WILPF’s Grants Task Force Wants Your Strong Projects!
Published on February, 41 2020
By the WILPF US Development Committee
March 2020
The hardworking development committee launched an all-volunteer Grants Task Force last year to locate outside funding for strong WILPF projects. Come up with a project that checks all the boxes, and they can help you research funders and apply for a grant!
Co-chaired by Marguerite Adelman of Burlington VT WILPF and Eileen Kurkoski of Boston WILPF, the task force has already scored one really big win. In fall 2019 they secured a $12,000 grant from the Patagonia Foundation for the Earth Democracy Committee’s Military Poisons tour in California…part of “The Pentagon: Exposing the Hidden Polluter Of Water” project. Unfortunately the total ask of Patagonia was $18,000, and the Development Committee has been pushing hard to make up the $6,000 gap ever since. But it’s still an impressive first win for the new task force.
What does a WILPF member, branch. or issue committee need to provide the Grants Task Force to get them working on funding a project? Marguerite Adelman has the answer!
She explains: “We need a really strong project that’s action oriented, has clear goals, hopes to change something for the better (to have impact either nationally or in a local community), and has a strong committed project leader or leadership team to shepherd the project through to the end and complete the final report. It should have a well-conceived long-range plan, a budget that’s reasonable, and a timeline that demonstrates good planning. If the project shares leadership with the people who are most affected by the situation it tries to improve, and demonstrates a collaboration with allies, it will have a much better chance of being funded.”
The Grants Task Force needs 9 to 12 months ahead of your project launch date to provide enough time for researching foundations which may match the purpose and goals of the project, and time to write the grant proposal or letter of intent. They’ll need detailed information about the region, purpose, measureable goals, leadership, costs, and timeline for the project.
For more information, or to get a copy of the Grant Application Checklist and Planning Guide for grant seekers in WILPF, contact Marguerite at madel51353@aol.com. Or if you have grant writing or research experience and want to be part of the Task Force and help located adequate funding for meaningful WILPF projects and programs, please contact Marguerite.
“WILPF members and branches are already doing amazing organizing work,” notes acting Development Chair Marybeth Gardam. “They deserve to be supported and have their work be visible. We’re looking for really strong projects that can demonstrate how they positively change the story in communities across the US.” All WILPF projects should fit under the broad mission and values of WILPF.
