What We Fund
In addition to general operating support grants, Sunlight Giving provides a limited number of capacity building grants to current grantee partners. Capacity building grants usually range from $10,000 to $30,000, with organizations leveraging contributions from other funders, individual donors, and their budgets and reserves to cover project costs. A non-exhaustive list of aligned capacity building projects includes:
Small construction and renovation projects, including safety and security efforts. Vehicle, equipment, and other one-time nonexpendable purchases that are used to improve or expand the delivery of programs and services.
Projects to develop strategic, communications, business, evaluation, fundraising, and cultural competency plans. Coaching, board development, management skills training, and succession planning to improve organizational health and sustainability. Software, databases, and technology implementation and consultant fees to streamline processes, track data, and provide better service to clients and staff.
Support for situations where there is a finite need for additional staff capacity, such as project implementation, a strategic process, or a change in workload.
What We Look For
In line with our mission, we prioritize organizations that provide direct services, particularly those focused on meeting basic needs and safety net services for families with young children. We may also prioritize requests from organizations in regions with limited philanthropic resources, those with limited access to additional funding sources for the capacity building project, and those that haven't received a capacity-building grant from us in the past 3-5 years. We may ask for a brief project write-up, cost estimates, consultant work plans, a timeline, or other relevant information.
Capacity building requests are reviewed at each quarterly board meeting, and grantee partners are encouraged to contact their program officer with any questions.
What We Don't Fund
Rent or other occupancy expenses, website design or updates, computers or hardware, ongoing licensing fees, financial audits, endowments, tuition for degree programs, conference costs, recurring staff training expenses, printing of strategic plans or other reports, or legal fees.
