What does the SUN program support?
The SUN grant program prioritizes funding for organizations serving basic human needs within their communities (social services, food access, housing, and or health-related services).
We look for proposals that will allow an organization to address these types of short-term needs:
- Emergency repairs of building structure or mechanical systems (heating/cooling, water service, etc.) whose sudden and unexpected failure interferes with the provision of services. Examples of a grant of this nature would be costs for an unexpected roof repair resulting from a fallen tree at a social service provider or the mitigation of a water supply that has been deemed unusable in a food shelf. SUN, however, cannot fund repair or replacement to a roof that has been leaking for several months and/or years.
- Replacement of essential equipment and technology whose sudden and unexpected failure interferes with the provision of services. An example would be a crisis hotline phone system that fails without warning, or a stove at a homeless shelter that breaks just outside of the warranty period but well before the end of its expected life.
- Provision of services or acquisition of a resource that could not have been anticipated or budgeted, and without which the work of the organization would be severely hampered. An example of this type of grant is training on post-traumatic stress disorder for school guidance counselors supporting children in towns severely impacted by disaster. Another example is staffing a temporary replacement while an organization’s executive director is on emergency medical leave.
- Programming that helps organizations support staff and/or volunteer mental health and wellbeing in times of extraordinary need. This may include, but is not limited to, a traumatic event or disruption within the organization, a period of high turnover, and/or unusual stress or demands on staff. Examples of activities for funding might include a staff outing or retreat, facilitated teambuilding or dialogue, grief counseling, or therapeutic yoga or art programming.
- We will also consider an unexpected and timely opportunity that significantly enhances an organization’s ability to meet its mission. For example, an unexpected opportunity to acquire a key resource at an excellent price.
