Who can apply?

Non-profit organizations exempt from taxation under either Section 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4) or 527 of the Internal Revenue Code are eligible for this program.

Do you prefer projects that have existing funding or are you looking for totally new work?

Both. We’re interested in projects that have other funding and projects that are looking for funding to get off the ground.

If a project would require restructuring of the organization or the hiring of several staff members, would you consider it a good fit?

No. However, projects that would require the hiring of a small number of staff or consultants to execute will be considered. We are looking to support organizations that

What should the timeline for project completion be?

We grant on a 12-month cycle. Projects should not take longer than one year to complete.

We have state chapters and there may be some interest in a multi-state project. Would a multi-state proposal be a possibility?

Yes! We are also interested in working with national organizations that have localized initiatives.

Are you looking at projects that will be in full swing in 2013 or is this geared more toward 2014 work?

We’re looking at both.

Are you open to projects that focus on the role of money in other issue campaigns?

Absolutely.

Given that this round has a total of $300,000 available, what range of funding do you expect to award to individual projects?

Grants ranging from $25,000-$100,000 will be awarded to a select portfolio of projects.

Will you fund media production as a budget component within these grants?

Yes, though we are most interested in media projects that make innovative uses of new trends in content production and digital organizing.

Are you primarily interested in advocacy work or are you interested in funding journalism projects that focus on this topic?

We are interested in both journalism projects and advocacy work. However, all projects should have a focus on mobilizing citizens around key issues.

If we already have a project we started last election cycle, would you consider funding for promotional activities/marketing to expand audience and reach?

Yes, as long as the project remains relevant and has the potential to drive significant change during this cycle.

Is there any requirement that any technology created in this be open source?

No. We will not evaluate projects based on whether the technology is open source or not.

If a distributed group of people are filling out the form: can we see all the questions, separately from the website?

Please only have one person fill out and submit the form and application. We recommend that you complete the application in a separate document, then copy/paste your answers into our grant management software.

Who will decide the portfolio of projects that Voqal will fund?

The board of Voqal USA will select the final portfolio of projects.

Before enterprises are ready for accelerators, however, what structures exist to support individuals capable of launching such promising enterprises? Few to none.

The learning curve for would-be entrepreneurs is incredibly steep, and valuable swaths of runway are eaten up by minutia and misdirection. Less time plus less support equals fewer leaders who are able to take the leap and start their own ventures. This is especially true for would-be entrepreneurs that are also women and/or people of color, contributing to the virtual absence of diversity we see among tech entrepreneurs. …

We must patch our pipeline and diversify entrepreneurship. We need a means of supporting talented individuals with early-stage ideas–ideas that are mere twinkles in techies’ eyes. This concrete problem is something I’m trying to address with the Media Ideation Fellowship program. According to one recent estimate, only 1 percent of tech entrepreneurs are African American, despite the fact that the coastal capitals of U.S. tech — Silicon Valley and New York City — are among the most diverse places in the United States. The fact is that we are leaving talent untapped. Tomorrow’s entrepreneurs need better early-stage support.

We’ve got an op-ed in Venture Beat on the need for diversity in the entrepreneurial landscape. If you know a young woman or person of color who would be an ideal fellow, please nominate them today.

When: Tuesday, June 11 at 2 PM EDT/1 PM CDT/11 AM PDT.

To participate in this webinar, please RSVP here.

This will be the only webinar that we will host to address questions regarding the request for letters of intent. For more information on this initiative, please visit www.voqal.org/money-politics.

Organizations interested in being considered for this funding opportunity should visit bit.ly/VoqalMP, create a user account, and fill in the letter of intent form by 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday, June 21, 2013.

Voqal USA is proud to announce a new philanthropic funding opportunity to combat the undue influence of outside money on American democracy. Voqal is soliciting letters of intent for media and technology projects that engage citizens in the fight for a fair democratic process. If you are a media-maker, technologist, digital strategist, or progressive organizer, this open call is for you.

Voqal’s objective with this request for letters of intent is to intervene in the fallout from The Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United ruling and reduce the influence of moneyed interests on our nation’s civic arenas, including fair governance, courts and electoral politics. Voqal is committed to supporting creative, innovative projects that are likely to win victories for key policy initiatives. For the request for letters of intent, please visit www.voqal.org/money-politics.

This open call is part of a multi-year strategy designed to provide critical support to the many efforts underway to mobilize citizens in the fight for equality and to mitigate the influence of the wealthy and special interests on the American democratic process. Voqal is committing $300,000 in this funding round and intends to award several grants ranging from $25,000-$100,000.

For more information about this program and information on how to submit an LOI, please visit www.voqal.org/money-politics or sign up for our mailing list below. No unsolicited phone calls or emails, please.

Mobile Citizen, a provider of mobile Internet for education and nonprofits, today announced a new Digital Literacy and Inclusion Partner Program.  For nonprofits on a mission to close the digital divide, Mobile Citizen provides affordable Internet to bundle with computer equipment and training programs, bringing the Internet to underserved communities.  Powered by 4G technology, Mobile Citizen’s low-cost, high-speed mobile Internet gives nonprofits, schools, libraries and other BTOP grantees an affordable Internet option for only $120/year per account.

