PSN Member Organizations may request funding from Power Shift Network in the form of micro-grants of up to $750. As of September 2021, we are able to allocate $15,000 total to this process, and we will work to be transparent with our membership as funds become available. Power Shift Network recognizes the real need that youth-led groups and grassroots community organizations have for monetary resources to support their valuable and much-needed organizing—whether that support means offering students stipends for their work or buying flip charts for training. We also recognize that the current funding structure of most social justice movements (i.e. mostly big, private foundations) are not always effective avenues by which to support small- to medium-sized projects and rapid-response work. Therefore, Power Shift Network has set aside a bucket of funding that strives to fill this need within the youth climate movement. In particular, we hope to support youth-led and youth-centric projects that will have rippling effects on the landscape of the movement.

Three key, relevant principles for Power Shift Network’s micro-grant program are: (1) We believe that collaboration and diversity makes us stronger, and is crucial to realizing our vision. (2) We believe in embracing experimentation and growing through failure; we learn through honest conversation and peer evaluation. (3) We believe that those less directly harmed by extractive economies and climate change must stand in solidarity with those who are. We also recognize the critical need to empower frontline and environmental justice leaders in the youth climate movement, specifically. For this reason, we reserve a portion of our micro-grant funds specifically for environmental justice projects. For more information on the mission and principles of Power Shift Network, you can look at the full list here.

As a network, we prioritize collaboration and action that not only reinforces our principles and values, but also encourages members to explore deeper collaboration and self-organizing. Specifically, groups of Network Member Organizations that are planning a joint campaign or collaborative project (i.e., Action Teams) are encouraged to apply for a micro-grant to fund that work. Partners are highly encouraged to leverage their collaboration to secure large and new sources of funding, with or without support from Central Staff and Board Members. Some examples of collaborative projects with other Network Members have included: A series of in-person trainings across a state on coalition-building for a specific campaign; Assisting in seed funding for mobilization efforts to coordinate with a mass mobilization; Assistance with materials costs for an in-person convening at the local/regional level

Micro-grants are available to Power Shift Network member organizations.

PSN Member Organizations may request funding from Power Shift Network in the form of micro-grants of up to $750. As of September 2021, we are able to allocate $15,000 total to this process, and we will work to be transparent with our membership as funds become available.

The application will ask for some basic information about your organization (contact information, non-profit status, and short demographic information about your leadership). There are six short-answer questions about what you will use grant funding for, and each of these questions should be answered in a paragraph or less. The application will ask how soon you need the funding (to determine if a rapid response is required) and how you wish to receive it (check or direct deposit). If you are applying in partnership with other organizations, the application will also ask for contact information for the partner(s) and how you will collaborate with them. The application should take you about 30 minutes to complete.

Your application will be reviewed by PSN staff and then handed to the Network Support Team for final decision making. After a designated time for feedback or questions, the grant is approved barring any major flags.

Once the grant is approved, the point person (as specified in proposal) will work with PSN staff to ensure that all necessary elements for distribution of grant funds and reporting are in place, such as a grant agreement and fiscal conduit to receive the funds.

Reporting entails a short narrative (not to exceed 1 page) that emphasizes “lessons learned” and concrete evidence of project execution through photos and a self-reported timeline of events. Grantees may also be asked to host a call or webinar about their project for the rest of the Network so others may learn from their experience. The reporting process may look different from project to project.