Mini-grants
2021 Minigrants
Heartwood is offering a minigrant program this year. Our Minigrants program is our way of directly supporting those grassroots groups who might not otherwise qualify for conventional grants. New organizations that need some seed money to get started, small projects that need a few bucks to make it a reality – these are the kinds of grassroots efforts that we like to fund. Our ability to administer this program depends in part on support from our members. Thanks to the generous contributions from our membership, the Council has budgeted $2,000 for this year’s grant cycle.
You must be a member or member-group in good standing to apply. Applications of up to $500 will be considered, and grant applications may be awarded in part or in full. Small amount applications are encouraged. Reimbursements for activist-related expenses, seed money for community projects, almost anything that addresses the broad range of work that Heartwood embraces will be considered. Send your applications to the Heartwood Core Council at PO Box 352, Paoli IN 47454, by the summer solstice, June 21, 2021. Awardees will be notified before the end of August, and the recipients will be recognized in the fall issue of Heartbeat. A brief project report will be due by February 2, 2022.
APPLICATION FORM COMING SOON
About Heartwood Mini-Grant Program:
The purpose of the mini-grant program is to provide funding for grassroots activists who need it. The mini-grant program provides funding for creative efforts and ideas fomented by Heartwood members and member-groups. Efforts and ideas could range from Heartwood’s roots as a forest protection organization, to current efforts to stop mountaintop removal, fracking, and biomass projects, to sustainable living projects, or to new ideas we have not yet considered. Ideas and efforts that are quantifiable (e.g. actions taken, phone calls made, letters written and sent, websites online, films made, meetings held) and work to sustain and expand efforts of environmental activists in the Heartwood region will be considered.
Grant Guidelines: Grants will be awarded to selected projects that aim to do one or all of the following:
- Educate the Heartwood Region about an environmental threat or opportunity.
- Take action within the Heartwood Region to protect, restore, and/or create environmental integrity.
- Build just and sustainable communities that are less dependent upon extraction and exploitation.
Issues may include, but are not limited to:
- Sustainable communities (this is a broad topic from food security to air and water quality and beyond)
- Forest protection (this could be on-the-ground work in the forest, building a campaign, mapping, etc)
- Energy extraction or climate mitigation (such as it pertains to healthy forests and communities, such as biomass incineration, mountaintop removal coal mining, pipeline construction, and natural gas hydraulic fracturing)
All projects should contain one or all of the following elements:
- Public outreach
- Education
- Organizing
- Media
How to Apply
You must be a current member of Heartwood to apply.