2024 Housing Justice RFP

Request for Proposals

Deadline to Apply: October 8, 2024

About the Foundation

The Horizon Foundation is the largest independent health philanthropy in Maryland. We are committed to a Howard County free from systemic inequities, where all people can live abundant and healthy lives. We fight for equitable and compassionate health and mental health care, access to affordable and safe homes, a community where healthy food is accessible and affordable and where all residents can generate and pass down wealth. Our mission is to work side by side with community to build power, advocate for policy change and dismantle structural racism to achieve better health for everyone in Howard County and greater Maryland.

We also recognize that we can’t do this work alone. We value our community partners and believe that together we can make big change happen in Howard County and greater Maryland. We seek to work with partners that are committed to and/or working toward the goals below.

  • Are community led. We recognize that community leadership and expertise are necessary to address health and racial inequities and that they are closest to the issues and solutions. Partners will demonstrate and use community wisdom, expertise and leadership.
  • Build power. We recognize that building power within communities most impacted by systemic racial inequities will address a history of exclusion and marginalization. We aim to build the voice, leadership and engagement of African American, Asian American, Hispanic and Native American communities.
  • Dismantle structural racism within organizations and institutions. We seek partners that will change the status quo and erase long-standing structural inequities that exist across our community institutions of power.
  • Mobilize for policy change. We seek partners that advocate for policy change at the local, state and regional levels. We recognize that this type of systemic change takes long-term solutions, and we seek to work with partners over a period of time to build the base, create policy wins and catalyze sustained movements.
  • Embody effective stewardship. We seek partners who use disaggregated data and use internal systems to foster learning and accountability of racial equity outcomes. Partners can demonstrate policies and practices that reflect organizational and fiscal health.

We recognize that each organization is on their own unique anti-racism journey and may not have experience in each area above. We seek to strengthen the capacity of organizations so they can more effectively change policies/systems that will eliminate structural racism throughout Howard County.

Please see the “How to Apply” section below to better understand how the above goals are assessed in the application process.

Housing Justice Grant Overview

Centuries of racism have defined and created many of the inequitable structures that exist in our society today and have led to significant health disparities. We view health disparities through the lens of racial equity, because it is the most persistent and difficult to address. We are committed to working to remove structural, institutional and systemic racism that continues to exist in the health, social and economic systems in our community. This grant opportunity will focus on housing inequities in Howard County and greater Maryland.

For many Howard County residents, safe, affordable and quality housing is out of reach due to rising costs, diminishing housing supply and aging housing stock. As a result, a growing number of families and individuals experience housing instability, inadequate living conditions and in many cases homelessness. These challenges reflect the findings of the Foundation’s 2024-2028 strategic plan, which identified housing quality and affordability as key priorities for community members.

Between 2019 and 2022, housing inventory in Maryland decreased by 57%. This shortage has driven up costs for homeowners and renters, making it harder for families to save money and build wealth. In Howard County, 1 in 5 homeowners are cost-burdened and pay more than 30% of their income on housing. Among renters, nearly 7,000 households in Howard County pay over 50% of their income on housing. As one resident shared in a community interview with the Foundation, “We need more housing choices and units. We need housing that people working in the county can afford to live in.”

Ensuring everyone has a safe and affordable place to live will require housing justice strategies rooted in collaboration, coalition and community voice. These strategies must address past and current systemic factors that drive inequities. We also need strategies that engage Black and Latino residents who are disproportionately impacted by housing insecurity. This work must also include older adults, low-wage workers and people with disabilities who face major barriers to securing safe, affordable and accessible housing.


What is Housing Justice? 

From Funders Together to End Homelessness: Housing justice means that everyone has safe, accessible, secure, affordable and dignified living conditions. Housing justice provides a framework for acknowledging and confronting persistent inequities caused by structural racism and other systemic barriers.

Housing Justice Priorities

The Foundation seeks organizational partners to co-create solutions that remove barriers to obtaining and sustaining affordable, high-quality rental housing and home ownership. The first phase of co-creation will focus on three housing priorities over the next two years.

  • Expanding renter protections. We seek partners to lead efforts that create pathways to financial stability for renters, organize and build power among tenants and drive policy change, especially for Black and Brown residents who are disproportionately likely to rent.
  • Sustaining homeownership. We seek partners to support advocacy and scale interventions that preserve housing and help people generate wealth through homeownership. As we learn more about the complex landscape of homeownership, we seek to explore and broaden the impact of promising practices that keep people in their homes such as housing counseling and foreclosure prevention.
  • Strengthening systems to advance housing justice. We seek partners to create a more robust infrastructure for housing justice in Howard County, which includes convening leaders, coalition building, coordinating and designing housing insecurity prevention strategies and elevating policies and practices that spur affordable housing production.


