2026 GOTV Open Grant Opportunity
The Foundation seeks to provide general operating and programmatic support for organizations that do year-round civic engagement, nurturing & promotion of democracy and voter registration, education, and mobilization (collectively referred to as “GOTV”) in Milwaukee.
Reliable and trustworthy information, exercising democratic practices, and continuous civic engagement are vital to the civic action of voting and nurturing democracy in Milwaukee.
The Foundation is committed to supporting partnerships that seek to advance voter registration, education, mobilization AND the exercise of other democratic practices and civic participation (such as civic education, engagement with elected and appointed officials, mock elections, policy analysis, policy dialogue, and more) with traditionally hard to engage eligible voters and ineligible parties (e.g. by age, immigration status, or other demographic characteristics) who seek to engage in democracy through activities other than or in addition to voting.
These partnerships are invited to apply for small- to medium-sized grants (ranging between $5,000 – 20,000) to foster democratic activities with these populations. Applications should explicitly delineate all the partnering organizations involved and what their roles & responsibilities are. One organization (required to be a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation) must serve as the grantee (which also makes that organization responsible for grant reporting).
2026 Timeline
Grant applications open: February 9, 2026
Grant applications due: February 27, 2026 (by 5 pm Central Time)
Grant terms start: No earlier than March 1, 2026
Grant term end date: No later than December 31, 2026
Note that you must have completed the final grant report for previous Foundation grant(s) prior to applying for this current application process. Generally, the Foundation does not provide grantee partners two grants simultaneously.