Digital Impact Grants

Posted by Stanford University on May 15, 2017

Digital Civil Society Lab Invites Applications for Digital Impact Grants
DEADLINE: JUNE 12, 2017

The Digital Civil Society Lab at the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society is inviting applications to its Digital Impact (formerly Markets for Good) initiative from projects focused on improving the digital infrastructure for civil society and helping social sector practitioners and policy makers use digital resources safely, ethically, and effectively. Through its grantmaking, the initiative supports better data-informed decision-making in philanthropy (particularly individual giving) and the social sector and facilitates research and innovation aimed at strengthening the safe, ethical, and effective use of digital resources in civil society.

To that end, Digital Impact grants are awarded for two types of projects: scholarly research and sector advancement.

1) Research: Scholarly research grants are awarded to academic teams exploring questions of scholarly interest that have practical applications for the social sector, or for scholarly review of existing practice. Priority will be given to research projects with either a demonstrated commitment to practical applications in the social sector or those that clearly articulate a plan to turn their research into practical knowledge.

Applications for research grants are encouraged from faculty or graduate students from any disciplinary perspective or methodology, as well as those that bring together multiple disciplinary inquiries.

2) Sector: These grants are intended for nonprofits and partners to address sector-wide challenges in using digital data safely, ethically and effectively. Priority will be given to projects that align with the four principles for digital data use outlined in the Digital Impact Toolkit: consent, privacy, openness and pluralism. Some ways to address these issues include reproducible consent practices, best practices for data sharing across organizations or sectors, new organizational governance practices or trainings, or software platforms or tools built to prioritize permission or ownership.

Sector grants will be awarded to nonprofit organizations in the United States and abroad. U.S.-based organizations must have 501(c)(3) status. Organizations based outside the U.S. must have equivalent exempt status.

In 2017, Digital Impact expects to award between five and fifteen grants totaling $200,000.

See the Digital Impact website for complete program guidelines, information about 2016 grant recipients, and application instructions.

https://digitalimpact.org/2017-request-for-proposal/