The Next Gen Giving Circle

What We Fund and Why

Not everyone starts from the same place. Some people have access to loans, homeownership, good jobs, and the tools to build financial security. A lot of people don't - and that's not by accident. Decades of policy decisions, systemic exclusion, and racial and economic injustice have kept entire communities locked out of wealth-building opportunities. The pandemic made all of it worse.

NGGC exists to fund the organisations working to change that.

This Year's Focus: Housing Justice

Starting in 2026, we're narrowing our focus to one area of economic justice each year. We heard from previous applicants that a clearer funding focus would help them write stronger applications and help us fund more effectively. So that's what we're doing.

This year, our members chose housing justice.

Housing is where economic justice hits hardest. If you can't afford a stable place to live, nothing else works - not your job, not your health, not your kids' education. Drawing on the Urban Institute's framework, we see housing justice as inseparable from economic justice: everyone deserves housing that supports their health, stability, and ability to build a future.

The kind of work we're looking to fund includes things like tenant organising and renter protections, eviction prevention, affordable housing advocacy, supporting people experiencing homelessness, cooperative housing models, increasing homeownership rates, and addressing the legacy of redlining and Indigenous land theft through reparations, landback, or other measures. That list isn't exhaustive - if your work advances housing justice in the Greater Washington region, we want to hear about it.

Who Can Apply

Your organisation must have an annual budget of $750,000 or less, have been operating for at least one year, and work with historically under-resourced communities in the Greater Washington region (DC metro area, including Prince George's and Montgomery Counties in Maryland and Northern Virginia). You can be based elsewhere as long as the funded work serves communities in this region.

You can apply for coalition or partnership work. The grants are general operating funds - use them to sustain what's already working or to pilot something new.

Timeline

Applications open: June 1, 2026
Applications close: July 31, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET
Eligibility decisions: within two weeks of submission
All applicants notified: by September 30, 2026
Finalist meetings with NGGC members: October 2026 (virtual)
Final grant decisions: November 2026
Funds disbursed: before end of December 2026

Want to check whether your organisation is a good fit before applying? Sign up for a 15-minute one-to-one chat with a Giving Circle member. We'd rather help you figure that out before you spend time on an application than reject you after.