WE Initiative Grant

WE Initiative Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Walter and Elise Haas Fund
Amount: Up to US $500,000
Last Updated: August 08, 2025

Summary

The WE Initiative Grant, part of the Walter and Elise Haas Fund's Social Well-being program, seeks nonprofit organizations dedicated to fostering belonging and community cohesion in the Bay Area. With a focus on cultural identity and collective action, grantees will receive $100,000 annually for five years to support collaborative projects aimed at uplifting diverse voices and driving community-led change. This initiative promotes connection, creativity, and healing to address social fragmentation and empower marginalized communities.

Overview

NOTE: All applicants are required to take the eligibility quiz to register for a grant seeker account and receive access to the online LOI. Social Well-being Program One of the greatest challenges our region faces is that alongside economic instability and injustice, too many people do not feel they are included in the Bay Area’s brighter future. We are living within a crisis of belonging. The newly announced Social Well-being program joins the profound legacies of the Fund’s Arts, Jewish Life, and Racial Justice grantmaking to address community fragmentation. The program recognizes that while the racial and gender wealth gap is often framed as an economic problem, its implications extend deeply into social cohesion. The Social Well-being program aims to cultivate and sustain belonging by fostering connection, creativity, and culture. The program recognizes that we need each other to imagine and build a better future together. Our hope is that investments in the Social Well-being program will address the roots of social disrepair, uplift cultural identity and stories, and support collaborative and community-led action for our collective joy.WE Initiative The WE Initiative is a new grantmaking strategy under the Walter & Elise Haas Fund’s recently launched Social Well-being program that focuses on activating and sustaining a sense of belonging among Bay Area residents. It builds upon our purpose to support community well-being in Oakland and San Francisco so that all people can reach their fullest potential with dignity and joy. We-Making, a term coined by culturalist Carole Bebelle, states that “we have known in our gut for decades and decades that arts and culture are fabulous and magnetic ways to unite people.” This grantmaking strategy will support organizations that celebrate culture and bring people together in solidarity to work towards positive community-led change. The WE Initiative imagines a future where Oakland and San Francisco pulse with vitality, where communities are deeply interconnected across generations, identities, and issue areas, and hope and possibility feel close. This vision restores a true sense of belonging, creating a Bay Area where every person sees themselves reflected and celebrated. What We Are Looking For We seek nonprofit organizations and fiscally sponsored projects committed to collaboration and community-building, as WE Initiative grantees will participate in a cohort experience — a learning and relationship-building journey designed to deepen exchange, expand networks of care, and spark collective impact with each other over the funding period. Organizations will commit to a series of meetings in the first year, with the intention of co-designing proceeding years with grantee-informed feedback in an iterative process that supports grantee insights. Pathways We seek nonprofit organizations and fiscally sponsored projects committed to collaboration and community-building, as WE Initiative grantees will participate in a cohort experience — a learning and relationship-building journey designed to deepen exchange, expand networks of care, and spark collective impact with each other over the funding period. Organizations will commit to a series of meetings in the first year, with the intention of co-designing proceeding years with grantee-informed feedback in an iterative process that supports grantee insights. Pathway 1. Cultural Identity, Visibility, & Celebration Cultivate opportunities and spaces where joy, healing, and culture may thrive.Uplift stories that proactively and boldly take up space in the face of othering, bigotry, and polarization. Cultural identity is a powerful force for justice and inclusion. We are looking for organizations and fiscally sponsored projects that use creative, joyful, and artistic approaches to promote community, cultural inclusion, and representation in the Bay Area. Ideal applicants foster a sense of belonging, particularly in response to challenges posed by such forces as racism, xenophobia, antisemitism, and all forms of bigotry and polarization. We seek organizations and fiscally sponsored projects whose work celebrates shared dignity and helps diverse communities feel a sense of belonging. By investing in cultural celebration, the Walter & Elise Haas Fund recognizes that joy, healing, and shared experiences are essential to social well-being. Pathway 2. Collective Action and Solidarity Actively power-build to identify and enact community-led solutions.Bring people together across issues, identities, and communities to build solidarity, foster healing, and create shared belonging. This pathway supports diverse groups working together. We are seeking organizations and fiscally sponsored projects that build meaningful connections across lines of difference (including but not restricted to race, faith, disability, sexual orientation, class, or immigration status), and utilize collaborative approaches to address community-identified challenges happening at the intersections. True belonging is realized through shared ownership of community-driven solutions. We aim to fund organizations and fiscally sponsored projects that build solidarity, empower people to work together to change systems and shape their future, and create positive, lasting, community-led transformation. We recognize that organizations may work in both pathways and we do not expect anyone to discount or downplay the ways in which your organization may uplift both. However, we encourage you to think of which pathway best speaks to your organization’s mission, values, and programming and apply under one. These two pathways recognize and build upon the Bay Area’s legacy of creativity, mutual aid, and collective leadership. They reflect our belief that true progress is made not through isolated efforts, but through the power of people collaborating, honoring histories, and imagining new possibilities together. Funding Twenty-five organizations will be selected to receive $100,000 annually as general operating funds over a five-year period, totaling $500,000 each. Grantees will not need to reapply during the five-year period to continue receiving funds.

