The Rose & Sherle Wagner Foundation

The Rose and Sherle Wagner Foundation is committed to funding grassroots, community based organizations which promote social and economic justice. We have a particular interest in groups which work with youth, women and underserved communities. We especially encourage applications from groups which:

• organize low-income and working people toward institutional, political, social and/or economic change and involve youth in positions of leadership.

• are democratically structured, and are both responsive and accountable to their communities.

• if providing direct services, include a component which empowers and equips their clients to organize and take action on their own behalf.

• make the links between different but related social issues, and network with other community groups.

Grants awarded range from $500 to $20,000, with multi-year grants considered. Grants for general support are accepted. Limited funds are also available for Emergency Grants (up to $1000). Emergency grants are intended to enable groups to respond quickly to unexpected events or crises. We are only able to fund organizations with their own 501(c)(3), or use of one through a fiscal sponsor.

We do not fund groups that:

• are large, non-community based organizations.
• have large budgets and access to traditional funding sources.
• are individual efforts
•promote specific candidates for public office.

We understand the staff time and effort involved in the submission of grant proposals. For this reason, if you are interested in applying for a grant, please follow this procedure:

If your organization meets these guidelines you can choose one of the options below:

A) If you have a proposal already written, such as the Common Grant Application or a “boiler plate” application that you have prepared for another funder, you can send it to us at:

The Rose & Sherle Wagner Foundation
224 West 29th Street, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10001

Or:

B) If you have not yet written a proposal for this organization or project, you can submit a BRIEF letter describing your program. Be specific about what you are requesting funding for and if you have a particular deadline. Include information on your constituency/members, staff, annual budget and funding sources. If this outline is appropriate, we will ask you to file a formal proposal.

If you are a new group, it is worth the effort to complete the Common Grants Application, so you can begin submitting it to many funders. If you've never written a proposal before, we'd be happy to read what you write and give feedback, if that would be helpful.

At this time we are accepting proposals on an ongoing basis and do not have funding cycle deadlines.

You can contact us at 212 239-0022, Fax 212 239-4987, WagnerFund@aol.com