John Templeton Foundation Character Through Community

Deadline: 6/11/2021 LOI

Amount: $50,000–$3m

Website: https://www.templeton.org/internal-competiton-fund/character-through-community

Description:

Proposals are invited from organizations that seek to strengthen their understanding and practice of character development through communities of practice. Many non-profit organizations that exist today are focused on scaling innovative solutions to complex social problems. Scaling programs is an important and often effective way to increase research and impact, but bringing a program to scale offers unique challenges for organizations that are interested in character development. Successful character development depends upon a range of factors including the presence of close relationships with a trusted adult or mentor, a strong purpose, robust cultural norms, and the opportunity to practice and grow in character over time. Of course, organizations must also focus on their financial health as well. Developing and maturing these diverse program components takes time, staff investment, and financial resources. In brief, many character-focused organizations need to focus on strength before scale. For the purposes of this funding competition, applicants should be connected to a pre-existing community or network (e.g., school or school network, summer camp network, out-of-school program, faith-based network) and should be able to demonstrate interest in the subject matter. The Foundation is most interested in communities that impact at least 1,000 individuals.

Eligible applicants:

nonprofits