Black-led Movement Fund – Oct 28

Posted by Borealis Philanthropy on October 4, 2022

Borealis Philanthropy Black-led Movement Fund issues RFP

Borealis Philanthropy has announced a request for proposals for the next round of funding from the Black-led Movement Fund (BLMF).

The BLMF supports the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) and other politically aligned organizations so that it can better shape policy agendas for Black communities, create alternatives to institutions that have been harmful to Black people, and build local Black community power. The fund provides a dedicated vehicle for funders to support the ecosystem of grassroots, Black-led power-building organizations working towards community safety, justice, and liberation.

The fund is rooted in a commitment to: intersectional feminism and the leadership of Black queer and trans people, as well as women/femmes/girls; funding organizations addressing the root causes of anti-Black racism, misogyny, ableism, xenophobia, homophobia, and transphobia; being adaptive, flexible and responsive; funding work that centers Black joy; resourcing anchor organizations in interconnected movement ecosystems, and solidarity, collaboration, and transparency.

Current grantmaking criteria include: groups center on the leadership of Black women/femmes, girls, as well as queer and trans people; groups build local power, particularly in the South and Midwest where funding opportunities for Black-led organizing are more often scarce; groups are less likely to be funded by institutional philanthropy; groups have an intersectional connection to other issues and movements, such as climate justice, food, and land justice, immigration, reproductive justice, prison industrial complex abolition, disability justice, gender justice, and economic justice; and groups work within the Movement for Black Lives ecosystem, or within other movement ecosystems that are aligned with the M4BL Values.

Through the fund, $200,000 general operating support grants will be awarded ($100,000 per year) over two years, 2023-2025.

Funding will provide general operating support for U.S.-based, Black-led organizations or projects within the Movement for Black Lives ecosystem or other movement ecosystems aligned with the M4BL Values. Please note this RFP is open to all black-led 501(c)(3) or fiscally sponsored 501(c)(3) organizations and that past BLMF core support, special opportunity, or rapid response grant recipients are eligible to apply.

A zoom webinar detailing the opportunity will be held Wednesday, October 19 at 11:00 a.m. PT / 2:00 p.m. ET.

For complete program guidelines and application instructions and to register for the webinar, see the Borealis Philanthropy website.

Deadline: October 28, 2022