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Grants - Overview
Successful grant applications to the Foundation for Change reflect an understanding of who we are and what we are trying to accomplish. Before applying for a grant, we encourage you to read this overview carefully and to browse the other pages in this section of our website.
Our Grantmaking Philosophy – “Change, Not Charity”
In 1994 the San Diego Foundation for Change incorporated as its own 501c3 corporation and became a member of the Funding Exchange, a network of regionally-based foundations dedicated “Change, Not Charity.” Where traditional practices of philanthropy aim to meet immediate human need (“charity”), the Foundation for Change seeks to address the root causes of social injustice (“change.”)
As Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of injustice which make philanthropy necessary.”
The Foundation for Change is rooted in – and committed to – a culture of community-based organizing. We are committed to growing grassroots movements for social justice in San Diego and Tijuana.
To learn more about “Models of Social Change,” please review this document.
Para ver algunos “Modelos de Cambio Social,” favor de revisar este documento.
Our Grantmaking Practice – Grassroots Decision-Making
Most philanthropic organizations leave decision-making power in the hands of donors themselves or place this power in the hands of professional staff. At the Foundation for Change, grant making decisions are made by an all-volunteer board composed of leaders familiar with our region’s most under-served and under-represented communities. Because members of our Grantmaking Committee have “on the ground” knowledge of hard-to-reach populations, we are able to identify promising leaders and address issues and causes before they attract the attention of more traditional philanthropists. Because members of our Grantmaking Committee conduct in-person interviews with finalists for grant awards, we are able to establish supportive relationships with emerging leaders, helping them to get on the “first rung” of the philanthropic ladder.
To learn more about our Grantmaking Committee, click here.
Our Grantmaking History – Planting Seeds of Change
Our model of grassroots philanthropy has had its successes here in San Diego. Whether for lack of education, experience, resources or awareness, many leaders from San Diego’s most marginalized communities have been unable to access more traditional funding sources and so have depended on the Foundation for Change to help them launch their grassroots organizations.
The brief list below gives an idea of the kinds of organizations that the Foundation for Change has helped to launch (years funded in parentheses):
- Environmental Health Coalition (1987, 1990, 1993, and 1996) promotes environmental and social justice by empowering leaders in underserved communities to protect public health and the environment as these are threatened by toxic pollution.
- Supportive Parents Information Network (SPIN) (1999, 2001, 2003, and 2006) helps low-income families break out of the isolation of poverty and achieve self-sufficiency.
- The Employee Rights Center (1999) helps nonunion workers with a host of issues, including unemployment claims, wage disputes and proceedings at the National Labor Relations Board.
- Shakti Rising (2001) provides holistic, gender-specific and trauma-informed services to young women, ages 15–30, who are dealing with multiple issues including substance abuse, body-image issues, interpersonal violence, and depression.
- Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice (2004) was the leading partner in a broad-based coalition that won a Living Wage Ordinance from the San Diego City Council in 2006.
- Gay, Lesbian, & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) (2006) strives to ensure that each member of every school community is valued and respected regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.
- Sun & Moon Vision Productions (2006) supports local women in producing documentaries, digital video and media art that nurtures a humanitarian vision.
Our Granting Future – Immigrant and Border Communities
In 2009 the Foundation for Change completed an 18-month program of strategic planning, underwritten by the California Endowment. As a focal point of this new Strategic Plan, we have embraced the challenge of building networks for social justice in the immigrant and border communities of the San Diego/Tijuana region. (Click here to download the strategic plan.)
This new focus is not unrelated to our earlier work. In fact the Foundation for Change has a proud history of supporting emerging leaders and organizations working in San Diego’s under-resourced immigrant communities. Across many years the Foundation for Change has also granted monies to groups working on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.
What’s new is our commitment to prioritize this work in everything we do. In 2010 the Foundation for Change is laying plans for three major CAUSES:
Within each initiative, our strategic focus will be on immigrant and border communities. |
