In the land of grassroots organizations, someone needs to plant the seeds. The AGAPE foundation got its start as an anti-war and civil rights group embedded in the progressive soil of San Francisco in the late 1960s. Taking their name from the Greek word for "unselfish love," the foundation continues to help the smallest of social justice groups get off the ground. The times, though, they are a changin'--one of the most recent groups to receive a seed grant from AGAPE was the Exotic Dancer's Alliance, which led the drive to unionize performers at the Lusty Lady this past summer.

Twice a year AGAPE awards grants to local organizations that are less than five years old and have budgets of less than $100,000. Beyond handing out the nonprofit version of venture capital, AGAPE lends technical support to emerging environmental, worker's rights, pro-peace and gay and lesbian groups. Amidst the storm of federal cutbacks and disconcerting popular trends of miserliness, the foundation serves as an umbrella for the next season's crop of grassroots organizations to huddle under.

Contact AGAPE for grant proposal guidelines. --Marc Vogl