What we support

CSPI is currently accepting proposals for three types of subgrants:

Powerbuilding: Aimed at supporting participation in an 8-month cohort that seeks to strengthen the power of people experiencing the greatest inequities and build the capacity of organizations to address unique food system challenges in their communities.

State & Local Policy: Aimed at pursuing policy campaigns aligned with the following priority areas: the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), child nutrition programs, state-level taxes on sweetened beverages, values-aligned food procurement in public institutions, and food and beverage labeling and marketing.

Industry Accountability: Aimed at campaigns to hold corporations responsible for the negative health impacts of their food and beverage products and marketing tactics.

Informational Webinars

Powerbuilding Subgrants:

Webinar Recording
Passcode: @w3%kC$S
Slide deck

State & Local Policy and Industry Accountability Subgrants:

Webinar Recording
Passcode: 9.u9!G6w
Slide deck

How to apply

Please submit all proposals through CSPI’s Online Subgrants Portal.

Note: New users will be required to create an organizational account prior to submitting an application.

Letters of Intent (LOIs) are due by 11:59 PM EST Wednesday, Sep. 3, 2025.

If you have any questions or would like technical assistance with the online subgrants portal or creating a new account, please reach out to grants@cspinet.org.

Geographic eligibility

For State & Local Policy subgrants, we will only review proposals from organizations located in and/or for projects focused in the following locations:

Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Mexico, New York, or Washington, D.C.

These geographies have been prioritized based on learnings from past subgranting efforts by CSPI and CSPI Action Fund, and accounting for considerations related to health equity, political readiness, policy replicability, and population impacts of potential policy interventions. If your organization operates in multiple states or locations, proposals for work in the priority locations are welcome.

For Industry Accountability subgrants, we welcome proposals for campaigns with national reach/impact. We will prioritize applications from organizations located in the above priority locations, and/or from organizations with strong community engagement in these states.

For Powerbuilding subgrants, applicants may be located in any U.S. State, U.S. Territory, or Tribal Area.

Additional applicant resources

Online subgrant portal tutorials

CSPI uses Foundant (online subgrant portal platform) to manage applications and reporting. Foundant provides helpful user tutorials for navigating the platform linked on their website. Please follow the tutorials listed under the “New Dashboard” section of the webpage.

FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

LOI and full application question lists

LOI question lists

Powerbuilding Subgrants

State & Local Policy Subgrants

Industry Accountability Subgrants

Full application question lists

Powerbuilding Subgrants

State & Local Policy Subgrants

Industry Accountability Subgrants

Accessibility

We are committed to making our application process and subgrant opportunities accessible to the people with whom we hope to collaborate and build long-term relationships, including people whose first language is not English and people with disabilities. A few of the practices we deploy upon request include:

Interpretation and/or translation services

Large print and audio recordings of our application and instructions