Robert Sterling Clark Foundation: Leadership For Equity Grant

Robert Sterling Clark Foundation: Leadership For Equity Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Robert Sterling Clark Foundation Inc.
Last Updated: August 31, 2025

Summary

The Robert Sterling Clark Foundation's Leadership For Equity Grant focuses on investing in diverse leaders in New York City. It seeks to support programs that foster leadership development across various identity groups, emphasizing sustained relationships and collective transformation. The foundation aims to address structural inequities by funding initiatives that cultivate leadership practices rather than identities, ensuring inclusivity and long-term commitment to equity in leadership.

Overview

NOTE:  In the first half of 2025, the foundation is deepening our support of current grant partners. During this time, we will continue to accept grant applications, but please know that they will not be reviewed until the second half of the year. Leadership For Equity Grant Investing in Diverse NYC Leaders Investing in the potential of people is at the heart of our work to build a stronger New York City. With our interest in supporting and helping individuals step into their leadership, we are most interested in issue- or identity-focused programs that bring people from different groups together in a cohort that has sustained contact over a period of time. At the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, we believe that strong leadership is necessary to create a more equitable and vibrant New York City. Therefore, we are committed to investing in groups that develop the leadership of New Yorkers to advance equity and to address structural inequities. This is our primary grantmaking stream. Through it, we support New York City-focused efforts that: Approach leadership as a practice, rather than an identity. We don’t believe leadership development is for a select few or about superheroes. We see leadership as a practice that can be strengthened and honed through a variety of means, including gaining knowledge, perspective and skills, as well as engaging in individual and collective transformation processes. We invest in groups that identify, train, and support people and communities to grow their leadership abilities.Develop leadership for equity, particularly race equity. Recognizing that structural inequities have been perpetuated by exclusionary approaches to leadership, we fund those developing leadership for equity, especially developing the leadership skills of people from racial identity groups that have been historically excluded.Bring people together in sustained relationships over time. We’re looking for something that’s bigger than the sum of the parts. Some groups call this a “cohort,” which may be composed of member-leaders of an organizing group, different staff of multiple organizations, or other configurations of people engaged in relationship building toward action. We believe this type of approach expands the possibilities for systems-level change.Can demonstrate a long-term commitment to leadership development and knowledge of how to run a leadership development program well. We’re interested in funding those that have the track record or have done the research to offer effective leadership development programs.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Your program must be housed in a 501(c)3 organization and center its work on New York City.It must have dedicated staff or volunteers who can take advantage of the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation’s support beyond the check. The program also must focus on a particular issue or identity group and involves individuals from a variety of organizations.

Ineligibility

The foundation does not fund staff development programs, youth leadership, service year or social enterprise programs. We also do not fund startups or staff development programs within a single organization.