[Communications] Application Deadline Approaching Aya Initiative Year Two (Supporting Black Chicagoans Committed to Nature and the Environment

[Aya]

Guided by the collective wisdom of an advisory group, the Prince Charitable Trusts’ Aya Initiative seeks to support Black-led and Black-serving organizations that are actively engaging Chicago neighborhoods/communities and the people who thrive in them around nature and the environment. The application deadline is March 13, 2023 @ 5pm CST. We want to contribute to organizations and their staff that are committed to and nourished by nature and the environment; and whose work is aligned with at least one of the following strategic focus areas: 

  *   Healing the Village: We seek to encourage Black people to engage in self-care/soul-care practices and acquire lifelong skills while moving their bodies in and around nature. Potential activities include but are not limited to: archery, biking, bird watching, camping, fishing, floral arrangement, hiking, ice skating, kayaking, ceremony, running clubs, outside sports, sailing, and skiing.

  *   Strengthening the Village: We seek to support activities that help Black-led and Black-serving environmental organizations and their staff to connect with opportunities, learn new things that can be shared, remain resilient, and realize their short- and long-term goals. Potential activities include but are not limited to: seeking training or other capacity-building opportunities, hosting workshops, technology upgrades, mentorship, fundraising, intentional collaborations and learning cohorts.

  *   Amplifying Village Voices: We seek to foster dialogue, build bridges between Black and Brown communities, shape, uplift, and advance our narratives/porch stories, hold our own accountable, and advance or advocate for policy changes. Potential activities include but are not limited to: joint gatherings, informal conversations, signing and translations, advocacy and activism, social media efforts and strategies, print and broadcast journalism, partnerships between individuals and organizations, intergenerational dialogues, and policy or community organizing campaigns.

  *   Fostering Village Creativity/Imagination: We seek to celebrate endeavors that envision a future in which water, land, and air nourish instead of harm Black neighborhoods and people, transforms and transmutes past environmental trauma, and encourages the practice of environmental stewardship across the diaspora. Potential activities include but are not limited to: research innovative ways to increase urban agriculture, performance, art installations, comic books, graphic novels with a special intersectional focus on Afrofuturism1, photography exhibits, curriculum development.

The Aya Initiative held an information session on Wednesday, February 22 @ 2pm Click here to view a recording of the session<https://princetrusts.org/chicago/>


You can find complete eligibility and application details in The Aya Initiative Request for Proposals<https://princetrusts.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2023-AYAINITIATIVERFP2.10.pdf>. To apply, please complete and submit your application through GOapply,<http://goapply2.akoyago.com/prince> Prince Charitable Trusts online grants management system, by 5:00pm on Monday, March 13, 2023.



The Aya Initiative Advisory Council



We are holding office hours this Thursday, March 9 from 10am - 12pm. Click here to register<https://calendly.com/mstewart-princetrusts/aya23?month=2023-03> for a 15-minute phone conversation to ask questions as you complete your proposal.

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