Eligibility

We've imported the main document for this grant to give you an overview. You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website.

Application Details

OPEN CALL FOR PROPOSALS
The WE Initiative:
Cultivating Belonging in Oakland and San Francisco
Twenty-five organizations will be selected to receive $100,000 annually as general operating funds
over a five-year period, totaling $500,000 each. Grantees will not need to reapply during the five-year
period to continue receiving funds.
We welcome applications from eligible nonprofits and fiscally sponsored projects through June 27,
2025. The Walter & Elise Haas Fund does not anticipate another open call until 2030.
VISION
The antidote to othering is belonging.
“[Belonging is] both a feeling and a practice—something we experience
personally and something we create collectively ... [an] ever-expanding
circle that keeps growing to recognize the dignity and humanity of all
people, where every voice matters and where everyone thrives together.”
~Othering & Belonging Institute
The WE Initiative is a new grantmaking strategy under the Walter & Elise Haas Fund’s recently
launched Social Well-being program that focuses on activating and sustaining a sense of belonging
among Bay Area residents. It builds upon our purpose to support community well-being in Oakland
and San Francisco so that all people can reach their fullest potential with dignity and joy.
We-Making, a term coined by culturalist Carole Bebelle, states that “we have known in our gut for
decades and decades that arts and culture are fabulous and magnetic ways to unite people.”
This grantmaking strategy will support organizations that celebrate culture and bring people together
in solidarity to work towards positive community-led change. The WE Initiative imagines a future
where Oakland and San Francisco pulse with vitality, where communities are deeply interconnected
across generations, identities, and issue areas, and hope and possibility feel close. This vision restores
a true sense of belonging, creating a Bay Area where every person sees themselves reflected and
celebrated.
We are in a critical moment wherein post-COVID isolation, increasing polarization, and widespread
despair have deeply affected the social fabric of our communities. In the Bay Area, as elsewhere,
loneliness and fragmentation are urgent public challenges. We believe this is a moment of opportunity
to bridge divides, rekindle joy, and rebuild our sense of we. Through this initiative, we hope to uplift
community-led spaces where belonging, celebration, and collective care are the norm.
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WE INITIATIVE
OPPORTUNITY OVERVIEW
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
We seek nonprofit organizations and fiscally sponsored projects committed to collaboration and
community-building, as WE Initiative grantees will participate in a cohort experience — a learning
and relationship-building journey designed to deepen exchange, expand networks of care, and spark
collective impact with each other over the funding period. Organizations will commit to a series of
meetings in the first year, with the intention of co-designing proceeding years with grantee-informed
feedback in an iterative process that supports grantee insights.
PATHWAYS
Organizational vision and mission should align and embody the north star of the Walter & Elise Haas
Fund's Social Well-being program—activating and sustaining belonging in the Bay Area. Proposals
should address at least one of the following pathways:
PATHWAY 1. CULTURAL IDENTITY, VISIBILITY, & CELEBRATION
 Cultivate opportunities and spaces where joy, healing, and culture may thrive.
 Uplift stories that proactively and boldly take up space in the face of othering, bigotry, and
polarization.
Cultural identity is a powerful force for justice and inclusion. We are looking for organizations
and fiscally sponsored projects that use creative, joyful, and artistic approaches to promote
community, cultural inclusion, and representation in the Bay Area. Ideal applicants foster a sense
of belonging, particularly in response to challenges posed by such forces as racism, xenophobia,
antisemitism, and all forms of bigotry and polarization. We seek organizations and fiscally
sponsored projects whose work celebrates shared dignity and helps diverse communities feel a
sense of belonging. By investing in cultural celebration, the Walter & Elise Haas Fund recognizes
that joy, healing, and shared experiences are essential to social well-being.
