Democratic Philanthropy In Action

Request for Proposal Release Date: March 15th 2022

Proposal Submission Deadline: April 15th 2022

• Applicants may request general support or project support. In SPF’s 2022 grants cycle, organizations had to have operating budgets of $350,000 or less to receive general support. Organizations with operating budgets over $350,000 could apply for project support only.
• A site visit is required for new applicants, a phone interview is sufficient for previous grantees. Members of SPF’s grants committee will contact organizations being considered to schedule a site visit or phone interview. We are still relying on virtual meetings but look forward to resuming in-person site visits when it is deemed safe to do so.
• SPF’s grants committee, made up of SPF members, makes grants decisions which are then ratified by the Board.  In most cases, groups are notified of grants decisions by mid-October.
• Grantees must submit a final report on the use of their grant, as described in their application. New requests will not be considered until all final reports have been submitted.
• If an organization has received five consecutive years of regular grant cycle funding, it must take a year off before making a new grants request. Organizations unsure about grants status may contact SPF’s program department at grants@southernpartnersfund.org. To receive announcements regarding the regular grants cycle, groups must contact the program department at grants@southernpartnersfund.org and request that they be placed in their email database.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Applicants must be a rural community organization, coalition or network located in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia or West Virginia.
• Groups must be governed by community leaders from the same race and class as their members.
• Groups must use grassroots organizing strategies in their fight for justice, aimed at enabling members to become community decision-makers.

Electronic Submissions

• SPF uses Submittable for grant applications. This web-based tool helps SPF make grant processes more streamlined and transparent.
• To submit an application, you will need to create a Submittable account. All you need is an email and password to create your account, it's that simple. For further instructions, visit the following help center article How to submit.
• Supported internet browsers include: Google Chrome, Apple Safari, & Mozilla Firefox.
• If you have any technical issues, please contact Submittable through the following link: Submittable technical support