What social justice strategies does HSF support?

HSF has adopted community organizing as its core social justice strategy. We believe that community organizing is the best way to enliven the sense of individual and collective power of disenfranchised and marginalized communities and push through the systemic barriers that bar people of color and low-income communities from participating fully in the democratic process. While we realize that community organizing is just one of many social justice strategies, HSF supports organizations that have community organizing as a major aspect of their overall work.

What is the size and length of a typical grant?

HSF grant amounts vary depending on the Program Area.

• For the Youth Organizing Program Area, the grant range is $20,000 - $50,000.
• For the Economic Justice Program Area, the grant range is $15,000 - $30,000.
• For the Fund for DC, the grants range from $10,000 - $20,000.

HSF mostly makes general support grants. While we typically make our grants in one-year increments, we believe in long-term strategic funding, with no automatic time limits.

How can I apply for a grant?

Due to our small staff, HSF does not accept unsolicited proposals. However, we actively seek out information from new groups whose work intersects with our interests. We also encourage organizations to thoroughly review our website to see if they fit with our interests. If you believe there is a strong fit with our Program Areas and what we look for in organizations, then give us a call so that we can talk further about your work. It is always better if you come on the referral of one of our grassroots, funder or other partners. We make every effort to return all calls promptly, but please be patient if we do not return your call immediately.

How do I apply for HSF’s Small Grants Program?

Only current HSF grant recipients are eligible for HSF Small Grants Fund. HSF Small Grants Fund was established to provide organizations with timely small grants to current HSF grant recipients to help respond to urgent and unanticipated events, unique opportunities or capacity building needs between grant cycles. Groups can apply for one-time discretionary grants of up to $5,000 per year between regular grant cycles. Because the funds are limited and on a first come, first serve basis, we ask that applicants make every effort to calculate actual costs, rather than general requests for the full $5,000. The Small Grants Fund is divided into two pools of funds, the Opportunity Fund and the Capacity Building Fund. Download the full guidelines.

Does HSF have a regional focus for its grantmaking?

HSF has different geographic parameters depending on the Program Area.

• For the Youth Organizing, the geographic focus is on California, New York City, Washington, DC, the South (Southeast, mid-South, Southwest) or in Native American communities in the US.
• For the Economic Justice Organizing Program Area, we fund nationally and do not have a regional focus at present. However, we have a strong interest in supporting economic justice organizing in the South.
• For the Fund for DC, we focus primarily on organizations that work with residents within the District of Columbia.

Where do the funds for HSF come from?

The Hill-Snowdon Foundation was created by Arthur B. Hill with a gift of shares in stock in the Johnson & Johnson Corporation. Until three years ago, 100% of HSF funds came from our investments in J&J stock; however, since then the board has made a commitment to diversify its portfolio by shifting funds to socially responsible investment stocks. Currently, our assets stand at approximately $37 million dollars, and we made grants totaling almost $1.9 million dollars in 2005.

When will HSF be finished developing its new strategic direction?

In 2005, HSF initiated a process to clarify and refine our overall organizational mission, vision, strategic direction and infrastructure. We engaged our grassroots and funder partners through a series of listening sessions and interviews so that we could develop a direction that was grounded in the needs and opportunities of the field(s) and consistent with our vision and history. In all, HSF staff spoke to almost 90 representatives from over 60 grassroots groups, intermediaries and funders across the country. HSF staff presented its strategic direction to the Board in November 2005, which the board affirmed. The final stage of the process is to share our strategic direction with those partners who helped to inform it so that we can get their feedback and make any critical adjustments. Our hope is that this process will be completed by March 2006 and that we will begin implementing our new strategic direction in 2006.