Tuesday is equity & justice day on The Grant Brief.

All three fund advocacy, reform, and movement infrastructure — not direct service. Two are rolling; one closes in ten days. And their grant histories say very different things about what a real award looks like.

What we know: NCF made 281 grants totaling $16.6 million in its latest filing year, but the median was just $30,000 (range $500 to $800,000) — so the $250K headline is the ceiling, not the norm. Grantmaking concentrates in California (25%), New York (24%), and D.C. (15%), about two-thirds of all grants. Top recipients include the New Israel Fund ($932K over six grants) and two fiscal sponsors — Social Good Fund ($455K) and Tides ($350K) — so a meaningful share flows through intermediaries. The Israel-Palestine portfolio is invitation-only; everything else takes proposals year-round.

Realistic fit: advocacy or systems-change nonprofits with a clear theory of change, not direct service. Budget to the $30K median, expect a multi-year relationship, and know that Southern geography and prior NCF ties both help.

What we know: Public Welfare made 210 grants totaling $25.5 million last filing year, with a median of $100,000 — more than three times NCF's — and nearly all of it unrestricted operating support, which is rare. The focus is criminal- and youth-justice reform through a racial-equity lens; top recipients are the Vera Institute of Justice ($725K), the Just Trust, and Foundation for Louisiana. It tilts South and Midwest: Louisiana (13%) is its single largest state, ahead of New York (12%), D.C. (9%), and Colorado (8%).

Realistic fit: organizations advancing criminal- or youth-justice reform in Public Welfare's priority jurisdictions. The $100K median and unrestricted terms make this one of the strongest operating-support options here — but it rewards established reform groups, not early-stage ones.

What we know: A small family foundation (about $4 million in annual grants on $81 million in assets) that funds through giving circles, including this one for racial equity, minority leadership, criminal-justice reform, and economic opportunity for communities of color. Honest caveat: it files grant detail as a single attached schedule, so individual award sizes and recipients aren't visible in its 990 — you can't size a typical grant from the data, and giving-circle awards tend to be modest and relationship-driven. Annual cycle, letter of inquiry first; the current window closes July 10.

Realistic fit: nonprofits led by or serving communities of color working on racial equity, leadership, or justice reform — open nationally. Treat the LOI as a relationship-opener, since award amounts aren't public.