Guidelines
What
The purpose of the Victor & Lorraine Honig Initiative for Bay Area Social & Economic Justice is to make grants available for organizations working to advance social, economic, and environmental justice in the greater Bay Area. For 2022, the Initiative will focus on housing.
The primary goal of the Initiative is to support work to increase low-income housing through any of the 3 Ps (preservation of affordable housing, production of affordable housing and protection of tenant rights) by funding a two-year position focused on policy advocacy. We are targeting organizations actively seeking to change public policies and systems by educating the public, influencing decision makers on administrative policies, building coalitions and/or taking legal action. Funds can be used for salary, benefits, professional development, and organizational capacity as it relates to the role. Grants are intended to fund a new and needed position and thereby help grantees initiate activities that they would otherwise be unable to do.
It is expected that the full cost of the position is covered by the grant for two years. Organizations will not be expected to contribute any of their own funds to support this position for the two year period of the grant. While needs and costs will vary organization to organization, applicants should budget for a program manager. Applicants should approach the cost of the position holistically and propose a budget that thoughtfully reflects what a well-resourced person in this role would need.
Organizations working on any aspect of housing are welcomed to apply, provided that this particular position works toward increasing housing for low-income families in the Bay Area in at least one of the following ways:
Advocacy/Public Policy
- Advocate with local governments for the creation of low-income housing for the Bay Area
- Serve as thought partner with local governments and organizations around housing issues
- Other advocacy and public policy work around housing
Research
- Equip local housing organizations with the information they need
- Engage with and serve as a link to academic researchers focused on the Bay Area
- Disseminate research to Bay Area housing organizations
Civic Engagement
- Organize in Bay Area communities around housing issues
- Increase voter turnout in low-income housing and lower-income communities
- Other civic engagement work around housing
Collaboration with organizations working on any of the issues above
What’s not fundable: Salaries or benefits for existing roles or programs, organizational capacity that is not directly related to the position, or directly financing low-income housing.
Who
Applicants must be working on low-income housing in one or more of the following counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Napa, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, and Sonoma. Non-501c3 organizations are welcome to apply, but this funding will only cover charitable, non-lobbying expenses.
When
Applicants may complete the application starting February 11th. The deadline for submitting the application is March 11th. A final funding decision will be made the week of March 25, 2022.
Please Note
- Tides values social and racial justice, and applicants should have an understanding of the root causes of the current housing crisis.
- Grants made through the fund need to be fully expended within 30 months of the approval of the grant. This timeline includes potential listing and hiring for the position.
- Should there be unforeseen delays in the execution and completion of approved grant activities a no-cost extension will be considered.
- Current Tides Foundation grantees are welcome to apply.
- The Tides Foundation will make all final funding decisions.
- The grant recipient will be asked to submit a short (one page) one-year report and final report.
- It is hoped that this position will be made permanent at the end of the two-year grant period.
- Future years of the initiative will be selective and focus on different issues. Applicants are welcome to reapply but this grant will not be renewed.
Selection Criteria
In review of applications for funding, we will focus on the following areas:
- Fit with the spirit and guidelines described above
- The need and importance of the proposed work to the field
- The ability of the applicant to quickly hire and onboard an appropriate candidate
- The ability of the applicant to offer on-the-job training and development for a candidate who might not otherwise work on this issue
- If the requested support might catalyze action that leads to a larger or ongoing line of work or systemic change in the housing sector
- The ability of the applicant organization to make connections with other people and organizations working on the issue
Please note that, within the Initiative’s budget, applications will be considered without regard to overall cost.
Questions? If you have any questions about eligibility, fit, or any other aspect of the Initiative, please contact us.
Application Preview
Please tell us about the organization
Name of organization:
Website:
Address:
Please indicate organization’s tax status:
Does the organization have an affiliated 501(c)(4) organization? If so please name:
Contact person’s name:
Contact person’s title:
Contact person’s email:
Contact person’s phone number:
What is the mission of the organization (1-2 sentences):
Annual organization budget:
Is the organization woman- and/or BIPOC-led? Please explain (1-2 sentences):
Please tell us about the organization’s work
Please share this information in a way that allows us to better understand your work, but feel free to do so in a simple format that works for you (bullet points, language from prior proposals, etc.).
- What role does your organization play in the larger Bay Area housing ecosystem? What do you see as the major challenges to transformational impact for organizations engaged in this work?
- How do you/ would you partner with other housing and non-housing related organizations to advance your goals?
- What is your theory of change, and how will this position help you achieve your goals?
- What infrastructure does your organization have to help this position succeed?
- Describe the organization’s commitment to racial equity and social justice, and how its current work supports that commitment.
- If the organization received funding from the Initiative to hire for a program/campaign position, what would that position look like? What would be the two-year budget for a fully-resourced person in this role, what kind of work would they do, and how would that work relate to the rest of the organization/other organizations working on housing? What do you see as the main goal for this position? Please include any support needed to help the role succeed, including professional development.
- This position is meant to take on new work and take the organization in new and exciting directions. That being said, a potential candidate for the role may already be at the organization. Do you already have a candidate in mind who would fit this position? If so, please describe their experience to date, current work, and why you are enthusiastic about their ability to be successful in this role. If not, how will you go about finding candidates
Request for feedback
Responses to these questions will not affect grantee selection.
- How did you learn about the Initiative?
- Please rate the application process (1 being very easy, 5 being very difficult)
- Please provide any other feedback to help us improve our practices for future years