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Participatory Grantmaking

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Participatory Grantmaking Project

About the Participatory Grantmaking Project

Healthy Meck is excited to launch a new way to share funds with community partners. This approach is called a Shared Gifting Circle. In this model, everyone who applies and is selected becomes part of a cohort that helps decide how the funding is shared across the cohort. This puts more decision-making power into the hands of the people doing the work every day.

The goal is simple: support organizations that are working directly with neighbors in North Mecklenburg and strengthen relationships between them. This pilot is supported by The Duke Endowment’s Healthy People, Healthy Carolinas initiative. Healthy Meck is working with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Food Policy Council for fiscal and administrative oversight, and Community Food Strategies will help guide and facilitate the Shared Gifting Circle.

What Is a Shared Gifting Circle?

A Shared Gifting Circle is a group process where organizations come together to learn, share, and discuss community needs. Instead of competing with one another, participants work as peers. Each organization will receive a base grant, and then the group will decide together how to distribute the remaining funds.

In the Circle, organizations will:

  • Share their project ideas
  • Learn about each other’s work
  • Talk together about what communities need
  • Help decide how remaining funds are distributed
  • Stay connected as projects move forward

This process builds trust and encourages people to work together, not against one another. It also lifts up community knowledge and creates space for open, honest conversation.

More Than Funding

While the Shared Gifting Circle includes grant funding, the value goes beyond dollars. Participants also gain:

  • Helpful feedback from peers
  • New relationships across organizations
  • Space to reflect, learn, and adjust their work
  • A stronger understanding of what other groups are doing

Sharing lessons — including what worked well and what was challenging — helps the whole community grow stronger.

Projects We Hope to Support

Projects should help advance Healthy Meck’s Policy Agenda, which focuses on:

  • Access to Healthy Food
  • Access to Health Information
  • Access to Community Support

This includes efforts that increase access to healthy food, help neighbors find and understand health information, or strengthen community support systems—especially in Healthy Meck’s partner neighborhoods.

Projects should be rooted in the community and shaped by people who live and work there.

Project Timeline

  • Application Window: February 9 – February 20
  • Application Format: Online form
  • Cohort Notifications: March 2
  • Virtual Meetings: March 6 and March 20
  • Shared Gifting Circle: March 31
  • Funding Period: April – October
Online Application

Who Should Apply?

This opportunity is intended for community organizations that work directly with neighbors in North Mecklenburg.

For this first Healthy Meck Shared Gifting Circle, groups or organizations should either be a non-profit or connected to a fiscal agent. The goal is to support organizations that know their community well and are already doing work that makes a difference.

Eligibility Requirements and Required Documentation

Criteria will include:

Applicants will need to provide basic information such as who they are, what they do, and what they plan to work on.

Online Application

How Applications Will Be Reviewed

Applications will be evaluated by a panel of reviewers. Reviewers will not have access to information that identifies applicants but will base their review feedback on community impact and alignment with Healthy Meck’s Policy Agenda.

About the Shared Gifting Circle Experience

All selected applicants will be a part of the in-person Shared Gifting Circle event on March 31. During this one-day gathering, organizations will:

  • Present their work and plans
  • Hear from fellow participants
  • Explore shared challenges and opportunities
  • Make group decisions about how funds should be shared

Community Food Strategies will guide the process to support fairness, openness, and community-centered decision-making.

What Comes Next

More information about eligibility, documentation, and review criteria is available through this link.

Organizations can begin thinking about how their projects:

  • Improve access to healthy food
  • Support access to clear health information
  • Strengthen community connection and support

Healthy Meck looks forward to partnering with local groups to pilot this new, community-centered approach and to support organizations that make North Mecklenburg stronger every day.