Rose Community Foundation Partners with the Schusterman Philanthropic Network to Provide Micro Grants in Greater Denver Community

Denver, CO – Rose Community Foundation is joining as a community partner in the Schusterman Philanthropic Network’s (Schusterman) #MakeItHappen micro-grants initiative. #MakeItHappen invites individuals from all over the world to submit ideas for creating new Jewish experiences in their communities. Schusterman will select up to 50 ideas from around the world to receive micro grants of up to $1,000. Five ideas could receive up to $5,000. #MakeItHappen is an opportunity for Jewish changemakers from around the world to conceive of and carry out creative Jewish projects that will make a difference in their communities. The submission deadline is January 15, 2014.

As Schusterman’s community partner in the Greater Denver area, Rose Community Foundation will provide five to ten additional micro grants to individuals within Greater Denver and Boulder. In keeping with #MakeItHappen’s focus on empowering individuals, the Foundation will convene a micro-giving circle of individual donors who will come together to select and fund local #MakeItHappen projects in January.

“We believe engaged individuals can create meaningful change in their communities,” said Sheila Bugdanowitz, President and CEO at Rose Community Foundation. “Our friends at the Schusterman Philanthropic Network have conceived of a powerful model for identifying, amplifying and investing in emerging Jewish leaders and we are pleased to extend the reach of this project in our community.”

#MakeItHappen is unique in its focus on supporting individuals. “#MakeItHappen is designed to empower young people to take that initial or next step on a leadership journey,” explains Lynn Schusterman, Co-Chair of the Schusterman Philanthropic Network. “For many young Jews, these small grants embody a ‘first yes’ and a realization that the Jewish community values and is willing to invest in what they have to contribute to ensuring a vibrant Jewish future.”

More on Schusterman’s process and guidelines:

  • Submit it! For a limited time, individuals 18 years of age and older can upload their inspiring ideas for a project, event or program that will make a difference in their communities and engage their peers in a meaningful Jewish experience. Upload ideas to https://www.schusterman.org/content/makeithappen before January 15, 2014. Terms and Restrictions apply.
  • Share it! Eligible ideas will be posted on the #MakeItHappen website where they can be shared with friends, fans and followers on Facebook, Twitter and anywhere else people like to convene and converse. Visitors to the site can search ideas by topic and location, “Like” their favorites and even contact the creators directly to assist them in making those ideas happen.
  • #MakeItHappen! Schusterman will announce several recipients per week between October, 2013 and January, 2014. Rose Community Foundation will announce local #MakeItHappen recipients in late January.

Key details:

  • A central part of the experience must have a specific nexus with Jewish life, whether it is cultural, educational, spiritual or social.
  • Organizations cannot submit projects nor receive a micro grant. They have to be submitted by an individual who is personally going to take the lead on making it happen.
  • Micro grants are not intended to be small “operating grants” for existing projects. They are intended to support “experience grants” that enable specific programs/events that would not have occurred otherwise.
  • #MakeItHappen website: https://www.schusterman.org/content/makeithappen

For more information about #MakeItHappen micro grants in the Greater Denver community, contact Sarah Indyk, philanthropic initiatives manager at Rose Community Foundation, at sindyk@rcfdenver.org or 303.398.7416.

Rose Community Foundation uses leadership, grantmaking and donor engagement to invest in strategic and innovative solutions to enduring problems and emerging issues. The Foundation has granted nearly $200 million since it was founded in 1995. MazelTot.org is an initiative of Rose Community Foundation. For more information, visit rcfdenver.org.