EMO Fund Letter of Intent 2025: Sustainability & Capacity Building 

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About this Grant Opportunity

Designed to strengthen the capacity, infrastructure, and/or sustainability of organizations advancing research and data projects that deepen and sustain impact on economic mobility and opportunity. This opportunity supports the good work that is already underway, helping organizations to build the stability, systems, and resource needed to maintain momentum and continue driving meaningful change.

Principles We Care About

  • An intersectional approach that reflects the lived experience of individuals across multiple identifies and systems.
  • Honor Distinct Worldviews in Research and Evaluation. Indigenous and Western approaches to research are rooted in fundamentally different worldviews - one relational and cyclical, the other linear and human-centered. Valuing both requires acknowledging diverse ways of knowing, being, and defining expertise, while also reflecting on one's positionality and committing to move at the speed of trust in partnership with communities.
  • Demonstrated partnership with communities, especially those who are and have been historically marginalized.
  • Expansive understanding of economic mobility - beyond financial outcomes - and includes the essential conditions of safety, dignity, belonging, agency, etc.
  • Innovative uses of qualitative data (e.g. ethnography, storytelling & oral history, and community designed research) in partnership with communities to tell a richer and more holistic story.

Eligibility

To be eligible for funding, applicants must meet all the following criteria:
  • Nonprofit Status: Be a U.S. based public charity with a valid tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or have a fiscal sponsor with such status at the time of the application. Organizations must be in compliance with 501(c)(3) requirements.
  • Organizational Budget: Have an annual operating budget of less that $2 million.
  • Mission Alignment: Conduct work that addresses critical gaps in knowledge and data infrastructure related to economic mobility and opportunity.
  • Location: Organization must be located in and conducting work within the 50 U.S. States and/or District of Columbia.

Key Dates and Deadlines

  • Letter of Intent (LOI) Opens: October 6, 2025
  • LOI Deadline: October 31, 2025 at 11:59 pm EST
  • Request for Proposals (RFP) Opens: December 2025
  • RFP Deadline: January 2026
  • Grant Start Date: April - May 2026
Applications submitted after the due date will not be reviewed.
All applicants will be notified by email.
Applicants may be asked for additional clarification during the review period.

Key Terms & Eligibility Criteria

Understanding Key Terms in This Form                                                                                                                        

Grantee Organization: The entity that applies for funding, holds tax-exempt status, has its own bank account, and assumes fiduciary and legal responsibility for the grant. The Grantee Organization will sign the Grant Agreement Letter and be accountable for compliance and reporting.    

                                                                                                                           

Fiscally Sponsored Project/Program: A project, program, or organization that operates under the umbrella of a Fiscal Sponsor rather than having its own tax-exempt status. This may include initiatives housed within a larger entity such as a university.


Fiscal Sponsor: A tax-exempt organization that provides fiduciary oversight, financial management, and compliance support for a fiscally sponsored project or program. The Fiscal Sponsor is responsible for administering grant funds but does not directly manage the project’s programmatic activities.

 

Relationship to This Application

For the purposes of this application, the Fiscal Sponsor will serve as the Grantee Organization. This means that the Fiscal Sponsor will apply for the grant, sign the Grant Agreement Letter, and be responsible for financial and compliance obligations, even if the funding is intended to support a specific project or program.


In addition, for a Fiscally Sponsored Project/Program, the narrative portion of the application should be about the project/program, not the Fiscal Sponsor.

 

If you need more assistance filling out your LOI, please contact: 

emogrants@neophilanthropy.org

Eligibility Review


This funding opportunity is for organizations who meet ALL following requirements:
  • The organization's work fills critical knowledge gaps in the understanding of ending poverty and supporting economic mobility
  • The organization is a federally-recognized 501c3 nonprofit OR is a fiscally sponsored organizations (or those programs that are housed within 501c3 nonprofits)
  • The organization's annual budget is under $2 million.
  • The organization is U.S. based.





Unfortunately, at this time, your organization is not eligible for this 
grant. This opportunity is ONLY for tax exempt organizations or those with a fiscal sponsor, budgets under $2M, and a focus area that matches the opportunity.                                                                                                                       
If you would like to continue this application, NEO will have your information and may send you an email about your ineligible status.

Organization Details

Grantee Organization
If your organization has a Fiscal Sponsor or is housed within a larger organization (such as a university), put the sponsoring organization's information here as the organization who will hold the fiduciary relationship. 




State Abbreviation




Fiscally Sponsored Organization 
If your organization has a Fiscal Sponsor or is housed within a larger entity (such as a university), put your organization's information here as the organization who will hold the programmatic relationship.




State Abbreviation



Primary Contact Information for the Grantee Application Process
(for fiscally-sponsored organizations, choose whether your program team or your fiscal sponsor will be the grant application contact).



Signatory Contact Information
(Executive who is legally authorized to sign for the grantee/fiscal sponsor)



Our Research Principles' Values and Approach: What We Are Seeking in Strong Proposals

  • An intersectional approach that reflects the lived experience of individuals across multiple identifies and systems.
  • Honor Distinct Worldviews in Research and Evaluation. Indigenous and Western approaches to research are rooted in fundamentally different worldviews - one relational and cyclical, the other linear and human-centered. Valuing both requires acknowledging diverse ways of knowing, being, and defining expertise, while also reflecting on one's positionality and committing to move at the speed of trust in partnership with communities.
  • Demonstrated partnership with communities, especially those who are and have been historically marginalized.
  • Expansive understanding of economic mobility - beyond financial outcomes - and includes the essential conditions of safety, dignity, belonging, agency, etc.
  • Innovative uses of qualitative data (e.g. ethnography, storytelling & oral history, and community designed research) in partnership with communities to tell a richer and more holistic story.

Narrative Questions





Video Applications


  • Please provide the mission of your organization. What is the future you are working toward?
  • Briefly describe what your organization does, how your work leads to change, and how you measure success.
  • How does your work reflect at least one of the research principles outlined in the RFP and listed in the Values & Approach section?
  • Sustainability & Capacity Building Question: How would a grant from this fund strengthen your organization’s capacity, infrastructure, or long-term sustainability to deepen and sustain your impact in poverty alleviation and economic mobility over time?

Eligibility Confirmation: Federal Tax-Exempt Verification

The EMO Fund requires grant applicants to submit the below supplemental attachment(s).

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at PGMGrants@neophilanthropy.org




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