Hartford Collaborative for Community Organizing (HCCO)
The Hartford Collaborative for Community Organizing (HCCO) is a new grantmaking collaborative aimed at supporting the development of a high quality, citywide system of community organizing in Hartford. HCCO will operate through an accountable structure to promote greater resident empowerment and community cohesion to address critical concerns facing Hartford’s neighborhoods. HCCO will be a funding catalyst for change, investing in building a strong base of multi-neighborhood leadership. HCCO envisions a city in which engaged residents are working together—across race, class and neighborhood boundaries—to strengthen key institutions, achieve greater accountability from decision makers, and shape relevant public policies affecting Hartford.
Key Criteria for Grantmaking:
HCCO seeks to fund
organizations that can demonstrate the
following:
• Resident-led, democratic organizations
that have a
strong
commitment to broad-based membership
engagement and ongoing
leadership
development
• Ability to organize around
resident-defined issues and
achieve long-term, systemic change
benefiting large numbers of
residents
• Commitment to
being a
multi-issue, multi-neighborhood
organization
• Commitment and
ability to work with
other groups toward
citywide change
• Plan
for
reaching out to marginalized
constituencies
• Commitment to
participate in joint training and
technical assistance efforts
with
others to enhance capacity and
effectiveness
Grantmaking Procedure:
HCCO may award 2 – 4 operating
grants (up to $150,000 per grant) for
organizations that are
already
engaged in multi-issue, multi-neighborhood
organizing
and have a
demonstrated track record of success in the above areas.
HCCO may award
2 – 4 seed grants (up to $50,000 per grant) to
smaller
organizations
and newer efforts that are engaged in
organizing in at least one
neighborhood, on at least one
issue, and are committed to growing over
time to
meet the
above criteria. All grant commitments will be subject
to funding
availability.
Grant Materials:
Downloadable versions of the grant materials can be obtained in the Grant Materials section.
Print
versions of the grant materials may be requested by contacting
Debi Davis at
LISC, (860) 525-4821 or at ddavis@lisc.org.
All organizations interested in applying for funds must submit a letter of
intent, which can be found in the grant materials, by noon, Friday,
April 29,
2005. The letter may be mailed, hand-delivered or
faxed
to:
Debi Davis
LISC
227
Lawrence Street, Second
Floor
Hartford, CT 06106
Fax: (860) 525-4822
HCCO
will determine by May 3, 2005 which organizations that
submitted a
letter of
intent are eligible to submit a
proposal. Those invited to
submit a proposal are
strongly
encouraged to attend a technical
assistance workshop, at which
questions will be answered about the
grant application
process, on Thursday, May
5, 2005, at 4 pm. Location
information will be shared with eligible applicants,
who may
submit
written questions in advance to ddavis@lisc.org.
The deadline to submit a grant application is noon on Friday, May 27, 2005. Decisions will be made and grant awards announced by Friday, July 1, 2005.
Special thanks to the funders of Hartford Collaborative for Community Organizing.