Mission
The Apostle Islands Area Human Rights Fund supports efforts to promote tolerance, understanding and respect for all and to combat bigotry and discrimination by engaging people in dialogue, discussion, relationship-building, cross-cultural awareness and interaction. 

Human rights include:

• Respect for the dignity, freedom and equality of everyone
• The right to work with fair remuneration, in just conditions and without discrimination
• The right to organize, to freely assemble and to freely associate
• The right to an adequate standard of living, including food, clothing, housing, health care and personal security
• The right to freedom of thought, religion and expression
• The right to participate in the cultural life of the community.

The advisory board recommends grants from the Human Rights Fund. Applications are invited for projects that impact human rights in the Bayfield-Madeline Island-Red Cliff/Gaa-Miskwaabikaang region and fall within one or more of the following categories:

• Education, such as: workshops, seminars, lectures, conferences, articles, publications and media productions (includes covering the costs of speakers, materials and marketing)
• Mediation and conflict resolution, such as: activities to address conflict situations through community efforts toward consensus and understanding (includes covering the costs of mediators and meeting costs)
• Celebrations, such as: festivals, exhibits and performances on human rights issues (includes covering the costs of artists, materials and marketing)

The fund will consider applications for community intervention or emergency-response grants to address specific incidents. The fund accepts such applications at any time of the year. Intervention or emergency response grants follow the same application procedure, with  decisions as soon as possible.

The fund prioritizes projects that:

• Clearly define the type of project (education, mediation, celebration or conflict resolution) and the specific problem
• Describe how the project promotes tolerance and/or combats bigotry and discrimination, raises awareness, promotes understanding and respect and/or heals damage caused by discrimination
• Show the capacity of the organization to carry out the project
• Have an adequate budget and a clear plan for funding the project or program. 

Eligibility
To be eligible to apply for funding, an organization must:

• Be classified as a charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or classified as an organization under Section 170(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code or have a fiscal sponsor classified as a charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or an organization under Section 170(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code
• Provide service to residents of the Apostle Islands Area Community Fund’s service area, defined as: the Town of La Pointe, Red Cliff/Gaa-Miskwaabikaang Reservation, the Town of Russell, the City of Bayfield and the Town of Bayfield.

Grant range
Grants generally range from $300 to $5,000.

Application timeline

Spring 2024 Grant Cycle

• Application available January 2, 2024 – March 1, 2024 at 5 pm
• Grant begin date: June 1, or later.
• If awarded, funds would be available in June. Notifications will be emailed at the end of May.