Examples include, but are not limited to, the following. Important note: These are shared for
inspiration only and are not meant to be prescriptive.
 Multicultural festivals that celebrate diasporic traditions and visibility.
 Community storytelling projects that center voices often excluded from dominant narratives.
 Public art that reflects local histories and cultures in the face of gentrification or erasure.
 Programming within cultural anchor spaces, ensuring they remain rooted and resourced.
 Responding to hate and violence with healing-centered, creative interventions that affirm
dignity and unity.
PATHWAY 2. COLLECTIVE ACTION AND SOLIDARITY
 Actively power-build to identify and enact community-led solutions.
 Bring people together across issues, identities, and communities to build solidarity, foster
healing, and create shared belonging.
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WE INITIATIVE
This pathway supports diverse groups working together. We are seeking organizations and
fiscally sponsored projects that build meaningful connections across lines of difference (including
but not restricted to race, faith, disability, sexual orientation, class, or immigration status), and
utilize collaborative approaches to address community-identified challenges happening at the
intersections. True belonging is realized through shared ownership of community-driven
solutions. We aim to fund organizations and fiscally sponsored projects that build solidarity,
empower people to work together to change systems and shape their future, and create positive,
lasting, community-led transformation.
Examples include, but are not limited to, the following. Important note: These are shared for
inspiration only and are not meant to be prescriptive.
• Intergenerational, interfaith, cross-racial, or cross-issue coalitions organizing around shared
purpose.
• Community hubs or "third spaces" like cultural centers, civic forums, or neighborhood drop-
in sites that assemble people to identify and enact solutions to community challenges.
• Programs that strengthen community influence and resources, like leadership development
for historically marginalized people, democratic deliberation and decision-making,
participatory budgeting, or community-led public safety alternatives.
• Mutual aid networks, food sovereignty initiatives, housing or economic security efforts,
healing justice initiatives, or grassroots capacity-building that meet the immediate needs of a
people while building long-term community power.
We recognize that organizations may work in both pathways and we do not expect anyone to discount
or downplay the ways in which your organization may uplift both. However, we encourage you to
think of which pathway best speaks to your organization’s mission, values, and programming and
apply under one.
These two pathways recognize and build upon the Bay Area’s legacy of creativity, mutual aid, and
collective leadership. They reflect our belief that true progress is made not through isolated efforts,
but through the power of people collaborating, honoring histories, and imagining new possibilities
together.
DESIRABLE ATTRIBUTES
Our selection process aims to identify partners whose work and vision align with our values while
demonstrating the potential for meaningful impact. We carefully review each application through an
assessment that considers multiple dimensions of organizational and project strength. We are looking
for the following key attributes in successful applicants:
PLACE-BASED COMMITMENT TO BELONGING
We seek to support organizations and fiscally sponsored projects that actively foster belonging within
Oakland and/or San Francisco communities and demonstrate genuine love and reverence for these
cities. Our funding prioritizes partners who share our commitment to these specific places, their
diverse residents, and their collective futures. Ideal applicants can clearly articulate their definition of
belonging and demonstrate how they use this concept as a framework for creating meaningful
structural change.
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WE INITIATIVE
FORWARD-LOOKING VISION, VALUES, & PRACTICES
We seek to collaborate with organizations and fiscally sponsored projects that envision and actively
work toward a more inclusive and equitable future. These partners go beyond responding to current
needs by reimagining possibilities and pathways forward for their communities and society. We
prioritize organizations that embody community principles throughout their operation, integrating
artistic and cultural strategies, healing practices, and joy as essential components of bringing
communities together and strengthening collective bonds.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Our ideal partners have leadership and staff who are representative of and deep rooted in their
communities with practices centering local voices in their decision-making. They effectively serve
historically marginalized and under-resourced Bay Area populations, with particular attention to
communities most affected by systemic inequities. Their collaborative nature extends beyond their
immediate work, making them valued contributors to the broader local ecosystem of community
organizers, artists, culture-bearers, advocates, bridge-builders, healers, wellness practitioners,
educators, storytellers, and community historians.
COMMUNITY LEARNING
The partners we value most approach our relationship with a genuine openness to learning. They
actively engage in mutual knowledge exchange and are committed to participating within a
collaborative cohort model led by the Walter & Elise Haas Fund, where shared insights strengthen
everyone's work. One’s ability and willingness to cultivate a rich and expansive cohort ecosystem will
be considered as we make our selection.
