Vibrant Village Foundation

OVERVIEW: Vibrant Village awards grants to organizations working in Latin America, Africa, Asia and the United States. It prioritizes nutrition, health, water, agriculture, economic development, education, and arts in its grantmaking.

IP TAKE: Vibrant Village supports organizations that take a bottom-up approach in their work. Additionally, the foundation views community engagement and local leader support as an integral funding factor.

This is a highly collaborative and supportive funder that is “interested in dynamic, long-term, highly engaged partnerships centered around shared learning, and mutual accountability” and that is “committed to providing support beyond project funding when needed.” That said, this funder is not accessible, preferring to take a proactive approach to funding grantees. But if you can network and secure funding here, note that grants are unrestricted. Given the foundation’s desire for long-term partnerships, this means there’s less funding for new organizations.

This is also a funder that prioritizes smaller and mid-sized organizations with operating budgets under $1 million. It also prefers to fund locally-led organizations with women in leadership roles.

PROFILE: In 2009, Ken deLaski, co-founder of the software company Deltek, visited Haiti inspiring him to create the Vibrant Village Foundation in 2010. The foundation works to “support rural communities in under-served regions to achieve self-sufficiency and have opportunities to thrive.” Vibrant Village funds organizations working in Latin America, Africa, and the United States. It has increased its “program expenditures” by nearly 40 percent some years ago.

Grants for Global Development and Sustainable Agriculture

The Vibrant Village Foundation’s giving focuses entirely on global development, specifically in the areas of education, WASH, vulnerable children and orphans, health care access, and human rights; however, this funder’s recent giving shows an emphasis on sustainable agriculture as well having funded grantees like Groundswell International, which helped dryland farmers in Senegal. Another sustainable ag grantee, LID AGENCY/LEAP, supports women farmers.

Important Grant Details:

Grant amounts vary relatively widely, and typically range from $5,000 up to about $275,000. However, the majority of grants remain between $10,000 to $50,000. The foundation also considers multi-year grants for up to three years. To learn more about the types of organizations Vibrant Village supports, explore its Past Grants & Expenditures list.

The foundation no longer accepts unsolicited grant applications.

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