Working Toward A Lead-Safe Newark
Seton Hall University
Jubilee Hall
400 South Orange avenue
South Orange, NJ 07079
May 18, 2011
8:30 am to 3:15 pm

Grants Available for Grassroots Advocacy Organizations

We are pleased to announce the availability of grassroots advocacy subgrants for healthy housing. With the support of The Kresge Foundation, NCHH will expand and "scale up" its efforts to eradicate unhealthy living conditions through a new initiative called the Grassroots Advocacy Network for Healthy Housing.  The Grassroots Advocacy Network will develop local solutions to the challenging problem of substandard housing and neighborhoods. NCHH will facilitate peer communication, offer technical assistance and capacity building support, disseminate promising practices in organizing and housing policy, and provide opportunities for involvement in national advocacy work.

Background: The National Center for Healthy Housing (NCHH) knows that grassroots organizations represent an authentic and needed voice in the fight for safe and healthy housing. President Obama recognized this fundamental truth in his speech to the nation's mayors on June 21, 2008, affirming that "in this country, change comes not from the top-down, but from the bottom-up," and that "the change we seek...will not come from government alone." Through our own experience and that of the Alliance for Healthy Homes, which merged with NCHH last year, we have documented numerous success stories that could only be told after the tried and true efforts of dedicated CBOs.

Application Process: NCHH plans to award subgrants of up to $15,000 to grassroots advocacy organizations to carry out activities such as the following:

• Creating local demand for healthy housing through media outreach, policy advocacy, community meetings, and other activities; 
• Educating policymakers and the public about unhealthy conditions;
• Holding public agencies accountable (e.g. to ensure that local housing maintenance codes are enforced);
• Creating and sustaining valuable collaboration between the public and private sectors and within government; and
• Other methods most appropriate to the local context.

Eligibility criteria: 501 (c)(3) organizations with annual budgets less than $1 million. Preference will be given to local community-based organizations and non-profits that are currently involved in tenant advocacy, health or housing policy, or environmental justice.

Rolling Deadlines for Applications: Please fill out the application and submit it with the requested supplemental information by May 1, July 1, and October 1.

Application:  The application may be found at:
http://www.nchh.org/Policy/State-and-Local-Policy.aspx