The Legacy Fund was created in the fall of 2014 to honor the vision and leadership of Cheryl King Fischer, NEGEF’s Founding Director.  Part of the Legacy Fund will be used to establish the Cheryl King Fischer Innovation Awards: an exciting, new element of our well-established grant programs, recognizing Cheryl’s vision and impact in grassroots environmental and social justice movements.

Candidates for Innovation Grants will be chosen by the members of our volunteer local activist Grantmaking Committee from the regular pool of ongoing Seed and Grow grant applications.  Finalists will be chosen through public votes and comments, encouraging broader interaction between grassroots groups and the community and ultimately increasing the visibility and credibility of local action.

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The Innovation Awards are bonus grants that will be given at the end of each Grow Grant round to the most innovative, crosscutting and inspiring project(s) that embody Cheryl’s essential spirit and commitment to:

• Balancing environmental sustainability with social justice issues
• Testing new and innovative ideas and problem-solving approaches
• Examining problems or opportunities from many angles, using system thinking and organizing strategies that break down issue and organization “silos”
• Fostering collaboration, networking and collective action to gain broad and lasting impact

• Demonstrating social entrepreneurial thinking, risk-taking and willingness to try solutions that could be wildly successful or fall on their face, but in all cases move change forward and teach new things

Cheryl King Fischer Innovation Awards will encourage deeper understanding and commitment to broad and inclusive solutions by supporting the most creative and forward-thinking leaders and projects proposed in the Seed and Grow grant categories.  These exceptional projects will be showcased onlive to serve as inspiration for community volunteers and grassroots activists everywhere.

Your contribution to the Legacy Fund will assure the long term stability and sustainability of NEGEF’s programs.  To achieve its mission - to energize and nurture long-term civic engagement in local initiatives that create and maintain healthy, just, safe and environmentally sustainable communities - comprehensive grantmaking, civic skills trainings and distributon of peer-to-peer support tools will be anchored in the organizational management and financial rigor the Legacy Fund will guarantee. 

Please join us in honoring Cheryl’s Legacy and the impact of grassroots action – donate to the Legacy Fund today!