Racial Equity and Social Justice Grant

This grant opportunity is available to Iowa City-based organizations, both non and for-profit, with the purpose of encouraging, empowering, and engaging racial equity and social justice initiatives through programs, activities, or services that help eliminate inequities in the Iowa City community. Programs that address one or more of the six priority service areas will receive preference: Building Communities, Criminal Justice, Education, Employment, Health, and Housing. The Human Rights Commission reviews applications and then forwards its recommendations to the City Council for review and approval. The City Council has approved $100,000 for FY2024, which will be split among the recipients.

Grant Requirements

• The organization must be physically located in Iowa City.
• The project must take place in Iowa City.
• The project should seek to eliminate inequity in the community (individual, institutional, or structural).
• The project must be a new project. Exception, organizations previously funded in the last grant cycle may reapply for the same project to be funded for one additional grant cycle. 
• Applicants cannot be governments, public schools, and colleges/universities.
• Applicants can request no more than $25,000.
• Projects cannot be for fundraising purposes.

Please direct any questions to Stefanie Bowers at phone number 319-356-5022 or email sbowers@iowa-city.org. 

View FY24 Racial Equity & Social Justice Grant submissions here.

The Human Rights Commission reviewed all applications and made its funding recommendation to the City Council, who approved it in April 2024. The FY24 grant recipients are: Better Together Community Development Corporation, CommUnity Crisis Center, Domestic Violence Intervention Program, Eastern Iowa Chapter of APAPA, Escucha Mi Voz Iowa, Houses into Homes, Indigenous Art Alliance, Inside Out Reentry Community, Open Heartland, United Action for Youth, Wright House of Fashion.

Slide Deck for Racial Equity and Social Justice Grant information sessions

Slide Deck on Informational Sessions for 2024. 

Recording of informational session from November 8, 2023. 

Watch here. 

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Government Alliance for Race and Equity

Iowa City is a member of the Government Alliance for Race and Equity (GARE). The city joined in 2015, making it the second city in Iowa to be a part of the network (Dubuque was first).  

GARE’s Mission & Vision

GARE fosters critical connections, shared learning, and leadership development to build skills, influence, capacity and accountability to achieve racial equity.

GARE is a dynamic peer-to-peer learning and practice network dedicated to advancing racial equity in government, so that we all thrive where we live, learn, work and play. This network is driven by the active participation of 13,000+ public stewards, or racial equity practitioners, working in 400+ local, regional, and state GARE member jurisdictions and supported by a small staff team and strategic partners. GARE racial equity practitioners work to equitably strengthen and steward our public goods so that individuals, families and communities can live long, healthy, joyful lives, no matter their race, class, gender, sexuality, ability, migration status, or zip code. GARE envisions a vibrant, just, multiracial democracy in which local, regional, and state governments work for all and race no longer determines life outcomes. 

GARE is a dynamic peer-to-peer learning and practice network dedicated to advancing racial equity in government, so that we all thrive where we live, learn, work and play. This network is driven by the active participation of 13,000+ public stewards, or racial equity practitioners, working in 400+ local, regional, and state GARE member jurisdictions and supported by a small staff team and strategic partners. GARE racial equity practitioners work to equitably strengthen and steward our public goods so that individuals, families and communities can live long, healthy, joyful lives, no matter their race, class, gender, sexuality, ability, migration status, or zip code. GARE envisions a vibrant, just, multiracial democracy in which local, regional, and state governments work for all and race no longer determines life outcomes.