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As part of our ongoing mission to foster grassroots growth throughout New England, NEGEF is developing a variety of web tools to better share news, events and resources. In addition, we're putting our grant program online, making it possible for groups to apply for grants and manage those applications on this site.
As a non-profit, we are especially budget conscious. In our desire to create an advanced platform within our limited budget, we have made the tough decision to only support up-to-date browsers.
You can download a Word file with NEGEF's application questions if you would like to apply for a grant.
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The Fund uses grantmaking, networking and skills-building to fuel civic engagement, local activism, and social change.
The New England Grassroots Environment Fund’s (NEGEF) grantmaking program directly funds groups,
both informal and small non-profits, that are generally too small or new to meet the guidelines of private and community foundations. A grant from NEGEF can help a group find success, complete its project, gain
visibility from other funding sources, and get the ever-important morale boost that local-level grassroots
groups need to be key players in social change.
The Seed program awards grants of $250-$1,000 to New England community-based groups with newly evolving local projects. All projects must demonstrate a major element of volunteer involvement. The Fund defines a grassroots group as one that is all or largely volunteer driven, has no more than two paid, full time staff persons or staff equivalents, and has an annual budget,
including projects, of less than $100,000.
The Grow program awards grants of $1,000-$3,500 to groups working to expand existing projects and broaden their scope. These groups have often been working in their community for more than 1 year and need support to increase services.
NEGEF occasionally collaborates with colleagues to jointly bring a targeted grant program to the grassroots. One example of a Partner Grant Program was the 2011 VT Energy & Climate Action Network (VECAN)‘s “Building the Power of Vermont Communities to Increase Energy Efficiency and Reduce Climate Change Impacts” where over $67,000 was distributed to Vermont Local Energy Committees. These grants are often issue specific and are reviewed by a special committee.
The Fiscal Sponsor program allows NEGEF to make additional grants to its grantees that are informal or ad hoc groups without 501©(3) charitable designations. Funds for these special grants are comprised of individual or foundation gifts specifically directed to these grantees but given to NEGEF to administer.
Community activists often need a range of community organizing skills to advance their organizing efforts. NEGEF sponsors capacity-building and leadership development trainings around the region, and provides scholarships for grantees to attend other organization’s trainings and conferences that are relevant.
NEGEF organizes and runs an annual one-day gathering for its grantees. The NEGEF rootSkills is a skills-building and networking opportunity with workshops and activities led by professional leadership and community organizing trainers.
Community-level volunteers and activists gain much support and collective knowledge from their peers. With twelve years of grantmaking behind us and a funding presence in 50% of all municipalities in New England, NEGEF’s staff is ready to connect groups to each other for peer-to-peer support.
The New England Grassroots Environment Fund Network topped 1,500 unique groups in 2011 and continues to grow with every grant round.
The NEGEF website is a hub of grassroots activity. Through the groups section, users can filter & find peers working in their area or on similar issues. The site keeps expanding with every grant round as more groups join the network.