Funding Announcement

The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) is now accepting applications for its small grants program for emerging grassroots organizations engaged in community organizing. These grants are coupled with training and technical assistance to support and strengthen organizational infrastructure and community organizing work. (Please see Program Definitions below.)


Grants for as much as $20,000 (note that the average grant size is $10,000) are awarded in conjunction with training and technical assistance to strengthen emerging organizations that have a community organizing focus and, to the extent possible, are multifaceted and not single-issued in nature. The primary purpose of this program is to strengthen low-income communities and neighborhoods by investing in the development of local leaders through the community organizing process.

Eligibility: Grants are awarded to nonprofit organizations that seek to assist Latino migrants in places where the population is new and emerging. If your organization does not meet this eligibility requirement, please contact Catherine Han Montoya, Strategist for Capacity Building Initiatives, at cmontoya@nclr.org for a possible referral to another small grants program.

Please submit application and supporting materials electronically to Sun Hee Choi, Project Manager, at schoi@nclr.org.

Download the Application

*Submission Deadline is Friday, May 30, 2008 at 5:00pm EST*


Program Definitions

• Community organizing: For the purpose of this program, community organizing is understood as the process of building a powerful, community-controlled, democratically run, inclusive, grassroots organization capable of developing leaders and effecting social change for its constituent members. Note that direct service projects are not eligible for funding.
  
  
• Emerging local groups: The formative stages of organizational development are gauged from general indicators of staff, budget, membership size, number and type of projects completed, and impact in the community. However, we recognize that the definition of “emerging” is related to the specific community in which the organization is located.
  
  
• Small grant: As much as $20,000 that can be used effectively to meet the goals and objectives of the receiving organization (note that the average grant is $10,000).
  
  
• Technical assistance: Grantees will benefit from the provision of direct services by NCLR to promote maturation and growth (e.g., fundraising, board and staff training, development of office management techniques, assistance with incorporation, and goal- setting).
  
  
• New and emerging Latino communities: These communities are regions of the country that have seen a 100% increase of the Latino population as compared to the general population or communities that have seen a dramatic increase of a Latino subpopulation in a community that has been traditionally dominated by another Latino subpopulation.