Equity: We believe BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) advocates deserve equitable access to the resources needed to achieve impact for farmed animals, BIPOC communities, and the planet.
Trust: We strive for transparency to build trust and nurture reciprocal relationships with all program participants and donors.
Learning: We are committed to active listening, challenging the status quo, and cultivating a collaborative growth practice among program participants, donors, and ourselves.
We acknowledge that systemic racism and colonization underlie the continued exclusion of and lack of support for BIPOC communities. We strive to ensure more equitable access to funding to challenge white supremacy and multidimensional1 oppressive constructs based on race, gender, sexuality, ability, class, immigration status, or any historically marginalized identity. We believe in reciprocity, not only in human relationships but in our ancestral connection to nonhuman animals and the land. We strive for transparency with program participants at every step of the process, from the application to funding. We are conscious of the problematic histories of capitalist philanthropy, and we are doing the work to radically fund projects through a mindset of solidarity, not charity.
—The People’s Fund Grant Committee
1 In Racism as Zoological Witchcraft: A Guide to Getting Out, “Moving from Intersectionality to Multidimensional Liberation Theory,” Aph Ko writes: “Multidimensional social theory posits that white supremacy impacts many more than just racialized humans. Animals as well as the environment are a part of this project. There are multiple dimensions of the structure, suggesting that understanding and noticing that such dimensions exist are the first step to bringing down the structure. These activists understand that there are multiple dimensions they have to familiarize themselves with if they want to abolish white supremacy.”
May 18 and 19: Workshops led by the grant committee will provide support and guidance for applicants as they write and submit their proposals. Register here.
May 25 and 26: The grant committee will host four optional virtual office-hour meetings to answer any questions from applicants. You can drop in at any time during the hour and stay as long as you need.
July 1: Anoptional feedback survey will be sent to applicants. Information gathered will help improve The People’s Fund for the next cycle.
July 10: All applicants will be notified of final award decisions.
Process
In March and April 2023, grant committee members worked with Mercy For Animals staff to revise program values, determine eligibility rules and program priorities, and write the application.
In May and June 2023, grant committee members will work with Mercy For Animals staff to review applications, make funding recommendations, and develop reporting requirements for grant recipients.
In July 2023, the grant committee will review feedback survey responses with Mercy For Animals staff to incorporate findings into the next funding cycle.
Throughout the year, with the support of Mercy For Animals staff, the grant committee will engage with grantees and donors, as well as promote transparency to improve future funding cycles.
In October 2023, current grant committee members will leave their positions.
In May 2024, grant recipients will provide a progress update to Mercy For Animals staff on the status of their work.
Values: Your organization is aligned with Mercy For Animals’ mission to end industrial animal agriculture by constructing a just and sustainable food system.
Location: Your organization is based in a U.S. state or territory, including the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa.
Leadership: More than 75% of your organization’s decision-makers are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color).
Budget: Your organization’s annual budget is less than $200,000.
Practices: Your organization will use these funds in a manner that promotes veganism as a social justice practice.
Partnership: Your organization will provide a progress update 10 months after signing the grant agreement, and you will allow Mercy For Animals to name your organization as a grantee on The People’s Fund website.
Unincorporated organizations and individual projects that are wholly owned and operated by Mercy For Animals employeesare not eligible for grants from The People’s Fund.
*Preferred: Status as a 501(c)3 nonprofit is favorable but not required. Individuals or organizations that do not have 501(c)3 status can designate a fiscal sponsor or work with Mercy For Animals to identify a fiscal sponsor.
