We are excited to announce our BIPOC Intentional Community Council 2023 grant program. The intention of this grant is to support BIPOC ICC member organizations with priority projects or initiatives that are self-determined directly by those BIPOC communities. 

Our mission is to cultivate radically safe and inclusive communities for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color by providing inspiration, solidarity, and support to those seeking to find or found communities, and to those already living in community.  We value BIPOC contributions towards collective liberation, healing, and community building, and are committed to combating anti-blackness and building racial justice within intentional communities. 

We have $4,000 available in our fund to redistribute to chosen applicants. Folks can apply for up to $4,000, and we are leaving it up to applicants to determine if your group/project needs that full amount, or will apply for less. Depending on what applications come in, our BIPOC Intentional Community Council will make decisions for passing the funds out. We uplift that we are offering what we have with the hopes that this funding can support a step towards the thriving of BIPOC-led Intentional Community groups/projects.

Criteria:

• Your project must be BIPOC-led, and it must support BIPOC intentional community. “Intentional communities” have many formations. They can be collectives, residential communities, healing spaces, etc, that embody the values determined from within their community, and often explore the intersection of land and housing justice, food and medicine, education, ecological stewardship, health and healing, spirituality, community governance, etc. 
• The use of the funds should go towards what your BIPOC Intentional Community deems as a priority to support your growth towards thriving: i.e. infrastructure development, capacity for your organization, start-up costs that will support your community creating autonomy and self-sufficiency, etc.
• Your BIPOC group/community must be a member of the BIPOC Intentional Community Council. This means joining our BIPOC Council Google Group and relationship building with our network of BIPOC Intentional Communities. We strive to deepen ongoing solidarity with each other. See steps for how to join here.
• Your group can take the formation of a 501c3, fiscally sponsored project, collective, mutual aid group, etc. Your group/project can have for-profit intentions if it is serving economic stability of BIPOC Intentional Communities in a generative, thoughtful, and non-extractive way.

Submission: 

Please respond to the answers in a typed written format, video, audio, or other media that could best describe your work and your intention with the BIPOC Intentional Community Council grant.

Decision making process:

Our grant review committee is made up of 5 BIPOC Council board of directors as well 3 other folks from the wider BIPOC ICC community . 

Applications will be open mid-October through the end of November 2023. When applications close, the grant review committee will review the applications based on a developed matrix. The matrix will score applications based on meeting the criteria and aligning with BIPOC ICC values. Awardees will be notified early in 2024.

This grant is for BIPOC-led groups and projects, as well as projects that serve majority BIPOC communities. As an international network, we encourage making space for resources to move to Black and Indigenous groups outside of the US. However, all BIPOC groups in and outside of the US are encouraged to apply. Other priorities include: BIPOC Intentional Communities with explicit under-resourcing, and projects where the desired funding amount will make a significant impact, etc. We value when groups and projects have a social media presence or other strategies to spread the word about their work, because we appreciate this work being visible and accessible. We also value when groups are working collaboratively with the community, and building trusted partnerships and alliances with other community groups and organizations.

Application

The application period for 2023 was due Nov 30, 2023 and now has closed. Stay tuned for next year or reach out to us to support building the process and increasing financial resources towards making this grant opportunity happen for our BIPOC Intentional Communities!