MSI Grants

Mission Sustainability Initiative

The Mission Sustainability Initiative (MSI) at Forefront is dedicated to helping nonprofits thrive by providing the resources for leaders to regularly and thoughtfully explore collaboration and partnership strategies. Strategic partnerships and collaborations may take the form of a co-location, a back office collaborative, a joint venture, a merger or acquisition, or other long-term or permanent partnership that changes the way of doing business of the organizations involved. The MSI provides holistic support solutions to nonprofits, including confidential conversations, educational programming, community convening, vetted consultant lists, toolkits, and opportunities to apply for funding.

Grant Project Types

The MSI looks at partnership development in three phases: Pre-Exploratory, Exploratory, and Implementation.

Pre-Exploratory

Pre-Exploratory projects are opportunities for single organizations to explore their partnership goals and readiness. These projects often include organizational assessments and meeting facilitation. The core goal for pre-exploratory projects is the articulation of an organization’s priorities and capacity for strategic partnership, which may or may not include specific plans for developing a partnership in the near future. A possible outcome of a pre-exploratory project is a Letter of Intent to begin an exploratory process.

The maximum amount available for a pre-exploratory grant is $5,000.

Exploratory

Exploratory projects are opportunities for two or more organizations to develop a strategic partnership strategy, build trust between organizations, conduct due diligence, determine mission/vision values alignment, and build a plan for partnership implementation. These projects typically include strategic partnership consulting, accounting, and legal support (if not available pro bono), and meeting facilitation. The core goal for exploratory projects is all partners gaining sufficient understanding and knowledge to move forward in the way that best serves the goals of the organization, which may or may not involve the specific partnership under consideration. A possible outcome of an exploratory project is a Memorandum of Understanding or Partnership Agreement.

Exploratory grants range from $5,000 to $75,000.

Implementation

Implementation projects are opportunities to build the infrastructure that a partnership needs to thrive. The nature of this infrastructure will vary significantly based on the type of partnership. MSI Grants are not currently available for implementation projects, but partnerships in this stage of development are encouraged to contact the MSI Director to discuss other options for support.

Implementation grants range from $5,000 to $75,000.

Eligibility

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

• The partners must be exploring a long-term/sustained administrative collaboration designed to build a more resilient business model and strengthen the applicants’ effectiveness in fulfilling their missions.
• The primary applicant (and the resulting organization in the case of a merger or acquisition) must be an Illinois-based 501c3 nonprofit organization or be an Illinois-based organization that is fiscally sponsored by a 501c3 nonprofit organization. The partnering organization may be based elsewhere. For the Fall 2024 grant cycle, the primary applicant (and the resulting organization in the case of a merger or acquisition) must be based in one of the following counties: Cook, Lake, DuPage, Kane, Kendall.
• The partnering organizations must be aligned on the overarching goals of the partnership and must have board approval to explore or implement the partnership.
• The partnership project must have a goal and/or learning objective (or set of goals and/or learning objectives) that is appropriate for the project type for which funding is being requested and aligned with the overarching goals of the partnership.
• The project must be aligned with Forefront’s values of diversity, inclusion, equity, and justice.
• The partners must have participated in at least one joint consultation with the MSI Director.
• Partnerships may receive multiple MSI Grants over time, but a partnership will only be considered for one MSI Grant per cycle.

Ineligibility

• The MSI will not fund short-term partnerships or program-only collaborations that do not involve fundamental shift in the partners’ business models.
• The MSI will not provide funds for ongoing programmatic, operational, or capital costs.
• Multiple partnering organizations may not simultaneously apply for funds for the same partnership exploration project.