Fourth Call for Proposals

Grant applications may be submitted online via this RFP portal.
SACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE COMMUNITIES
Sacramento Progressive Communities is operated by a board that oversees the review, selection, and funding of grants to various organizations that meet established criteria.
Interested agencies/interests must fill out the enclosed RFP application by the final filing date. Only programs demonstrating criteria need in the areas specified in the mission statement below will be considered for this funding cycle.
The SPC RFP application questionnaire guides the board in its decisions to fund grants. SPC will exist until the funding, as established by the Mark Whisler estate, is exhausted, with an expectation to close and dissolve SPC by 2025.

The deadlines for upcoming rounds of proposals ended April 30, 2023; August 31, 2023; and December 31, 2023. Grants will be announced approximately 3 months after each of these deadlines.

MISSION STATEMENT
Sacramento Progressive Communities, Inc. (SPC) was founded by the late Mark Whisler to empower neighborhoods and progressive communities by funding projects that provide them with a voice in the development and expansion of their organizations within the Sacramento region.
In funding these programs, SPC will promote progressive community ideas, actions, and community change and activism, including but not limited to, housing for the less fortunate, education, health, LGBTQ issues, social programs for the elderly, and social justice issues.
Mark Whisler
September 17, 1953–February 19, 2017

Mark was born and grew up in San Bernardino, California, to a family of teachers. After receiving his political science degree at UC Berkeley in 1975, he settled in Sacramento, which at the time was going through a major evolution and development of its core. He began a 40-year career, establishing a renowned financial service and a commercial and residential real estate firm. Mark morphed the Whisler Financial Group and Whisler Land Company into prestigious businesses. These two enterprises served thousands of like-minded, progressive consumers, including neighborhood leaders who pursued historic building preservation. Throughout his career, he led community-based initiatives, including political campaigns and social and environmental programs. 

For four decades, no one knew the area of Sacramento between the Capitol and 29th Street better than Mark.   Over the decades, the Whisler Land Company sold hundreds of homes and properties in the area and leased thousands of homes and apartments. He was involved in many hyper-local efforts in the area. He considered saving the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium from destruction to be one of his proudest accomplishments.

But Mark’s real passion was supporting progressive political issues and spotlighting viable candidates. He wrote four ballot arguments for or against California State Propositions and worked tirelessly for more than 40 national, state, and local candidates. For the last 15 years of Mark’s life, he worked closely with National Nurses United, one of the most progressive unions in the United States, and helped create programs like the Robin Hood Tax Campaign. That effort reached hundreds of thousands of voters and helped lay the foundation for many progressive candidates to be elected to Congress in recent years. He let everyone know where he stood on candidates like Bernie Sanders, and it was tough if you disagreed with him. Mark’s brashness sometimes struck people the wrong way, but it also sometimes empowered/emboldened them.

Mark was a proud gay man. He self-identified during a time when ‘coming out’ was risky business with exposure to social scrutiny. Throughout his life, he remained a steadfast supporter of LGBTQ+ organizations and issues. Mark was deeply interested in gay rights and gay politics, starting in his 20s and throughout his life. He lived through and survived the terrible toll of the AIDS epidemic among gay men.

Mark’s life was unexpectedly cut short in 2017, however, his spirit and mission continue to live on through family, friends, and his foundation. Throughout Mark’s adult life, his efforts created opportunities for thousands of people across the region. He was a luminary figure, an advocate for change and prosperity, and helped create a better life for others. The bulk of his residual estate went to Sacramento Progressive Communities, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, for which he was president until his death. The organization supports programs and actions that align with Mark’s beliefs and mission. The first such effort was aiding the Sacramento LGBT Community Center’s Building Fund. In late 2019, the Center purchased the iconic 11,250 square-foot building at 1015 20th  Street in the Lavender Heights section of Midtown Sacramento. The LGBT Community Center’s new permanent home will be named after Mark Whisler as one of midtown’s most recognized and inspiring leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, and advocates for progressive causes.
Sacramento Progressive Communities, Inc. takes pride in partnering with organizations like the Sacramento LGBT Community Center. They both strive to promote opportunities for underserved populations and promote progressive causes in the Sacramento region through compassionate advocacy and supporting outreach programs that value inclusiveness, equality, justice, and opportunity for marginalized members of our vibrant community.

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* PART ONE.  APPLICANT ORGANIZATION
Provide the following information about the applicant organization. Include the formal legal name of the organization that, if awarded, will receive grant funds. Note: If the applicant organization is a college or university, include the appropriate school, department or unit.