TIMELINE
Open Call for Letters of Inquiry (LOI) May 19, 2025
Applicant Information Session May 29, 2025 10AM PT [register here]
Ask Us Anything Session June 5, 2025 3PM PT [register here]
Ask Us Anything Session June 18, 2025 Noon PT [register here]
LOI Deadline June 27, 2025 6PM PT
Invitation to Full Application Mid-July 2025
Application Deadline Mid-August 2025
Notification of Award December 2025
Announcements January 2026
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WE INITIATIVE
HOW TO APPLY
APPLICATION
Our application process spans 12 weeks, starting with the open call for LOIs, followed by an
invitation to submit a full proposal.
IMPORTANT NOTE: W&EHF DOES NOT ANTICIPATE OPENING A NEW CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
AFTER 2025; WE EXPECT TO BE LEARNING WITH AND FROM THE 25 GRANTEES WHO ARE
SELECTED AS THE WE INITIATIVE UNTIL 2030.
ELIGIBILITY
1. STATUS: Applicants must possess 501(c)3 status or be fiscally sponsored by one.
2. PURPOSE: One’s organizational vision and mission align and embody the Walter & Elise Haas
Fund’s north star of activating and sustaining belonging in the Bay Area through the two
pathways.
3. GEOGRAPHY: We are prioritizing organizations and fiscally sponsored projects that are serving,
rooted, oriented, focused, or based/headquartered in San Francisco or Oakland.
4. BUDGET: Our priority will be organizations or fiscally sponsored projects with operating budgets
equal to or less than $5,000,000 annually.
CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE ELIGIBILITY QUIZ
All applicants are required to take the eligibility quiz to register for a grantseeker account and
receive access to the online LOI.
Registration requests are processed manually. If you submit your eligibility quiz after business
hours or on weekends, expect an email response from haassr@fluxx.io or from the domain
haassr.org the following business day. Adding those addresses to your safe sender lists will help
prevent them from being delivered to junk or spam folders.
REVIEW THE LOI AND PROPOSAL QUESTIONS
The questions asked in the LOI and the proposal are at the end of this document. An editable
Microsoft Word version of the questions can be downloaded here and used to compose responses
outside of the online portal.
ATTEND AN APPLICANT INFORMATION SESSION
Grantseekers are invited to attend the online Applicant Information Session on May 29, 2025 or view
the recording after June 1, 2025 here. Attendance is not mandatory, but we plan to walk through the
WE Initiative and its priorities, grantseeker eligibility, and the steps to apply, which many
grantseekers find helpful.
If you have questions about the LOI, register for an Ask Us Anything Session on June 5 or June 18 to
connect with Fund staff. We recommend watching the Applicant Information Session first, which will
cover the key parts of the opportunity, and checking our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section
below and online for updates.
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WE INITIATIVE
CONTACT US
Have a question not answered by our Applicant Information Session or FAQ? Complete the online
form here to ask us your questions. A member of the team will be in touch with you within 48
business hours.
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WE INITIATIVE
GLOSSARY
Below are definitions to some words we reference in this grant opportunity. We hope to learn how
others define and enact these terms, and invite you to share your thinking and definitions, as relevant,
in your LOI submission.
• SOCIAL COHESION has been defined as “the extent of connectedness and solidarity among groups
in society.” Essentially, it means that individuals feel, and act as, part of a group that is oriented
toward working together (Laurie Mazur)
• WE-MAKING, a term coined by Carol Bebelle, maps the relationship between place-based arts and
cultural strategies, social cohesion, and increased equitable well-being. We-Making affirms what
we know intuitively: that place-based arts and culture strategies can strengthen the ties that hold
communities together—with benefits for individual and collective well-being. More
fundamentally, arts and culture help us transcend our subjectivity, encounter the interior lives of
others, and see our obligations to one another more clearly—reminding us that... “‘we’ is not
plural of ‘I.’” (Laurie Mazur)
• BELONGING is both a feeling and a practice—something we experience personally and something
we create collectively.
It happens in structures when all social groups are included in the critical institutions and
communities that shape their lives, recognized and made visible within these spaces, empowered
to have a real voice in shaping these spaces, and able to report a sense of connection and
belonging.
It happens within relationships when there is openness to connection, recognition of each other's
humanity, and a practice of reaching out to others, even those who may seem different.
