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Grantseekers: Community Grant Guidelines

Spring:

Our Health & Wellbeing grant cycle takes place in the spring each year, in conjunction with the Community Health Funder Alliance. The 2022 spring grant cycle RFP opens April 1, 2022, and closes April 30, 2022. Please visit the Community Health Funder Alliance for more details about our Health & Wellbeing funding priorities, grant cycles, and processes.

Fall:

The 2022 fall grant cycle RFP will open on July 19, 2022, and close on August 30, 2022. We welcome grant proposals from organizations that are engaged in direct service, policy advocacy, and/or collaborative efforts to improve outcomes in the following areas:

• Animal Welfare
• Cultural Vibrancy
• Economic Security and Opportunities
• Educational Success and Career Pathways
• Envision Fund (LGBTQ+)
• Native American Advised Fund
• Santa Fe Baby Fund
• Sustainable Agriculture and Stewardship of Resources

 

Funding Priorities of the Fall 2022 Grant Cycle

 

ANIMAL WELFARE

 

Grants for animal welfare will support organizations providing services and/or advocacy to protect both domestic and wild animals in Santa Fe, Mora, Rio Arriba, and/or San Miguel counties. We will support requests that focus on: 

 

CULTURAL VIBRANCY

RESULT: Cultural Vibrancy is celebrated and reflected in the community

We will work to improve the following outcomes in our communities: 

• Sense of community – residents feeling connected to the community and each other
• Openness and acceptance of the community toward people of diverse backgrounds
• Diverse participation in art and cultural community programs and events
• Preservation and strengthening of cultural and historical heritage, traditions, and a creative economy

Through direct service, policy advocacy and/or collaboration efforts, priority strategies will address: 

• Lifting up and preserving cultural and historical heritage, tradition, and assets of the region;
• Using art as a bridge to communicate across cultures and languages and build transformational relationships to advance equity;
• Using art, culture, language, and community stories to shift narratives, shape public conversations, and influence policy;
• Improving access to arts and cultural programs to benefit youth and families who otherwise would not have the opportunities; and/or
• Systems change including public policy, civic engagement, community organizing or public information to preserve and strengthen the arts and cultural segment of the creative economy locally.

ECONOMIC SECURITY & OPPORTUNITIES

 

RESULT:  Low-income and other disadvantaged youth and adults have improved access to opportunities for employment and economic advancement.

Through direct service, policy advocacy and/or collaboration efforts, priority strategies will address:

• Provide career counseling and other services to attain employment;
• Re-engage disconnected youth in paths for jobs;
• Provide job training programs to low-wage earners to advance their skills;
• Provide financial literacy training and improve their ability to save for and invest in future economic success including asset building;
• Provide opportunities to explore career paths, attain internships or apprenticeships, and enter a career with skills to succeed, lead and contribute to economy;
• Support job creation and workforce development, particularly in mid-to-high level paid jobs through efforts that build entrepreneurial skills and activities and expand high growth and high wage industries and career pathways in Santa Fe and northern New Mexico;
• Support capacity building for long-term collaborations among organizations and programs working together to improve targeted outcomes in career pathways and workforce development with common agenda, aligned strategies, and collective actions; and/or
• Support public policy, civic engagement, community organizing or public information to improve economic opportunity. 

EDUCATIONAL SUCCESS AND CAREER PATHWAYS

 

RESULT: All children and youth succeed in education prepared for a career

We will support requests from organizations that work to improve:

• School readiness
• Reading proficiency
• Math proficiency
• High school graduation rates
• Opportunity youth* engagement
  (*Youth ages 12-24 struggling with school, not in school, and/or not working) 

Through direct service, policy advocacy and/or collaboration efforts, priority strategies will address:

• Integrated student and family supports for at risk/vulnerable populations with strong place-based solutions supported by network of caring and appropriately trained adult and peer relationship 
• Access to quality, affordable early childhood education and out-of-school (after school and summer) opportunities
• Targeted interventions to close the academic achievement gaps across key milestones from birth to career
• Work-based learning and career technical education through real life and personally relevant education including career exploration and alternative pathway opportunities
• Educator/provider/family training & support so they can be strong advocates and supporters for children/students’ success – especially in high need areas

