Neighborhood Funders Group, a grantmaker affinity group of 200 members, is an effective vehicle for grantmakers to explore issues and strategies and develop new partnerships. Key activities include an annual conference; conferences and workshops on various community development topics and policy issues; and publications, including a quarterly newsletter, research and background papers, case studies, and policy papers. This general purposes grant will support the organization's ongoing activities.

The Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access at the University of California-Los Angeles was launched in 2000 with the goal of using the university's research capacity and commitment to support community-based organizations working to address critical problems in public education. The purpose of this project is to examine the educational, labor market, and civic trajectories of young adults, ages 18-26, who participated in youth organizing campaigns in California during the last decade. It will compare the survey and interview responses of these young people to the responses of a random sample of more than 2,000 Californians in the same age group.

The Appleseed Foundation is a network of nonprofit organizations with expertise in public interest law. Working at the local level to identify and address community issues, Appleseed centers form partnerships to develop practical solutions to issues in public education, healthcare, child welfare, and immigration. This grant will provide partial support for research, technical assistance, and training on the No Child Left Behind law for local community organizations.

The Northwest Federation of Community Organizations was formed in 1993 by four statewide, community-based organizations in Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and Montana to address regional social and economic issues impacting their low-income communities. This grant will assist the federation in building the leadership and organizational infrastructure for conducting organizing campaigns in the Pacific and Rocky Mountain Northwest to increase economic opportunity in the region in a coordinated manner.

This grant will assist the Center for Community Change in its efforts to build the field of community organizing. While the field of community organizing has been growing, significant gaps in reach and effectiveness currently prevent it from becoming a more powerful catalyst for fighting poverty. With this grant, the Center for Community Change's work will focus on three major areas: 1) strengthening low-income, grassroots organizations in selected regions of the country; 2) building community organizing infrastructure in specific states; and 3) establishing a community organizing "pool of talent" for the field. The ultimate goal of this organizing work is to increase resources and build permanent capacity in the targeted regions to increase the ability of low-income residents to shape the programs and policies that affect their lives.

The Intermediary Support for Organizing Communities program provides seed grants and technical assistance to emerging community-based organizations serving low-income communities. The program is implemented through a network of community organizing intermediaries. This grant will enable Southern Echo to provide grants and technical assistance to community organizations in the Southeast region. Southern Echo has been an intermediary in the program since 1999, and is one of five intermediary organizations receiving grants as part of the 2011 Intermediary Support for Organizing Communities program.

The Intermediary Support for Organizing Communities program provides seed grants and technical assistance to emerging community-based organizations serving low- income communities. The program is implemented through a network of community organizing intermediaries. This grant will enable National People's Action to provide grants and technical assistance to community organizations in the Midwest region. National People's Action has been an intermediary in the program since 1980, and is one of five intermediary organizations receiving grants as part of the 2011 Intermediary Support for Organizing Communities program.

The Intermediary Support for Organizing Communities program provides seed grants and technical assistance to emerging community-based organizations serving low-income communities. The program is implemented through a network of community organizing intermediaries. This grant will enable the Center for Community Change to provide grants and technical assistance to community organizations primarily in the Northwest and mid-Atlantic regions. The center has been an intermediary in the program since 1980, and is one of five intermediary organizations receiving grants as part of the 2011 Intermediary Support for Organizing Communities program.

The Intermediary Support for Organizing Communities program provides seed grants and technical assistance to emerging community-based organizations serving low-income communities. The program is implemented through a network of community organizing intermediaries. This grant will enable the Community Training and Assistance Center to provide grants and technical assistance to community organizations in the Northeast region. The center has been an intermediary in the program since 1985, and is one of five intermediary organizations receiving grants as part of the 2011 Intermediary Support for Organizing Communities program.

The Intermediary Support for Organizing Communities program provides seed grants and technical assistance to emerging community-based organizations serving low-income neighborhoods. The program is implemented through a network of community organizing communities. This grant will enable the National Council of La Raza to provide grants and technical assistance to community organizations in the Southwest and Western regions of the U.S. and in Puerto Rico. The council has been an intermediary in the program since 1981, and is one of five intermediary organizations receiving grants as part of the 2011 Intermediary Support for Organizing Communities program.

A new institution-based community organizing initiative in Wisconsin presents itself as an excellent opportunity to document, in real time, a unique organizing initiative from its inception. The Center for Community Change will contract with a researcher/writer to document the experience of the leaders and organizers as this project develops. This documentation will be used to inform the field of community organizing, researchers on community organizing, and funders.

The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region led an effort to form the Collaborative for Education Organizing, a partnership of funders and community-based organizations working together to improve public education in Washington, D.C. The Collaborative for Education Organizing is focused on increasing the college-ready graduation rate in Washington, D.C.'s public schools. This grant will provide partial support to the work of the collaborative.

Faith Action for Community Equity is a multi-issue community organization in Hawaii affiliated with the Gamaliel Foundation. The organization has 52 institutional members representing people from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds on the islands of Oahu and Maui. This grant will provide general purposes support to the organization.

The Western Organization of Resource Councils Education Project is attempting to build permanent, multi-issue, membership-based community organizations throughout the Northwest. Funding will enable the grantee to increase the capacity of grassroots leaders and professional community organizers in order to address economic issues of concern to low-income residents of the Rocky Mountain and Great Plains regions. The grantee will undertake a series of workshops, trainings, leadership schools, exchanges, and the production of training materials. This initiative will enhance the grantee's work on issues including natural resources policy, corporate and community relations, and agricultural reforms to benefit small and moderate-sized family farms.

Demonstrating a remarkable community resiliency in the face of economic hardship, faith-based institutions in Flint have made a commitment to respond to the multiple challenges facing families and neighborhoods. Flint Area Congregations Together was incorporated in 2006 as a vehicle to address issues of poverty, violence, inadequate education, blight, and other concerns facing Flint and the region. An affiliate of the PICO National Network, the grantee has 18 dues-paying congregational members. This general purposes grant will provide partial support as the organization pursues its goals and objectives.