Racial Justice Grants At First UMC San Diego

The Racial Justice Endowment was established in 2020 as an act of conscience, conviction, and confession for us as a Christian community.

About The Racial Justice Endowment

The church hasn’t been as present in this work in the past, but we are here to follow and support with our financial resources, our service, and our voices.

We believe deeply in generosity and sharing of all the resources that have been entrusted to us, and we seek to serve our community in a new way of peace and solidarity.

Make a Donation

Background And Vision

The Racial Justice Endowment was established in 2020 as an act of conscience, conviction, and confession for us as a Christian community.

We then created the Racial Justice Grants Committee (RJGC) to identify and recommend local grantee organizations to receive funds from the Racial Justice Endowment. The RJGC is to be led primarily by People of Color from our congregation and includes youth representatives and representatives from St. Paul UMC in San Diego.

Our Vision

We recognize the leadership of organizations that have spent decades bettering the lives of People of Color and advocating for more equitable government policies. We seek to come alongside those already deeply involved in the work of justice for all God’s people.

Our vision is not simply to provide financial gifts to grantee organizations — we also invite grantee organizations to utilize First Church as a platform to educate and build awareness of their work, and to encourage congregants to join them in volunteer opportunities.

The RJGC will consider organizations whose work directly benefits any or all Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color in San Diego County.

Meet The Racial Justice Grantees

Learn about past grantees.

2023/24 Grantees

2022/23 Grantees

2021/22 Grantees

2020/21 Grantees

Apply For A Racial Justice Grant

The application process has closed for the 2024/25 grant cycle. Below is an overview of this cycle's grant eligibility. Check back in early 2025 for the announcement of grantees and for details on the next grant application cycle. 

2024/25 Grant Eligibility

RJGC Members follow this criteria to identify and recommend recipient organizations each grant cycle. Organizations that don’t satisfy all the Basic Eligibility criteria will not be considered for funding. Organizations meeting one or more of the Priority Eligibility criteria will receive higher consideration by the RJGC than those only meeting the basic criteria. 

Basic Eligibility

Organizations must meet all the following basic criteria to be considered for a grant from the Racial Justice Endowment Fund:

  1. Provide data confirming at least 75% of those served are People of Color AND/OR engage in non-violent advocacy for specific local or state policy changes that directly benefit communities of color in San Diego County.
  2. Be registered as or fiscally sponsored by a 501c3 organization located in the county of San Diego.
  3. Have publicly available or be willing to share compelling evidence of success in meeting your established mission.
  4. Agree to utilize all grant funds within 1 year of receipt.
  5. Agree to provide a written narrative report (template to be supplied) of the use of grant funds within 1 year of receipt of funds.

Priority Eligibility

Highest priority will be given to organizations also meeting the following criteria:

  1. Have appointed a majority of People of Color and/or women to executive leadership roles and board of directors.
  2. Include current service recipients, program alumni and/or community members in decision-making processes, either as board members, staff, or an advisory council.
  3. Explicitly serve communities experiencing multiple, intersecting challenges and discrimination (i.e., LGBTQ People of Color, Indigenous Women, Disabled Latinx Veterans, etc.).
  4. Have volunteer opportunities for First Church members to join in your work.
  5. Be willing to have a representative from your organization share your work with our worshiping community.

2024/25 Grant Process And Timeline

Each spring, the RJGC may choose to narrow its focus to one or more specific issues or urgent community needs. Each fall, grants from the Racial Justice Endowment will be awarded to San Diego County nonprofit organizations that:

  • Serve primarily People of Color and/or
  • Are working to dismantle systemic racism in the San Diego Community

Grant funds available each year will be 5% of the Racial Justice Endowment’s value at the end of the preceding calendar year plus any gifts given to support the current year’s grant cycle.

April 1, 2024: Grant cycle focus announced and application released
July 31, 2024: Grant application deadline
Sept. – Nov. 2024: Grant awards announced pending FUMCSD Church Council meeting schedule

Apply For A Grant

Please check back in the spring.

Support Racial Justice Grant Program

We invite you to help spread God’s justice further into our community. We welcome gifts to increase both the corpus of our endowed fund as well as each year’s grant cycle. Your gift is tax-deductible.

Donate To The Endowment

Build the amount of grant funding available in perpetuity. Your gift will be held and invested with the First United Methodist Foundation of San Diego and 5% of the total fund will be made available for grants each year.

Donate to Endowment

Donate To This Year's Grant

Serve the immediate needs of our community by donating toward this year’s racial justice grant cycle. You’ll add to the total grants available, as recommended each year by the Racial Justice Grant Committee.

Donate To This Year's Grant

Join The Racial Justice Movement

Let us know if you’d like to be part of current and future racial justice efforts at First Church San Diego.

 

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