Plan and Community Engagement Strategy: The application presents an effective outreach plan, providing specific and well-detailed strategies to recruit and engage participants and ensure diverse and inclusive participation.
- Community Connections and Cultural Competence: The application shows that the organization has an authentic connection to the community that they serve and has a clear plan to reduce systemic barriers to advancement for its program participants.
For more information, visit City of Boston.
