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Neighborhood Funders Group (Amplify Fund)

Annual Giving
$8.1M
Grant Range
$25K - $0.5M

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $8.1 million (2023, through NFG and Amplify Fund)
  • Success Rate: Not publicly disclosed
  • Decision Time: Not publicly disclosed
  • Grant Range: $25,000 - $475,000 (Amplify Fund)
  • Geographic Focus: National network with place-based grantmaking in 8 U.S. locations
  • Organization Type: Membership association of 140+ grantmakers + Amplify Fund pooled giving program

Contact Details

Website: https://nfg.org

Phone: (510) 444-6063

Email:

Mailing Address: 548 Market Street #96531, San Francisco, CA 94104-5401

Overview

Founded in 1980, Neighborhood Funders Group (NFG) is a national network of over 140 grantmaking institutions with a mission to organize philanthropy so that Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities and low-income communities thrive. For over 40 years, NFG has been a trusted space for funders to connect, learn, and mobilize resources with an intersectional and place-based focus. While primarily a membership association providing learning and coordination for funders, NFG also operates the Amplify Fund, a place-focused pooled fund that regranted approximately $3 million to 55 grantees in 2022, with 90% being BIPOC-led organizations. NFG earned a Four-Star rating from Charity Navigator with a score of 97%.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Amplify Fund - A place-focused, pooled fund providing flexible general operating support

  • Grant Range: $25,000 - $475,000
  • Application Method: Place-based selection through local strategy advisors (no open public application process)
  • Collaboration Grants: $24,000 - $50,000 for multi-organization partnerships

Priority Areas

The Amplify Fund supports seven key conditions for community power-building:

  1. Racial justice organizing capacity - Supporting grassroots organizing infrastructure
  2. Multi-racial, locally rooted leaders - Developing diverse, place-based leadership
  3. Relationships and shared analyses - Building coalitions and common understanding
  4. Strategic communications and narrative work - Amplifying community voices
  5. Strong organizational structures - Capacity building for sustainability
  6. Risk-taking - Supporting innovative and bold approaches
  7. Alternative agendas, policies, and practices - Developing community-driven solutions

Geographic Focus: Eight specific places across the U.S.:

  • California (via Fund for an Inclusive California)
  • Missouri
  • Nevada
  • Eastern North Carolina
  • Western Pennsylvania
  • Puerto Rico
  • South Carolina
  • Tennessee

Issue Areas: Equitable development, housing justice, public revenue generation, worker justice, environmental justice, affordable housing, education, and economic development

What They Don't Fund

  • Organizations outside their eight designated geographic areas
  • Organizations not identified through local strategy advisor networks
  • Work that doesn't align with grassroots power-building
  • Individual projects (focus is on general operating support)

Governance and Leadership

Executive Leadership

Co-Presidents (as of September 2025):

  • Amanda Andere (Political Home) - Former CEO of Funders Together to End Homelessness since 2016, grew the organization from 4 to 7 staff and expanded membership to 270+ institutions
  • Stephanie Chan (Funder Organizing)

Interim President (2022-2025):

  • Amy Morris - Former Amplify team member and Surdna Foundation Program Officer, guided the organization through leadership transition

Key Program Directors

  • Leticia Peguero - Executive Director, Amplify Fund (since September 2024)
  • Manisha Vaze - Vice President of Programs
  • Chimene Okere - Democratizing Development Program
  • Leanne Sajor - Funders for a Just Economy
  • Lindsay Ryder - Integrated Rural Strategies Group

Board Leadership

  • Helen Chin - Board President
  • Neeta Boddapati - Vice President of Finance and Administration

Leadership Quotes

Amanda Andere on joining as Co-President: "This is a wild and urgent time to be stepping into leadership. Joining NFG means building bold community, rooted in justice, and honoring the courage of those who came before us — especially when it's hard to do so."

Amy Morris on NFG's mission: "I believe deeply in our shared work to liberate philanthropic assets so that Black, Indigenous and people of color communities and low-income communities have power."

