Traditionally the single focus of the application process is to receive a grant, with success defined in terms of the amount of money received. However, NEGEF recognizes that a lot of time and energy goes into the application process, both on the side of the applicant as well as on the side of the grantor. Each application is rich in information as groups share their connections, strategies, tools and prior success in achieving their desired results. The single focus of the application process on a grant check often means this wealth of information is underutilized. The wealth of information rarely makes it anywhere beyond the specific grant round and remains in file drawers once a final ‘yay’ or ‘nay’ decision has been made on the specific request.
This website proposes to do things a bit differently. NEGEF’s grant programs remain a major driver for all that we do. Equally important, however, is the information that comes from through the grant program and process.
In the column to the left, you find the names of 32 groups. All of these groups have received a grant from NEGEF at some point in time. But this is not where the story ends. Each of these groups has created tools to do the work in their communities; they have tried different strategies and are experts in their issue areas. NEGEF invites you to explore the different groups, their stories and their resources. It is our hope that you find at least one group in this list that can offer you some inspiration, a useful resource, a connection to help you work towards making your own community healthy, just, safe and environmentally sustainable. It is this function of NEGEF that we call Open Grantmaking.
To learn more about NEGEF’s Open Grantmaking model, read our article on page 14 & 15 of Environmental Grantmakers Association’s 2009 Spring Journal
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