Community Grants

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North State Equity Fund

The North State Equity Fund is Opening!
 

The North State Equity Fund is accepting applications for its upcoming grant cycle. Organizations that have already turned in applications for 2023 do not need to reapply; those organizations should look for communication in Submittable (norcalunited.co/grants). Organizations that have yet to apply for the 2023 cycle are encouraged to apply. 

 

The North State Equity Fund (NSEF) is a collaboration between United Way of Northern California, The McConnell Foundation, and S.H. Cowell Foundation. We support efforts that promote racial justice, social equity, and deepen collaborations between organizations or emerging groups doing this important work in the North State.

This fund is available to organizations or groups based in one or more of these nine counties: Butte, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama, or Trinity. We prioritize funding grass roots groups with an operating budget of less than $100,000. 

In this grant cycle, NSEF anticipates distributing up to $100,000 to support positive efforts towards inter-cultural dialogue and equal opportunity in Northern California.

Community Impact Grants

Community Impact Grants are a primary method for United Way of Northern California to support the work of nonprofit groups in our nine-county service area.

In 2022, we invested $50,000 in organizations to support wildfire mitigation and drought preparedness. Grantees received assistance for various disaster resilience measures, including drought-tolerant indigenous plant training for native youth, water tank installations in extreme fire-risk areas with depleted water sources, and purchasing equipment for volunteer fire departments. Funded organizations included: Konkau Association Corporation, Willows Volunteer Fire Department, Shasta Mutual Aid, RISE (Resources for Indian Student Education, Inc.), Manton Fire Safe Council, Orland Volunteer Fire Department, Yankee Hill Fire Safe Council, Wolfpack Clubhouse, Shasta County Fire Safe Council, and Lakehead Volunteer Fire Company, Inc.

In 2023, we are making additional investments into disaster recovery, mitigation, and preparedness in partnership with Sierra Health Foundation, California Department of Public Health, and California Office of Emergency Services. These grants are by invitation only to address specific needs of vulnerable communities and partner priorities.