AJ Muste Foundation for Peace and Justice has announced the Social Justice Fund for grassroots activist projects in the US, giving priority to those with small budgets and little access to more mainstream funding sources.
The Social Justice Fund is especially interested in funding efforts to:
end the violence of borders and the criminalization of immigrants, shut down CBP and ICE
abolish prisons and dismantle and redefine systems of policing and criminal justice
confront institutionalized violence against racial, ethnic, gender-based, and LGBTQ communities
put an end to economic exploitation, class stratification, systemic poverty
stop the war machine, end state sponsored terrorism, expose the dangers of nuclear power
Priorities
The Social Justice Fund’s priority is to support:
direct grassroots activism and organizing
groups with diverse, representative and democratic leadership structures
groups that need additional support to carry out a project or build capacity
Funding Information
The maximum grant award is $10,000. Occasionally they will consider requests for multiple-year funding.
Eligibility Criteria
They seek proposals:
from groups with limited access to more mainstream funding sources
from groups which have not received Social Justice Fund grants in at least two years
from groups with or without 501(c)3 status or a fiscal sponsor: the Social Justice Fund only requires a fiscal sponsor if the group receiving the grant does not have its own bank account. If you cannot receive a grant check made out to the name of your organization, you will need a fiscal sponsor. They cannot issue checks to individuals.
For Projects Support: Projects expense budgets under $50,000 and organizational budgets of under 500,000 annually
For General Operation Support: organizational budgets of $500,000 or less annually
Ineligible
Although they value the work, they do not consider grant proposals for the following:
individual efforts or scholarships
schools or universities academic or research projects
organizations with regular access to government, corporate or mainstream charitable funding
art, theater, film or video projects that are not directly tied to activism or organizing
sectarian religious purposes
economic development projects
capital campaigns or expenses
direct social services
legal defense or litigation
lobbying or electoral campaigns
projects geared toward participants personal improvement or business success
conflict resolution or violence reduction projects, unless they directly promote activism
projects that will have already taken place by the time the grant is received
