Build Community Solidarity Infrastructure with Grant Funding

Solidarity infrastructure—time banks, tool libraries, community workshops, and resource sharing platforms—forms the backbone of resilient, connected neighborhoods. These systems help communities pool resources, share skills, and support one another outside traditional market economies. If you're ready to launch or expand solidarity infrastructure in your area, this grant application template will help you make your case for funding.

What is Solidarity Infrastructure?

Solidarity infrastructure includes any organized system that helps community members share resources, skills, time, and tools on a reciprocal, non-commercial basis. Examples include:

• Time banking systems where members exchange services based on time rather than money
• Tool libraries that lend power tools, garden equipment, and specialized items
• Community workshop spaces offering shared access to equipment for woodworking, sewing, bike repair, and more
• Resource sharing platforms for everything from seed libraries to skill-sharing networks
• Repair cafés and fix-it clinics that extend the life of household items
• Little free libraries, pantries, and fridges providing open access to books and food

These initiatives build community wealth, reduce waste, strengthen social bonds, and make neighborhoods more resilient in the face of economic or environmental challenges.

Why Use Paperform for Your Grant Application?

Paperform makes it easy to create professional, on-brand grant applications that collect all the information funders need to evaluate your solidarity infrastructure project. With our intuitive editor, you can build forms that feel welcoming and accessible—matching the values of the community work you're applying to fund.

Key features for grant applications:

• Conditional logic to show different questions based on project type (time bank vs. tool library vs. workshop space)
• File uploads for supporting documents like budgets, letters of support, floor plans, and partnership agreements
• Calculation fields to automatically total budget line items and show funding gaps
• Multi-page layouts to organize complex applications into digestible sections
• Custom success pages to thank applicants and explain next steps in the review process
• Secure data collection with SOC 2 Type II compliance to protect sensitive organizational information

Streamline Your Grantmaking Process with Stepper

Once applications come in, Stepper can automate your review and approval workflows. Set up multi-step processes that route applications to review committees, send acknowledgment emails, request additional information, schedule interviews with finalists, and notify applicants of decisions—all triggered automatically based on submission data.

For example, you could create a workflow that:

1. Sends an immediate confirmation email to applicants
2. Notifies your grants committee via Slack when new applications arrive
3. Creates a review task in your project management tool with all application details
4. Schedules follow-up emails at key review milestones
5. Triggers different email sequences for approved, waitlisted, and declined applications

Who Should Use This Template?

This solidarity infrastructure grant application template is designed for:

• Community foundations funding grassroots mutual aid and resource sharing
• Municipal grants programs supporting neighborhood resilience initiatives
• Progressive foundations investing in community wealth building
• Credit unions and cooperative lenders with community development funds
• Neighborhood councils and community development corporations distributing local grants
• Nonprofit intermediaries re-granting to community-led projects

It's also ideal for community organizers, mutual aid networks, tool library coordinators, and time bank administrators who need a straightforward way to apply for funding.

What Makes Solidarity Infrastructure Grants Different?

Traditional grant applications often focus heavily on nonprofit credentials, formal governance structures, and outcome metrics designed for service delivery organizations. Solidarity infrastructure projects, by contrast, are frequently led by informal collectives, newer organizations, or grassroots groups that operate on different models.

This template balances funder accountability needs with respect for diverse organizational structures. It asks about governance and fiscal sponsorship options, recognizes the value of in-kind contributions and volunteer labor, and invites applicants to describe community impact in ways that go beyond standard metrics.

Customize This Template for Your Program

While this template provides a solid foundation, you can easily adapt it to your specific funding priorities:

• Add questions about equity, accessibility, or environmental sustainability goals
• Include fields for specific budget categories your program requires
• Request information about partnership with local government or anchor institutions
• Ask about plans for long-term sustainability beyond the grant period
• Require letters of support from community members or partner organizations

Paperform's doc-style editor makes it simple to add, remove, or rearrange questions—no coding required. You can preview exactly how your form will look and test the user experience before publishing.

Trusted by Grantmakers and Community Organizations

Paperform is trusted by over 500,000 teams worldwide, including nonprofits, foundations, community organizations, and municipal governments. Our platform is SOC 2 Type II and GDPR compliant, giving both grantmakers and applicants confidence that sensitive information is handled securely.

With 30,000+ form templates to choose from, Paperform supports all kinds of community work—from volunteer applications and event registrations to donation forms and program feedback surveys. If your organization relies on forms to connect with your community, Paperform gives you the tools to do it beautifully and efficiently.

Get Started Today

Ready to launch your solidarity infrastructure grant program? Start with this template, customize it to reflect your funding priorities and values, and begin accepting applications in minutes. With Paperform, you can spend less time wrestling with clunky form builders and more time supporting the community initiatives that will build a more resilient, connected future.