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Over the past several years, Tzedek has distributed a limited number of grants to address unforeseen needs brought to our attention in doing this work. Tzedek is now opening this opportunity to our broader local community through more transparent, accessible grantmaking practices.
What is an Emerging Issue? Key Definitions
- Emerging Issue: An emerging issue refers to a new or evolving concern that has the potential to influence and impact local communities.
- Time-bound: Activities that begin within the application year and end within a year of funding.
- Capacity Building: Strategic support and resources intended to strengthen the effectiveness, sustainability, and overall impact of organizations. At Tzedek, capacity building is a holistic approach that uses financial resources, external expertise, training opportunities, and internal support to empower its grantee partners to pursue their missions and contribute to social justice more effectively.
What are Emerging Issues Grants?
Emerging Issues Grants provide flexible funding for Tzedek to respond swiftly to acute community needs, support time-bound projects, and strengthen the capacity of local organizations aligned with our mission of advancing justice within their communities.
Emerging Issues Grants are designed for time-bound and newly recognized needs or opportunities within the local community that require a one-time, rapid-response disbursement of funds.
Funded requests primarily focus on immediate relief, specific time-bound projects, or providing resources for particular activities rather than the more strategic and longer-term goal of building the grantee organizations’ internal capacity.
Emerging Issues Grants ARE NOT for:
- Ongoing operational costs
- Long-term projects
- Addressing issues that have been known and should have been planned for within an organization’s budget based on actual income
- Reimbursing past activities or projects
- Sponsorships, including events
How We Make Decisions
The Grantmaking Team uses a consent-based decision-making process to review and select proposals, utilizing the criteria outlined below and exercising discretion as necessary.
Funding Cycle
We distribute our grants throughout the year, dispersing roughly 25% of the available funds each quarter. The grantmaking team has the discretion to over- or under-allocate in a given quarter depending on the requests and remaining funding.
Emerging Issues Criteria:
One-Time Disbursement: The funding is intended for a specific, short-term need or project and is generally not for ongoing operational support.
Alignment: The organization and funding align with Tzedek’s Mission, Values, and Focal Areas.
Avoiding Duplication or Displacement of Other Resources: The team considers whether the request fills a gap or addresses a need not adequately met by other existing resources.
Time-bound Nature: Emerging Issues Grants are intended to fund specific, short-term needs that begin within the year of application and end within a year of funding.
Non-repeating: Emergent Issues Grants will not repeat funding for the same project or rationale and will not be awarded to the same organization within a 12-month period.
Local Focus: Funding must benefit the community within a 30-mile radius of downtown Asheville.
Emergent Quality: The issue should represent a genuine, immediate, or newly recognized need. The Grantmaking Team assesses the emergent nature of each proposal. What might initially seem like a capacity-building need could be considered an emerging issue if it arises due to unforeseen circumstances.
Interested in Applying?
As a representative of a nonprofit or a fiscally-sponsored project, if you think your project or issue aligns with the above criteria, please apply below. We will respond to all completed applications within two weeks of receipt.