Economic Security Initiative - Funding Opportunities
Funding Opportunities
The Maine Women’s Fund supports organizations that:
- Demonstrate a commitment to women’s equality.
- Can describe outcomes of their social change work within the context of Economic Security for Maine women and point to one of the five social change indicators described below.
- Encourage women and girls to define their needs.
- Listen to the voices of women and girl and are willing to implement these voices and ideas within the organization’s structure and programs.
FIVE INDICATORS OF SOCIAL CHANGE
The Maine Women’s Fund believes that social change can happen in a variety of ways. However, we believe that social change is most recognizable when certain changes can be observed, including:
- Shifts in definition or reframing of issues, e.g. eliminating child labor by redefining child labor as a human rights issue rather than a labor law issue.
- Shifts in individual or community behavior, e.g. reducing teen smoking by eliminating smoking in all public spaces.
- Shifts in critical mass or engagement, e.g. creating economic justice for low-income women by building political skills and leadership to help women advocate for and effect change in the welfare system.
- Shifts in institutions or policies, e.g. guaranteeing paid sick leave for working moms through new legislation.
- Maintaining or holding the line, e.g. protecting women’s existing reproductive health choices.
CHARACTERISTCS OF ECONOMIC SECURITY INITIATIVE GRANTS
Size of Grants – Grants range typically, from $1000 to $20,000 per application. Applicants should request an amount that meets the needs of their type of request, is proportionately relevant to the organization’s budget, and is consistent with the Fund’s funding range.
Duration of Grants – We will consider 1 and 2 year grant applications.
Geographic Ranges of Grants – We invite applications from all areas of the state.
TYPES OF FUNDING
The Maine Women’s Fund provides three types of funds:
- General Operating Support: operational costs that maintain or sustain the ongoing work of an organization, i.e. salaries, benefits, rent, copying, phone, etc.
- Program or Project Grants: existing program/project costs or those that may be in addition to or new to an organization’s regular programming.
- Start-up Grants: new, and emerging organizations that may or may not have a track record, but show significant promise for success and sustainability.
The Maine Women’s Fund will fund:
- Organizations incorporated as not-for-profits
- Collaborations of two or more organizations that are working together to achieve a common goal
- Unincorporated organizations with a fiscal agent (please contact if us if you need assistance identifying a fiscal agent)
The Maine Women’s Fund will not fund:
- Scholarships to a university, college, or technical program
- Capital campaigns
- Religious activities
- Retroactive funding
- Fundraising events
- Direct services not linked to the five social change indicators
- Organizations that may be deemed as discriminatory on the basis of race, age, gender, ability level or sexual orientation
- Organizations that limit or oppose a women’s right to self determination
- Reduction of an operating deficit or to liquidate existing debt
- Agencies of state or federal government, unless they are part of a community collaborative that includes eligible organizations
- Organizations outside of Maine.
- Individuals seeking personal assistance.
FUNDING PRIORITIES
The Maine Women’s Fund will prioritize following areas:
- Growing existing social change efforts for women’s economic security, investing in education, entrepreneurship, better jobs and wages, asset building and financial literacy, and public policy.
- Bringing proven social change efforts to hard to reach populations.
- Groups of organizations working collaboratively and/or synergistically with each other.
- Innovating where an existing social change solution does not exist.
- Organizations who seek to promote women and girls economic security through their everyday work and beyond their grant application.
FUNDING EXPECTATIONS
The Maine Women’s Fund is seeking to work in partnership with its grantees to promote economic security for women and girls across Maine. We expect that grantees will:
- Participate in our evaluation program
- Participate in our learning community
- Provide feedback and ideas for the Economic Security Initiative.
- Help the Maine Women’s Fund make a public case for women’s economic security across Maine
APPLICATION DEADLINE: May 16, 2008
CONTACT INFORMATION:
If at any time you have questions about the application process, we encourage you to contact Elizabeth Stefanski at 774-5513 or Elizabeth@mainewomensfund.org.
Download an application here.
Grantees
Learn more about the 2008 grantees.
Check out the work of past MWF grantees by visiting our Grantee Community Montage Gallery.
