John Rex Endowment: Emerging Equity Partnership Grant

Overview

Emerging Equity Partnership Grant

John Rex Endowment is offering a three-year funding opportunity as a vehicle for capacity building across the social emotional health ecosystem, of which we are a part. Together with Emerging Equity, we look forward to fostering a collaborative community of practice and strengthening the knowledge, skills, resources, and tools across this cohort–collectively and simultaneously increasing our ability to apply those toward regional impact.

Eligibility

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Application Details

2025 Request for Partnerships
PARTNERS IN
CAPACITY
BUILDING &
IMPACT
OPPORTUNITY
Facilitated by Emerging Equity

Advancing
positive change
for children in
Wake County
John Rex Endowment (JRE) continues to embrace our 20-
year vision of a resilient, equity-centered ecosystem better
equipped to improve children's social-emotional health with
our second Partners in Capacity Building and Impact (PCBI25)
opportunity.
This opportunity is ideal for organizations ready to engage
deeply, learn alongside others, and be part of an ecosystem
of care and transformation.

KEY
APPLICATION
DATES
Thurs.
Launch of Request for
March 13 Partnerships
Thurs.
Informational Webinar
March 20
(Register HERE)
Fri. Letters of Intent (LOIs) due
in Foundant, JRE’s grants
April 4
management system
Wed. JRE notifies LOI applicants,
and invites full applications
April 16
for consideration
Fri.
Applications are due in
May 16 Foundant
Week
Applicants are notified of
of May 26 the funding decision
Tues. Kickoff orientation with
selected grant-partners
June 10
and Emerging Equity

Context for the
Partnership
Opportunity
At John Rex Endowment, we believe that lasting change
begins with trust, relationships, and a shared vision
for the future.
We know our current systems were not designed to center
care, and together, we are forging a different path – one where
communities, especially those most impacted by structural
inequities, have the power, resources, and support to shape
the conditions children need to thrive. Achieving this
requires rethinking how we work together and putting
relationships at the heart of meaningful change.
Our commitment to meaningful change has been transformed
by our partnership with Emerging Equity (EE). Since 2022, we
have been on a journey with EE to innovate practices,
ensuring alignment between our mission, vision, values,
and strategic roadmap with our overall culture.

Inspired by this experience, we created the multi-cohort, multi-
year funding opportunity that is Partners in Capacity Building
and Impact – to extend to others the same learning and growth
journey we embraced.
By leveraging EE's adaptive approach to capacity building
and organizational equity development, this initiative serves
as a vehicle for the Endowment to evolve alongside others
within the social-emotional health ecosystem, deepening our
collective impact.
The PCBI25 equity cohort is a three-year partnership to
strengthen organizations and leaders committed to racial
equity and children's social-emotional health. We will create an
intentional learning space where leaders can build trust,
develop skills, and collaborate on solutions that move us
toward a more just, connected, and resilient future.
Through this partnership opportunity, we invite organizations
to join us in reimagining how we care for one another—
especially children's social and emotional well-being—by
building a more substantial, equity-centered ecosystem. This is
not just another funding opportunity. This is a long-term
investment in systems change.

Design of
the
Partnership
Up to four partner Wake County-based organizations
will be awarded $75,000 over three years ($25,000
per year) in unrestricted funds to support general
operations. Costs and fees associated with the
cohort’s engagement with EE will be covered by JRE.
Selected partner organizations are asked to select up to five (5)
organizational representatives made up of board directors and
staff to participate in a community of practice. In these shared
spaces, representatives will develop key skills for building and
integrating an adaptive and intersectional Equity Framework to
support their leadership and decision-making needs.
Representatives who participate in this community of practice
will also be able to learn from and problem-solve alongside
their peers and JRE, creating more cohesion across our
ecosystem of impact.

Grant Eligibility
Requirements
Organizations eligible for this grant:
01
501(c)(3) nonprofit public charities based in Wake County
with a focus on serving children and families*
Center racial equity and/or racial justice to support
02 children’s (age 0 to 18) and families’ social emotional
health, particularly for those made most marginalized by
structural racism.
03
Have 4-30 full-time paid employees.
04
Have been in operation for at least three (3) years.
Have an Executive Director and at least one board
05 member (who has at least two years remaining on
board) who can fully participate in the
cohort/community of practice.
06 Maintain an active 501(c)(3) status and
NC Charitable Solicitation License
Can provide the most recent IRS Form 990, and most
07 recent year-end financial statements, including:
Statement of Financial Position (Balance Sheet)
Statement of Activities (Income Statement)
*Current 501(c)3 nonprofits with active John Rex Endowment grants as of
June 2025 are ineligible

