Program Contact:

Renee Fazzari
renee@generalservice.org

GSF Change Theory
The General Service Foundation dedicates all of our resources to bringing about a more just and sustainable world. We aim to achieve our goals by nurturing and learning from strategic partnerships, embracing risk and possibility, and aligning every aspect of our organization with our deeply held values which include a commitment to leadership, integrity, diversity, experimentation, accountability, justice, and excellence.

GSF believes that national change is often inspired by state leadership and policy change, which in the best cases comes directly from a group of organized community members empowered to influence the state's political landscape. We think the best organizations to lead this civil society effort are grassroots organizations with a base of citizens they can organize and mobilize to petition on behalf of shared values and needs. Because this work is challenging, long-term and necessarily small scale, we believe base organizing groups best translate their energy and stakeholder power into the political realm through participation in a coordinated state-level non-partisan infrastructure that clarifies and amplifies their voice.

Program Goal
Launched in 2006, the goal of the Foundation's grantmaking program in Colorado is to a) build the capacity of key base-building organizations committed to justice and equity in the state, and b) facilitate collaboration among our grantees and also between our grantees and other sectors (including media, research, leadership, policy, and advocacy groups) to create a powerful, permanent infrastructure capable of affecting state-wide policy change over the long term.

What is a base-building organization?
GSF defines a base-building organization as a multi-issue group that engages and empowers underrepresented and low-income communities in democratic, electoral, and legislative processes to build community power. Traditional membership-based and membership-led community organizing can qualify, as can institutional organizing or coalition models. The groups we support work on multiple issues of importance to the communities they represent, not on drafting support for causes prioritized by the organization's leadership. Our grantees aim to create a ripple effect that enrolls wider and wider circles of citizens into the organization or movement, resulting in a bigger and broader base. We believe this engagement can create the strong, vibrant democracy required to inspire just and equitable state policy.

What do we mean by permanent infrastructure?
Organizing at the neighborhood level alone will not bring about the wide-scale policy change required to improve the lives of underrepresented constituencies. But when several base-building organizations work in collaboration together and create connections with other issue or service oriented groups, together they have the capacity to achieve state-level change. Overarching infrastructure connecting base-building groups to each other - and to media, research, leadership, policy, and advocacy groups - does not exist in Colorado, but bits and pieces are forming and GSF is keenly interested in supporting that development.

GSF looks for the following indicators that a base-building group is committed to big-picture thinking about building permanent infrastructure: 1) a proven track record of collaboration with others inside the region; 2) a commitment to sharing expertise and best practices outside the region and nationally; and 3) an articulated vision for how state policy change occurs in Colorado and the part the group plays to bring that about.

Criteria for Choosing Groups
If you are a base-building group with the capacity to affect policy in Colorado by working in partnership with others in the state, we invite you to apply for this program. Current base building grantees receive between $25,000 and $35,000 each year with potential additional funds for technical support. With limited funds left over, we accept very few new grantees and new grants are within the $10,000-25,000 range. New grantees must closely collaborate with current grantees (please see grants list). If you would like more information about your fit with the program, please email Renee Fazzari (renee@generalservice.org) before submitting a letter of inquiry.

GSF also awards a very limited number of grants to advocacy, policy, media, research or leadership development groups that are explicitly connected to the base-building groups we support. These grants range from $10,000-25,000 and applications are by invitation only.

In assessing potential grantees, the Foundation will place a priority on those organizations and projects that both fit our definition of a base-building group and meet all of the following criteria:

Engaging Constituencies:

Leadership & Diversity:

• The organization is dedicated to enhancing the skills, knowledge and responsibilities of its staff and members.
• The organization and/or its programs are led by individuals who reflect the diversity of its constituency and membership.
• The Executive Director is not the sole driver of the organization, but instead has support and buy-in from the Board of Directors and/or strong secondary leadership. A Board of Directors policy to annually evaluate the Executive Director is a plus. .

Last, all applicants must address the following question in their proposal or inquiry:

Ideally, what components of a state-wide infrastructure do you feel need to be in place to achieve just and equitable policy in Colorado? Please describe which of those components are in place, which your organization provides, and which would need to be created to achieve success.

Letter of Inquiry Submission Process
Please submit a 2-5 page letter that provides basic organizational information and addresses your fit to the above criteria via our online application program. To submit, click on "Click Here to Apply Online" located at the bottom of this page. You will need your Federal Tax ID, any pertinent organizational contact information.

Paper applications will not be accepted.