Woven Foundation (formerly Bylo Chacon Foundation)

Quick Stats

• EIN: 83-1651595
• Annual Giving: $3.2 million (2024)
• Average Grant Size: $62,375
• Total Assets: $28 million
• Grant Range: Varies (unrestricted, multi-year grants)
• Geographic Focus: Global, with concentration in East Africa (DRC, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda)
• Current Status: Not actively engaging new partners

Contact Details

Address: 1660 Bush Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, CA 94109

Website: https://wovenfoundation.org/

Contact: Via contact form at https://wovenfoundation.org/contact-us/

Social Media:

• Instagram: @woventeaching
• LinkedIn: Bylo Chacon Foundation

Note: The foundation is not currently accepting new partnership applications.

Overview

The Woven Foundation (formerly known as the Bylo Chacon Foundation) was established in 2019 as a private grantmaking foundation based in San Francisco. Founded by Jessica Bylo Chacon, the foundation manages over $28 million in assets and distributes approximately $3 million annually in grants to organizations working on human rights issues globally. Since 2019, the foundation has awarded 139 individual grants totaling $8.8 million.

The foundation operates with a twofold mission: to shift resources and decision-making power to community-led organizations, and to expand the use of education as a tool for upholding and protecting human rights. Built on the premise that all people should be seen, heard, believed, and supported, Woven Foundation partners with organizations making positive change at all levels of society around the world.

In addition to grantmaking, the foundation operates Woven Teaching, a human rights education initiative that provides free, globally accessible teaching resources and curricula for educators to teach the next generation about human rights and social responsibility.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

The Woven Foundation provides unrestricted, multi-year grants to community-led organizations. In 2022, the foundation made 40 grants with an average award of approximately $62,375. The foundation emphasizes:

• Flexible Grant Funding: Unrestricted grants that honor partner autonomy
• Multi-Year Commitments: Long-term capacity building relationships
• Capacity Building Support: Beyond funding, partners receive ongoing support
• Non-Monetary Support: Introductions to other funders, sharing tools and resources, raising awareness about partner work

Priority Areas

Woven Foundation funds organizations that broaden access to human rights as outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Priority areas include:

• Human Rights Education: Teaching and learning about human rights
• Youth Empowerment: Engaging young people in human rights work
• Socio-Economic Strengthening: Supporting families and communities
• Healthcare Access: Broadening access to health services
• Societal Unification: Peace and reconciliation work
• Education: Formal and informal education initiatives
• Community-Led Development: Organizations led by and accountable to local communities

Geographic Focus: While global in scope, the foundation has a particular concentration in East Africa, with partners in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Kenya, and Uganda.

What They Don't Fund

The foundation does not publicly specify exclusions, but their focus is clearly on human rights work aligned with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They prioritize organizations that are:

• Community-led
• Working at local levels
• Committed to intersectionality
• Non-discriminatory (they require organizations not discriminate based on race, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, or sexual orientation)

Governance and Leadership

Jessica Bylo Chacon - Founder and President
Jessica has extensive experience in human rights education. She was a director at the Educators' Institute for Human Rights, founded Woven Teaching, and is a teacher fellow at both the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the National World War I Museum. She holds a bachelor's degree in history from UC Santa Barbara and a master's degree in modern world history from San Jose State University.

Veronica Ensign Ksiazek - Executive Director, Treasurer, and Secretary
Veronica is responsible for advancing the overall work of the foundation and ensuring grant partners have a great experience. She previously led the Bay Area region of Defy Ventures and served as Chief Development Officer at Oakland-based Pivot Learning. She also founded a nonprofit that partners with rural communities in East Africa.

Aimable Mpayimana - Partnerships Director, East Africa
Based in Ottawa, Ontario, Aimable supports productive partner-centered relationships with organizations in Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Kenya. He leads the foundation's East Africa Community of Practice and collaborates with the Woven Teaching team on human rights education projects.

Nina Simone Grotch - Director of Human Rights Education
Nina leads the foundation's human rights education work through Woven Teaching, developing curricula and resources that can be adapted to various resource availability and cultural contexts.

Nikki Bambauer - Director of Human Rights Education Programming
Nikki develops and designs curricula and educational materials for Woven Teaching, creating resources for teaching about history, social justice, and human rights.

Sahar Momand - Grants Manager (via Pacific Foundation Services)
Sahar supports a smooth and efficient grantmaking process. She holds a BA in international relations from Mills College and an MS in public policy and management from Carnegie Mellon University.