Housing Justice Grant Opportunities

To help us make progress toward the above priorities, the Foundation is making two types of grant opportunities available. Organizations can be considered for one or both opportunities. Additionally, organizations must be committed to at least one of the above housing priorities.  We seek organizations committed to partnering with us through the following opportunities:

  • (1) Organizing and Advocacy: Grantees will be awarded up to $100,000. Grantees may receive funding for up to 2 years. Funding will support organizations to co-create solutions focused on the above housing priorities. Strategies/Activities could include tenant organizing, policy change, power building and community engagement. Grantees will be expected to collaborate with the Foundation and fellow grantees in a co-creation process that will begin January 2025.
  • (2) Housing Service Provider Workgroup: Grantees will be awarded up to $10,000 to participate in a workgroup that will identify prevention strategies to address housing insecurity, explore ways to strengthen service coordination and make policy recommendations to support systems change. Grantees will be expected to select 1 – 2 representatives to attend 6 bimonthly meetings from January – December 2025.

Additional Grantee Support

The Horizon Foundation is committed to practicing trust-centered philanthropy – a holistic approach to grantmaking that is rooted in shared values and true partnership with grantees, where grantees not only provide input but co-create programs and policy solutions that achieve our joint vision of social change.

We also recognize that grant making has inherent power dynamics and we seek to change those dynamics and build more collaborative relationships with our grantees that allows for greater risk-taking, learning, and ultimately is more impactful and equitable for our community.

For this grant opportunity these principles show up in the following ways:

  • Co-Creation: Together, selected grantees and the Foundation will develop equitable decision-making approaches to advance housing solutions in the county. Grantees, alongside the Foundation and community, will work together to co-create solutions to the complex housing challenges in Howard County after grant funding has been awarded.
  • Flexible Funding: All selected grantees will be awarded an operating grant to allow for more innovation, emergent action and sustainability.
  • New Grantee Experience: Selected grantees will participate in a collaborative learning journey with other grantees to help foster a stronger sense of community and a deeper learning of racial equity and organizing advocacy principles. All grantees will be expected to participate in 4 (Quarterly) convenings that will include the following:
    • Racial equity & anti-racism coaching/activities
    • Community organizing training/activities

Additionally, on demand technical assistance and coaching will be provided in areas uplifted by each grantee throughout the project period.

How to Apply:

As stated above the Foundation is seeking grantees that are excited to work alongside the Foundation and community to co-create solutions to complex health challenges in Howard County. This grant application is designed to better understand your organization by assessing passion, experience, capacity and commitment to working on housing justice strategies in Howard County and/or greater Maryland.

Listed below are examples of the type of questions you will see in the application:

  • What does embedding racial equity into your organization’s work look like? (Provide examples)
  • Describe your experience working with and/or serving communities of color?
  • When it comes to building community power, what do you think your organization brings to the table?
  • List the top three organizations/groups/people you work with and describe your partnership.

All applications must be submitted using our online grants system. Preview the grant application questions in this PDF. The deadline to submit the application is October 8, 2024. 

Additional Eligibility Criteria:

  • Proposals will be accepted from organizations that envision a Howard County free from systemic inequities, where all people can live abundant and healthy lives.
  • Organizations must be: (a) tax-exempt under IRS Section 501(c)3 or (b) have a fiscal sponsor that is tax-exempt under IRS Section 501(c)3.
  • The grant period for grantees is from January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025. If a grantee is awarded a multi-year grant, the grant period is January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2026.

Selection Process and Timeline

After an initial review of applications, Horizon Foundation will select finalists to participate in follow up conversation with Foundation Staff and/or board. Communication from Horizon Foundation will go out to all applicants about the status of their application and/or logistics for a finalist interview. Please see below for the full timeline of the decision-making process.

  • October 8, 2024: Application closes at 11:59:59 EST
  • October 11 – 25, 2024: Application Review Period
  • Applicant Follow-Up Conversations:
    • Housing Service Provider Workgroup Applicants:
      • Week of October 28th and/or November 4th
      • Virtual Conversations
    • Organizing and Advocacy Finalists:
      • November 12th 4:30-7:30 PM or November 14th; 4:30-7:30PM
      • In Person at the Horizon Foundation
    • November 19, 2024: Grantees Notified

Interested in learning more? Attend our info sessions.

We will host two information sessions to explain the Request for Proposals and answer any questions you may have. View the recording of the information session here.

For questions on the grant opportunity, please contact Senior Program Officer, Kristina Gray-Akpa at kgrayakpa@thehorizonfoundation.org.

For assistance with the grant system, please contact Program Director, Kenitra Fokwa at kfokwa@thehorizonfoundation.org.