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE AND STEWARDSHIP OF RESOURCES

RESULT: All communities have equitable access to our earth’s critical resources: land, water, air and food for a sustainable and healthy ecosystem

We will support requests that work to improve:

• Local food self-sufficiency
• Land, air and water health
• Energy from renewable sources

Through direct service, policy advocacy and/or collaboration efforts, priority strategies will address:

• Training and development of diverse food and farming enterprises and distribution infrastructure for sustainable food economy that represent a rich and diverse farming tradition.
• Fostering connection and collaboration among multi-sector stakeholders for environmental advocacy and community development that support equitable access and stewardship of land, air, water and ecosystem for future generations.
• Promotion of renewable energy sources through coordinated efforts to increase consumption, production, workforce training, enterprise development and investment. 

General Guidelines

 

Eligibility

 

Grant applications will be accepted from organizations that:

• Are located in or serve the people of Santa Fe, Rio Arriba, San Miguel or Mora Counties (except the CHFA grants which cover Santa Fe, Los Alamos, Taos, Colfax, Mora, Rio Arriba, and San Miguel Counties);
• Are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or are a public or governmental agency or a federally recognized tribe in the state of New Mexico, or that have a fiscal sponsor;
• Employ staff and provide services without discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, or sexual orientation; and
• Are at least three years old.

• If your organization received a competitive grant from us in 2020 we ask that you sit out for a year (except for CHFA grantees – those may re-apply every year)
• If your organization received a donor advised grant from us in 2020 (but not a competitive grant), you are still eligible to apply for a competitive grant in 2021.
• If you are not sure whether your organization received a competitive grant from us in 2020, contact Diane Hamamoto (dhamamoto@santafecf.org) to find out.
• If your organization did receive a competitive grant from us in 2020, or if you are not interested in applying for a grant, you may submit an abbreviated application to be included in the 2021 Giving Together catalogue (which goes out to fundholders). 

 

Grant Sizes

 

You may request $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000, depending on your annual operating budget size, as follows:

• Organizations/projects with an annual budget under $150,000 may apply for a $5,000 grant;
• Organizations/projects with an annual budget between $150,000 and $500,000 may apply for a $10,000 grant;
• Organizations/projects with an annual budget over $500,000, may apply for a $15,000 grant. 

Reporting

 

Grantees will be asked what would they like to share with us about their work over the previous year. Is there a story to share? Grantees may answer in words or simply upload a photo. We will ask report writers to indicate whether or not SFCF has permission to use the written or photographic material in our own social media, website, etc.

What We Don't Fund:

 

We do not make grants for the following:

• Religious purposes
• Capital campaigns or endowments
• Scholarships
• Individuals
• Private school tuition assistance

How We Evaluate Your Application

 

The Santa Fe Community Foundation will consider the following criteria:

• Fit with our funding priorities;
• Application is complete;
• Degree to which applicant organizations apply an ‘equity’ lens to their work and practice (including focus on serving the most disadvantaged populations with understanding of structural barriers and engagement and leadership of stakeholders in the planning and implementation of the work);
• Degree to which applicant organizations use a collaborative approach in addressing a community need to ensure ‘alignment’ of its contributions with those of the partners in improving results and equity;
• Financial sustainability of the project or program and financial stability of the organization.

For More Information about our Competitive Grants cycles:

 

Please contact Diane Hamamoto, Grants Officer, at 505-988-9715 x 7008, or dhamamoto@santafecf.org.

SFCF provides grants to eligible applicants so long as funds are available, without regard to the race, creed, color, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, veteran status, disability, political affiliation, country or place of origin, ethnicity or citizenship status of the applicants.

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Related Resources

Grantseeker FAQ

Useful RBA & Data References

List of Current Grantees

Useful Results-Based Accountability (RBA) and Data References for SFCF Areas of Impact (AOI)