Community Power-Building for Birth and Parenting Justice Grant Program

Community Power-Building for Birth and Parenting Justice Grant Program

Funder: SisterSong: The National Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective

Status: This grant program page contains outdated information. The open call deadline listed was June 1st, 2023, which has passed. Current status and future application windows are unknown.

Program Overview

A multi-year community-based grant program to strengthen the birth and parenting justice movements. The program supports:
• BIPOC-led grassroots groups and organizations doing a wide range of birth and parenting justice work
• BIPOC creatives using the arts to shift narratives and change mainstream culture
• BIPOC researchers using research to amplify little-heard truths and correct cultural misperceptions

Grant Details

• Grant Type: General operating support with specific programming needs
• Minimum: $25,000 - $50,000 per year
• Maximum: $25,000 for individuals; $50,000 for organizations
• Total Funding Available: $1,000,000
• Grant Period: Multi-year (anticipated July 2023 start); multiple years of funding not guaranteed

Geographic Scope

• Primary: Beneficiaries may be anywhere in the US
• Emphasis: South and Midwest regions; those with little access to funds

Focus Areas

• Birth justice work
• Parenting justice work
• Culture-change work vital for birth/parenting justice
• Reproductive Justice advancement

Eligibility: Grassroots Groups and Organizations

• Must be BIPOC-led: Executive Director/CEO/President or senior-most staff member is Black, Indigenous, Asian, Asian-American, Pacific Islander, and/or Latinx; OR majority of decision-makers are BIPOC; OR for non-hierarchical structures, majority of staff/members are BIPOC
• Must be BIPOC-serving: Center the birth and parenting experiences of BIPOC communities and aim to directly support them
• Located in the US
• Must have 501(c)(3) status or a fiscal sponsor (fiscal sponsor recommendations may be available for unincorporated groups)
• Organizational budget must not exceed $250,000

Eligibility: Artists and Creatives

• Must be BIPOC
• Located in the US
• Should have past examples of work using art to advance birth and parenting justice, OR have a clearly defined project idea

Eligibility: Researchers

• Must be BIPOC
• Located in the US
• Should have an ongoing project or clearly defined idea for research to advance birth and parenting justice

What is Funded

• General operating support
• Specific programming needs
• RJ 101 and 102 training provided to recipients
• Capacity-building support
• Opportunities to connect with other grantees via quarterly conference calls and two convenings

Funding Allocation

• Up to 85% of grantees: Under-resourced grassroots, BIPOC-led groups
• Up to 15% of grantees: BIPOC researchers and creatives

Program Goals

1. Increase capacity to advance birth and parenting justice among grassroots BIPOC groups, researchers, and creatives 2. Create a supportive and collaborative network of BIPOC birth/parenting justice groups, researchers, and creatives 3. Progress toward birth/parenting justice for marginalized communities of color 4. Expand RJ movement with new grassroots birth/parenting justice groups, researchers, and creatives 5. Culture change highlighting birth/parenting justice in RJ, bringing more resources to BIPOC birth/parenting justice work 6. Build a new grantmaking and support model developed by the communities it serves

Application Approach

• Invite approach: Steering committee members network, research, and directly invite organizations to apply
• Open call window: Short window for unsolicited applications; applicants have applications reviewed to determine if a proposal will be requested

Contact Information

• Email for questions: aniqua@sistersong.net (Aniqua Acree, Consultant)
• General Email: info@sistersong.net
• Phone: (404) 756-2680
• Address: P.O. Box 94408, Atlanta, GA 30377; 1237 Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard, Atlanta, GA 30310

Important Notes

• Submitting an application does not guarantee funding or multiple years of funding
• Funding amounts determined on case-by-case review
• Selected grantees must provide feedback via survey and complete questionnaire
• Due to large volume of inquiries, response time may vary