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Upcoming Grant Opportunities Announced 

As part of a grant award that the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts received through the Community Empowerment and Reinvestment Program (CERP) for our work promoting Economic Security for women, we are excited to share this request for proposals (RFP) for grant funding.  

Up to $50,000 will be awarded to Greater Springfield (Springfield, Chicopee, and/or Holyoke) organizations that are working to optimize reentry for people who are women-identified or gender-diverse individuals in our community. The goal of this grant cycle is to distribute funds to projects that are mitigating the negative effects of incarceration and to help reduce justice system involvement. Projects can include education, training, recovery, prevention, or other social support services for individuals who are justice-system involved, or their families. Awards from this grant cycle will be aligned with CERP’s goals “to develop, strengthen, and invest in community-led efforts to bring positive economic outcomes…” while reducing incarceration and/or recidivism rates. 

Applications are open to either nonprofit organizations or organizations that are fiscally sponsored by a nonprofit. To submit an application for consideration, please submit a letter of intent (LOI). The LOI can be written in narrative form. Please address the specific criteria and respond to the questions listed below in your letter. Keep your letter of intent to one page in length. Once your letter is ready, please upload it onto Google Forms through the button below and complete the corresponding application questions. 

The letter of intent is due by March 31, 2023, at 11:59 PM. No late submissions will be accepted.

Please reach out to info@mywomensfund.org with any questions.

The details of this grant, letter of intent, and application questions are all listed in this PDF and below the “Apply Now via Google Forms” button. You may download this PDF and view the questions before applying via the Google Form.

Letter of Intent

  1. Provide a brief overview of your organization’s mission and how your work aligns with WFWM & CERP’s shared goal of mitigating the negative effects of incarceration, reducing justice system involvement, and optimizing reentry for women-identified and gender diverse individuals in Western Massachusetts.
  2. What are you doing to create change in these specific areas now? How does your work, if at all, address systemic changes over the long-term?
  3. The board and staff of the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts are prioritizing support to organizations that are led by women and/or BIPOC. Is your organization BIPOC and/or women-led? Are there BIPOC or women that currently serve on your board? If not, how does your organization compensate for this leadership disparity?

The letter of intent is due by March 31, 2023.

Application Questions 

Organization Information 

  • Organization Name
  • Street Address
  • City, State, Zip
  • Website URL 
CEO or Executive Director 
  • First and Last Name 
  • Email 
  • Phone 

Grant Application Contact Information 

  • First Name
  • Last Name
  • Title
  • Email
  • Primary Phone 

Locations Served 

  • Which county(counties) does your organization serve? 

Demographics 

Gender Identity 

What percentage of participants in your program(s) are… 

  • Girls 
  • Gender Expansive People 
  • Genderqueer People 
  • Nonbinary People
  • Trans (Men/Women)
  • Two-Spirit People
  • Women 
  • Other (a self-identified term, prefer not to say, and others) 
Race/Ethnicity 

What percentage of participants in your program(s) are… 

  • African-American/Black 
  • Indigenous/Native American 
  • Asian-American/Pacific Islander/Indigenous 
  • Hispanic/Latinx
  • Caucasian/White
  • Other (Multiracial, Undisclosed, Other) 
Parenting 

What percentage of participants in your program(s) are… 

  • Gender Diverse Parents
  • Mothers
  • Trans Mothers/Fathers