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

The Amplify Fund does not have an open public application process. Instead, grants are awarded through a place-based, advisor-guided selection process:

  1. Place Selection: NFG selects geographic locations based on four criteria:

    • Exciting power-building work led by Black, Indigenous, people of color, and low-income people
    • Presence of power-building groups focused on specific issue areas
    • Relative absence of national philanthropy
    • Potential to mobilize local philanthropic dollars

  2. Local Strategy Advisors: In each of the eight places, local strategy advisors identify priority issues and organizations aligned with community power-building goals

  3. Grantee Identification: Organizations are identified and selected by local advisors who understand the community context

  4. Grant Administration: Grants are administered through the JustFund portal and disbursed in partnership with Amalgamated Charitable Foundation

Getting on Their Radar

This section applies only if your organization is located in one of the eight Amplify Fund places. NFG's Amplify Fund uses local strategy advisors who are deeply embedded in their communities to identify grantees. Specific strategies include:

  • Connect with local strategy advisors in your place who guide Amplify Fund's grantmaking decisions
  • Build visibility in local power-building networks and coalitions, as advisors look for organizations doing exciting grassroots work
  • Participate in the Co-Leadership Committee structure, which is 75% grantees and 25% funders, as current grantees influence future funding decisions
  • Contact Leticia Peguero, Executive Director of the Amplify Fund at leticia@nfg.org to express interest and learn about opportunities in your area
  • Demonstrate alignment with the seven conditions for power-building that Amplify prioritizes

Decision Timeline

Not publicly disclosed. Grants are processed through Amalgamated Charitable Foundation, which typically makes grants within five business days once approved.

Success Rates

Not publicly disclosed. In 2022, the Amplify Fund made approximately $3 million in grants to 55 organizations across eight sites.

Reapplication Policy

Not applicable due to advisor-guided selection process rather than traditional applications.

Application Success Factors

Amplify Fund's Trust-Based Approach

The Amplify Fund operates on principles fundamentally different from traditional grantmaking. From the ArchCity Defenders case study, key success factors emerge:

1. Community Power-Building Focus Organizations must demonstrate work that builds decision-making power for historically marginalized communities. Blake Strode of ArchCity Defenders described the partnership: "It was our decision, without limitation, but also with support."

2. Alignment with Seven Key Conditions Successful grantees demonstrate strength in:

  • Racial justice organizing capacity
  • Multi-racial, locally rooted leadership
  • Building relationships and shared analysis
  • Strategic communications
  • Strong organizational structures
  • Willingness to take risks
  • Developing alternative policies and practices

3. Place-Based Power Building Organizations must be working in one of Amplify's eight designated places and be recognized by local strategy advisors as critical to building community power.

4. BIPOC Leadership 90% of funded organizations are BIPOC-led, reflecting Amplify's commitment to centering Black, Indigenous, and people of color leadership.

5. Flexibility and Trust The fund emphasizes: "Trust is built through a series of very small, but very radical, shifts in how we relate to each other over time." Successful grantees receive flexible general operating support with minimal reporting requirements.

Grantee-Led Governance

Since 2023, Amplify operates with a Co-Leadership Committee that is 75% grantees and 25% funders, designed through a participatory process called "The Future of Amplify Fund." This governance model means current and former grantees have significant influence over funding decisions.

What Makes Organizations Stand Out

From NFG's communications and grantee examples:

  • ArchCity Defenders (Missouri): Legal advocacy closing a jail and redirecting resources to harmed communities
  • The Equity Alliance (Tennessee): Co-founded by Tequila Johnson, focused on civic engagement
  • Lowcountry Alliance for Model Communities (South Carolina): Multi-issue work on affordable housing, economic development, education, and environmental justice since 2019

These examples show preference for organizations working on systemic change, building coalitions, and led by those most impacted.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • NFG is primarily a network of funders, not a direct grantmaker - If you're seeking grants, focus on the Amplify Fund or consider approaching NFG's member foundations
  • Location is critical - Amplify Fund only works in eight specific U.S. places; organizations outside these areas won't be eligible
  • No public application process - You cannot simply submit an application; you must be identified by local strategy advisors
  • Relationship-building is essential - Connect with local power-building networks and advisors in your area who guide funding decisions
  • BIPOC-led organizations strongly preferred - 90% of grantees are BIPOC-led organizations
  • Power-building work is central - Demonstrate how your work builds decision-making power for marginalized communities, not just provides services
  • Flexible funding philosophy - Amplify provides general operating support with minimal reporting, reflecting trust-based philanthropy
  • Grantee governance matters - Current grantees have significant voice in shaping the fund, so connecting with existing grantees can be valuable

References

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