General Fund Grants | Fall 2023: 

Seeding Justice funds primarily grassroots, Oregon-based organizations that believe, like we do, that those most impacted by the pain of injustice are best equipped to come up with solutions to the problems that affect them. 

We prioritize funding small, emerging, and grassroots organizations that:  

• Address the root causes of injustice and focus on changing systems, not just addressing symptoms of problems;
• Build collective power by using community organizing, leadership development, base building, policy advocacy, and/or other strategies;
• Are intentionally anti-racist, anti-oppression, and intersectional in their thinking, approaches, and solutions; and
• Are led by the people most impacted.

(You can read about our priorities on our website.) The majority of the groups we fund have smaller budgets, but they are well organized and passionate about the work; they partner well with others in the movement; their work is informed by, and accountable to, the communities they serve.   

ELIGIBILITY: In order to be eligible for funding, organizations must:  

• Be based in Oregon and/or their work must benefit those who call Oregon home; and
• Have 501(c)(3) tax exemption or have a 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor. If a group has neither a federal tax exemption nor a fiscal sponsor, please contact us before applying.
• Organizations that received a General Fund grant in the fall of 2022 are eligible to apply. If you’re unsure if that’s you, please contact us.

For the full list of eligibility requirements, please visit our website.   

GRANT TYPES + AMOUNTS: Our General Fund grants can be used for general operating support or for special projects. They are all for one year unless otherwise stated in the grant agreement. (Our grantmakers occasionally make multi-year commitments for exceptional projects.) Seeding Justice strives to fund groups at the full amount requested. However, our limited budget and the high number of applications we receive sometimes force us to make slightly smaller awards. We have two types of grants:  

1) Operating Support Grants. Operating support grants are unrestricted and are awarded to a group for their general, everyday work, not a specific project.  

• Eligible groups: Only 501(c)(3) tax-exempt groups whose budgets are up to $700,000 a year can apply for operating support.
• Max Amount: $15,000.

Please note that we are unable to make operating support grants that exceed 30% of an organization’s annual budget. 

2) Project Support Grants. Project support grants are restricted to a specific project or fiscally sponsored group.  

• Eligible groups: All groups regardless of tax exemption or budget size can apply for project support.
• Max Amounts: - $15,000 for fiscally sponsored and 501(c)(3) groups - $7,000 for groups with neither federal tax-exempt status nor a fiscal sponsor. Note that we are unlikely to fund a project for which we are the only funder. 

PROCESS + TIMELINE: Applications must be submitted via our online platform, Submittable. After groups submit their applications, our Grantmaking Committee will review applications and select the groups that will receive funding.  In some cases, the Grantmaking Committee may visit groups or ask for additional information before making a decision.  The timeline for the upcoming fall cycle is as follows: 

• Tuesday, September 19th – Applications open. 
• Monday, October 16th – Deadline to apply. Applications must be submitted by 5 p.m. PST. 
• By end of November – Grantmakers make decisions. 
• By early December – Notifications to groups go out. 
• End of December 2023 – Selected grantees receive their grant agreements and funds. Once groups receive their awards, they’ll have one year to spend the funds (unless otherwise noted in their grant agreements).  Seeding Justice does not require written reports; instead we’ll ask grantees how to connect with Seeding Justice at the end of the grant period. This could be through a conversation, a written summary, end of year report, etc.

WORKING ON YOUR APPLICATION: Before you start, please read through our General Fund grants page — including the scoring rubric and Frequently Asked Questions—carefully. If you are working on your application directly in Submittable, your answers will autosave. If you'd like to work on a draft outside of the platform, you can download the application questions and the scoring rubric from our website. 

Please note that we are no longer accepting paper applications. If applying online presents a barrier, however, please let us know and we can work together on finding a solution.  

QUESTIONS? Due to the high volume of inquiries and our limited staff capacity, we ask that you read all materials and information available on our website before contacting us. If you still have questions, please send us an email with your questions and we’ll get back to you as quickly as possible. If you experience technical difficulties with Submittable, please contact them directly at support@submittable.com.

Seeding Justice Rapid Response Grants

Our Rapid Response grants program is designed to provide current grantees with quickly deployed small grants to respond to emergencies and opportunities.

ELIGIBILITY
In order to be eligible for funding, groups must:

• be a current Seeding Justice grantee;
• have an annual operating budget of less than $700,000; and
• not have received another Rapid Response grant in the same fiscal year (Seeding Justice’s fiscal year is from July 1 to June 30)

Proposals for Rapid Response grants must clearly articulate the urgency for funds or immediate need of the organization. If the request is not urgent, we encourage groups to apply for our General Fund grants.
Rapid Response grants are not meant to address major climate or global catastrophes such as the COVID-19 pandemic, floods or wildfires. They are very small grants for unanticipated opportunities or challenges, such as attending conferences, purchasing needed technology, or getting some professional help when there’s a leadership transition in the organization.

GRANT TYPES + AMOUNTS
 

• Critical Response grants: Maximum of $4,000 for immediate and critical needs. For example, organizing community gatherings/meetings in response to traumatic events; unexpected challenges within the organization, such as an executive transition; or unique and timely opportunities, such as having an expert present to your organization.
• Travel grants: No more than $1,500 for organizations that are faced with unexpected travel-related expenses. Examples of things we would consider funding include registration fees and/or travel-related expenses for attending conferences, meetings, or events that were unplanned but that present a unique opportunity for the organization. Priority will be given to organizations based outside of the Portland Metro area.
• Technology grants: Up to $1,000 for grassroots organizations for unexpected technology needs. For example, replacing a malfunctioning computer, paying for technology that would allow your staff/community members to meet remotely, or renting equipment for a community gathering or training. Priority will be given to organizations based outside of the Portland Metro area.

PROCESS
Organizations may apply for Rapid Response grant funding on a rolling basis provided that funds are available. Seeding Justice replenishes the Rapid Response grant program each fiscal year on July 1 and January 1.
To the extent possible, we try to make Rapid Response grant funding available quickly, but we encourage groups, if at all possible, to plan ahead and apply for funds at least two weeks before they need the funds.

REPORTING
We do not require reports for Rapid Response grants.