Community Training and Assistance Center: Intermediary Support for Organizing Communities

The Intermediary Support for Organizing Communities Program, administered by the Community Training and Assistance Center (CTAC), provides small grants and technical assistance to build the capacity, sustainability, and impact of grassroots organizations that are engaged in important community organizing work in low-income communities in the Northeast. Six to eight grants of up to $20,000 will be awarded to groups in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, or Vermont. Applying groups must have been engaged in community organizing in low-income, highly disenfranchised communities for a number of years. Funded groups should be constituent-led and multi-issue in orientation, rather than single-issue groups. Deadline: May 24, 2012.

Eligibility Requirements

• CTAC will award a total of 6-8 small grants (maximum $20,000) to organizations primarily located in the Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.
• Groups must have a community organizing focus and demonstrate significant accomplishments in community organizing within their low-income community or constituency.
• For the purpose of this program, community organizing is broadly defined as the process of building a powerful, community-controlled, democratically run, inclusive, grassroots organization capable of developing leaders and effecting social change for its constituent members. Note that direct service and statewide projects are not eligible for funding.
• Groups must provide evidence of constituent leadership at the board and/or staff levels and accountability to the membership or constituency. Groups must also provide evidence of organizational capacity and their ability to manage funds responsibly.
• Groups must present clear, manageable objectives for the use of funding, in accordance with the definition of community organizing, described above.
• Groups must demonstrate a need for technical assistance and be willing to receive and make use of technical assistance from CTAC in their identified areas of need.
• Groups shall be engaged in charitable purposes as defined by the IRS, and must either have 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status or have another nonprofit with this status that will serve as their fiscal agent.

Application Materials

Click below to download a copy of the Request for Proposals. The original and one copy of the narrative proposal (no more than 5 pages), the cover sheet, the required attachments, and any supplemental materials must be received by CTAC, 30 Winter Street, 7th Floor, Boston, MA 02108 by Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 5:00pm. Proposals cannot be submitted online or via fax. Please refer to Frequently Asked Questions for additional information regarding eligibility and applications. If you have any questions regarding the preparation of your proposal, please contact us at smallgrants@ctacusa.com or 
(617) 423-1444.

For complete information, click here.