Systems Change

Criteria for Organizations

• Organizations that qualify for this category of funding are addressing one or more of the structural factors associated with poverty in SC and have identified specific barriers/ issues within that structural factor that their work intends to disrupt, reduce, or eliminate.
• The organization brings diverse people together to learn about the whole system and its parts more clearly and coordinates a range of interventions.
• The organization works collaboratively across sectors, including but not limited to federal, state and local governments, faith-based organizations, social service agencies, funders, the business community, and the constituents being affected.
• The goals and strategies of the organization are long-term and based on extensive research, planning, evaluation, continuous learning and integration of diverse perspectives.
• Clear evidence exists that the organization has immersed itself in understanding what is holding the structural problem in place before tackling the problem.
• Examples of nonprofits that are funded for these grants are organizations conducting research that can undergird systems-level change; organizations informing government policy that will result in more effective and equitable practices; and/or organizations creating innovative solutions to address systemic issues that prevent families and individuals who are experiencing poverty to be healthy, safe and economically mobile.