Western Mass Transformation Fund

The recently renamed Western Mass Transformation Fund supports grassroots efforts of communities working towards social justice in Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin, and Berkshire counties of Western Mass, with deliberate attention given to organizations led by people of color. Organizations must have a focus on community organizing and building power for systemic change.

2025 grant awardees include: Decarcerate Western Mass Bailout Project, Our Fire Collective, Seeing Rainbows, and a group that wishes to remain anonymous.  

“This is a precarious time for grassroots organizations working for social justice with many facing loss of funding and political backlash.  To meet the increased need, we doubled many of the grant sizes and increased our funding,” shared Lora Wondolowski, Director of Advancement and Communications. 

Local grantee, Our Fire Collective creates political education opportunities for trauma-exposed workers. “We are determined to heal alongside the fractured communities of public health and education professionals,” says Naqibah Al-Kaleem, co-founder of Our Fire Collective. “These compassionate workers tend to the local impact of de-funding and increased racist and transphobic activity. Meanwhile, they’re grieving and hustling, and we want to support them to stay in their jobs. This grant helps us build ground-level partnerships where it’s needed most right now.” 

Local organizers, youth leaders, students and donor activists serve on the WMTF committee, a participatory and community-driven grantmaking body in which members review applications, conduct interviews and ultimately, making funding recommendations. To apply to serve on the committee, please complete this application. View the job description here.

Questions? email: jessa[at]peacefund.org

WHAT WE FUND:

• Please read our Grant Guidelines to see if your organization is eligible to apply

GRANT SIZE:

The grant range is $1,000 to $5,000.

TO APPLY:

• Applications must be submitted through our online portal, which is linked here. 

For more information, email or call 413-256-8306.