Diverse City Fund
Diverse City Fund is a community-led nonprofit grantmaking organization in Washington, DC that provides unrestricted grants of $5,000-$25,000 to grassroots racial justice groups led by people of color. Founded in 2011, it has funded 1,000+ projects and redistributed over $7 million.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersWashington, District of Columbia, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Diverse City Fund does
Diverse City Fund (also known as DC Fund) is a community-led nonprofit grantmaking organization founded in 2010-2011 and headquartered in Washington, DC. The organization redistributes philanthropic capital to grassroots groups led by Black, Brown, and Indigenous people of color working on racial justice, community organizing, and healing justice in DC. It operates four primary grant programs—Sprouting Fund (new groups), Budding Fund (emerging organizations), Flowering Fund (established organizations), and a Rolling Fund for emergent needs—with grant sizes ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 depending on organizational budget tier. Applications are managed through the OpenWater online portal, and bilingual (English/Spanish) info sessions plus one-on-one application assistance support applicant access.
The organization employs a participatory grantmaking model in which 100% of grantmaking decisions are collectively made by a rotating Grantmaking Team of DC-based activists of color. Since 2011, the fund has redistributed over $7 million to more than 1,000 people-of-color-led projects and provided over $1.2 million in grants in 2024 alone. Beyond financial capital, DC Fund provides social capital through Grantee Forums, capacity-building webinars, skill-building scholarships, and community convenings, with an organic pipeline in which former grantees join the Grantmaking Team and may later serve on the Board of Instigators.
Revenue is generated through individual donor contributions and grants from other foundations, channeled through fiscal sponsor Social Good Fund. The organization transitioned from a volunteer-run entity to one with professional staff beginning around 2020, hiring its inaugural Executive Director (Tamira Benitez) in 2022 and adding a Program Manager, Administrative Coordinator, and Communications Intern by late 2023. As of the most recent reporting, the staff comprises approximately 5 people.
Diverse City Fund firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Diverse City Fund
- Legal name
- Diverse City Fund
- Website
- https://diversecityfund.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Diverse City Fund is a community-led nonprofit grantmaking organization in Washington, DC that provides unrestricted grants of $5,000-$25,000 to grassroots racial justice groups led by people of color. Founded in 2011, it has funded 1,000+ projects and redistributed over $7 million.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Diverse City Fund industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Community Foundation / Philanthropic Grantmaking
- NAICS
- Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)
Keywords
Where Diverse City Fund is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Washington, District of Columbia
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Diverse City Fund business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Donor Contributions: DC Fund receives funding from individual donor partners who contribute to support grassroots racial justice work in DC. Donors can contribute through online donation portals or by mailing paper checks to their office.
- Grants to DC Fund: As a community foundation, DC Fund also receives grants from other foundations and philanthropic organizations to redistribute to DC grassroots groups.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Diverse City Fund product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Diverse City Fund is a community-led grantmaking organization that provides flexible, unrestricted financial support in the form of grants (typically $5,000 to $25,000) to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)-led grassroots organizations in Washington, DC working on racial justice, community organizing, and healing justice. The organization operates a participatory grantmaking model in which a rotating Grantmaking Team of activists of color makes 100% of funding decisions, and supplements grants with capacity-building services such as Grantee Forums, skill-building webinars, scholarships, and community spaces, while publishing the Compass Report impact assessment.
Product overview
Diverse City Fund is a community-led grantmaking organization dedicated to racial justice that offers a portfolio of grant programs for DC-based grassroots groups led by people of color. The organization operates several distinct grant programs: Sprouting Fund (for new groups), Budding Fund (for emerging organizations), Flowering Fund (for established groups), and a Rolling Fund (for emergent needs). Beyond direct grantmaking, the organization provides capacity building services, facilitates Grantee Forums for knowledge sharing, publishes impact reports through its Compass Council initiative, and offers community-building resources to support the emergence and growth of systemic change efforts in DC community organizing, advocacy, and healing justice groups.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Sprouting Fund Grant program for new applicants and grassroots organizations just getting started, providing flexible unrestricted general operating support for BIPOC-led groups doing racial justice work in DC, with a maximum grant of $10,000 for launching projects.
- Budding Fund Grant program supporting emerging grassroots organizations and projects focused on racial justice and systemic change in Washington, DC, providing flexible unrestricted funding for organizations between Sprouting and Flowering tiers.
- Flowering Fund Grant program for more established Washington, DC organizations working on racial justice, community organizing, and systemic change, providing flexible unrestricted general operating support up to $25,000.
- Special Opportunity Fund A grant program for special opportunities and emerging needs that fall outside the regular DC Fund grant cycles, designed to provide flexible unrestricted support for time-sensitive opportunities for DC-based BIPOC-led groups.
