Horizons has already awarded our annual Community Issues grants for 2011. If you wish to be included on the email list for future Community Issues grants, please email your contact information (including mailing address) to info [at] horizonsfoundation [dot] org with "Community Issues Grant Mailing List" in the subject header.

If you have any questions, please contact Jewelle Gomez, Director of Grants and Community Initiatives, at 415.398.2333 x116 or jgomez [at] horizonsfoundation [dot] org.

Eligibility
To be eligible for a 2011 Community Issues grant, your organization must:

• Be a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization, or provide documentation that the organization is fiscally sponsored by an organization that has 501(c)(3) status.
• Have a fiscal sponsor at the time you submit the proposal if you do not have 501(c)(3) status.
• Request support for an organization or program within one or more of these counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma.
• Have submitted a final report and financial accounting for any past grant(s) which are due.
• Address all sections of the proposal.
• Be an LGBT organization (defined as an organization whose mission includes the LGBT population as the primary focus of the work; whose staff and board predominantly reflect the LGBT community; and which primarily serves LGBT people).
• Be a non-LGBT organization with a budget under $1 million, have an LGBT-specific project, and have spoken to Horizons staff.

The following are NOT eligible for support:

• Requests for costs incurred prior to the date of the grant award
• Requests from government agencies
• Requests for capital support, including construction and renovation
• Fundraising event sponsorship
• Projects that directly benefit an individual (filmmaking is considered a collaborative art and is therefore eligible)
• Non-LGBT organizations with budgets over $1 million

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Funding Priorities
Emphasis will be placed on LGBT-primary organizations and those funded previously by Horizons Foundation.

In addition, to help target our funding and achieve maximum impact for the LGBT community with limited resources, Horizons Foundation established priorities in 2007 to be addressed over the next several years. The priority areas that we are focusing on this year are shown below. (Two additional priorities - leadership development and LGBT elders - are being funded through different grant programs.)

Your organization may already focus on one of these areas, or even a combination of them (for example, an organization developing high school "acceptance" programs for transgender women or a theater project aiming to secure equality for queer people of color) — many of our grantees have been supported in previous years in these priority areas. However, where indicated on the application, we ask that you designate onlye ONE priority area. Please note that while the majority of grants will be made to organizations working to further the above priorities, other LGBT organizations and LGBT projects will be considered for funding as well.

Please note also that general operating support is still our preferred method of supporting LGBT organizations. Please do not design a new project - or designate an existing one - to address the priorities. Rather, we will be looking at the connection between your organization's overall mission and one or more of the priorities. If you have difficulty identifying which priority you should apply under, please contact staff.

Special note to arts organizations: Most arts organizations/projects will often fall under the more general priority "Securing equality for LGBT people." 2011 Community Issues grants will include support for arts and culture.

Special note to HIV/AIDS organizations: Funding of HIV/AIDS organizations that was previously awarded through Horizons Foundation is now being done by the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Please visit their web site and contact their staff for application information. LGBT HIV/AIDS organizations may apply in our Community Issues cycle. Consistent with Horizons' treatment of other Community Issues applicants, priority will be given to LGBT-primary organizations as well as those which address one of the funding priorities outlined earlier. In addition, organizations principally focused on prevention of HIV/AIDS will be given priority.

For more details, please refer to the RFP: PDF | Word

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Additional Considerations
Non-LGBT organizations may apply for support of their LGBT programs, but, as mentioned above, are advised to speak with Horizons Foundation staff before preparing an application.

Organizations and projects that are organized by, and work on behalf of, underserved segments of the LGBT communities (including ethnicity, race, age, gender, gender identity, and physical and mental ability) will also be viewed positively in our considerations.

Horizons will also give special consideration to programs that have limited appeal to traditional funding sources.

To help bolster the strength of important existing LGBT organizations at a difficult time, we will give priority to those groups previously funded by Horizons.

We will give additional priority to organizations that are not currently receiving significant funds from other grantmaking programs within the foundation (excluding grants from donor-advised funds or POCCE). Please call staff if you have a question.

We will give significant priority to LGBT-primary organizations. Exceptions will be made on a limited basis. Horizons has great regard for non-LGBT organizations that serve LGBT people, and this should not be construed as diminishing their contributions. Non-LGBT-primary organizations with LGBT focused projects (for example a theatre doing a play by an LGBT playwright with LGBT content) are strongly encouraged to call staff if they are considering applying.

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For any other questions, please contact Jewelle Gomez, Director of Grants and Community Initiatives, at 415.398.2333 x116 or jgomez [at] horizonsfoundation [dot] org.