National Grassroots Organizing Program – Oct 1

Posted by Ben & Jerry's Foundation on May 21, 2024

Ben & Jerry’s Foundation invites applications from grassroots organizations

The Ben & Jerry’s Foundation was created to fund organizations in Vermont and around the country that are working for progressive social change.

The foundation invites applications to its National Grassroots Organizing Program (NGO), which offers two-year, unrestricted, general operating support grants of up to $30,000 per year—with an average grant size of $20,000 per year—to small, constituent-led grassroots organizations across the United States and its territories.

While the foundation’s broad goals are to further social and environmental justice, its primary purpose is to support the local leadership and grassroots organizing activities of our grant partners rather than any specific issues the organizations are addressing. The foundation is interested in supporting groups that are carrying out activities that build support and collective action to address impacts of inequity and injustice in their communities.

The foundation is guided by common principles of community organizing, in general these are: the organization is led by the people directly impacted by the issues the organization works on, and those people have clear decision-making power; a plan with clear goals to gain rights, win collective political power, and create positive community change; an assessment of the problem being addressed and best tactics to employ; outreach, networking, and ally-gaining activities that build support and momentum; and educational activities and events that inform and motivate and build support.

Activities might include but are not limited to community and ally outreach, leadership development of constituents, constituent empowerment and decision-making, popular education, campaign development, mobilizing constituents and allies, coalition building, and non-violent direct action (NVDA).

To be eligible, applicants must have an annual operating budget under $350,000; use grassroots, collective-action organizing campaigns as the primary strategy for creating social change; be a nonprofit with 501(c)(3) status or have a fiscal agent with this status; and be U.S.-based and U.S.-focused.

The revised application process for 2024 is open for the year, and will remain open until October, when the foundation will pause to update its forms and details for the upcoming year.

For complete program guidelines and application instructions, see the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation website.

Deadline: October 1, 2024