For JRE’s Participation
JRE’s interest in partnering with organizations extends
beyond funding. We seek to build trusting relationships with
our grant-funded partners.
Over the course of three-years, JRE agrees to authentically
share aspects of our journey, and engage as thought
partners alongside this community of practice to strengthen
the ecosystem of which we are all a part.
Emerging Equity’s Role
Through this partnership, Emerging Equity will provide each
organization with the following services:
Creation of an assessment specifically designed to
illuminate key opportunities for growth, alignment, and
capacity building within each partner organization.
Facilitation of a community of practice that develops the
skills of leaders who represent partner organizations.
These skills will serve representatives in the following
areas:

Their understanding of intersectional equity and how
to operationalize it
Organizational development
Leadership development
Alignment between Mission, Vision, and Values, and
the culture and practices of the organization
Co-creation of an intervention plan alongside
nonprofit representatives to help each organization
meet the opportunities to build their capacities to
serve their missions that were illuminated by their
assessments
Designation of responsive hours for
consulting/coaching to support the plan’s
implementation
Creation of a shared space for co-learning and
collaboration needed to create a more collaborative
and effective ecosystem of impact

Schedule of Engagement with
Emerging Equity
Below is the schedule of engagement Emerging Equity
has created in pursuit of building a community of
practice with PCBI25 grant-funded partners.
2025 2026
Kickoff Orientation Quarterly Check-in
June
One-Day Retreat January Team Equity
Development Session
Quarterly Check-in
July Team Equity Leaders Learning Lab
February
Development Session Peer Learning Practicum
Team Equity Leaders Learning Lab
August Development Session March Peer Learning Practicum
Peer Learning Practicum Assessment Report Back
Leaders Learning Lab
Two-Day Retreat
April
Pre-Assessment
September Team Quarterly Check-in
Conversation
Peer Learning Practicum
Quarterly Check-in
October Team Equity
Development Session
One-Day Retreat
November Team Equity
Development Session
Leaders Learning Lab
December
Peer Learning Practicum

Key Terms
Within the context of this funding opportunity, the
following definitions of key terms are provided below.
Capacity building
Is about organizations cultivating the leadership necessary to be
effective as they fulfill their missions in ever-changing contexts. It should
be viewed with an asset-based approach to build upon the strengths of
an organization. It may be in the form of gaining additional knowledge,
skills, resources, or other tools to help provide solutions to the issue
being addressed (JRE 2023).
Children’s social emotional health
Related to a child’s ability to understand their own feelings and
emotions, as well as the feelings and emotions of others. It is essential as
they learn empathy and establish and maintain social relationships (JRE
2023).
Ecosystem
The various, interconnected entities (people, organizations, communities)
that collectively impact a child or family. Ecosystems may be composed of
formal or informal connections in a child’s or families’ environment.
Leader Learning Labs
Labs will focus on co-sharing and co-learning between JRE
staff/leadership and the cohort members to build deeper relationships
towards partnership in building the advocacy coalition.

Peer Learning Practicums/Content Extensions
Dedicated to focusing on specific subject matter that helps frame
dynamics that the organization may be experiencing.
Pre-Assessment Conversation
Each participating organization will engage in EE's orientation in its
approach to assessment work and learn what to expect. This is a place
where organizational members not representing the organization in the
cohort can ask questions. This is separate from the Kickoff Orientation in
June.
Racial Equity
Racial Equity acknowledges the unfair distribution of pain and suffering
to those who have been denied access. It focuses on the prevention of
harm and the redistribution of benefits—providing collective access to
those who have barriers within current systems. (Grantmaking with a
Racial Justice Lens: A Practical Guide)
Racial Justice
Includes racial equity but adds dimensions of power building and
transformation. Racial justice calls for change and the removal of
barriers. It focuses on the building of new systems and gives power to
disenfranchised people to change the fundamental rules of society.
(Grantmaking with a Racial Justice Lens: A Practical Guide)
Team Equity Development
A process dedicated to developing the competence and capacity of a
group of selected organizational members to operationalize an equity
lens in all facets of their work. The series entails experiential activities
that examine values, communication and practices through an equity
lens.

Questions?
Questions about programming content, design, function of the
community of practice, etc., will be addressed during the
Informational Webinar scheduled for Thursday, March 20, 2025
at 12:30PM. Sign up here.
Please reach out to Linh Pham, JRE’s Community & Capacity
Development Manager, for questions about logistics, any part
of the application submission process, or organizational
qualifications for funding. She can be reached at 919-503-5986
or linh@johnrexendowment.org.