SOC145 Social Inequalities
Building on your Grant Proposal Worksheet (Week 4), you will each develop an original grant proposal to fund an intervention by a local organization. You should advocate for how that intervention will help to reduce a specific inequality for specific groups. This assignment is meant to help you to conceptualize inequalities in specific communities, familiarize yourself with interventions, and to develop a practical skillset (i.e., grant writing) that can help you contribute to causes that you care about.
Paper Prompt:
Our grant program aims to reduce inequality by supporting local organizations with seed funding for promising interventions (e.g., programs, policies, or practices). Grant proposals submitted to our program must:
- Articulate an inequality of outcome and specific groups who are negatively affected by it.
- Conceptualize how race, class, and/or gender shape the causes and consequences of the inequality for those groups.
- Explain how funding an intervention by a local organization will help to reduce inequality for those groups.
Organization:
You should organize your paper using the following section headings in order: Executive Summary, Statement of Need, Organizational Background and Local Context, Intervention, Significance for Reducing Inequality, and References. See the table below for an overview of what content you should cover in each section.
Section Heading | Content |
Executive Summary | Summarize your proposal in one paragraph, drawing from each of the other sections. You should make a clear argument for how funding an organization’s intervention will help to reduce a specific inequality of outcome for specific groups. Pro-tip: write this last–or at least edit it at the end–to ensure it succinctly represents the rest of the sections. |
Statement of Need | Identify an inequality of outcome (using data) and who suffers negatively from it, explain the causes and consequences of the inequality, conceptualize how race, class, and/or gender shape those causes and consequences. |
Organizational Background and Local Context | Describe an organization that is trying to solve that inequality and provide relevant context (e.g., history, geography, demography) about the specific community that the organization is focused on. |
Intervention | Describe a specific intervention (e.g., a program, policy, or practice) that the organization is implementing to reduce the inequality of outcome. |
Significance for Reducing Inequality | Explain the direct impact of the intervention and propose how funding this intervention would help to reduce the inequality of outcome. |
References | List at least seven references that you use in the proposal on a separate page at the end of the paper using the ASA Style Guide. See “Formatting and References” for further instructions. |
Formatting and References:
This paper should be 4-6 pages, double-spaced, in Times New Roman 12 point font.
Include a “References” section at the end of the paper using the American Sociological Association’s (ASA) Style Guide (7th edition). See UCSB’s Library Guide for ASA. The “References” section does not count toward the page count.
In total, I expect you to cite at least 7 sources in the body of the proposal. You should cite at least three references to the course materials (e.g., assigned readings, videos/podcasts, lectures) and two additional peer-reviewed sources from outside of class. Plus, you will need to cite any sources of data used in your paper and relevant websites about the organization and/or intervention you’re advocating for.
Lectures can be cited by week. For example:
In-text citation: "Dawson (Week 4) discusses how racial economic segregation contributes to inequalities in educational achievement..”
Reference: Dawson, Caleb E. 2026. Week 4. “K-12 Education.”
Grading Rubric:
Review the “SOC145 S26 Grant Proposal Rubric” embedded in the Canvas page.
Use of AI for the Midterm:
You are discouraged but not prohibited from using generative-AI for this assignment. Any use of AI must abide by the AI Code of Conduct developed by your peers. You are responsible for understanding the AI Code of Conduct and abiding by it.
Before being permitted to use genAI, you must try to complete the assignment without it by doing each of the following: Grant Proposal Worksheet, consult a peer, perform a traditional Google search, and consult the TA.
If you exhaust those options and use genAI, you must include an Attribution Statement before the "References" section. Follow this guidance on "How to Cite Artificial Intelligence Contributions" from the UCSB Office of Teaching and Learning for crafting an Attribution Statement..
Criteria Below Expectations
1
Progressing toward
Expectations
2
Meets Expectation
3
Exemplary
4 Score Possible
Points
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
(12 points)
Lacks information about what
to expect in the proposal.
Presents very little
information. May identify some
but not at all of the following:
the inequality, affected groups,
organization, intervention, and
impact.
Presents a fair summary of an
organization's intervention and
how it will reduce a specific
inequality for a specific group.
Persuasively argues for an
organization's intervention and
explains how it will reduce a
specific inequality for a specific
group.
12
STATEMENT OF
NEED
(24 points)
Does not identify a specific
inequality of outcome, affected
groups, or causes and
consequences.
Provides general details about
some but not all of the
following: inequality of
outcome, affected groups, and
causes and consequences.
Lacks empirical evidence
(data) to show that the inequality
exists.
Provides sufficient details
about all of the following:
inequality of outcome, affected
groups, and causes and
consequences.
Includes empirical evidence
(data) to show that the inequality
exists.
References but does not
conceptualize how race, class,
and/or gender shape the causes
and consequences.
Provides thorough and
nuanced details about all of the
following: inequality of
outcome, affected groups, and
causes and consequences.
Provides and interprets
empirical evidence (data) to
show that the inequality exists
for the specific groups.
Thougthfully conceptualizes
how race, class, and/or gender
shape the causes and
consequences.
24
ORGANIZATIONAL
BACKGROUND AND
LOCAL CONTEXT
(8 points)
Does not identify a local
organization or provide any
relevant context about the
specific community.
Identifies a local organization
but provides very little or
irrelevant context about the
specific community.
Describes a local organization
and provides some relevant
context about the specific
community.
Describes a local organization
and provides very relevant
context about the specific
community.
Clearly demonstrates the
organization's commitment to
addressing the inequality and/or
serving the specific community.
8
INTERVENTION
(8 points)
Does not identify a specific
intervention that the
organization is implementing to
reduce inequality.
Briefly references an
intervention that the
organization is implementing
but does not describe how it
works.