At its heart, belonging can be seen as an ever-expanding circle, one that keeps growing to
recognize the dignity and humanity of all people. Instead of encouraging zero-sum thinking,
belonging invites us to embrace the perspectives and gifts of all groups. By doing so, we create a
richer and more flourishing community—one where every voice matters and where everyone
thrives together. (Othering and Belonging Institute)
• OTHERING is a set of dynamics, processes, and structures that engender marginality and persistent
inequality across any of the full range of human differences based on group identities.
Dimensions of othering include, but are not limited to, religion, sex, race, ethnicity,
socioeconomic status (class), disability, sexual orientation, and skin tone. Although the axis of
difference that undergird these expressions of othering vary considerably and are deeply
contextual, they contain a similar set of underlying dynamics. (Othering and Belonging Institute)
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WE INITIATIVE
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
An updated version of this FAQ is available here.
• Will you consider funding organizations outside of San Francisco and Oakland?
Any organization that sees itself serving, rooted, oriented, focused, or based/headquartered in San
Francisco or Oakland may apply but please be aware that funding organizations in the cities of
San Francisco and Oakland remains our priority.
• Will you consider funding organizations or projects with budgets above $5M?
Organizations may still apply if their annual budgets are within close range of $5M, as we
understand that budgets may fluctuate from year to year but please be aware that funding
organizations whose annual budgets are $5M and below remains our priority.
• Why are organizations with an annual budget of under $5M a priority?
While sustained funding is beneficial for an organization of any size, W&EHF believes our five-
year $500,000 commitment can be most impactful for organizations with budgets under $5M.
• What does the LOI look like?
View the sample below or download here.
• What does the proposal look like?
View the sample below or download here.
• What do you expect to see in the LOI? What should I write about?
We suggest you attend the Applicant Information Session on May 29 to learn more. Register
here.
• I passed the eligibility quiz and gave you my organization’s information, but I don’t have
access to the LOI. Can you help?
This process is manual and may take up to 24 business hours. Please register your organization
early if you plan to apply. Remember to check your spam folder first. If it’s been more than 24
business hours use this contact form and someone from the team will get back to you to help.
• When will WE Initiative hold its next open call?
We do not anticipate future rounds of funding from the WE Initiative until at least 2030.
• If we are not chosen for the WE Initiative, can we qualify for other funding opportunities at
the Walter & Elise Haas Fund?
Yes, it is possible to be a fit for other funding opportunities at W&EHF. However, we anticipate
that opportunities for other W&EHF grants will be invitation or nomination based.
• Do you accept unsolicited proposals?
The WE Initiative accepts LOIs from any eligible organization. Select applicants will be invited
to submit full proposals. W&EHF does not otherwise accept unsolicited proposals.
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WE INITIATIVE FAQ
• What is the cohort experience?
The WE Initiative cohort experience will be co-designed by W&EHF staff and WE Initiative
grantees as a collective learning journey over the five-year span of the grant. We look forward to
a generative, collaborative, and expansive experience. In 2026, we ask that grantees participate in
a series of cohort meetings, with future cadence to be co-developed together.
• Are there any funding restrictions?
The grant is for general operating support, and use of funds is therefore determined by the
organization. This might include program services, staff wages and compensation, professional
development, organizational resilience, and more, in support of your organization’s ability to
operate for your mission and community.
• How will proposals be reviewed?
LOIs will be reviewed as they are received. LOIs and proposals will be reviewed with the WE
Initiative guidelines and criteria shared above.
• If we receive this grant, how often do we need to submit a report to the Walter & Elise Haas
Fund?
W&EHF does not require written reports. Instead, we aim to learn from and with grantees
through 1-1 learning conversations or check-ins, and by gathering to share space with other
W&EHF grantees. Specifically, W&EHF is interested in learning:
• How WE Initiative grantees activate and sustain belonging in the Bay Area
• How WE Initiative grantees enrich and positively transform the community
• How WE Initiative grantees strengthen their ability to sustain and expand their impact
• Can I contact someone with my questions?
Absolutely. Use this contact form to ask us your questions. A member of the team will be in
touch with you within 48 business hours.
• When will I receive funding?
If your organization is one of the 25 WE Initiative grantees, the first year payment of $100,000
will be awarded by December 2025. Future payments can be scheduled according to grantees’
budgetary preference.
• Will there be any extensions of the LOI deadline of June 27?
