Equity Innovation Fund

The following types of entities are eligible to apply for Equity Innovation funds:

• Grassroots organization: A community-based organization or organized group of individuals that has identified a specific issue/problem and is working collectively towards a solution.
• Social entrepreneur or innovator: An individual, company or aspiring nonprofit with a novel solution to a social problem.
• 501(c)(3) or 170 organizations
  • 501(c)(3) organization: Section 501(c)(3) is a portion of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code (IRC) and a specific tax category for nonprofit organizations. Organizations must be registered with the IRS as a Section 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
  • 170 organization: An organization which is allowed to receive charitable contributions under Section 170(b)(1)(A). These include:
    • Churches and church associations
    • Educational institutions
    • Hospitals and medical research facilities
    • Other public institutions which receive a substantial amount of their funding from federal, state or local government.

To be eligible to apply for funds, organizations must meet all of the following criteria:

• Serves residents of Racine County, WI. If the organization serves residents of other geographic locations, it must be able to clearly demonstrate the service to and impact on Racine County residents.
• Able to provide (upon request) detailed, board-approved budgets and financial reports, including an audit or audited financial statements as required by State of Wisconsin Statute 202.12 (1)(b).
• Able to serve as own fiscal agent or have a written agreement with an established 501(c)(3) or 170 organization that will serve as fiscal agent for the proposed program.
• Has been legally incorporated for at least six months.
• Is tax exempt as described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or allowed to receive charitable contributions under Section 170(b)(1)(A).
• Is governed by a voluntary board of directors, which has reviewed and approved the application for funding through the Equity Innovation Fund.
• Maintains a policy of non-discrimination and equal opportunity, and complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
• Is in compliance with all community investment policies and procedures and funding agreement stipulations if currently receiving other funds from United Way of Racine County.

The Equity Innovation Fund grant application opened January 2022 and will continue to accept funding requests until further notice. Proposals will be reviewed and approved quarterly. Application due dates are the following:

• March 31
• June 30
• September 30
• December 31

Application review and approval will take place the following months:

• April
• July 
• October
• January

All potential applicants are required to meet with UWRC staff prior to applying. The meeting must be scheduled through the link on this page. Following the meeting, the application link will be provided to the potential applicant. All applications must be submitted online according to the instructions provided. Applications submitted via other means will not be accepted or reviewed. 

Requests will be reviewed by the Equity Innovation Committee (EIC) and United Way staff and approved by the United Way board. Notification of funding will be issued by the 15th of the month following application review and approval. Project/program activities must begin within 90 days of funding notification. Funds must be expended within one year of funding notification. Grantees will be required to provide quarterly updates to UWRC on program/project progress and to submit an end-of-funding report within 60 days of the project/program completion. 

Some or all of the grant award may be federal funds. All grant funds are disbursed by the Racine Community Foundation.

Application Review

The review process is conducted by the Equity Innovation Committee, United Way staff and United Way board members. If an EIC member's organization applies for Equity Innovation Fund dollars, that EIC member will disclose their conflict of interest and will refrain from voting on proposals during that funding review. Incomplete applications, applications that do not meet the eligibility requirements and applications with misalignment between the request narrative and request budget will not be considered for funding. Demonstration of timely compliance with requirements for other United Way funds will be considered when reviewing requests for the Equity Innovation Fund.

The vice president of finance and administration is responsible for monitoring expenditures form the Equity Innovation Fund and reporting them in the monthly finance reports to the board.

All requests are reviewed and monitored by EIC. Expenditures from the UWRC Equity Innovation Fund shall be approved as follows:

• Requests up to $10,000 are approved by the president, the United Way board chair and EIC.
• Requests for more than $10,000 are approved by EIC and either the United Way executive committee or board of directors.

Non-allowable Expenses

• Funds cannot be used to cover expenses incurred prior to funding notification.
• Funds cannot be used to supplant existing budgeted items (e.g. existing organization dollars for the proposed program/project cannot be displaced by United Way of Racine County Equity Innovation Fund dollars and reallocated for other organizational expenses).

Request Guidelines

• The minimum amount for Equity Innovation Fund requests is $5,000. The maximum amount for Equity Innovation Fund requests is $75,000. We anticipate most awards will be $50,000 or below.
• Projects/programs/solutions that rely heavily on partnership with other organizations/institutions must provide a letter of support from each partner organization stating their willingness to partner with the grantee if funds are awarded. If you are unsure if a letter of support is required for your proposal, contact United Way staff. 
• Organizations may submit one Equity Innovation Fund request per year. Subsequent requests will not be considered if the work funded by the organization's initial requests is still in progress or if the organization failed to meet the funding and reporting requirements of its initial request.
• Funding is available until the available Equity innovation funds are exhausted.
• Requests for a second year of funding will be allowed by invitation only and are dependent on the results of the first grant, and the balance of the Equity Innovation Fund. No grantee is guaranteed a second year of funding.
• Fifty percent of the grant award will be released upon execution of an MOU between United Way of Racine County, the grantee organization and their fiscal agent (if applicable). The MOU will include the project/program scope and the responsibilities and expectations of the participating entities. Remaining funds will be released according to the MOU and documentation of positive progress towards project/program implementation.
• Unused funds and funds that are not used according to the approved project/program plan must be returned to United Way of Racine County.
• Submission of a request that meets the fund requirements does not guarantee funding.
• UWRC reserves the right to change the focus of the fund at any time.

Applicants must be able to clearly define:

• The population served
• The disparity(ies) addressed
• What makes the project/program innovative
• The definition of success for the project/program
• The impact created through the funding

Projects/programs should address one or more of the following areas:

• Early childhood and kindergarten readiness
• K-12 academic and/or social emotional success
• Individual independence
• Individual and/or family stability

Budget Requirements

• Applications with misalignment between the request narrative and request budget will not be considered for funding.
• All fund requests are required to submit a complete and detailed budget and budget narrative.
  • Budget details should include quantities, unit costs and calculations.
• If the total budget for the project exceeds the amount requested from UWRC, there must be clear documentation of already-secured additional funding sources to cover the difference.