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Planning & Building
For Social Justice Grant
With this funding opportunity, the Leever Foundation is interested in strengthening social justice efforts in Waterbury, Connecticut by supporting community-driven organizations, collectives, local groups and networks. In the current landscape that is ever evolving and contains emerging threats, the Foundation aims to offer these initiatives access to timely support for their social change work.
Up to $100,000 in total funding is available to support multiple organizations in 2026 for Planning & Building for Social Justice project/program grants. This opportunity is designed specifically for planning, infrastructure, and capacity-building; the work that makes sustained change work possible.
The Five Strategies This Opportunity Will Support
This project/program funding is specifically to advance one or more of the following strategies in/for Waterbury, CT:
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Cross-Organizational Collaboration & Planning - Building coalitions, partnerships, and shared infrastructure across groups for social change work and/or timely efforts to address policy shifts.
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Peer-to-Peer Learning & Organizer Development - Creating spaces for organizers and leaders to exchange strategies, share knowledge, and build collective capacity — including convenings, learning networks, etc.
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Social Justice Infrastructure Development – Some of the most powerful community change happens in collectives, informal networks, mutual aid groups, and other non-traditional structures. This opportunity supports the development/implementation of plans, structures, frameworks, governance models and agreements that let groups do their work sustainably.
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Community Power Building – Like strengthening movement building leadership, organizing strategies, and advocacy infrastructure.
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Movement Resilience & Adaptive Strategy – Planning for community needs resulting from political shifts, responding to emerging threats and refining strategies for root-cause change.
About Social Justice
The Leever Foundation understands social justice can be a cross-cutting strategy to dismantling systemic inequities across race, education, environment, economics, gender, and more. We resource efforts that go beyond addressing symptoms, to address root causes and build toward structural transformation. We are looking to support intersectional, lasting change for communities in Waterbury who have been historically marginalized and underserved.
Learn more about how we define system change and structural transformation:
What This Opportunity Will Support
We are seeking to partner with nonprofit organizations, movement-building initiatives, collectives, and community groups that:
● Are based in, or do work that directly benefits, Waterbury, CT
● Are working toward systems change and structural transformation (find out how we define these here.)
● Center BILPOC, LGBTQIA+, immigrant and other historically marginalized communities in Waterbury
● Have a plan for sustaining the impact of this funding beyond
What Strengthens A Proposal
Reviewers seek proposals that:
● Address urgent needs resulting from recent shifts in the political landscape
● Challenge and transform oppressive systems while building just alternatives
● Demonstrate community engagement and collaboration
● Define a thoughtful approach to measuring impact, i.e., how do you know the work is working?
Fiscal Sponsorship
If you have a fiscal sponsor, they must:
● Be a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit in good standing
● Have an established fiscal sponsorship agreement with your organization/group/entity
● Be willing to sign an agreement with the Foundation and take responsibility for fund management and reporting
This Opportunity Does Not Support
Individuals, capital campaigns, equipment or furniture purchases, 501(c)4 institutions, schools (public, private, or charter) or government institutions.
Application Process & Timeline
Step 1: Eligibility Survey
All prospective partners must complete a brief eligibility survey before submitting a full proposal. The survey takes approximately 15 minutes. Complete by: April 20th.
Step 2: Full Application
Partners that meet eligibility criteria will receive a link to the full application through the Foundation’s grant portal. The application will ask for:
● Organization Overview: who you are, how you're structured, your accountability structures
● Community-Driven Impact: the work you're proposing and why it matters now
● Capacity-Building & Urgency: what you're building and why this moment requires it
● Measurability & Outcomes: how your community will define and recognize success
● Long-Term Sustainability: how the work continues beyond this grant period
● Project budget and organizational budget
● Proof of nonprofit status or fiscal sponsor documentation
● Letters of support (especially for collaborative proposals - encouraged, not required)
Review Process
Proposals will be reviewed by a committee within four weeks of submission, based on:
● Alignment with the five funding strategies supported by this RFP
● Clarity and feasibility of proposed activities
● Rootedness in and accountability to Waterbury communities
● Potential for durable, long-term impact
Timeline:
April 20th Eligibility Survey Deadline
April 27th Application Portal Opens
June 1st Application Deadline
June 26th Notification of Decisions
July 13th Grant Period Begins
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