Disability Inclusion Fund – Jun 25

Posted by Borealis Philanthropy on June 3, 2025

Borealis Philanthropy invites applications for Disability Inclusion Fund

Founded in 2015, Borealis Philanthropy is a social justice philanthropic intermediary working to resource grassroots movements for transformative change.

Borealis invites applications for its Disability Inclusion Fund (DIF), which aims to assist organizations working to strengthen disability inclusion, rights, and justice. DIF grants will support organizations whose work is rooted in intersectional cross-movements, is collaborative, and helps build a more vibrant, just, and joyful world for people with disabilities—from arts and culture, to policy and advocacy. All funding will be aligned with the fund’s guiding values:

Cross-movement solidarity: Intentional focus on collaboration and bridge-building amongst disability justice activists and across movements.

Intersectionality: Acknowledging that disabled people have multiple and intersecting social and political identities that can influence their access and inclusion including race, gender identity, class, and sexual orientation.

Leadership of those most impacted: Emphasis is given to organizations led by disabled people of color, queer, gender nonconforming, and women with disabilities.

Participation: Movement funding is accountable to the disability justice movement. Those most impacted by injustice/exclusion should be involved in strategies to advance justice/inclusion.

Radical inclusion: Deeply committed to removing barriers and ensuring access so that those most affected by intersecting identities can participate, valuing lived experience.

Sustainability: Resources and tools that support the growth of grassroots disabled-led organizations and expand operational capacities for ongoing movement building.

Organizations that meet the following criteria will be priorities: those that are disability-led and whose leadership and work reflect the lived experiences of those most impacted by ableism (including but not limited to organizations led by Black, Indigenous, People of Color, queer, gender non-conforming, and women with disabilities); work that engages other social movements and injustices; work that brings other organizations, leaders, movements, and communities together to build power through relationships, coalitions and opportunities for collaboration; work that drives narrative change in ways that dismantle ableism and attitudinal barriers in our policy, society, and culture; strategies that celebrate, create, and elevate uplifting the authentic representation of disabled people in the arts, media, literature, and other creative works; and work that moves practices of disability inclusion and disability justice forward. Examples of this work include community organizing, mutual aid, advocacy, and/or policy work.

Grants will range between $25,000 to $100,000 over one to two years.

To be eligible, organizations must be U.S.-based or U.S. territory-based 501(c)(3), fiscally sponsored, or an LLC restricted to projects with a charitable purpose. Annual budgets with committed revenue must be less than $1 million.

For complete program guidelines, application instructions, and the DIF 2025 eligibility quiz, see the Borealis Philanthropy website.

Deadline: June 25, 2025