FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES IN THE CO FIELD

Just as each foundation has many aspects that make it unique, each CO group has particular needs. Funders new to CO will need to determine how best to pick and choose among them.

In his 1993 report for the Ford Foundation, veteran community organizer Gary Delgado discussed six areas in which "strategic funding initiatives by members of the philanthropic community could make a significant difference in helping CO make a real contribution to the field of community development."⁵⁷ Delgado's list included items listed below.

1. Collaborative Projects. Includes support for collaborative efforts among CO groups, other types of community organizations, intermediaries, universities and others similar to those that have contributed greatly to the growth of the community development field.
2. Emerging Communities of Interest. Includes organizations and supportive networks in communities of color; immigrant rights groups; networks to support the development of effective organizations in the gay and lesbian, women's and disabled communities; and networks focusing on the intersection of race and environment.
3. Multiple-Year Core Support for Key National Networks and Major CO Training Intermediaries. Includes work to enhance the ability of national networks to initiate campaigns that combine local action with the ability to apply pressure at the national level.
4. Professionalization and Infrastructural Development. Includes work to spur the creation of new entities and strengthen existing ones that can provide research, training, legal backup and other needed assistance; attract and develop young people for CO work; facilitate the exchange of ideas, strategies and techniques; and undertake other efforts to strengthen the CO field.
5. Leadership Development for Poor, Indigenous People. Involves allocating foundations' program resources from existing leadership development programs - most of which focus on development of professional people (often of color) - to CO-type leadership development that targets indigenous leaders who have a following and are accountable to an organization.
6. Small Grants to Local Organizations. Involves strengthening the local work that is the "heart of CO." For funders who can't evaluate each of the local groups in their area, a re-granting partnership with a CO training intermediary is recommended.⁵⁸
   

Funders new to CO will find Delgado's advice⁵⁹ helpful in establishing priorities. The CO field is constantly changing, building on its experiences and tackling emerging issues. Funders will find it challenging and necessary to stay on top of developments to inform their grantmaking and to help ensure that their CO grantees learn and grow with the times.