The United Way of South Central Michigan is excited to announce a new Seeding Leaders mini-grant opportunity for Battle Creek & Kalamazoo.
UWSCMI is providing nine $2,000 mini-grants intended to support the wellness, leadership, and/or professional development of nonprofit leaders, with a focus on leaders who identify as (or in the intersections of) being:
- Black, Indigenous and/or People of Color
- An individual with a disability
- LGBTQIA+
- An immigrant
The application is open now through 5 p.m on February 14.
To be eligible to apply, an individual must have a documented affiliation with an organization:
- With 501(c)3 status as determined by the IRS, that is a federally recognized American Indian tribal government or agency, or that has a fiscal sponsor 501(c)3.
- With an annual budget of less than $250,000.
- That serves individuals in Kalamazoo County and/or Battle Creek.
Those who received grants last year are welcome to apply again, but may not be prioritized over folks who have not received. There are no limitations to applying based on the nonprofit applicants are affiliated with–more than one individual may apply from any given organization.
These grants can be utilized flexibly to support the resilience, wholeness and success of the leader, including, but not limited to:
- Conferences
- Executive coaching
- Leadership/nonprofit management credential
- College courses
- To enable rest via compensation for time off for leader(s) who might otherwise go unpaid
- Healthcare costs for leaders who do not have access to insurance through their organization
- To reimburse personal resources utilized for professional/leadership development in the past 2 years
We estimate the application to take between 5-10 minutes. We recommend it be completed in one sitting; if the browser window is closed prior to submission, any content may be lost.
Applications will be reviewed by a team of UW staff and community volunteers. Applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application by Wednesday, March 6, 2024. If awarded, grants will be provided by April 1, 2024. Grantees may choose to accept the award in one of the two ways:
- Their affiliated organization may accept the award on their behalf for use by the awardee.
- They may accept the award directly. Note: This award would be considered taxable income and may have tax implications for the awardee.
If you have any questions, please reach out to a.macklin@uwscmi.org. We encourage you to share with any in our community who you feel may meet the above criteria.