“We are on a mission to close the digital divide, and to do that we work with partners across the country that provide laptops and training but they are missing the connection of low cost Internet service,” said Michelle Warner, Mobile Citizen Director.  “A laptop doesn’t do you much good if you don’t have Internet.  We find partners with great training programs and we partner up with them and provide the Internet access.”

Mobile Citizen’s low cost mobile Internet service is available to nonprofit organizations in Mobile Citizen’s coverage area in over 50 cities across the country (www.mobilecitizen.org/coverage) including major nonprofit regions including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, Seattle and Washington DC.

Tara Conley is building a Textline for Court-Involved Youth, an anonymous, SMS-based hotline that will serve young people involved in welfare, juvenile court, and foster care systems in New York City. The textline will provide access to educational, employment, family planning and mental health resources. Additionally, the textline will provide instant support for youth in crisis and emergency situations. Tara is a doctoral student at Columbia University’s Teachers College and the founder of MEDIA MAKE CHANGE. Follow @taralconley on Twitter.

Charles DeTar will create InterTwinkles, a set of web-based tools designed to help small- to medium-sized groups engage in online democratic decision-making. A Ph.D. student at the MIT Media Lab and a researcher in the MIT Center for Civic Media, Charles’ research focuses on ways to democratize power imbalances in media and technology. Follow @InterTwinkles on Twitter.

Yongjun Heo is developing a transparency-focused technology platform to increase food donations to Philadelphia-based food pantries by enabling donors to monitor their contributions and recruiting student volunteers. Yongjun founded Pemon Health Inc., a public health organization that brings college students, health professionals, and Pemón villagers together to implement sustainable community health projects in rural Venezuela. Yongjun was awarded a George Mitchell scholarship to study at University College Dublin, where he earned a Master of Public Health in 2011. Follow @yongjunheo on Twitter.

Kristy Tillman is building Project Phonebooth, a mobile app that aims to make applying to local government jobs easier for those who rely on mobile technology to access the Internet. Kristy will create mobile software for local governments to make their job postings and application process easily accessible to those on the other side of the digital divide. Kristy is a communication designer at international design firm IDEO in Boston. Follow @KristyT on Twitter.

Each fellow has been awarded a stipend and paired with a mentor, allowing them to focus intensively on their specific issue-based project over the coming months. Voqal is excited to partner with the following individuals to mentor fellows:

• Marci Harris, CEO, Popvox
• Elisa Miller-Out, CEO, Singlebrook
• Hannah Sassaman, Strategic Development Consultant
, Media Mobilizing Project
• Anthea Watson Strong, Google

“Bringing a social innovation to scale is challenging. It takes significant time and resources to move an innovation from idea to implementation to impact,” says Voqal Program Strategist Erin Polgreen. “Many world-changing concepts remain unrealized due to the lack of opportunities for young technologists to nurture their creativity and act on inspiration–things that can be solved with smart, modest investment and guidance.”

That’s why, in 2012, Voqal launched the Media Ideation Fellowship^SM, which provides young innovators with the support and mentorship necessary to bring early stage progressive social innovations to life. The Fellowship’s goal is to build a pipeline of social innovators committed to social justice and the public good.

Over the next year, fellows will work with Voqal to move their ideas into reality. Each of these projects–and the people behind them–have the power to do great things. Voqal is proud to support them in their vital work.

About Voqal

Voqal is a collaborative of five non‐profit organizations that got their start transmitting educational video programs to schools in the mid‐80s using frequencies regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Today, these five organizations continue to provide services to schools and nonprofits nationwide, engage in philanthropic programs centered on social equality, and participate in other entrepreneurial endeavors using our combined spectrum expertise. In 2013, these five organizations merged under the single brand Voqal to facilitate the unification of services and leverage their collective resources. For more information, please visit www.voqal.org.

Feeding America‘s mission is to feed the hungry through a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks serving all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Through food pantries, soup kitchens and other agencies, Feeding America helps secure and distribute more than 3 billion pounds of food and grocery products annually with a highly mobile staff.  In fact, approximately one third of Feeding America’s national office staff are on the go, working with food banks, agencies and advocates on the road to raise awareness of the issue of hunger in the United States.

And with all those devices and all that mobility, mobile Internet costs were adding up.

Feeding America Senior Vice President Kevin Lutz looked at the organization’s mobile Internet bills and realized he could save 75% by working with Mobile Citizen, a low-cost mobile Internet provider for nonprofits.

“Our research shows that for every dollar raised, we can provide eight meals to the people we serve.  That also means for every dollar saved by reducing our mobile Internet costs, that’s money that can go to help feed someone in need in our community – and that is our ultimate goal.”

