Grants to Advance Justice

Grants to Advance Justice is sponsored by The Grant Portal (aggregating from various funders). This grant, aggregated by The Grant Portal, awards recoverable grants to legal services nonprofits, private attorneys, and small law firms who seek to advance justice in the areas of civil and human rights, environmental justice, and poverty law.

Apply for a Giving Project Grant | Headwaters Foundation for Justice Apply for a Giving Project Grant Headwaters Foundation for Justice Apply for a Giving Project Grant Headwaters Foundation for Justice Giving Project grants are dedicated to funding grassroots, community-based organizations across Minnesota led by and for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) that use community organizing as a core strategy to advance equity and justice.

Headwaters has been offering Giving Project grants since 2015. Giving Project grants provide general operating support to BIPOC-led organizations rooted in community organizing work across Minnesota. Since 2015, nearly $2.

2 million has been invested in grassroots community-based organizations advancing equity and justice in Minnesota by Headwaters’ Giving Projects. Along with raising the funds to support the Giving Project Grant, members of Headwaters’ 2026-27 Giving Project cohort will read and evaluate grant applications, conduct site visits with organizations, and make collective decisions about which organizations will be selected for funding.

Giving Project grants provide general operating support to BIPOC-led organizations rooted in community organizing work across Minnesota. Since 2015, nearly $2. 2 million has been invested in grassroots community-based organizations advancing equity and justice in Minnesota by Headwaters’ Giving Projects.

Along with raising the funds to support the Giving Project Grant, members of Headwaters’ 2026-27 Giving Project cohort will read and evaluate grant applications, conduct site visits with organizations, and make collective decisions about which organizations will be selected for funding.

Important Notes and Resources In a continued effort to refine and strengthen the political analysis of the Giving Project, Headwaters has selected a theme for the 2026-27 Giving Project . The 2026-27 Giving Project Grant specifically seeks to support organizations whose work advances youth organizing in Minnesota.

Areas of interest for the 2026-27 Giving Project Grant include but are not limited to: arts organizing, climate justice, civic engagement, political education, environmental justice, cultural organizing, food justice, etc. Though not an eligibility requirement, priority will be given to organizations with budgets under $1M. Click the button below to access the Giving Project Grant application.

Download the Giving Project Grant Packet for detailed information about the grant guidelines and application questions. See the assessment tool that will be used to evaluate each Giving Project grant application. Frequently Asked Questions Organizations selected for the 2026-27 Giving Project Grant will receive unrestricted, general operating grants of $50,000 paid out over two years, $25,000 per year.

Applications open on Monday, July 13, 2026. You must submit your organization’s application by 5 p. m.

Central on Thursday, August 13, 2026 , via our Grant Portal. We will not consider late or incomplete applications. Finalist organizations will receive a virtual site visit from Headwaters staff and Giving Project cohort members between mid-January through mid-February 2027 as a step in the decision-making process.

Applicants will be notified of final decisions in early March 2027. Organizations selected for funding can anticipate receiving the first installment of grant funds by mid-March 2027, after grant agreements have been signed and submitted. Headwaters will announce the selected grantee partners publicly sometime in Spring 2027.

Eligibility, application questions, and evaluative assessment Refer to the Giving Project grant packet for detailed information about the grant guidelines, application questions, and evaluative assessment that will be used to evaluate each Giving Project grant application Grant requests will be evaluated on the following criteria: Organizational Mission and Base: The organization has a clear mission/vision and approach to their work.

They have a base of people who are actively engaged in their work, building power and driving an agenda forward together. Community Organizing and Root Causes: The organization uses community organizing as a core strategy to advance their work. They have a clear analysis of the structures and systems that challenge their community and have concrete goals and strategies to address the root causes of oppression, not just the symptoms.

BIPOC Leadership and Accountability: The organization is substantively led by and for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). Decision-making and strategy-setting reflects a commitment to BIPOC leadership and is accountable to the community most directly impacted by the issues the organization is working on. Advancing Youth Organizing: The organization has a clear commitment to youth organizing.

Their work is informed by the vision of young people within their base, and they create intentional leadership pathways for youth organizers within their work. Collective Liberation Approach: The organization has a commitment to collective liberation and draws connections across lines of race, class, indigeneity, age, and/or gender.

