The Common Counsel Foundation is currently accepting applications for its Grassroots Exchange Fund (GXF).

Common Counsel's Grassroots Exchange Fund (GXF) is a discretionary small grants program designed to support networking and collaboration between grassroots social change organizations throughout the United States.

GXF prioritizes grants to small community-based groups seeking to meet with other grassroots organizations, to build collaborative campaigns, and to benefit from organizing training and technical assistance opportunities.

Goals

The program strives to meet the following goals: 

• To strengthen the ability of community organizations to participate in public debates;
• To strengthen key cross-region and cross-sector movements;
• To contribute to collaborative policy victories in the realms of social, economic, and environmental justice; and
• To support community organizations if they need to adjust their networking, collaboration, or organizing strategies in response to the COVID19/coronavirus pandemic.

Examples include but are not limited to support for online meeting or online organizing technology and training, language translation and interpretation, emergency stipends for organizers/grassroots leaders, PPE (personal protective equipment) or other supplies to enable safer in-person meetings, etc).

Priorities

Priority is given to: 

• Organizations that most clearly demonstrate a membership-led community-organizing model that is working toward social, racial, economic or environmental policy change.
• Organizations based in and organizing in low- or moderate-income communities.
• Organizations that operate with a clear racial justice and intersectional framework.
• Organizations that have a strong group of leaders and board members that represent the community they serve and who are accountable to the community.
• Organizations that have strong leadership development programs for their members.
• Organizations that have a concrete plan to grow and to build more power by getting more people involved.
• Organizations that organize collective action of members to bring concerns to public officials and other decision-makers.
• Organizations that can demonstrate alliances with base-building organizations.
• Proposed exchanges or events that promote strategy development and skills transfer between organizations and leaders.
• Organizations working in “hard to fund” areas, including the southern US, the “rust belt” and Rocky Mountain States.
• Current or recent grant recipients of other Common Counsel member funds.
• Small organizations that do not have access to large government, corporate or private funding sources, and for whom a small grant from GXF would make a significant impact.
• Applicants that have not received recent GXF funding (grants are typically not awarded for more than three consecutive years).
• Organizations that have IRS 501(c)3 tax exempt status or a fiscal sponsor who does.

Funding Information

A typical GXF grant is $1,000.

Eligibility Criteria

• The Fund typically makes grants to grassroots community-based organizations working on social, racial, economic, and environmental justice initiatives that give voice to the needs of low-income people, women, youth, and people of color.
• Organizations are only eligible for one GXF grant annually.

Exclusions

GXF generally does not fund the following:

• Organizations located outside of the United States;
• Direct social services;
• Government agencies and programs;
• Capital expenditure, endowments, construction or renovation programs;
• Scholarship funds or other aid to individuals;
• Schools and educational institutions, cultural institutions, or medical institutions;
• Film, video, publications or other media projects;
• Grantmaking institutions;
• Research or fellowships.

For more information, visit GXF.