Grantmaking

Examples of eligible work could include long-term efforts to develop leaders within communities of color and/or campaigns to protect renters and prevent evictions; to protect the rights of workers disproportionately affected by the pandemic; to support immigrants who have been excluded from government-sponsored COVID-19 relief efforts; or to expand access to health care and to COVID-19 vaccines. We are interested in work that re-imagines community safety and policing and promotes community-based anti-violence initiatives as well as other transformative systems change work. We will also consider support for ward- or neighborhood-based mutual aid efforts that combine services with political education and community organizing. This list is not exhaustive. We may support other campaigns and projects not described here as long as they contribute to an equitable and just COVID-19 recovery with a focus on systems change toward a more just and equitable future.

We generally do not support direct services unless those services are part of an advocacy or organizing agenda and fall in to one or both of the following categories.  We will consider support for:

• Demonstration/pilot projects that model what a racially equitable system could look like and how it should operate and that are used to advocate for how systems can and should change, and
• Direct services that are an essential part of your base- and power-building, are rooted in your constituents' stated interests or needs, and/or are delivered to constituents as part of the relationship-building you have embedded in your organizing and in your intentional focus on building power.

The Meyer Foundation does not fund:

• Capital for housing construction or development
• Start-up and operating support for housing developers
• Scholarships or financial assistance
• Medical or scientific research
• Programs that promote religious doctrine
• Individual public, public charter, or private schools
• Individuals (including scholarships and emergency assistance)
• Parent Teacher Associations
• Special events or conferences, except by invitation only
• Endowments
• Direct services (except in the above-described circumstances where these services are part of an advocacy or organizing agenda or strategy)

Meyer does not evaluate Interest Forms or proposals based on grammar, sentence structure, or how well-written your Interest Form or proposal is. Rather, we are most interested in how your work and approach aligns with our priorities and strategy. In evaluating Interest Forms submitted, we look at:

Alignment with a Just and Equitable Recovery: How well does your organization’s work align with Meyer’s core priority to resource COVID-19 recovery efforts that are restorative, address the root causes (not just the symptoms) of inequities, prioritize the demands and voices of those most affected, build resiliency, and promote healing?

Building power and leadership: To what extent is your organization or project led by, building, and supporting the leadership and power of those closest to the issues and most affected by racial inequities?

Core strategies: How does your organization/project apply one or more of the core power-building strategies of organizing, advocacy, coalition-building, narrative change and/or capacity-building?

Movement building: How does your organization’s work contribute to broader work in DC, Maryland, or Virginia to advance racial and economic justice?

Meyer awards one-year and multi-year grants for general operations, projects, and capacity building. Meyer’s primary grantmaking strategy is to provide general operating support to organizations whose core work and geography aligns with Meyer’s. We award project-specific grants (including, in a limited number of circumstances, for capital campaigns) when a particular project aligns with Meyer’s goals, but the overall work of the organization does not, or where the organization’s geography is larger than the Greater Washington region.

Multi-Year Grants

Organizations that are good candidates for multi-year support (usually three years) are those that most closely align with the approach described above. We are especially interested in multi-year support for:

• Community organizing groups led by people of color and who have a proven track record of building the leadership of constituents with lived experience in the issue(s) being addressed as well as their ability to act and make change
• Coalitions working on multi-year campaigns addressing the priorities and/or concerns identified by their constituents
• Anchor organizations forming multi-stakeholder coalitions to align efforts to change policies and institutions that perpetuate racial inequity
• Emerging organizations that have demonstrated promising ideas and/or fill a critical gap in movements to shift systems toward racial and economic justice

For 2021, the Meyer Foundation will review Interest Forms on a rolling basis and award most grants in May and October. Generally, we recommend that you apply when it makes the most sense for your organization, depending on when your fiscal year begins and ends, what your fundraising plan is, and when your staff is able to submit the request.

For Current Grantee Partners: You should submit your Interest Form whenever it makes the most sense for your organization, regardless of when you received a grant in 2020. If you have questions about the timing of your submission, please contact your Partnerships and Strategy Director.

Are There Set Proposal Deadlines?

If you are invited to submit a proposal, we typically suggest a due date three weeks after the invitation. Because we are using a rolling process, we do have some flexibility on deadlines and can work with you to find a deadline that works for your organization.