Provides sufficient detail about
an intervention that the
organization is implementing
and generally describes how it
works.
Provides thorough and
nuanced details about the
intervention that the
organization is implementing
and specifically describes how
it works.
8
SIGNIFICANCE FOR
REDUCING
INEQUALITY
(16 points)
Lacks a description of the
impact of the intervention or a
statement that it would would
reduce inequality.
Vaguely describes the impact of
the intervention and states that it
would reduce inequality.
Sufficiently describes the
impact of the intervention and
broadly proposes how funding
it would reduce inequality.
Thoroughly explains the direct
impact of the intervention and
persuasively argues for how
funding it would reduce
inequality.
16
REFERENCES
(8 points) Lacks in-text citations.
Contains some in-text citations
but does not meet the minimum
number of in-text citations as
specified in the assignment
instructions.
Contains the minimum number
of in-text citations as specified
in the assignment instructions.
Exceeds the minimum number
of in-text citations as specified
in the assignment instructions.
The selected sources are
tactfully synthesized, clearly
align with the course themes,
and enhance the proposal.
8
USE OF EVIDENCE
(8 points)
Lacks empirical evidence (data)
in the proposal.
Includes empirical evidence
(data) in the proposal but the
evidence does not support the
author's claims.
Includes empirical evidence
(data) in the proposal.
The interpretation of the data is
general and and roughly
supports the author's claims.
Includes empirical evidence
(data) in the proposal.
The interpretation of the data is
accurante and compellingly
supports the author's claims.
8
GRAMMAR &
SPELLING
(8 points)
Very frequent
grammar and/or
spelling errors.
More than two errors. Only one or two
errors.
All grammar and
spelling are correct.
8
TIMELINESS
(4 points)
Submits the grant proposal more
than five days late.
Submits the grant proposal up to
four days late.
Submits the grant proposal less
than thirty minutes before the
deadline.
Submits the grant proposal more
than thirty minutes before the
deadline.
4
LENGTH
(4 points)
Falls short or exceeds the page
limit.
Succinctly addresses all the
information within the page
limit.
4
Total 100
COMMENTS FOR MY DRAFT:
Good job in part 1! For part 2, The Roosevelt Institute's connection to baby bonds is a bit unclear. How exactly does this org support them? Since they are a think tank, this may be more research based which isn't what we want for the grant proposal.
Orgs like The New School's Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy may be a good alternative if your original one doesn't work.
Here is a link to some of their projects: https://racepowerpolicy.org/baby-bonds/baby-bonds-...
THIS IS MY GRANT APPLICATION WORKSHEET:
Inequality of Outcome: What is an outcome
that varies by groups?
One outcome that varies by groups is income. Different racial, gender and class groups earn different amounts
because they don’t all have access to the same kinds of jobs, education and opportunities.
Groups: What is a specific group of people that
suffers negatively from this inequality? (see
comment)A specific group of people that suffers negatively from this inequality is low income Black and Latino
communities. They are more likely to have lower paying jobs and possibly less access to higher education and
this leads to lower income overall.
Data: What data demonstrates that this inequality
of outcome exists? Share a link to a data source.
https://www.investopedia.com/black-and-hispanic-fa...
Data from investopedia shows that Black and Hispanic families have much less wealth than white families in
the U.S. and they have fewer assets, savings and property.
Causes: Why do some groups have different
amounts of that valuable thing?
Some groups have less income because they don’t have the same access to good schools, high paying jobs, or
opportunities. Discrimination and where people grow up are also causes. .
Critique of Causes: How do race, class, and/or
gender shape the causes of inequality?
Race, class, and gender all shape these causes. For example, people of color and women are more likely to
face hiring bias or be stuck in lower paying jobs and people from lower class backgrounds have fewer
opportunities from the start.
Consequences: Why does this inequality matter
for those groups?
This inequality matters because it shapes whether people can meet basic needs like housing, healthcare, food
and education. When some groups consistently have less income and wealth, they have fewer opportunities to
build stable lives or plan for the future. In a fair society everyone should have a roughly equal chance to meet
their basic needs and do well.
Critique of Consequences: How do the consequences
matter for racial, gender, and/or class inequality?
The effects are worse for marginalized groups. For example, racial minorities and low income families are
more likely to stay stuck in poverty and this keeps inequality going across generations.
Part 2
Identifying an Intervention: What is a program,
policy, or practice that would reduce the inequality?
One intervention is “baby bonds”, where the government gives money to children from low income families to
build wealth over time.
Organization: What is an organization that is
experimenting/implementing this intervention? How does this
intervention align with the organization’s mission?
The Roosevelt Institute is a good organization that is trying to help inequality. It supports policies like baby
bonds to reduce wealth inequality.
Local Context: Where is this intervention happening? What is the
state of the inequality in that place? Offer any historical context if possible.
The Roosevelt Institute intervention is happening in New York where there is a big gap between wealthy and
low income communities. Black and Latino families are more likely to be in poverty and have less access to
good jobs, housing and education. Historically, this connects to redlining, segregation, and discrimination in
jobs and schools which limited money for certain groups. They still show up today in income and wealth gaps
across the state.
Impact: What is the anticipated impact of the
intervention? Who would benefit? How many people
would benefit?
The intervention would help low income families have more long term financial stability and give kids a better
chance to get money as adults. It would mainly benefit Black, Latino and other working class families in New
York. It could help tens or even hundreds of thousands of children over time.
Significance for Reducing Inequality: Why would
this intervention reduce inequality? In what ways does this
intervention address the causes of the inequality?
This intervention reduces inequality by helping families build wealth, not just income. It is more about
unequal starting points caused by past discrimination and less access to opportunities. By giving low income
families more support early on, it helps reduce how much race and class determine futures.