SABA-DC Community Empowerment Grant

Every year, SABA-DC provides an annual grant to 501(c)(3) organizations for an initiative or project that enhances equal opportunity within and across communities in the National Capital Region. The number of grants awarded, as well as the amount of each grant, will be determined by the SABA-DC Community Empowerment Grant Committee and is based on SABA­-DC’s fundraising efforts and the number of quality applicants it receives. The application for SABA-DC's 2025 Community Empowerment Grant is NOW OPEN. Please fill out the application form below by August 1, 2025.

Submit Grant Application Here

Questions? Please reach out to SABADC.ceg@gmail.com.

Timeline

Jun 17, 2025: Grant Application Open

August 1, 2025: Deadline for Application Submission

September 1, 2025: Grant Winners Notified

October 18, 2025: Grantees Recognized at Gala

About the SABA-DC Community Empowerment Grant

The South Asian Bar Association of Washington, D.C. (SABA-DC) is a voluntary bar association dedicated to the needs, concerns, and interests of the South Asian legal community in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

SABA-DC's key objectives are to:

• Advance the professional development of South Asian lawyers and law students in the D.C. metropolitan area;

• Provide a forum for professional and social networking;

• Increase awareness and dialogue regarding legal issues facing South Asians in the United States;

• Improve access to legal services for the South Asian community in the D.C. metropolitan area, particularly among the least fortunate; and

• Promote a greater understanding of the legal, political, economic, and cultural environment of South Asia and its people.

SABA-DC invites eligible organizations to apply for its Community Empowerment Grant by submitting proposals for innovative and effective projects and initiatives that enhance equality in and across our communities. The purpose of this funding is to encourage, empower, and engage various initiatives by funding projects that benefit the National Capital Region. We focus on funding projects on a range of issues including education, community building, access to justice, combating hate crimes, discrimination and profiling, as well as others.

Grant Selection Criteria

• To be eligible for funding, the organization must be principally and physically located in the National Capital Region, which includes D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.

• Non-profit and community-based organizations with 501(c)(3) status are eligible to apply as a primary applicant.

• Governments, public schools, public colleges, and public universities cannot be a primary applicant. Organizations or initiatives associated or affiliated with a government, public school, public college, or public university may apply as a primary applicant (e.g., a student organization, a parent-teacher association, an individual affiliated with the institution).

• The Community Empowerment Grant provides funding to recipients whose organizational projects meet one or more of the following goals:

• • Provide opportunities, such as workshops or training, to address inequities and effectively act or advocate to enhance equal opportunity within and across communities.

  • Broaden the conversation on how to support communities in furthering equal opportunity.

  • Strengthen the local community culture of inclusion and belonging.

  • Address community equity (individual, institutional, or structural), thereby expanding the range of voices in the National Capital Region

Funding Distribution

SABA-DC Non-Discrimination Policy