Financing Intentional Communities by Grants

Partners for Financing Intentional Communities by Grants

Non-profit fiscal sponsors: These “umbrella organizations” can act as important partners in grant-funding. For instance, you might find a local certified non-profit willing to receive a portion of funding as the administrator of your grant funds. If not, this link can point you to organizations that are ready to provide this service for aligned projects. The umbrella organization will expect some remuneration for the paperwork involved. Open Collective Foundation, for example, requires 5% of a grant but offers several additional services.

Partnership Grants: Team up with a certified religious institution, college or other school, or local municipality to act as an umbrella organization under which you can apply for additional grants. The umbrella organization will expect to receive some of the funding for administrative costs.

Publicly-funded support: Adding residential slots for vulnerable populations could add more than just grant eligibility to your community. Ideas for service offerings eligible for grant funding can be found in the descriptions of intentional communities that provide care and a social safety net.

Grant writers: Our grant writing consultants may be able to help you identify grants you are eligible for and fine tune your applications. In addition, see the link in the Further Reading section to tips for DIY grantwriters.

Requests for Proposals

You might search online for RFPs from foundations or other organizations that have a current interest and staff allocation to process applications. Dates below indicate when applications are due.

Agriculture

1 Aug 2025. U.S. farms & ecovillages: Funding priorities are regenerative and organic farming, working and living conditions for food production workers, climate justice, healthy and sustainably produced food, access to healthy physical activity, eliminate pollution (requires a non-profit as fiscal sponsor)

Ongoing. Food safety certification for U.S. specialty crop small businesses: As they identify new markets, many specialty crop operations also find they need to undergo food safety audits. Subsequently, specialty crop operations must absorb additional costs to achieve food safety certification through a private or government-based certification program, in order to meet buyers’ requirements to sell their products.

Housing

15 Nov (annually). Preserve traditional architecture

Formerly Incarcerated

Ongoing. Reducing crime recidivism: The Bob Barker Foundation supports programs that help incarcerated individuals successfully reenter society and stay out of prison with up to $25,000 grants. Must be working with at least 100 who are incarcerated or formerly incarcerated.

Arts

30 June 2025, 2026, 2027. Grants for bringing free, live music to your community: Up to $120K (up to $40K each year) for towns and cities of all sizes to present a free outdoor concert series to activate underused public spaces and build community through the power of free, live music. Levitt Music Series Grants are to activate underused public spaces and build community through the power of free, live music. On the 15th of May attend a webinar to discuss the application process. Firstly, they discuss three grant options: AMP, BLOC, VIBE. Secondly, they discuss eligibility criteria, online application process and key dates, and what makes a compelling application. Thirdly, they discuss matching funds requirement, public voting process and mini grant, Levitt Toolkit, and support resources.

General

Ongoing. Accelerators for startups and arts

30 June 2025. Create a small-town community space: T-Mobile is providing 100 Hometown Grants up to $50,000 for towns with fewer than 50,000 inhabitants. The grants support projects that create or spruce up a community gathering space, whether that’s a park, a library, or someplace else where neighbors can connect.

30 June 2025. Racial, economic, or environmental justice: The Nathan Cummings Foundation is offering support to organizations working in these three areas. Particularly, they are interested in supporting place-based initiatives in the southern U.S. Currently, they offer two types of support, grants ranging between $50,000 to $250,000 and longer-term, project-related investments, ranging between $250,000 to $750,000.

Foundations May Fund Project Initiation and Operational Costs

Some foundations don’t send out requests for proposals. Instead, you can write a brief letter of inquiry to ask if they are open to a proposal. If you find one that seems promising but you don’t feel up to the task, our listed grant writers may be able to help.

Organizations with non-profit (NP) status are eligible for a greater number of grants. Where the lists note grant availability for individuals, applicants could include IC founders’ groups or businesses. Conversely, those without NP designation indicate where we looked for foundations that don’t state they require non-profit status or other partnership to apply. See the note on partnership grants in the prior section.

We’ve tried to not list the same foundations in more than one list, so that grants that are local to a state or province will not also be found in the national list. Likewise, if you are looking for affordable housing grants specifically for refugees, the foundations interested to fund general affordable housing should not be included in that list.

Affordable Housing as a Foundation Funding Priority

• affordable housing projects (in U.S.)
• affordable housing projects (in U.S.) (NP = most require non-profit status)
• homeless or housing-insecure families (in U.S.)
• homeless or housing-insecure families (non-U.S.)

Ecological Sustainability and Food Security as a Foundation Funding Priority

• farm & ecological projects in BC (some require non-profit status)
• farm & ecological projects in Canada (some require non-profit status)
• farms (in U.S.)
• individuals for small agriculture projects (in U.S.)
• individuals for small agriculture projects (outside U.S.)
• ecological projects (in U.S.)
• scholarships for forest management (in U.S.)
• international agriculture (non-U.S.&Canada)
• food security (in U.S.)

Potentially Vulnerable Populations as a Foundation Funding Priority

• elderly in the U.S.
• elderly homeless U.S. (NP = most require non-profit status)
• elderly homeless non-U.S. (NP)
• homeless veterans U.S. NP (NP)
• abused populations in the U.S.
• foster children in the U.S.
• homeless youth (NP) organized by location
• homeless youth (NP) organized by grant frequency
• refugees in the U.S.
• homeless populations in the U.S.
• addicted populations in the U.S.
• LGBTQ+ projects in the U.S.

Historically Marginalized Ethnic Groups as a Foundation Funding Priority

• Indigenous American heritage in the U.S.
• Latin American heritage in the U.S.
• African American heritage in the U.S.
• Asian and India heritage in the U.S.

Arts and Culture as a Foundation Funding Priority

• arts & culture Canada (some require non-profit status)
• arts & culture U.S.

Foundations Funding Various Projects

• general International (some require non-profit status)
• human services and housing in Colorado (some require non-profit status)

Similar Grant-funding Lists

BioFi Project’s Funding Database: resources and connections in order to fund their bioregional organizing and activation as well as capitalize their bioregional financing facilities

New Economy Coalition: RFP list is available only to members of their coalition

Further Reading

Tips for grant writing: These instructions for beginners include links to more info sources.

Other financing options: This parent page may have got you to the current page.

About foundations: Give them a reason to fund you, a reason better than parking their wealth elsewhere.

Apply for U.S. non-profit status: This page shows where to find the forms you would need.