Spark Seed and Early-stage Grants to Grassroots Women’s Organizations and Initiatives

February 25, 2019 BusinessTrumpet

Spark is seeking applications to provide seed, early-stage grants to grassroots women’s organizations and initiatives working to advance gender equality and the rights of women and girls in their communities (globally and in their US chapter regions: New York Metro and San Francisco Bay Area).

Spark advances gender equality by engaging the next generation in accessible forms of philanthropy.

Funding Information

The average grant amount is $3,000-5,000 USD, and is determined at the end of Spark’s yearly grant-making cycle.

Priorities

In addition to meeting the criteria below, organizations with the following characteristics may be given priority.

Belief in the Leader: As with most startup endeavors, Spark shows favorable consideration to strong, passionate, persevering leaders with qualities that make them believe they will make their initiative a reality.
Entrepreneurial Spirit: Spark believes in funding organizations that are “taking a chance” to improve their local communities.
First/Early Funder: Spark takes pride in being an early funder and being the “spark” for an organization to achieve long term success.
Beyond the Dollar: Spark wants to give more that just money, but have organizations tap into their pool of diverse talent.

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants are eligible to apply, if their organization:

Addresses root causes: Spark supports organizations engaged in addressing the root causes of challenges that women and girls face, which can include but are not limited to gender norms, poverty, education, economic opportunities, and access to health resources.
Meets an unmet need: Spark looks for organizations that provide a service that is not currently available to women in that geographical area.
Employs norm shifting and innovative solutions: Spark prioritize organizations that use creativity to improve lives while challenging traditional norms and approaches.
Has leadership comprised primarily of local women: Spark specifically select organizations with leadership comprised of at least 50% of women from the community served.
Has a budget under $150K: Spark wants to make a difference with their $3-5K grant, therefore, they support only organizations with an annual operating budget under $150,000 USD.