No. The LOI window is open for six weeks and the deadline will remain 6:00PM on Friday,
June 27, 2025. We have heard from past grantseekers that you want us to be clear so you can
plan accordingly.
• What are our chances of receiving a grant?
While we do not know how many organizations will apply, 25 grants will be awarded in
December. We anticipate a high volume of LOIs.
For your reference, a separate open call held in 2024 by W&EHF resulted in 177 applications and
ten grants.
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WE INITIATIVE FAQ
• Do you need our financial documents?
No financial attachments are required at the LOI stage.
If a full proposal is invited, W&EHF staff will research the financial health of the organization
(or their fiscal sponsor) using publicly available documents from the applicant website, the
charity databases at the State of California, the Internal Revenue Service, Guidestar, and Candid's
Foundation Directory. If the organization is fiscally sponsored, we will reach out to the fiscal
sponsor. If we are missing any information we contact the applicant.
When we research financial health, we use a trend analysis to answer two specific questions:
o Is the organization likely to be stable through the end of this grant? We scan for new or
longstanding challenges that are accompanying an organization as it does its best to
maintain programs and operations.
o Is the Walter & Elise Haas Fund able to partner with the organization's other funders for
learning and impact? Grantseekers are a well-spring of network connections for us, and
we use information about who is funding your organization to make our own connections
to them, share our work, and explore how to collaborate in support of our shared
grantees.
• I’m a previous grantee, can I apply to this grant?
Yes, if you are a previous grantee and aligned with the eligibility requirements for WE Initiative,
you can apply for this grant.
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WE INITIATIVE
WALTER & ELISE HAAS FUND
Sample WE Initiative Application
ABOUT THIS SAMPLE
We understand grantseekers need to use many different online portals hosted by many
different grantmakers. To help connect the Fund’s requirements to your process, we offer this
sample for you to use to prepare a letter of inquiry, and, if invited, a full proposal for us.
This sample can be downloaded in Microsoft Word format here.
Review below to see what you’ll be asked for in our online grantseeker portal. You can put
your answers in this document, sharing with colleagues as you see fit. When you’re ready,
log in to cut and paste where appropriate.
Please note that
• Some parts of the LOI allow you to pick from a list of prepared options or click to
upload instead of cutting and pasting.
• Cutting and pasting from Word may result in unexpected characters in the online
application. Check your work!
Questions about this sample or suggestions for improvement? Please email us at
grantsmanager@haassr.org.
Thank you!
ABOUT WORD COUNTS
The WE Initiative application contains suggested word / paragraph counts and provides a
counter while composing responses. There is no penalty for being under or over the
suggested word count. We encourage clear, concise writing.
APPLICANT ORGANIZATION DETAILS
• PICK LIST
Are you using a fiscal sponsor?
If you answer yes, you’ll be provided with a field to provide the name of your sponsor
• Organization Name
• Organization Location
• Primary Contact Name
• Primary Signatory Name
• Primary Financial Officer Name
• PICK LIST
Need to add contacts?
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WE INITIATIVE SAMPLE APPLICATION
If you answer yes, you’ll be provided with a blank field to provide name, title, email
address and telephone
KEY REQUEST INFORMATION
• Request Title
• Please provide a one-paragraph summary of your letter of inquiry
(up to 200 characters)
• Amount Requested: enter $500,000
• Total Organizational Budget
• Requested grant duration (in months): enter 60
LETTER OF INQUIRY
The letter of inquiry asks six questions that we estimate will require approximately 1,150
words / three pages in response.
1. The north star of the Walter & Elise Haas Fund’s WE Initiative is activating and
sustaining belonging in the Bay Area so that all people can thrive and live with
dignity and joy. Please share how your organization actively cultivates and
sustains belonging in the Bay Area.
(Suggested word count: 250)
2. The WE Initiative intentionally is a place-based initiative, meaning that we care about
funding organizations that are community-rooted, community-led, and community-
serving in Oakland and San Francisco. Please share how the work of your
organization resonates with this priority.
(Suggested word count: 200)
3. We want to learn more about the ecosystem you are a part of, the ecosystems that you
serve, and whose stories you center in your work. Who does your organization
represent and serve?
(Suggested word count: 50)
4. PICK LIST
The WE Initiative seeks to uplift and support organizations that are already
cultivating belonging using one of the following pathways:
• Cultural Identity, Visibility, and Celebration
o Cultivating opportunities and spaces where joy, healing, and culture may
thrive
o Uplifting stories that proactively and boldly take up space in the face of
othering, bigotry, and polarization.
