Our 2022 grant process is now open and accepting LOIs from returning and renewing grant applicant through April 15th. As always, our mission-oriented funding supports innovative interventions that remove or address the root causes of systemic barriers to health, safety, shelter and opportunity in the communities where we work and live. We envision a world in which all individuals, regardless of means or identity, are treated equitably and provided opportunities to thrive.
In practice, this means we fund across issue areas; the common thread in our grantmaking relates to systems change. We fund:
Work that improves or restructures systems of poverty by changing policies, practices, and/or beliefs that hold people in cycles of poverty.
Direct service work only when that direct service work informs and/or complements work to improve or restructure systems.
In 2022, we will be opening our grant cycle only to organizations who have previously received funding from us (for any purpose). This change is being made for this fiscal year to allow the foundation to maintain its commitment to multi-year and longer-term funding commitments; as the majority of our current multi-year commitments are due for renewal, this allows us to maintain and invest in existing relationships without requesting an unreasonable amount of paperwork from new grantseekers whose requests are unlikely to be funded at this time. We anticipate that our open call for proposals will return again in 2023.
Because the foundation has shifted its funding since our inception in 2013, a renewal request does not automatically mean organizations will be funded again. We continue to emphasize funding for organizations whose work aligns with our stated goals above, and which:
Demonstrates a spirit of collaboration, partnership, and alliance building. We believe that no work happens in a vacuum, and relationships are crucial to effecting change.
Engages community and constituents in its decision making. Those closest to the problems are also those closest to the solutions.
Embodies principles of equity and inclusion in both work and governance. Equity is not a one-and-done program, but an ongoing commitment to examination, learning, unlearning, and willingness to change. We are especially seeking organizations led and/or founded by BIPOC individuals (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), and with diverse boards.
As a small funder, The Helen J. Serini Foundation aims to increase its impact beyond check-writing by serving as a convener and connecter of nonprofit partners; investing in capacity building, including leadership development; influencing systems change through public policy & advocacy work; and utilizing our resources beyond grantmaking to effect greater change.
Priority will be given to organizations seeking general operating funds because the overarching mission and work of the organization is aligned with the foundation’s stated mission and funding priorities. In practice, this means that general operating funds for organizations with only one or two programs that align are unlikely to be funded.
Reporting requirements remain flexible to keep the paperwork burden on applicants to a minimum while allowing staff (and board members, where interested) to remain connected to the work. We are always happy to accept a report prepared for another funder and/or a phone call, Zoom, or in-person meeting (public health conditions allowing) in lieu of a written report.