Weissberg Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Weissberg Foundation supports anti-crime and violence organizations that center women and girls, racial justice, and LGBTQ+ issues in their grantmaking.
IP TAKE: This progressive and accessible funder restricts its grants to organizations located in Maryland, New Mexico, New York, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., so grantseekers outside those areas will need to look elsewhere. Additionally, most programs run on three- or four-year grant cycles, and applicants may need to prepare well in advance in order to catch an open cycle. This means that this funder’s grants are both competitive and highly supportive.
PROFILE: Based in Arlington, Virginia, the Weissberg Foundation was founded by Marvin Weissberg in 1988 in order to “[a]dvance organizations and efforts that give voice and opportunity to historically marginalized populations.” The foundation’s major grantmaking program is its Equitable Justice program which supports criminal justice, women and girls, and the LGBTQ+ community. It also funds JustVA Fund and Disrupt, Move, Voice Power (DMV Power), two programs that focus on Virginia and Washington D.C., as well as a theater arts focused social justice initiative, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion in Theater, also focusing on D.C. Weissberg’s Program in Human Rights & Social Justice is a project run in collaboration with Beloit College in Wisconsin .
Grants for LGBTQ, Women and Girls, Racial Justice and Criminal Justice
Weissberg’s Equitable Justice program, an inaugural criminal justice program, “seeks to fund, amplify, build capacity and collaborate to advance organizations and efforts approaching justice reform with an intersectional lens.” The foundation’s work in this area benefits women, girls, transgender people of color and gender non-conforming people of color. It funds the “leadership and advocacy capacity of system-impacted women, girls, and gender non-conforming individuals of color to advance equity and change the narrative about who they are.”
Past LGBTQ grantees include the Queer Detainee Empowerment Project, which received funding for its work filling service gaps for transgender and queer immigrants incarcerated in detentions centers in the United States; and Rights4Girls, which received funding for tis work with young women, girls and non-conforming youth.
Past grantees for women and girls include New Endeavors by Women, which received funding to support its work with homeless women; and Girls Inc., Santa Fe, which received a grant for its work empowering girls.
Past grantees in the crime and violence space include Goucher Prison Education Partnership, which received a general operating support grant. The foundation also funded Just Leadership USA, which received funding for its work advocating for fair and effective criminal justice and juvenile justice policymaking.
Grants for Virginia and Washington D.C.
Weissberg’s Disrupt, Move, Voice Power (DMV Power), JustVA Fund, and Equity, Diversity & Inclusion in Theater programs make grants to organizations in Virginia, Washington D.C. and the surrounding area exclusively.
The DMV Power program “supports organizations and efforts that build power of people of color in the District, suburban Maryland, and Virginia who are multiply impacted by political, economic, and social systems.” It works to resist systematic oppression and give voice to people of color’s lived experiences with racism and historical oppression. It funds organizations that work “to build leadership capacity and visibility of people of color” and who possess “a deep knowledge of their communities and an expansive understanding of issue areas.”
The JustVA Fund makes grants to organizations working at the “intersection of criminal and racial justice in Virginia.” Specifically, it supports groups led by BIPOC, dedicated to criminal justice reform in Virginia, and that center racial justice in their operations. Grantseekers can view the application process here.
Finally, the Equity, Diversity & Inclusion in Theater program works “to build the capacity of D.C.-area theaters” and “advance equity, diversity, and inclusion through their governance, operations, and programming.”
Grants for Film
Weissberg does not have a grantmaking program dedicated to supporting film projects; however, its grantees list and tax filings indicate a strong interest in this field. Past film grantees include Doc Society (formerly known as BritDoc), which received funding to support its work with filmmakers around the world; and Chicken and Egg Pictures, which received a grant to support general operating costs.
Important Grant Details:
Although the foundation awards a few substantial grants each year in amounts upwards of $1 million, the majority of grant amounts fall in the $25,000 to $100,000 range. The Weissberg Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals for funding, but it welcomes brief communications from potential partners via its contact page.
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