Social Justice Grantmaking
Our commitment to Colorado's communities of color
Building power and increasing resources
AJL is funding community-led decision-making models to distribute capital within communities
By community, for community
Shifting Power
In 2020, AJL's commitment to fighting injustice included signing this petition calling on Congress to double the payout requirement to 10% for private foundations for 3 years, but regardless of what Congress decided, AJL doubled our payout to 10% for 2020, 2021 and 2022. The additional 5% of funding is being provided to community-led decision-making models to 1) support general operating support for their decision-making models and 2) provide funding to be distributed to the most effective nonprofit organizations within their communities as determined by members of the community served. Examples of participatory giving structures include giving circles, collaborative funds, etc. run by community members.
The Details
Funding decisions will be based on the following criteria:
- Must be a 501c3 nonprofit or fiscally sponsored by a 501c3 nonprofit
- Must represent and support communities who are Black, Indigenous and/or People of Color
- Must utilize a community-led, participatory decision-making model to determine funding decisions.
- Must fund organizations serving predominantly BIPOC families and youth in metro Denver and/or the San Luis Valley
- Organizational budget must be under $5 million
To apply:
- Reach out to Dianne Myles, Community Investments Manager, at dmyles@ajlfoundation.org to discuss the application process.
- There is no deadline to submit an application. Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.
- Each grant will be for a total of $150,000. Of that, $25,000 is for general operating support to fund the community-led decision-making model, and $125,000 is to be distributed to nonprofit organizations as determined by the community-led decision-making model.
The Fine Print
AJL does not make grants for research projects or give support to conferences, seminars, media events, or workshops unless they are an integral part of a broader program. AJL does not provide support for the production and development of television and radio programming or individual scholarships. AJL considers applications from organizations with organizational budgets under $5 million.
If your organization qualifies and you'd like to be considered for a grant, please reach out to Dianne Myles at dmyles@ajlfoundation.org.