They use this intersectional analysis to create meaningful institutional, cultural, and/or structural change. Partnerships and Movement Ecosystem: The organization sees collaboration and partnerships as important strategies for social change. They work towards strengthening the local movement ecosystem by being in meaningful relationships with other organizations to advance their collective work.

Why focus on youth organizing? The 2026-27 Giving Project Grant specifically seeks to support organizations whose work advances youth organizing in Minnesota. As renowned feminist writer and activist Aurora Levins Morales states in the essay “The Politics of Childhood“ within her book, Medicine Stories , “Childhood is the one political condition, the one disenfranchised group through which all people pass.

The one constituency of the oppressed in which all surviving members eventually stop being members and have the option of becoming administrators of the same conditions for new members. ” When we think of systems of oppression, whether it be racism, ableism, gender oppression, classism, or others, youth are consistently among the most directly impacted.

It is critical that our movements recognize their leadership in our shared fight for justice, and it is our collective responsibility to act in solidarity with them. In choosing youth organizing as the 2026-27 Giving Project theme, Headwaters wants to make it clear that our vision for a liberatory future is incomplete without the wisdom and leadership of young people.

Areas of interest for the 2026-27 Giving Project Grant include but are not limited to: arts organizing, climate justice, civic engagement, political education, environmental justice, cultural organizing, food justice, etc. We invite you to read this recent blog post for more insights into our framework for youth organizing. What ages do we consider “youth”?

For the purposes of this grant, “youth’ is defined as people from the ages of 0-24. How will grants be evaluated? Along with raising the funds to support the Giving Project Grant, members of Headwaters’ 2026-27 Giving Project cohort will read and evaluate grant applications, conduct site visits with organizations, and make collective decisions about which organizations will be selected for funding.

Click here to see the assessment tool that will be used to evaluate each Giving Project grant application. There are two Giving Project Grant information sessions for interested organizations to learn more about the grant and the application process. The information shared at both information sessions will be the same.

Tuesday, July 14 from 6 p. m. - 7 p.

m. Monday, July 27 from 12 p. m.

- 1 p. m. Please follow the links above to RSVP for the information sessions.

The information sessions are hosted virtually on Zoom. Click here to watch a recording of the July 14th info session. Questions?

Want more information? For general questions about the grant and eligibility, contact: Sierra Judy, Senior Program Officer, at sierra@headwatersfoundation. org or 612-400-6275 For questions about accessing and navigating the Grant Portal, contact: Robyn Browning, Grants Manager, at robyn@headwatersfoundation.

org or 612-400- 6266 Announcing the 2026-27 Giving Project Theme: Youth Organizing In choosing youth organizing as this year’s theme, the Giving Project team wanted to make it clear that our vision for a liberatory future is incomplete without the leadership and input of young people.

We believe that youth organizing should not simply utilize the labor of young people – it is a way of organizing that strategizes with young people’s leadership and engagement. Giving Project Cohort Moves Half a Million to Gender Justice Across Minnesota “We’re doubling down on what we know to be true – that there is no collective liberation without gender justice.

” With passion and purpose, the 2024-25 Giving Project cohort mobilized… Join the 2024-2025 Giving Project! Dear Headwaters community, 2024 will be a big year for us.

After a break for evaluation and incorporating new ideas, we are set to relaunch Headwaters’ Giving Project (GP) program… Catching up with the Giving Project Dear Headwaters Community, I’m writing to re-introduce myself and to share some updates on the Giving Project here at Headwaters. My name is Sierra Judy.

I joined HFJ in 2021… Announcing the 2022 Giving Project Grantees The 2022 Giving Project came to an exciting close earlier this month.

Thanks to the work of the 20 community members in the cohort, Headwaters has invested in 17 BIPOC-led… Announcing the 2021 Giving Project Grant Recipients and Giving Project Program Cohort Participants The ongoing pandemic might have limited the 2021 Giving Project Program cohort from meeting in person, but it did not prevent them from setting fundraising and grantmaking records at Headwaters.

The group of 16 volunteers made it possible… Announcing the 2020 Giving Project Grant Recipients and Cohort Participants June 30, 2020Headwaters Foundation for Justice (HFJ) gave 14 Minnesota-based grassroots organizations Giving Project grants. A 19-member Giving Project Program volunteer cohort made the general operating investments possible. The cohort…