CFGM: Community Solutions Grant

_NOTE:_

• _Pre-Proposal - This deadline represents the requirement to attend a mandatory pre-application information session. There are 3 designated dates to select from to fulfill this requirement._
• _Letter of Inquiry - This deadline represents when the  Letter of Intent is due as well as when the required profile needs to be published and reviewed._
• _Full Proposal - Invite Only - Selected applicants invited to submit full budgets and host site visits during the given period of time._

Community Solutions Grant

To help support these effort, the Community Initiatives committee announces a new grantmaking program: Community Solutions Grants. Community Solutions Grants will invest in organizations working alongside communities to address complex challenges and create lasting change. By focusing on ground-level, community-driven strategies, this initiative supports innovative approaches to tackling systemic issues and empowering communities to lead the way in shaping their futures.

Community Solutions Grants aim to fund organizations that:

• Are Proximate to the Community: These organizations have established trust and maintain a strong presence within the communities they serve. They possess a deep understanding of the lived experiences of residents and the systemic barriers that contribute to the issues they face.
• Understand Root Causes: Organizations will also demonstrate a commitment to addressing the underlying issues that perpetuate community concerns. They demonstrate a commitment to tackling the underlying issues that drive community concerns, rather than focusing solely on surface-level symptoms.
• Prioritize Trust and Accountability: Building authentic relationships based on mutual respect and shared responsibility is at the heart of this grant. We seek organizations that prioritize creating spaces where all voices are valued, and communities are empowered to lead.

Community Solutions Grants are intended to be multi-year general operating support. They are intentionally flexible and will address a variety of pressing community issues in future cycles.

Focus - Safe and Resilient Places

Community Solutions Grants will focus on supporting Safe and Resilient Places. Funding will support organizations working to create innovative, tangible, ground-level solutions to address critical challenges related to community safety and well-being. This grant will support organizations that are deeply connected to the communities they serve and actively collaborate with them to design and implement transformative solutions.

Safe and Resilient Places Grants will invest in organizations that:

• Deeply understand systemic barriers that contribute to public safety challenges
• Address the root causes of public safety challenges
• Amplify underrepresented voices in shaping public safety approaches
• Actively partner with impacted residents and communities to co-design innovative models of addressing crime and safety
• Promote long-term strategies that uplift community perspectives on public safety and support sustainable community well-being

Funding

There is approximately $300,000 available for this year.

Eligibility

_You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website._

• To receive a Safe and Resilient Places Community Solutions grant, organizations must:
  • Have a published, reviewed profile on.
  • This profile must be maintained for the duration of the grant period.
  • The profile of eligible applicants demonstrates that the organization:
  • Has operated as a 501(c)(3) agency for the last three consecutive years or longer
  • Operates in the Community Foundation’s service area:
  • west Tennessee, northern Mississippi, and/or eastern Arkansas
  • Is permitted by the Tennessee Secretary of State to solicit funds
  • Has the last three years of 990’s and audits
  • Has at least one paid staff member and stable, demonstrated board leadership
  • Operates under sound financial management and is financially stable
  • Provides significant community impact in, has solid relationships with, and reflects the makeup of the communities it serves
  • Have demonstrated leadership, characterized as:
  • An organization that holds community trust
  • Leaders who unite people and organizations and inspire others to action
  • Leaders who partner with other organizations and people; sharing power to accomplish a common agenda