What government funding opportunities are there for nonprofits?
Foundation funding from California's broad philanthropic community has already started to roll out. Many community foundations, family foundations, and other funders are making grants to nonprofits. Check the websites of foundations in your area to see what opportunities are there.
At CalNonprofits we've been more involved with government funding to nonprofits around the Census. While funding levels remain uncertain at the federal level, California has stepped up to ensure adequate funding for a full count. Thanks to nonprofit advocacy led by Census Policy Advocacy Network (of which CalNonprofits is a member), the state has about $30 million to outreach by nonprofits in hard-to-count communities. Advocates are requesting additional funding in the 2019-2020 budget.
Steps you can take now:
- Join an in-person Regional Convening and Implementation Workshop hosted by the California Census. Each workshop will include a morning session that will bring together community leaders and regional state contractors to continue collaborating on reaching California’s hard–to–count populations to achieve a complete count. An afternoon workshop for state contractors will facilitate the development of effective and efficient implementation plans. Click here for more information and to register
- Contact the designated Administrative Community-Based Organization (ACBO) in your region. The State grouped California's 58 counties into 10 regions and has designated a funding amount for each region based on their hard-to-count populations. In a competitive process, the state selected one nonprofit in each region, called ACBOs. ACBOs will give out grants to local nonprofits to carry out Census outreach and coordinate efforts as well. This link shows the ten regions, the ACBO in each one, and how to contact them.
- In addition to the regional structure, the state also chose 13 community-based organizations to focus their statewide outreach and grantmaking on specific demographic groups that are considered particularly hard to count.
- Use your local government connections. Many local governments, such as cities and counties, will receive outreach funds from the state, and it is up to each jurisdiction to decide how to use those funds. Also, many counties and cities are allocating their funds for Census outreach. They know that the wellbeing of their communities depends on a full count, and increasingly they know that nonprofits are well-positioned to reach hard-to-count people. For example, your county may be making grants to nonprofits to help them recruit paid enumerators and to reach hard-to-count individuals.
- If you already work with your County Office of Education, these offices also partnering with 30 of the 58 county offices to reach Title I schools and Title III students and their parents, and grants to nonprofits may be available there as well.
- Check with your local governments’ Complete Count Committee, if one exists. You can find a list here – scroll down to “County and Local Complete Count Committee Contacts.” If you don’t see a contact for your area, contact your ACBO or a local elected official to get connected to your Complete Count Committee and to be sure that nonprofits are involved. If your community doesn't yet have a Complete Count Committee, help get one started. If you're wondering what a Complete Committee looks like and how it can involve nonprofits, here's one example in Los Angeles: Los Angeles Regional Census Table.
You can find information about these funding sources here.
