Deadline: 9-Feb-23
The Third Wave Fund is excited to launch the 2023 Sex Worker Giving Circle Fellowship Program.
The Sex Worker Giving Circle (SWGC) is a cross-class, multi-racial, intergenerational giving circle housed at Third Wave Fund. The circle is made up of a group of Fellows with current or past experience with sex work or the sex trade. The Fellows make all high-level funding decisions and grantmaking recommendations, and lead many of the fundraising activities.
What Is a Giving Circle, and What Is the Sex Worker Giving Circle?
- A giving circle is a group of people that come together to pool and raise money in support of a cause. The SWGC is a cross-class, multiracial, intergenerational giving circle for women, queer, and trans folks with current or past experience with sex work or trading sex.
- The SWGC is a space for folks to mobilize resources, strengthen community and political power, make grants to sex worker-led groups, and bring their voices and leadership into philanthropy. They’ve structured participation in the project as a Fellowship in recognition of the time, effort, and learning that will go into being a part of it.
How Will This Work?
- Duration and Time Commitment: The giving circle will run from mid-March through early August. It requires a significant time commitment: attendance at at least eighteen virtual meetings and one to two virtual events, plus more independent work in between meetings. The exact dates are listed on the next page.
- Payment: All Fellows will receive a $2,000 stipend in recognition of your labor, divided in 3 payments across the beginning, middle and end of the program. All Fellows will also receive a food and grocery stipend of $500.
What Will Fellows Do?
- Training: A key part of this project is collective study. Fellows will learn together and from movement leaders about topics like the racial wealth divide, mainstream philanthropy, grassroots fundraising, grantmaking and more as they prepare to raise money and distribute it to sex worker-led projects across the United States.
- Fundraising: Each Fellow will receive training and support to fundraise from your networks and the broader communities. Fellows will have opportunities to engage in grassroots fundraising projects as decided by the group.
- Grantmaking: You’ll receive training and support to lead all steps of the grantmaking process, including outreach to prospective grantee partners, application review, and collective decision making about who receives funding.
- Philanthropic Advocacy: You’ll also have opportunities to engage with the broader philanthropic field and create guidelines and principles for funders with the goal of shifting how they engage with sex workers and sex trade issues.
- Build Community: Yes, this is hard work, but in the process, it’s also a space to build relationships with other current and former sex workers, share stories and knowledge, break bread together, and learn and grow within community.
Eligibility Criteria
- Participation in the Fellowship is open to people living everywhere in the United States and its territories, including American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
- Current or Former Sex Workers: Participation in this giving circle is limited to people with current or former experience in the sex trade and/or doing sex work. This means trading sex or sexual services for money, shelter, or anything else of value. This can include escorting / full service sex work, sugaring, stripping / erotic dancing / go-go dancing, porn star / cam work, fetish work, dom/domme work, etc. They also welcome participation from people with experiences of coercion.
- People with Various Class Backgrounds: This giving circle will be cross-class. Among other things, that means that they welcome participation from people from all class backgrounds and inocome levels. You do not have to be wealthy or even have savings to join; they are centering participation from working class and low income people as a part of this giving circle.
- People of All Genders: They recognize that people of all genders participate in the sex trade and are sex workers. For that reason, they encourage trans and cis men and women, and non-binary, genderqueer, and/or gender non-conforming people to participate.
- People Most Impacted by Oppression: This giving circle will be multiracial and intergenerational. They strongly encourage Black people, Indigenous people, and/or people of color; young people, older people and elders; LGBQ+ people, trans and/or gender non-conforming people; immigrants, including people who are undocumented; people with HIV/AIDS; people with experience with substance use; people with experience with the criminal legal system; and disabled and/or chronically ill people to apply.
- They’re especially interested in hearing from potential Giving Circle Fellows who:
- Work well in groups and are committed to working together collaboratively to achieve their goals
- Commit to observing and protecting confidentiality
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Have the time, energy, and commitment to attend all meetings and participate in fundraising, community building, and collective learning activities
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Are willing and open to learn collaboratively from and with people who bring a wide range of backgrounds, skill-sets, and experiences, including different orientations around sex work and trading sex
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Will center and follow the leadership of Fellows who are most impacted by oppression, violence, and criminalization
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Be willing to engage in constructive conflict and take personal responsibility to transform any oppressive behaviors if they occur
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Experience with sex worker organizing and activism is *not* required, but must be committed to moving resources and supporting sex worker-led work
Please note: if you wish to receive the $2,000 stipend, you will have to use your legal name on the paperwork; however, all legal names will be kept confidential between yourself and the staff involved with cutting your check.
For more information, visit Sex Worker Giving Circle.