- Rolling Fund A rolling grant offering up to $5,000 in additional funding that eligible DC Fund grantee partners can access when challenges emerge outside regular grant cycles, providing rapid response for emergent needs.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over $7 million redistributed to DC communities since 2011
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Diverse City Fund
Customer profileNamed customers11 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Diverse City Fund technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Diverse City Fund partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Social Good FundcoreSocial Good Fund serves as DC Fund's fiscal sponsor. Donors can make checks payable to Social Good Fund (designating Diverse City Fund in the memo line) and mail to DC Fund's address. This is a critical operational partnership that enables DC Fund's 501(c)(3) status and financial operations.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Diverse City Fund competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Ford Foundation: One of the largest US foundations with significant racial justice grantmaking. Overlaps with DC Fund's mission but operates globally with a much larger asset base, broader programmatic scope, and traditional (non-participatory) grantmaking governance.
- Open Society Foundations: A global foundation supporting racial justice, migration, and democratic governance. Comparable in supporting BIPOC-led movements but operates internationally with substantially greater resources and a less participatory grantmaking approach.
Direct peers
- Third Wave Fund: A youth-led participatory grantmaking fund supporting gender, racial, and economic justice organizing. Comparable to DC Fund in its community-led model, small staff, and focus on resourcing emerging BIPOC-led movements.
- Liberation Ventures: A pooled fund run by and for Black social justice leaders, redistributing resources to Black movement infrastructure. Comparable to DC Fund in its mission focus on racial justice, participatory governance, and small operating model.
- Akonadi Foundation: A Oakland-based foundation supporting racial justice organizing through general operating support to BIPOC-led groups. Comparable to DC Fund in mission, grantmaking approach, and small operational footprint, though geographically focused on the Bay Area.
- Hill-Snowdon Foundation: A family foundation supporting DC-based BIPOC-led grassroots organizations through multi-year general operating support. Highly comparable to DC Fund in DC geographic focus, unrestricted funding model, and grantee-driven grantmaking approach.
- Solidaire: A network of high-net-worth donors funding Black, Brown, and Indigenous movement organizing. Comparable to DC Fund as a movement-aligned grantmaking intermediary prioritizing BIPOC-led grassroots groups with unrestricted funding.
- Groundswell Fund: A leading community-led grantmaking fund focused on racial, gender, and reproductive justice. Directly comparable to DC Fund as a pooled philanthropic vehicle prioritizing movement-led grantmaking, and was featured at DC Fund's 10th Anniversary Forum.
- Borealis Philanthropy: A philanthropic intermediary that aggregates resources from multiple foundations and redistributes to racial justice movements. Directly comparable to DC Fund in mission, pooled-grant structure, and movement-led funding priorities.
Regional players
- Meyer Foundation: A DC-area private foundation funding equity, racial justice, and economic opportunity in the greater Washington region. Comparable as a DC-based foundation supporting BIPOC-led organizing, but operates at a larger scale with broader issue and geographic scope.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Diverse City Fund social profiles
Digital presenceDiverse City Fund financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Diverse City Fund leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Diverse City Fund funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Diverse City Fund M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Diverse City Fund
What does Diverse City Fund do?
Diverse City Fund is a community-led grantmaking organization that provides flexible, unrestricted financial support in the form of grants (typically $5,000 to $25,000) to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)-led grassroots organizations in Washington, DC working on racial justice, community organizing, and healing justice. The organization operates a participatory grantmaking model in which a rotating Grantmaking Team of activists of color makes 100% of funding decisions, and supplements grants with capacity-building services such as Grantee Forums, skill-building webinars, scholarships, and community spaces, while publishing the Compass Report impact assessment.
Is Diverse City Fund a public or private company?
Diverse City Fund is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Diverse City Fund founded?
Diverse City Fund was founded in 2011. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Diverse City Fund based?
Diverse City Fund is headquartered in Washington, District of Columbia, United States, in the North America region.
How does Diverse City Fund make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Donor Contributions are the primary driver. The others are grants to DC Fund.
Who are Diverse City Fund's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Ford Foundation and Open Society Foundations. Direct peers are Third Wave Fund, Liberation Ventures, Akonadi Foundation, Hill-Snowdon Foundation, Solidaire, Groundswell Fund and Borealis Philanthropy. Meyer Foundation is listed as a regional player.
Does Diverse City Fund have an API?
No public API is recorded for Diverse City Fund.
What industry is Diverse City Fund in?
Diverse City Fund's product category is Community Foundation / Philanthropic Grantmaking. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAKAN, Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations, with a secondary code of BPAGAKAB, Community Foundations. Its NAICS code is 813211 and its SIC code is 8300.