Outcomes
Our approach to grant making is a proven tool to positively impact communities.
Civic Engagement
We outreach to and engage grassroots residents and frontline responders. We have trusted relationships with thousands of leaders citywide.
Leadership Development
We support existing leaders as well as spur emerging leaders to action. Capacity building, coaching, and other tools prepare leaders in our network to navigate and solve challenges.
Bottom-Up Systems Change
Our sustained support and strategies result in some groups achieving phenomenal progress challenging long term inequitable barriers.
How We Serve
Grantmaking
Serving as a philanthropic intermediary, we provide resources & a suite of services to support grassroots community groups to apply solutions to challenges they deem vital. Our platform centers resident wisdom, relationships, & equity to democratize change. We have relationships with hundreds of frontline responders such as grassroots and community groups, teachers, childcare providers, and other public servants- folks who are closest to the problems and thus, their solutions. We are a network of solution makers working from the ground up.
Technical Assistance
We provide hands-on coaching, project development, grant writing, follow-up, capacity, knowledge, and experience building for our network of grantees and grantmakers. An equity lens runs through our work, and we actively engage underrepresented groups such as persons of color, women, the differently abled, and LGBT+ individuals. We provide support and assistance to ensure that everyone who qualifies has an opportunity to apply for and complete a grant project and is not held back by traditional impediments to being able to make an impact.
Community Panel
We value community and resident wisdom. Our grantmakers are neighbors and community members who, like our grantees, have firsthand knowledge of the problems and solutions facing the community. Our community panel has the final decision on all grant applications.
Equity
Equity is a thread that runs through all our work. We consider challenges and solutions through a lens that prioritizes the impact on the most marginalized residents. Black and other residents of color, young people, LGBTQI, homeless, unemployed, and other groups are privileged in our outreach, grantmaking, coaching and capacity building.
Grantee Stories
Community Connections Grantee Addresses Poverty and Equity through Potty Training
According to NC Policy Watch, one in three families across the country struggle to afford diapers, as they cost on average $70-80 per month per child. WIC and SNAP benefits do not cover these expenses. Lack of diapers, or “diaper need,” also interferes with work, school, and even childcare, as centers expect children to be […]
See more stories
Our Funders
Our grant programs are generously funded by:
If you're interested in learning more about our programs or grassroots grantmaking as a strategy to reach your goals, Contact Us.