Civic Engagement

 

 

GRANT Program Description and Goals

The Cedar Tree Foundation has made periodic investments in non-partisan Civic Engagement since 2004.  In the early years, Cedar Tree’s Civic Engagement strategy focused on increasing access to voting for all people, especially women, youth, and people of color.  Early investments primarily supported national level organizations and programs.  For several years Cedar Tree worked in coalition with other funders to support civic participation and voting rights through the State Infrastructure Fund.  More recently, Cedar Tree supported organizations working in rural areas through the Heartland Fund.   

In 2022, Cedar Tree began work with Rivera Consulting to think deeply about how best to promote civic engagement and power-building.   Cedar Tree believes that in order to make positive changes in the Foundation’s core granting areas including Children’s Environmental Health, Regenerative Grazing, and general environmental issues, there needs to be strong, active networks of people, organizations, and institutions engaged in democracy building from the community level up.  The 2022 civic engagement docket focused on organizations that:

  • Are led by and primarily work with Black, Latino, Asian and Indigenous people;

  • Take a community-informed approach to setting mission and programming;

  • Build the long-term political power and capacity of communities in which they work; and

  • Display the compliance and governance infrastructure necessary to prevent fraud and abuse;

Cedar Tree awarded multi-year, general support grants to organizations in New Mexico, Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas.  Additional national level work was also included to increase a focus on youth and voter protection.   

Cedar Tree plans to continue to invest in Civic Engagement with a new docket of mostly renewal grants in 2024. A list of the grant awards will be shared here in mid-August 2024.

 

2022 Civic Engagement Grants

Advancement Project for general support, $150,000 x 2 years

Beloved Community Center of Greensboro Inc. for general support $100,000 x 2 years

Center for Civic Policy for general support, $150,000 x 2 years

Center for Civic Policy for project support for New Mexico Dream Team, $100,000 x 2 years

Georgia Muslim Voter Project for general support, $125,000 x 2 years

Light House Group Inc. for project support for Muslim Women For, $40,000 x 2 years

NAVA Education Project for general support, $65,000 x 2 years

NEO Philanthropy for project support for Youth Engagement Fund, $20,000 x 2 years

Texas Organizing Project Education Fund for general support, $100,000 x 2 years

Women Engaged for general support, $100,000 x 2 years
 

The Cedar Tree Foundation only funds registered 501 (c3) non-profit organizations for work in the United States. 

 

 

Updated 7/2024