Shareable is soliciting seed grant proposals to support the development resource sharing and solidarity economy projects to be launched by December 2014. Along with seed grants of $500-$1000, Shareable will offer a support package which includes training, project promotion, and peer support from the Sharing Cities Network. Applications from low income communities, young adults and/or new projects/organizations are strongly encouraged. Canadian applications are eligible.
Project examples: cooperatives of all kinds, local currencies, timebanks, free stores, free schools, swaps, bike kitchens, lending libraries, ridesharing, lending circles, community fruit tree projects, maker spaces, skillshares, and more. Basically any project that creates more equitable access to shared resources and the city commons and is grounded in a specific city. Check out last year’s winning proposals >
Individuals and businesses are welcome to apply for grants, but the grant may be counted as income for tax purposes if not sponsored by a nonprofit. Individuals applying without a nonprofit sponsor may also be required to provide additional support information, such as references or a more detailed plan. Grants will be awarded on a rolling basis. If you do not receive a confirmation that your request has been received after 2 weeks please contact Shareable. Once awarded, grant funding will be mailed to recipients within 6 weeks. Grant reports will require photos, list sharing (opt-in to newsletter), and a brief written or oral report in the form of an interview, survey form or article address specific questions.
Projects ineligible for funding are those that include pure research, advocacy or education (without practical impact), commercial endeavors that don’t increase equitable access, organizational operating costs for large budget nonprofits (unless it’s a new project of that organization that has not yet received substantial funding), projects that are not helping to organize one specific city, or nonpublic projects (participation limited to private organizations only). If you have questions about whether your project might qualify before you apply, contact mira [at] shareable.net.