Deadline: 8:00pm (Eastern) on the first business day of the month
Frequency: No more than one application every 6 months

Official documents, including letters of intent, proposals, and supporting documents must be emailed to grants [at] drugpolicy [dot] org to be considered received.

Application Process

Proposals for the Special Opportunities fund are accepted on a rolling basis until funds are expended. The maximum request is $25,000, though generally grant awards range from $5,000 to $10,000. Organizations may only submit one proposal within a six month period. Only in exceptional circumstances will organizations receive two Special Opportunity Fund grants in a single year. Additionally, organizations that receive PPC funds will be subject to an even higher level of review.

Awards are usually made within six to eight weeks, and due to the volume of requests, there are occasions when it will certainly take as long as eight weeks to assess whether or not we are able to fund a proposal. During this time, please feel free to reach out to grants director, asha bandele at abandele [at] drugpolicy [dot] org with any questions.

To apply, please email your proposal to grants [at] drugpolicy [dot] org. Proposal guidelines are detailed in the application linked below. Proposals are due by 8pm (Eastern) on the first business day of the month. Documents that are not sent to grants [at] drugpolicy [dot] org will not be considered.

Program

The monthly Special Opportunities fund provides strategic grants to organizations whose projects aim to achieve maximum impact on drug policy reform. We invite proposals designed to educate the public and policymakers about the negative consequences of current local, state or national drug policies, to promote better awareness and understanding of alternatives to current drug policies, and to broaden understanding of the extent to which punitive prohibitionist policies are responsible for most drug-related problems. Preference is given to those projects that are time-sensitive.

The Special Opportunities fund prioritizes organizations focused on one or more of the following:

• Public education campaigns and litigation to raise awareness of the negative consequences of current local, state and national drug policies.
• Organizing and mobilizing constituencies that raise awareness about the negative consequences of local, state or national drug policies.
• We favor public education efforts that speak to: (1) the failures and consequences of drug policies in the U.S. and the potential benefits of alternatives to prohibition; (2) reducing over-reliance on the criminal justice system by raising awareness of the need for alternatives to incarceration and/or health-based approaches to drug use; (3) discrimination in employment, housing, student loans and other benefits against those who use drugs or who have been convicted of drug law violations; (4) the negative consequences of current drug policies on human rights; and (5) efforts that mobilize people around the disproportionate impact of the drug war on communities of color and youth.

Special Opportunities Proposal Guidelines

Guidelines can be found in the application linked below.

The following must be included with your proposal:

1. Organizational Cover Sheet & Proposal Instructions
2. Copies of your current project budget (including income and expenses), and your organization’s overall budget for the current and previous year.