Guidelines for InterPlay
Racial Equity & Transformation
Mini Grants 2022

Download a pdf version of the guidelines.

RET Mini Grant Illustration Hello InterPlayers:

We are pleased to be able to continue to offer Racial Equity and Transformation (RET) Mini-Grants for a third year! These small grants help to support projects that give expression to Body Wisdom’s Racial Equity & Transformation Statement by “sewing cultural competency into the fabric of our teaching, training, communications, and outreach.” Over the past two years we have funded 15 fantastic projects by talented InterPlayers that bring life to Body Wisdom’s RET Statement. We are looking forward to continuing to uplift the work of creatives, community and cultural workers at a time when your voices and understanding of equity and inclusion are needed to support racial justice and liberation. The body wisdom and voices of Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color in particular are needed now more than ever.

In 2023 we will continue to invite all Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) InterPlay Leaders to enliven the Racial Equity and Transformation Statement through your offerings and activities. We especially seek to support and center the body wisdom and leadership of Black InterPlay Leaders and the work within their communities. We also welcome multiracial collaborations—including those co-led by white allies—when the project centers BIPOC leadership and participation. We especially encourage projects that focus on deepening engagement with RET work within our InterPlay communities or that connects the body-wise practices of InterPlay with the RET work of other organizations within our communities.

There will be some changes to the program this year. One of the bigger changes is that we will be moving from a quarterly application cycle to a bi-annual cycle. This means that, instead of four application deadlines throughout the year, we will only have two—in June and December. We are currently engaged in fundraising efforts to replenish and grow our capacity to support projects. However, with limited funds at our disposal, we will only be able to approve a limited number of applications this year. Depending on the number of applications that we receive, this could mean that we may not be able to fund all worthy projects. Priority will be given to first-time grantees, but previous grant recipients are also welcome to re-apply to support new projects. Please review the following for a fuller understanding of the application process.

Looking forward to receiving your application!

Purpose

InterPlay Leaders are invited to explore ways to engage the InterPlay Racial Equity and Transformation Statement in your play communities, and/or with people and organizations that are connected to the spirit of InterPlay and racial equity and transformation. The activities will ultimately be what you feel are most effective in your context and communities. The purpose of these grants is to uplift BIPOC Leaders to play with and explore integration of the Racial Equity Transformation Statement by:

creating opportunities for BIPOC Leaders to enliven and integrate the InterPlay Racial Equity and Transformation statement within your InterPlay communities of play using InterPlay forms and tools

strengthening relationships between InterPlay leaders and new people/organizations from your community in order to explore issues of racial equity and transformation from diverse perspectives and engagement in systemic justice and change

fostering community collaborations among and between InterPlay Leaders and your communities and thereby deepen the understanding of how to better co-exist in the changing landscape of global societies and how to thrive alongside one another

increasing access to professional development opportunities, learning exchanges and resource-sharing among leaders based on experiences through RET funded grants

strengthening InterPlay’s reach throughout the USA and internationally by increasing the capacity of Leaders—especially Leaders of Color—to support the overall InterPlay vision, mission and values

Possible Offerings

We invite a wide and creative scope of ways in which the offerings/activities take place—from workshops and gatherings to installations and creative inquiries. Projects can be either in-person or virtual, and given the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic we are flexible with projects that need to shift format after the application process. Resources and support are available to assist in the transition from in-person to virtual format—including professional Zoom account access and support on leading InterPlay online.

Possible offerings could include but are not limited to:

Hosting a workshop to support reflection and learning around systemic racism and its impact on BIPOC body spirit, either within your current InterPlay community or with another community you are a part of
Connect and collaborate on an initiative or workshop with a local organization, high school/college or faith institution that is connected to the spirit of InterPlay and racial equity
An activity that invites diverse cultures, mixed-race, intergenerational/multicultural play and which encourages participation among youth, elders, LGBTQ, people of color, indigenous and more to connect
Public/online art installation, performance, collaborative creative inquiry/study

Eligibility Criteria:

Applicants must be either a Certified InterPlay Leader or Leader-in-Training. If you are a Leader-In-Training, your application must be supported by a Certified Leader who will offer on-going mentorship in your offering.
The project must be (co-)created and (co-)facilitated by BIPOC leaders—this means that Black, Indigenous, and People Of Color (BIPOC) InterPlay leaders/community collaborators are a guiding presence in the offering from inception to completion. White InterPlay leaders can receive grants as part of a multiracial team that centers BIPOC leadership and participation.
The project must engage a diverse population of participants, including substantial BIPOC participation.

2022 Grant Schedule & Deadlines

The Racial Equity and Transformation committee will fund projects at levels ranging from $250-$1000. The number of granted projects will depend on how many applications are received in each cycle, the amount of funding requested by each applicant, and the availability of funds. Priority will be given to first-time grantees and to projects making the most economical use of funds. Below is a detailed schedule of the two grant cycles for 2022. This year’s grant cycles will align with the Summer and Winter Solstices. Each grantee has a full year to complete grant activities and an additional 30 days to submit a final report (link below). If you receive a grant, please complete your final report—including images from the event—within thirty days of your project’s conclusion.

Please submit the application (link below) by the end of day on the deadline in your time zone. After submitting your application form, please send an email to RET@interplay.org to letting us know that you have submitted so that we can confirm receipt of your application. This will help us to avoid misunderstanding in case form submissions are not properly captured by the submission form. We also encourage you to type your answers in a saved document on your computer and then copy and paste them into the form in order to avoid the loss of your work. If you need additional time to complete your application, please email us to let us know of your plans to apply and to request a short extension—while we need to coordinate review, we are more eager to receive your application than to apply a strict deadline.

Please Note: Applicants can only apply for one project per cycle, but can apply in both cycles. Again, preference will be given to funding first-time recipients.

Cycle 1: Summer Solstice

Application Due: June 21, 2022
Notify Grantee: July 23, 2022
Period for Grant Activities: July 22, 2022 – July 22, 2023
Final Report Due No Later Than: August 21, 2023

Cycle 2: Winter Solstice

Application Due: December 30, 2022
Notify Grantee: January 30, 2023
Period for Grant Activities: January 30, 2023 – January 30, 2024
Final Report Due: February 21, 2024

RET Statement & Forms

Please review the InterPlay Racial Equity and Transformation Statement.

RET Mini-Grants Application Form

RET Mini-Grants Final Report Form

Both the application & report form are Google forms which are submitted directly online. We highly recommend writing and saving your responses in a word file before submitting your form.