The Climate Justice Organizing Fund will support grassroots groups organizing to change the policies and practices that create and maintain climate inequities.

Track One: Climate Justice Capacity Building and Strategy Development ($15,000 grants)

This track is for newly formed organizations focusing on climate justice or existing grassroots organizations expanding their work to focus on climate justice. It is intended to support capacity-building activities like climate justice organizing training or climate justice strategy development. These activities must result in strengthened capacity for actually implementing a direct-action organizing campaign for climate justice.

 Track Two: Implementing a Climate Justice Direct Action Organizing Campaign ($25,000 grants)

This track is to support grassroots, community-led organizations already working on climate justice issues. It intended for groups that have already developed a climate justice organizing strategy and need financial support to sustain, implement, or scale a direct action community organizing campaign. Unlike funding for planning or preparation as outlined in Track One, this funding track focuses explicitly on implementation of a specific campaign.

Eligibility for Both Tracks

An annual operating budget of less than $500K.  Note: The community grantmaking committee will preference smaller grassroots organizations that are often overlooked in funding opportunities and sometimes lack dedicated grant-writing staff.

Leadership must reflect the organizational membership base, include people directly affected by the climate crisis, and represent communities impacted by the climate crisis.

Eligible organizations must use or plan to use direct action community organizing that centers the experiences and voices of climate-impacted communities. Specifically, eligible organizations build power by and with grassroots communities to hold corporations and policymakers accountable to impacted communities.

Eligible applicants should demonstrate that they clearly understand climate justice and environmental racism and how the issues they are organizing around will promote climate justice.

 Additional Track One Eligibility Criteria 

Eligible applicants are newly formed organizations focusing on climate justice or existing grassroots organizations expanding their work to focus on climate justice.

 Additional Track Two Eligibility Criteria

Eligible organizations:

Have a track record of community organizing tactics that drive change in legislative or regulatory policies or institutional practices.

Invest in community engagement to ensure their strategies are informed directly by community members impacted by climate change.

Have a track record of basebuilding, i.e., growing the number of communities and residents supporting climate justice issues by bringing in new people or groups.

What Makes Your Application Competitive

A competitive application will demonstrate how the applicant uses or intends to use direct action community organizing to address specific climate justice issues. It clearly illustrates how impacted community members are central to strategy development and decision-making. The application should also demonstrate a clear plan for delivering on their climate justice organizing goals and illustrate a track record of achieving results. 

For Track Two, special consideration will be given to coalitions or individual organizations prioritizing collaboration with other groups and stakeholders to expand the cohesiveness of the movement.

Application Tips

We suggest you review the entire application before filling it out. If you find a hard copy helpful, you can print one using the print function in your web browser. 

You can save your application and return to edit it as long as you do not submit your application. Once you hit submit, you will not be able to make any changes. 

Please fill the charts in as completely as you can. If you don't have the information we're requesting, enter "0" in that box for your application to be considered complete. 

You can also preview the application questions in a Word document by clicking here.

Application Deadline 

The deadline to apply for the Climate Justice Organizing Fund is 11:59 p.m. on March 26, 2025. To be considered for funding, proposals must be complete and submitted on time. Because of the volume of applications we receive, we cannot consider incomplete or late applications.   
 

 What Happens After You Hit Submit 

Bread & Roses staff will screen all proposals to make sure they meet eligibility requirements. 

Community Grantmaking Committee members will review proposals individually and use a consensus-based decision-making process to select groups that will be recommended for funding. 

Recommendations for grants made by the Community Grantmaking Committee will be presented to the Bread & Roses Board of Directors for final approval. 

Grant award announcements will be made in June 2025. 

The Parents & Caregivers Organizing Fund at Bread & Roses Community Fund will move money to grassroots organizing for change in early childhood systems across Philadelphia. This new funding initiative is supported by local philanthropic partners that include Philadelphia Health Partnership.

The Fund has two main priorities:

Economic Justice. Over 20% of Philadelphians face economic insecurity, with the city holding the highest poverty rate among the nation’s 10 largest cities. Caregivers experiencing financial challenges urgently need support systems addressing mental health, housing, pay equity, and job development. Groups that meet the Bread & Roses eligibility criteria can apply for grants of $15,000 to support community organizing focused on the root causes and effects of economic insecurity for families with young children. Organizing strategies may take many forms, including developing community-led coalitions, creating partnerships with service providers, enhancing access to critical resources, or facilitating forums where caregivers and local leaders collaborate to propose solutions and pursue systemic changes.

 Coordinated Ecosystem of Support for Caregivers. Promoting optimal development for children and fostering caregiver well-being are essential to addressing systemic barriers such as limited access to childcare, nutritious meals, and holistic health services. Grants of $15,000 will be made to community groups that are organizing to develop a coordinated care infrastructure that strengthens local service delivery systems while addressing key barriers. These community groups may employ organizing strategies like convening service providers, caregivers, parents, local leaders, and community partners at the neighborhood level.

These priorities overlap and are not mutually exclusive. Groups that are focused on building power among families with young children through leadership development, community organizing, and collaboration with other community-based organizations are encouraged to apply. Groups that are based in zip codes with high poverty rates are especially encouraged to apply.

All grants will provide general operating support in the amount of $15,000. This level is intended to give organizations of all sizes the ability to think creatively about their work and to work sustainably over the one-year grant period, including being able to provide fair compensation to those carrying out the work.

          As general operating grants, funding can support a wide range of uses, including overhead costs (salaries, rent, etc.), program costs, training, events, supplies, stipends, etc. These grants are intended to give organizations and projects as much flexibility as possible to carry out their work focused on organizing to change early childhood systems. 

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

   The Parents & Caregivers Organizing Fund will make grants to groups that:

Meet all basic eligibility criteria for Bread & Roses grantees

Have a strategy for promoting equitable access to early childhood systems, including healthcare, education, childcare, and other services

Are focused on the root causes and effects of economic insecurity for families with young children

Are using community organizing to develop a coordinated care infrastructure that strengthens local service delivery systems while addressing key barriers

Submit a complete application by 11:59 p.m. on March 21, 2025.

Application Deadline 

The deadline to apply for the Parents & Caregivers Organizing Fund is 11:59 p.m. on March 21, 2025. To be considered for funding, proposals must be complete and submitted on time. Because of the volume of applications we receive, we cannot consider incomplete or late applications.   

 What Happens After You Hit Submit 

Bread & Roses staff will screen all the proposals to make sure that they meet eligibility requirements. 

Community Grantmaking Committee members will review proposals individually and use a democratic decision-making process to select groups that will be recommended for funding. 

Recommendations for grants made by the Community Grantmaking Committee will be presented to the Bread & Roses Board of Directors for final approval. 

Grant award announcements will be made in June 2025. 

To learn more about the Parents & Caregivers Organizing Fund, please visit our website or contact us at grants@breadrosesfund.org.

You can also preview the application questions in a Word document by clicking here.