Kevin Lutz, Senior Vice President Feeding America

Feeding America has built a clear case for mobile Internet as a tool to reduce costs, empower mobile staff and cost-effectively back up mission critical operations.  Here’s how:

Cost-effective access for at home staff

Feeding America has many staff whom work from home and low-cost Internet service was more cost-effective than other at home service providers.  Making the switch to Mobile Citizen was an immediate cost savings.

Internet access enables mobile staff

• Staff assisting food banks and agencies need access to Feeding America’s email, SharePoint and many other applications designed to empower the food bank network.
• Feeding America’s Compliance and Capability Development team works with food banks nationwide consulting with them to help transform them from good to great. Quick and easy access to their systems from any location is key to their success.
• Philanthropy staff regularly travel the country to meet with donors. Using their own mobile hotspots making them less reliant on Wi-Fi networks at hotels or cafes.

Cost-effective back up for mission critical operations

One aspect of Feeding America’s mission is to provide assistance during disasters. As a result, it’s important for their operations to be resilient to disasters so that they can serve their neighbors in need. Mobile Citizen’s Internet service provides a low cost back up alternative where it is was too expensive to install a second hardwired Internet line.

We’re so excited about this tremendous response to a new program and can’t wait to announce our first class of fellows.
Over the coming weeks, we look forward to reviewing your ideas. We’ll get back to each and every one of you with the status of your applications as we prepare to select our final five candidates. Keep an eye on this space for more news and information.

Thanks to everyone who applied and helped get the word out about this new program. We can’t wait to share what’s next!

Mobile Citizen, a provider of mobile Internet for education and nonprofits; KEYSPOT, a citywide initiative that brings free Internet access, computer classes and training to all Philadelphia neighborhoods; Wilco Electronic Systems, Inc., a Philadelphia-based private cable operator; and Global Citizen, an organization dedicated to promoting civic engagement and responsibility, today announced MOBILE CITIZENship, a contest designed to promote sustainable, active citizenship beyond the 18^th Annual Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King  Day of Service to be held January 21, 2013.  Contest winners will receive mobile Internet service and equipment from Mobile Citizen, giving them access to the Internet on an easy to use, lightning fast 4G connection.   Philadelphia nonprofits with a demonstrated plan for civic engagement and active citizenship are encouraged to nominate their organizations by March 8, 2013.  All eligible non-profit organizations within Mobile Citizen’s coverage area* are encouraged to apply at www.mobilecitizen.org/citizenship.  Winners will be notified by April 1.

 “Our mission is to help people work and learn better and we do that by making a mission-critical tool, mobile Internet access, affordable,” says Michelle Warner, Director of Mobile Citizen. “Today we are delighted to make our mobile Internet service even more affordable – free, for nonprofits truly making a difference in the areas important to Global Citizen’s mission – community building, volunteer engagement, digital literacy, and active citizenship.“

Mobile Citizen is the mobile Internet provider of the 2013 King Day of Service signature project, the training of over 150 Philadelphia Housing Authority residents who will receive free netbook computers.   The PHA residents are trained through a special program through KEYSPOT: Powered by the Freedom Rings Partnership. Through KEYSPOT, Mobile Citizen has partnered with Wilco Electronic Systems, Inc., a Philadelphia-based private cable company, to provide a low-cost,  high-speed Internet option to Philadelphia, including thousands in the PHA specific program. By distributing netbooks and modems on MLK Day, Mobile Citizen, Wilco, KEYSPOT and Global Citizen seek to raise awareness about empowerment through digital connection.  KEYSPOT is a citywide collaborative to bridge the digital divide in Philadelphia. It is facilitated by social service, education and civic organizations and led by Drexel University, the Urban Affairs Coalition and the City of Philadelphia.  Launched two years ago on Martin Luther King Day, KEYSPOT sites have served more than 300,000 visitors, and the PHA program has trained more than 4,200 residents and distributed more than 3,900 netbook computers.

“We are excited to be bringing this opportunity to the many nonprofits involved with our 18th annual Greater Philadelphia King Day of Service,” says Todd Bernstein, President, Global Citizen.  “We hope this contest will serve as a springboard to ongoing, as well as new, areas of service.”

About Mobile Citizen

Mobile Citizen is the first fourth generation (4G) service provider in the U.S. to offer mobile broadband service exclusively to education and non-profit organizations at remarkably low cost. Mobile Citizen’s wireless Internet service is powered by 4G technology which makes it lightning fast and easy to use.  Mobile Citizen was originally established by five non-profit organizations that got their start transmitting educational video to schools in the mid-1980s. These five organizations began providing educational video services to schools in 11 metropolitan areas across the U.S. by utilizing Educational Broadband Service (EBS) spectrum frequencies regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).  Their licensed spectrum is now also used for wireless broadband.  For more information, visit www.mobilecitizen.org.

*based on coverage (www.mobilecitizen.org/coverage)

We’ll be in touch with all candidates in early December regarding the status of your applications.

Thanks again to everyone who applied! We’re truly excited about the projects proposed.