Please note: Starting in July 2017, the Weingart Foundation will launch a new online portal that will provide applicants and grantees with a more streamlined and user-friendly experience. As we transition to this new system, we request that if you have any pending Capital letters of inquiry or Expanding Opportunity Fund applications or reports in our existing portal that you would like to submit, that you do so by May 31, 2017 at 5 pm. For assistance, please contact Angela Carr, grants management associate.
Expanding Opportunity Fund (formerly the Small Grant Program)
The primary purpose of the Expanding Opportunity Fund (EOF) is to increase access to funding and strengthen the capacity of small, community-based, and developing organizations. Therefore, high priority is given to organizations with operating budgets under $1 million.
All grants through the EOF are for a maximum of $25,000 in Unrestricted Operating Support over a term of 12 months.
Grantmaking Focus
As part of the Foundation’s desire to increase impact in specific areas related to advancing social and economic equity, the Expanding Opportunity Fund will provide Unrestricted Operating Support grants (not program grants) to nonprofits focused on the activities identified under the following issue areas:
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Reentry: Successful reintegration of individuals reentering the community from incarceration with a focus on employment and/or housing with supportive services.
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Immigrant Integration: Outreach and enrollment around the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program; education and fraud prevention related to administrative relief; workforce development and workplace rights; support for access to health care and drivers’ licenses; citizenship and naturalization efforts; civic participation; detention and deportation support; and literacy and English as a Second Language programs.
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Education:
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Increasing high school graduation rates, post-secondary degree attainment and employment opportunities for low-income students, including, but not limited to, a special focus on youth in or at-risk of entering County systems (e.g. child welfare or juvenile justice);
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Early childhood literacy programs;
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Improving parent engagement in public education.
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Youth Organizing and Leadership Development: Youth organizing and leadership development programs for low-income and vulnerable youth.
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Basic Needs:
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Housing and services for survivors of domestic violence and abuse;
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Homelessness prevention for families;
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Addressing food insecurity.
Generally, requests from organizations with less than three years operating history in the Southern California region will not be considered at this time.