Deadline: 6 May 2020
The Disability Inclusion Fund (DIF) at Borealis Philanthropy has announced a call of $200,000 rapid response fund to support the needs of people with disabilities related to the impact of COVID-19.
Through this rapid response opportunity, the Disability Inclusion Fund will provide support for organizations on the front lines serving people with disabilities during this crisis. This will include mutual aid and support for organizing, policy, and systems-change advocacy.
The Disability Inclusion Fund (DIF) is a $10M, 5-year Fund that supports U.S. groups run by and for disabled people to lead transformational change. This donor collaborative fund will be housed at Borealis Philanthropy.
The Fund is supported by the Presidents’ Council on Disability Inclusion in Philanthropy, which is comprised of foundation presidents who are committed to disability inclusion as part of improving diversity, equity, and inclusion within philanthropy.
Objectives
- Strengthen the disability community/movement by building the power of representative organizations and elevating the voices of disabled people within public life.
- Boost the capacity of disability justice groups to fundraise, communicate a more unified narrative and other priorities as determined by the group’s advisors.
- Build bridges between disability justice groups to learn from one another, complement and strengthen advocacy and mobilizing approaches.
- Promote collaboration and partnership between disability-led organizations and “mainstream” organizations.
- Support disability inclusion in philanthropy with collaborative learning around programmatic and operational inclusion.
Guiding Values
- Participation: Movement funding accountable to the disability rights movement. Those impacted by injustice/exclusion should be involved in strategies to advance justice/inclusion.
- Intersectionality: Disability is shaped by race, gender, class, gender expression, etc.
- Radical inclusion: Deeply committed to removing barriers and ensuring access so that those most affected by intersecting identities can participate, valuing lived experience.
- Leadership of those most impacted: Emphasis given to organizations led by disabled people of color, queer and gender nonconforming and women with disabilities.
- Cross-movement solidarity: Intentional focus on collaboration and bridge-building amongst disability justice activists and across movements.
Funding Information
Applicants can request a maximum of $15,000 to support their COVID-19 efforts.
Eligibility Criteria
- Groups that demonstrate alignment with the DIF guiding values.
- Requests from community-based and disability-led organizations will be prioritized, particularly but not exclusively communities whose access to resources and critical supports are experiencing greater instability related to COVID-19.
- Requests that support mutual aid, advocacy, and/or policy needs for people with disabilities in response to COVID-19 that are not easily funded by an organization’s current funding base will be prioritized.
For more information, visit https://borealisphilanthropy.org/grantmaking/disability-inclusion-fund/