• Collective Action and Solidarity
o Actively power-building to identify and enact community-led solutions
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WE INITIATIVE SAMPLE APPLICATION
o Bringing people together across issues, identities, and communities to build
solidarity, foster healing, and create shared belonging
Which pathway do you plan to apply under?
5. Depending on your response to Question 4, you will see one of following questions.
• Cultural Identity, Visibility, and Celebration focuses on
o Cultivating opportunities and spaces where joy, healing, and culture may
thrive
o Uplifting stories that proactively and boldly take up space in the face of
othering, bigotry, and polarization.
Please share how your organization’s work resonates with this priority.
(Suggested word count: 400)
• Collective Action and Solidarity focuses on
o Actively power-building to identify and enact community-led solutions
o Bringing people together across issues, identities, and communities to build
solidarity, foster healing, and create shared belonging
Please share how your organization’s work resonates with this priority.
(Suggested word count: 400)
6. The WE Initiative is a multi-year funding strategy, awarding $100,000 of general
operating support annually for five years, totaling $500,000. The Fund is excited to
support organizations building a future of the Bay Area’s “we”. Please share your
organization’s future orientation. What future “we” are you working to make
possible for Oakland and/or San Francisco?
(Suggested word count: 250)
LETTER OF INQUIRY ATTACHMENTS
• No attachments required at this time.
This concludes the LOI.
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WE INITIATIVE SAMPLE APPLICATION
FULL PROPOSAL
The full proposal is by invitation only. It is expected to ask ten questions that we estimate
will require approximately 1,450 words / four pages in response. There is one optional
question.
1. What does belonging mean to you and your community?
(Suggested word count: 150)
2. Depending on your response to Question 4 in the LOI, you will see one of the
following questions.
• Going Deeper
Cultural Identity, Visibility, and Celebration focuses on
o Cultivating opportunities and spaces where joy, healing, and culture may
thrive
o Uplifting stories that proactively and boldly take up space in the face of
othering, bigotry, and polarization.
You've shared how these priorities resonate with your organization. Please
provide specific examples of how your organization does this work.
(Suggested word count: 300)
• Collective Action and Solidarity
o Actively power-building to identify and enact community-led solutions
o Bringing people together across issues, identities, and communities to build
solidarity, foster healing, and create shared belonging
You've shared how these priorities resonate with your organization. Please
provide specific examples of how your organization does this work.
(Suggested word count: 300)
4. W&EHF holds at its core that arts and culture are essential to a just and vibrant
community. Please tell us how your organization employs arts and culture as a
strategy to cultivate belonging.
(Suggested word count: 250)
5. You've shared what communities your organization represents and serves. Share how
community members are invested in and engaged in the organization’s
trajectory. How is the organization accountable to community?
(Suggested word count: 250)
6. You've shared what ecosystems your organization is part of. Who are your key
partners and collaborators, and what do you work on together?
(Suggested word count: 200)
2025 GRANT GUIDELINES PAGE 14 OF 15

WE INITIATIVE SAMPLE APPLICATION
7. How do you evaluate, inform, and refine your work to ensure your work is impactful
and meaningful to your community?
(Suggested word count 250)
8. This opportunity includes a cohort experience with fellow awardees. What would you
most value from a cohort experience?
(Suggested word count: 50 words)
9. PICK LIST [YES/NO]
Is the majority of your leadership (director, senior staff, board) representative of the
community you serve?
10. PICK LIST [YES/NO]
One of the Walter & Elise Haas Fund's tenets is a commitment to nonprofit worker
well-being. We understand there is no one definition for nonprofit worker well-being
and appreciate how it shows up in the organizations we fund. Is your organization
committed to nonprofit worker well-being?
11. OPTIONAL
Is there anything else about your work that resonates with this opportunity that you
want to share with us?
(Suggested word count: 150)
FULL PROPOSAL ATTACHMENTS
• No attachments required at this time.
When your full proposal is invited, W&EHF staff begin to research the financial
health of your organization (and its fiscal sponsor, as needed) using publicly available
documents from your website, the charity databases at the State of California, the
Internal Revenue Service, Guidestar, and Candid's Foundation Directory. If we're
missing any information we'll be in touch.
2025 GRANT GUIDELINES PAGE 15 OF 15