Deadline: 15-Feb-22
Groundswell’s Rapid Response Fund provides fast funding to grassroots organizations led by women of color, trans people of color, and low-income women and trans people in critical, but unexpected, fights to protect and advance reproductive and social justice.
A multi-issue fund, the Rapid Response Fund supports organizations on the frontlines, defending the most vulnerable communities with timely, flexible grants with an emphasis on funding in states and communities where women of color, transgender people of color, and low-income women and trans people-led organizing is under-resourced.
Funding Information
- Rapid Response Fund grant requests for 2022 may range from $5,000 to $20,000.
- On rare occasions, Groundswell may consider requests of up to $25,000, yet the average grant size is $8,000.
Criteria
Groundswell’s Rapid Response Fund (RRF) will continue to center its criteria around:
- Urgency
- The request is responding to an unanticipated event, political moment, and/or requires urgent or timely action. It is a new/unexpected critical opportunity or threat.
- Leadership
- Must be majority women of color and/or transgender, gender non-conforming (TGNC) people of color-led organization.
- Groundswell Fund defines majority leadership that is more than 50% in decision making.
- Definition of Women of Color and/or Transgender/GNC (TGNC) Led:
- organizations with a majority WOC/TGNC board, staff, and volunteers in leadership positions;
- a WOC/TGNC-led effort that is a core strategic priority within a majority white/cisgender people of color/white trans-led organization. This organization must have WOC/TGNC in decision-making positions at the staff and board level;
- a WOC/TGNC-led coalition; or
- Organizing + Base-Building
- Groundswell Fund’s RRF aims to support organizations with a history of dismantling systems of oppression by way of organizing as a central strategy.
- Groundswell defines organizing as ongoing, systematic engagement and relationship building with an ever-expanding and increasingly committed number of constituents and leaders who act collectively to change the conditions harming the community due to systemic oppression and state-sanctioned violence.
- Specifically, this is achieved by building a base. Groundswell defines base building as using strategies to build the leadership of directly impacted communities to create solutions to the issues negatively impacting their lives, and gain skills, abilities, and collective power needed to transform and dismantle policies and systems that affect their lives.
- Building Systems of Community Care
- For birth justice groups, using a reproductive justice and community-centric frame to provide a spectrum of support which includes abortion services, birth, and postpartum care that is urgent and responsive to a specific event.
The Rapid Response Fund does not fund:
- 501(c)4 organizations
- Funding for individuals, personal projects, or personal needs such as personal health, emergency relief, and assistance, medical bills, rent, providing food or basic essentials to individuals
- Direct service provision defined as meeting individuals’ basic immediate needs and other emotional and social supports
- Travel expenses and conference fees
- Academic scholarships, campus education, K-12 after school or youth education initiatives, school programs (public or private, K-12, university, or postsecondary)
- Capital campaigns
- Congregations/churches
- Community arts and theatre-based projects
- Publications, media events, or research unless it is tied to an organizing strategy
- Replacing revenue shortfalls or addressing cash flow challenges
- Organizational development or infrastructure building costs
- Leadership transitions
- Ballot initiatives
- General operating requests for ongoing work or existing programs that are not timely or urgent in response to sudden shifts in the political climate such as an unexpected threat or an unforeseen opportunity to build power
For more information, visit https://groundswellfund.org/rapid-response-fund/