The Community Foundation is continuing its commitment to strengthening civic engagement through a Civic Education Grants Program. The Foundation is concerned with declining and/or limited focus on civic education in formal educational systems that contributes to decreased community knowledge about democratic institutions and low voter participation in the county’s urban communities.
The Civic Education Grants Program will support organizations engaging in efforts to improve civic knowledge and information access for historically disengaged and/or disenfranchised resident populations in Bridgeport, Danbury, Norwalk, Stamford and Stratford. See below for full details. Applications are no longer being accepted.
Grantee Benefits:
Up to five grants, ranging from $10,000-$20,000, will be awarded to support projects that strengthen understanding about the history, principles and foundations of our local, state and/or federal democracies and citizens’ abilities to participate in the democratic process. The size of each grant will be based on the scope of the project, the anticipated size of the population served, the number of institutions involved, and the projected impact outcomes.
Criteria for proposals:
The Community Foundation welcomes participation from a diverse array of nonprofit institutions, including community colleges, liberal arts colleges and research universities, advocacy organizations, organizing groups, direct service providers and interest-based groups.
The grant period will run from August 1, 2019 to January 31, 2020.
All expenses must be incurred during this time. Requests from both single institutions and multiple institutions partnering together will be considered. Target populations include youth and young adults, formerly incarcerated individuals, new Americans, persons with disabilities, communities of color and/or low-income communities.
Special consideration will be given to projects that accomplish any of the following, in addition to the request’s core civic education goals:
- Bridge connections across sectors, e.g. nonprofit, higher education, government
- Foster civil discourse across diverse populations
- Demonstrate the potential for sustainability
- Identify clear, measurable impact goals
- Leverage and/or scale the impact of work currently underway or anticipated
- Utilize a grassroots approach, building on established relationships with local community partners and resident leaders
Select applicants will be invited to interview as part of the selection process. An interim and final grant report must be submitted to the Foundation. Due dates will be set based on project details.
2019 Application (Request for Proposal) Timeline:
June 13 – July 12: Application Period
June 18: RFP Q&A Webinar
July 15 – July 26: Select Applicant Interviews
August 1: Awards Announced and Checks Mailed
For full request for proposal click here.
For More Information:
Please contact Sharon Jones at Fairfield County’s Community Foundation at 203.750.3219 for more information or with questions. Thank you for your interest in increasing civic education in our county.
