Emergency Grant funding is available to current and past grantees only in the education or community organizing funding areas. Unfortunately we cannot accept Emergency Grant requests from those who are not previous grantees.
Emergency Grant funds are provided through a process of application, quick board review, and approval. Applications for Emergency Grant funding must demonstrate that the need for funding is due to unanticipated events, sudden opportunities, and insufficient time to seek other sources of funding.
Emergency Grant funding is available only for organizations with an annual budget of $500,000 or less
Emergency Grant requests can be up to $5,000.
Emergency Grants cannot provide support for the following:
- Individual life-related emergencies such as food, rent, medical bills, childcare, and other basic necessities;
- Reimbursement for expenses incurred in the past;
- Support for projects with no scheduled date;
- Fees and amounts from unexpected or unbudgeted expenses for current projects. Requests to attend professional training, workshops, lectures, symposiums, conferences, or competitions.
Emergency Grants are one-time funding. We are not likely to make repeated Emergency Grants to a single organization.
1. Email our Program Officer (jfmulligan@sparkplugfoundation.org) with a short note requesting an application for Emergency Grant funding, and briefly explaining the urgent need. Please include a contact person's name, phone number, and email.
2. If your request fits the guidelines for application, you will be emailed a link to the online application.
3. Once you submit the application, we will review and respond as soon as possible - at most within four weeks.
4. If the application is approved, funds will be released immediately.
5. Within three months of the Emergency Grant date, recipients must email the Sparkplug Foundation a brief report on the funded work.