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* Type of organization. All organizations must be based in California.

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* Organization Director

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* Program Contact, if different from Organization Director

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* What is your organization's Mission?  (Maximum of 250 words limit)

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* Is your organization listed in the GuideStar Exchange?

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* Is your organization listed in the Charity Navigator?

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* Overall budget size: What's the size of your organization's annual budget for this fiscal year?

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* Sacramento Progressive Communities Funding Priorities. The Sacramento Progressive Communities Board gives priority to potential projects that meet one or more of the following desired funding areas. Please check ALL that fit.

PART TWO.  PROJECT DETAILS

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* Is this funding designed to fund an ongoing, self-supporting effort OR fund a short term program? (Choose one)

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* What problem or need does this program seek to solve? (Maximum of 300 words)

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* Proposal Narrative. This is your opportunity to share the details of what you are seeking to get funded (maximum of 1,000 words).

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* How does this project tie into one or more of the Sacramento Progressive Communities Funding Priorities listed above? (Maximum of 300 words)

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* Will you be marketing the proposed program, and if so, how? Are there any appropriate naming opportunities available? How would you include Sacramento Progressive Communities and/or Mark Whisler’s name in the marketing? (Maximum of 500 words)

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* How do you plan to sustain the project following the funding period? (Maximum 500 words)

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* PROJECT TIMELINE

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* PROJECT FINANCIALS
  • NOTE: Priority may be given to projects where the possible grantee is matching SPC funds with other sources of funding.
  • NOTE: You may be offered a grant in an amount less than what you've requested. Also, the funding may be broken up into more than one payment, depending upon the project and SPC’s funding cycle.

PART THREE.  PROJECT AUTHORIZATION

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* Has your Board of Directors approved this grant submittal?

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* If your grant is approved can SPC use your organization’s name, organization logo, and website address in SPC press releases and on the MarkWhisler.org website?

PART FOUR.  PARTNERS

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* Please list examples of nonprofit, for profit, educational, and governmental entities that your organization has partnered with in the past three years. (maximum of 300 words)

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* Identify at least ONE partner organization who will help ensure successful completion of this particular program. (maximum of 300 words)

PART FIVE.  PROJECT MEASUREMENT

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* Describe a positive outcome to this project in measurable terms. (Maximum of 500 words)

Key items to talk in terms of measurable outcomes:  

REACHED:  How many people will hear briefly about the project. (ie: a newspaper article or web post)
ENGAGED:  How many people will interact in one way or another with the project. (ie: attend an event or read book)
IMPACTED:  How many people will experience a life altering experience from the project (i.e., realize they CAN go to college; realize that it IS possible to have permanent housing; realize they CAN transition successfully to a new career)
While the project is going on we would ask for short quarterly reports on the progress of the project. With each approved project SPC will be creating a list of anticipated receivables. At the end of the project we will be requesting work samples of all project efforts; a final overview of the success of the project; and do a final zoom call.

PART SIX.  FILE UPLOADS, some required, some requested.
Upload items as a pdf unless otherwise stated.

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* Upload a detailed project budget for the program you are seeking funding (PDF, DOC, DOCX. 16MB file limit. Required).

PDF, DOC, DOCX file types only.
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* Upload the names and brief bios of your Board of Directors (required). (PDF, DOC, DOCX, 16MB file limit).

PDF, DOC, DOCX file types only.
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* Upload a list of at least four references (A minimum of two must be from partner organizations, required). (PDF, DOC, DOCX. 16MB file limit)

PDF, DOC, DOCX file types only.
Choose File

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* List links to videos of clients of your organization’s programs sharing how the program has impacted their life (requested but not required).

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* Upload a letter or email of clients of your organization’s programs sharing how the program has impacted their life (requested but not required). (PDF, DOC, DOCX, 16MB file limit)

PDF, DOC, DOCX file types only.
Choose File

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* Upload a second letter or email of clients of your organization’s programs sharing how the program has impacted their life (requested but not required). (PDF, DOC, DOCX, 16MB file limit)

PDF, DOC, DOCX file types only.
Choose File

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* Upload your most current Annual Report or Year in Review, if available (requested but not required). (PDF, DOC, DOCX, 16MB file limit)

PDF, DOC, DOCX file types only.
Choose File

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* Upload your current logo (This way we have it on hand if we decide to fund your program). (PDF, PNG, JPG, JPEG, or GIF. 16MB file limit)

PDF, DOC, DOCX, PNG, JPG, JPEG, GIF file types only.
Choose File

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