Sponsorships
Yakima Valley community members celebrate Latina art, poetry, dance, and song at La Casa Hogar’s Día de la Mujer event in March 2020. (Photo: La Casa Hogar.)
Range: $1,000 – $25,000
Application due: No later than 60 days before a planned event or convening
Events and convenings are important opportunities for people to connect, celebrate, plan, and learn together, and we aim to support organizations working for equity and justice to do just that through sponsorships.
We are most likely to support organizations whose leadership reflects the communities they serve because we believe the people most adversely affected by racial and social inequities should be at the center of solutions.
Sponsorships are one way we meet and build relationships with organizations rooted in and reflective of their communities, and we want to learn more about yours!
Events we have sponsored
Alefba hosts a virtual winter solstice festival.
Firelands builds momentum for workers’ rights at May Day event
FYRE opens its doors with a two-month soft launch.
Sponsorships are not limited to the examples here, and we welcome your ideas for the events that will benefit your organization and community and advance equity and justice. We support in-person, virtual, and hybrid events. Please continue reading the rest of this page to better understand our criteria for sponsorship.
Celebrations and similar events that bring people together based on culture, community, and/or personal identities to build connections and foster collective action.
Staff and leadership retreats with agendas focused on learning and action planning related to systems change or equity efforts.
Professional development to equip your staff and/or volunteers with knowledge and skills that deepen their understanding of equity and justice work, further your mission, or serve your community.
Strategic planning sessions that allow your organization to think big-picture and identify key strategies to move your work forward.
Open houses that welcome community members and other organizations to tour your space, learn about your work, and connect with your organization and one another.
Fundraisers to support and strengthen your organization’s long-term agenda.
ACCESSIBILITY COMMITMENT
We are committed to making the application process available in languages other than English and to people with disabilities. We are also excited to work with organizations that are new to us. To those ends, we provide:
- Interpretation and translation services (including ASL and/or CART),
- Large-print formats of instructions and applications,
- Alternative application methods, including over the phone, by video or voice recording, and on paper,
- Support from professional grant writers.
Please contact us at grants@inatai.org or 866.389.5532 if you need one of these or another service, and we will do our best to provide it. We know it takes time, trust, and effort to request these services, and thank you for sharing how we can make this process work for you.
Alefba’s virtual Yaldā celebration
Tri-Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s Una En Noche America Latina
ELIGIBILITY CHECKLIST
Not sure if you’re eligible? Here is a checklist:
- You are a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) organization, tribe, or nonprofit corporation based in Washington or providing services to Washington communities.
- Your organization is reflective of and rooted in the communities you serve.
- Your event will take place in Washington or serve Washington communities.
- Your event will take place at least 60 days from the date you apply.
- You have not received a sponsorship from us in the last calendar year.
If you answered yes to all the above, you are eligible! If you have additional questions, review the Application Guidelines below or contact us at sponsorships@inatai.org.
How to apply
We accept sponsorship applications throughout the year and ask to receive them at least 60 days before the event and no more than one year in advance. We encourage you to submit your application as early as possible within that timeframe.
- Review the eligibility checklist and make sure your organization’s request fits the guidelines listed.
- Fill out the online Event Sponsorship Application
- If you have any questions or would like to submit the request in a different language or format, email sponsorships@inatai.org.
What you need to know
Who can apply for sponsorships?
Tribes, 501 (c)(3)s, 501 (c)(4)s, and other nonprofit corporations that meet our eligibility requirements are welcome to apply. Your organization must provide documentation of your tax-exempt status or be sponsored by a fiscal agent who has documented tax-exempt status.
What are the deciding factors for sponsorships?
We are most likely to support organizations whose leadership reflects the communities they serve because we believe the people most affected by racial and social inequities should be at the center of solutions.
Throughout our work, we support organizations led by and serving Black, Indigenous, and other people of color; immigrants and refugees; the queer and disability communities; and people who identify with more than one of these groups.
For sponsorships, we consider the following:
Race/Ethnicity: We evaluate how your event reflects the communities your serve—including your organization’s leadership, the event design, and more—giving preference to culturally specific, multiracial, and cross-racial organizations and events.
Disability/Ability: We prioritize disability-led organizations and those organizing for disabled people to be fully included in society because we recognize that people with disabilities frequently experience health inequities. We also ask applicants to share how a sponsored event will be accessible to all people.
Socioeconomics: We prioritize sponsorships for organizations based in communities experiencing poverty that are led by individuals living with low incomes.
Organization size: We encourage small and mid-size nonprofits to apply and prioritize support for events where sponsorships might have the biggest effect.
Geography: We prioritize areas where philanthropic funding is less common and our support can go further. We give priority to communities outside King County and the surrounding Puget Sound area, recognizing that this is where the bulk of philanthropic funding has gone in our state.
However, we will remain open to applications for events serving under-resourced urban and suburban communities. We welcome applications from organizations serving communities along our state’s borders and from tribes for whom Washington is part of their traditional territory.
What types of events are not typically sponsored?
We do not sponsor the following event types:
- Events hosted by or for the benefit of for-profit organizations
- Partisan political events, dinners, or fundraisers, including those marketed as “bi-partisan”
- Events hosted by large institutions or their affiliate association or friends-of groups (e.g., museums, hospitals and health systems, universities, and grantmaking foundations)
- Classes that take place over the course of a quarter or semester.
- Scholarships, including traditional educational scholarships or requests to sponsor “diverse” attendees at events
- Fundraisers supporting national associations, including their local chapters
- Sports teams, leagues, or associated booster or fan groups
- Schools, booster clubs, or parent-teacher associations. (We will consider community-based organizations hosting events for education equity.)
- Runs, walks, races, bike rides, etc.
- Research and data-gathering projects, including focus groups, town halls, or forums designed to solicit one-way feedback
- Scientific or medical conferences
- Capital campaigns, furniture and equipment, or naming opportunities.
Do you ever make exceptions on event types?
We make rare exceptions to the guidelines above. If you believe your request may be an exception, please contact us at sponsorships@inatai.org or 866.389.5532 with an outline of the event and the reason an exception should be made. This must be done 90 days prior to the event. If an exception is approved, you will then submit a full application subject to the deadlines and evaluation outlined above.
Will Inatai Foundation attend the event?
Organizations may choose to invite our staff, our partners, and other members of our community to participate in sponsored events. You will indicate on the sponsorship application if and how you would like us to participate.
Whether you do or do not want our participation has no effect on your sponsorship request being granted. We ask up front only so we know how we can be most supportive.
How often can an organization apply for sponsorship funding?
Organizations are invited to submit one sponsorship application at a time and may receive a sponsorship for one event per calendar year.