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

Woven Foundation is not actively engaging new partners at this time. The foundation does not have an open application process and is not accepting unsolicited proposals or new partnership inquiries.

The foundation develops long-term capacity building relationships with organizations that are most aligned with their core values and priorities. When they do engage new partners, they prioritize organizations with:

• 501(c)(3) non-profit designation in the U.S., OR
• Charitable designation in their home country and/or fiscal sponsorship through a U.S.-based organization

East Africa Community of Practice

The foundation's signature partnership model is the East Africa Community of Practice, established in early 2020. This comprises a group of organizations from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Kenya, and Uganda with long-term partnership commitments. The Community of Practice:

• Meets regularly, both virtually and in person
• Shares best practices, challenges, and lessons learned
• Identifies new strategies and opportunities
• Creates shared learning experiences
• Works within an organizational capacity framework covering: governance, mission, administration, human resource management, project and program management, planning, and financial management

Decision Timeline

Specific decision timelines are not publicly disclosed. Given the foundation's partner-centered approach and the fact that they work through long-term relationships rather than application cycles, traditional timeline metrics do not apply.

Success Rates

Not applicable - the foundation does not have an open application process.

Reapplication Policy

Not applicable - the foundation focuses on multi-year partnerships rather than single grants.

Application Success Factors

Since Woven Foundation is not accepting new partners at this time, there is no traditional application process. However, understanding their values and approach is valuable for organizations interested in staying informed about future opportunities:

Core Values ("Threads" of Their Approach):

1. Dignity + Respect: The foundation centers partners and follows their lead, honoring their expertise and recognizing their wisdom, ingenuity, creativity, and self-determination.

2. Humility: Staff approach partners as experts, maintaining open hearts and curious minds with willingness to learn and grow.

3. Transparency: The foundation builds trust through open partnerships, offers unconditional funding, and promotes flexible decision-making.

4. Responsibility: The foundation avoids exploitative practices, embraces partner autonomy, and recognizes intersectionality in pursuing universal human rights.

Their Distinctive Approach:

• Unrestricted, Multi-Year Grants: Partners receive flexible funding without restrictive conditions
• Partner-Led Relationships: Partners define the relationship and evaluation process
• Approachable and Accessible: Staff maintain user-friendly systems and transparent communications
• Ongoing Support: Regular, non-evaluative touch points and thoughtful listening
• Foundation-Managed Maintenance: Staff take on most relationship maintenance work to reduce partner burden
• Feedback-Driven: Genuine listening and feedback collection to understand how to best serve partners

The foundation explicitly states: "Our approach recognizes the inherent value and worth of partners and prioritizes community impact in a space where nonprofits are often forced to perform and prove their worthiness to funders."

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

• Closed to New Applications: Woven Foundation is not currently accepting new partnership inquiries or applications. Organizations should monitor their website for any future announcements.

• Trust-Based Philanthropy Model: The foundation operates on a trust-based, partner-centered model that provides unrestricted, multi-year funding and minimizes reporting burdens.

• Human Rights Focus: All funding supports organizations that broaden access to human rights as defined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

• Long-Term Relationships: The foundation seeks deep, multi-year partnerships rather than one-off grants, with emphasis on capacity building and sustained support.

• Community-Led Priority: They prioritize organizations that are led by and accountable to the communities they serve, particularly in East Africa.

• Education Component: Through Woven Teaching, the foundation also advances human rights education globally with free resources for educators.

• Values Alignment Critical: When they do engage new partners, alignment with their core values of dignity, respect, humility, transparency, and responsibility is essential.

References

• Woven Foundation Official Website: https://wovenfoundation.org/ (Accessed February 2026)
• About Us: https://wovenfoundation.org/about-us/ (Accessed February 2026)
• How We Work: https://wovenfoundation.org/how-we-work/ (Accessed February 2026)
• East Africa Community of Practice: https://wovenfoundation.org/east-africa-community-of-practice/ (Accessed February 2026)
• ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer - Bylo Chacon Foundation: https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/831651595 (Accessed February 2026)
• GuideStar Profile: https://www.guidestar.org/profile/83-1651595 (Accessed February 2026)
• Cause IQ: https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/bylo-chacon-foundation,831651595/ (Accessed February 2026)
• Woven Teaching: https://www.woventeaching.org/ (Accessed February 2026)
• LinkedIn - Woven Foundation: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bylo-chacon-foundation (Accessed February 2026)