Our Selection Process
Criteria and Review Process
We are a donor-advised fund at the Ms. Foundation for Women, which distributes our funds solely at our direction. We are also a member of the Asian American/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP) National Donor Circle Network.
Applications are reviewed by AWGC members who select a shortlist of finalists. We then encourage our broader donor community to vote via online ballot on this finalist list and make our final decision once the ballots are in.
In the interest of fairness and transparency, If you have made a donation in the year that you are also an applicant, you will not be able to vote via online ballot.
Applications will be reviewed with the following criteria
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1.
The project is led by AAPI women or gender-expansive people and/or has AAPI women and girls and/or gender-expansive people in central roles in the project’s conceptual framework, design and implementation.
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2.
The arts and social change are related in an integral way.
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3.
Has a clear and persuasive strategy to move hearts and minds toward progressive social change and a strong potential to do so.
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4.
Raises awareness and/or intervenes around critical issues affecting AAPI women, girls, and/or gender-expansive people and families, e.g., human rights, bias, injustice, gender-based violence, immigrant rights.
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5.
Demonstrates a deep commitment to NYC-based communities.
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Our RFPs are open to both 501(c)(3) organizations and individual artists.
Artists and collectives that are not 501(c)(3)s must apply under a fiscal sponsor that is a 501(c)(3) organization
All artistic disciplines will be considered, including cross-disciplinary work
Projects must incorporate the arts in an integral way
Projects must highlight women’s and gender-expansive people’s leadership and/or central role
Projects must demonstrate a commitment to NYC-based communities (Please note that we have made grants outside of this geographic scope to projects of exceptional merit)
Grants must be applied to specific projects and cannot support the organization’s ongoing programs, operations, capital or endowments
Applicants can be at any stage in their careers but must have a track record of developed work that demonstrates their capacity to complete the proposed project and manage the funds requested
Proposals must make a clear case for the theory of social justice change envisioned by the project, based on the applicants’ own criteria for defining and measuring impact
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You’ll be asked to provide:
A short description of your project (max 100 words)
A long description of your project (max 300 words)
A short description of your vision for how your project will have a social impact (max 300 words)
A description for how community members will access and/or participate (max 300 words)
Project activities and timeline
Project budget for the project you are applying for (including existing and pending sources of funding)
Short bios or CVs of core partners
If you are a 501(c)3 nonprofit, a copy of your organizational budget for the latest fiscal year
If you have a fiscal sponsor, a copy of an agreement letter between you and your fiscal sponsor and the fiscal sponsor’s organizational budget for the latest fiscal year
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Applications are reviewed by the AWGC steering committee which selects a shortlist of finalists. We then encourage our broader donor community to vote via online ballot on this shortlist and make our final decision once the ballots are in.
Note: In the interest of fairness and transparency, if you have made a donation in the year that you are also an applicant, you will not be able to vote via online ballot.
Important Dates
JUNE 2024
Notification of Grant Awards
JUNE 2025
All grantees will be required to submit a narrative and financial report at the end of the grant year.
How to apply?
This RFP is administered via the grants portal of the Ms. Foundation for Women. Applications will be accepted ONLY via this online process.