Participatory grant making turns traditional grant making on its head by giving recipients the power to make the decision about how funds are allocated. The underlying philosophy of participatory grant making is to empower individuals and communities with flexibility and support to make collective decisions about financial resources. Educators at the University of Minnesota Extension have been experimenting with participatory grant making in our efforts to leverage community knowledge and power in service of building a just and equitable food system.
Why participatory grant making?
Explore the power of participatory grant making as discussed by our educators and partners:
- Making the case for participatory grant making and shared gifting circles in philanthropy
- Giving up grant making power: lessons learned from 10 years of shared gifting
Participatory grant making in action
Learn about the Action Learning Seed Fund launched by Extension to foster connections across the state and provide flexible funding to advance equity-based food system work. The fund utilizes a shared gifting method of participatory grant making.
Watch this 15-minute video featuring highlights from our first Action Learning Seed Fund shared gifting circle to get a sense of how this process works in a virtual setting.
Get involved!
Find out how to run a shared gifting circle online through our virtual simulation with the Chesapeake Foodshed Network or by downloading our shared gifting facilitation templates:
- Participant Agenda Template
- Participant Handout Template
- Facilitator Agenda Template
- Facilitator Worksheet Template
Contact our team to learn more about how we can support your efforts and curiosities related to participatory grant making. Get a taste of our consultative work by reading the Michigan Good Fund blog post about a shared gifting circle that we designed and facilitated in partnership with Capital Impact Partners.
In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, religious creed, disability, age, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA.
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.), should contact the Agency (State or local) where they applied for benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877- 8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.
To file a program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form (AD-3027) found online at: http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, and at any USDA office, or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call 1-866-632-9992.
Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by:
1. Mail
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights 1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410
2. Fax 202-690-7442
3. Email program.intake@usda.gov
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
For any other information dealing with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) issues, persons should either contact the USDA SNAP Hotline Number at 1-800-221-5689, which is also in Spanish or call the MN Food HelpLine at 1-888-711-1151.
This resource was funded in part by USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – SNAP – with funds received from and through the Minnesota Department of Human Services. SNAP provides nutrition assistance to people with low income.
Reviewed in 2020