Winners Announced: 2024 Multi-Regional Summit (MRS) Civic Ignition Grant
March 27, 2024
Congratulations to our 2024 MRS Civic Ignition Grantees! We received 6 submissions with a total financial ask of $26,649. These grants were discussed in a consensus-based workshop with approximately 20 participant leaders from the Northern California and Nevada regions of the United States.
photo by Douglas Hooper
The MRS raised $1,500 in matching funds from the following organizations: Reno Burners LLC, Tahoe Regional Contacts, and Sacramento Valley Spark for a total of $3,000 in funding granted during this workshop. The winners are:
Art in Hand
Gold Country (Nevada City/Grass Valley)
Art in Hand has a vision of creating portable art supply kits that can be used to engage the public in art-making. These kits will offer an easy and reproducible way to create personal connections. With a guiding principle of radical inclusion, the project will examine how to engage myriad populations, including people with developmental disabilities and people with mobility limitations. Art in Hand looks to counteract the epidemic of loneliness and the societal norm of screen time. We plan to experiment with giving people we engage with a small supply of art supplies to keep so they can become agents of art engagement. We will spend one year developing this program with rigorous documentation so the project is reproducible elsewhere.
The Burner Gear Giveback
Reno, Nevada USA
The Burner Gera Giveback is a donation drive that will be set up at the Burner Express port at the Reno-Tahoe airport. We will be collecting camping gear from Burners. The mission is to keep gear out of the trash and give it to folks who can use it, and broadly, to improve relations between Burning Man and Northern Nevada by providing a service to the folks existing at the margins. Distribution is done in the colder winter months when gear is needed most.
The Pyramid Lake Spiritual Healing Center
Nixon, Nevada
The Pyramid Lake Spiritual Healing Center, led by Dean Barlese, a Northern Paiute spiritual elder, is a vital hub for spiritual guidance and cultural preservation within the Indigenous community. Our priority project is clearing space and cultivating a walkable community medicine garden. The garden will include native plants, which will also provide an opportunity for people to visit and learn about the medicinal value and/or food available to us in the region and how to preserve harvests in a good way, while also connecting with the original caretakers of this land.
Once established, our goal would be to build a ceremonial house that Dean and members of the community can facilitate ceremony, gatherings, and workshops. We’d like to invite guests to tend to the garden, learn, and visit with Dean.
Do you have an idea for a project in your community? Sign up for our newsletter HERE to get notified about our next grant cycle!
What is the Multi-Regional Summit (MRS) Civic Ignition Grant?
What is the Multi-Regional Summit Civic Ignition Grant?
A program aimed at funding innovative community & civic projects within the greater Northern California & Nevada Regions (specifically but not limited to Reno, Tahoe, and Sacramento). We are interested in programs that create collaborations, produce direct actions, utilize several of the 10 Burning Man Principles, are reproducible, and creatively tackle local social problems. This grant gives anyone the opportunity to submit a collaborative, creative, and principle-focused project with a chance to win up to a $1,500 grant. The MRS has raised matching funds of $1500 from generous donations from the following organizations: Reno Burners LLC, Tahoe Regional Contacts, and Sacramento Valley Spark for a total of $3,000 in funding available.
Timeline:
— Grant application open: April 7th, 2024
— Deadline for grant submissions: May 24th, 2024 (Midnight wherever you are)
— Workshop participants will review the grant proposals at the 2024 Multi-Regional Summit: May 31st – June 2nd
— Winner(s) will be announced: Week of June 9th, 2024
Apply here: https://forms.gle/WwHrJT3CLAo1hQ3b7
What’s unique about the Multi-Regional Summit Civic Ignition Grant?
Submissions to the 2024 Multi-Regional Summit Civic Ignition grant cycle will be workshopped and judged by a group of participants and community leaders who attend this year’s Multi-Regional Summit. This group will use the submissions as material to review and workshop while learning how to administer their civic grant programs.
Who is eligible to apply?
Anyone! Individuals, Groups, and Not-for-Profits are all eligible. You do not need to be a participant in the leadership gathering to apply, but the project must take place within the states listed above.
How much can you ask for?
The maximum grant that may be awarded is $1,500. We encourage your project’s viability to not solely depend on this grant. Think about other sources of funding that might be available. Grants awarded could be less than the full amount that was requested in the application.
What types of proposals will likely not get funded by this program?
Programs solely based on artistic endeavors and do not have a community or civic aspect will most likely not be considered for funding. Funds should not be used for direct fundraising, chapter promotion efforts, or paying people for their work.
What follow-up will be expected by grant recipients?
All recipients will be expected to submit written reports on what they have accomplished and learned in the course of their projects, along with accompanying visual media. This media will be hosted on the Burners Without Borders website.
Suggestions for a quality grant proposal:
— Look at the BWB Grant Impact & Criteria Document to see how we think about grants.
— Reach out to your local Burning Man Regional Contact and ask if they might be an advisor.
— Watch our video “How to write Quality Grants: Burning Man 101” (Starts rough but gets going at (9:00 min)
— Listen to our podcast “Targeted Grant Writing: with Meta-Regional Jacqui Latendresse”
Who won the previous Multi-Regional Summit Civic Ignition Grant?
This will be our fourth time offering the Multi-Regional Summit (MRS) Civic Ignition grant. Read about the 2018, 2019 and 2022 winners to get inspired to apply for the 2024 cycle.
How long will it take to receive the funds if selected?
To process your grant funds, we’ll require contracting and payment information about the Grantee, including tax information as applicable. Once all grantee information has been collected, processing your payment may take 2-8 weeks. We strive to complete all grant payments as quickly as possible.
Are the funds taxable?
Yes, grants are considered income and are taxable for organizations and individuals.
