Let’s talk about care.
At Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism, care is woven into every aspect of our work. To us, care is essential to sustaining global feminist movements. Care strengthens communities and builds trust. Care is the ability to stop and rest. Care is focusing on bodily wellness. Care is simply reveling in moments of joy.
Visit our website to learn more about our approach to collective care. /collective-care/
How can states and policymakers better protect feminist activists from backlash? #FearlessFeminist activists know best.
Learn more about the key solutions that activists are calling for today in our essential new resource at the link in our story.
Mic drop 🎤
Terry de Vires, Co-Executive Director of @fondoaccionurgenteal , beautifully captures the importance of recognizing women as the key architects of wealth distribution and community sustainability in our documentary The Chorus We Carry.
Join us as we unpack how this and other insightful perspectives align with the urgent need for trust-based financial support to empower feminist activists and drive meaningful change.
Watch it now 🎥 /the-chorus-we-carry/
Though LGBTQIA+ movements in the United States have made hard-won gains, the path to full equality remains precarious. A wave of regressive laws like “Don't Say LGBTQ+," anti-drag bans and limits on gender-affirming care endanger the lives, liberties, and well-being of LGBTQ+ activists in the United States.
In the face of these immense challenges and rollbacks on rights, LGBTQIA+ activists carry us forward and lead our resistance. Through our rapid response grants, Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism is supporting LGBTQ+ communities in the United States by funding movements focused on:
▪️Educating legislators on LGBTQ+ rights
▪️Organizing healing retreats for those experiencing burnout
▪️Building networks of solidarity, mutual aid, and political education for Indigenous and queer feminist movements
▪️Establishing hotlines to offer emotional support to trans people
LGBTQ+ movements won't be silenced or erased. Read our blog for more on LGBTQ+ resistance around the world. Link in bio.
Photo Credit: Jacob Lund
“We tried to stay close to the child to make sure he wouldn’t get arrested and then tried to leave with him but were surrounded by the police. Another woman and I were physically protecting the child while the police were trying to kidnap him.”
Read Hana’s story: FeministActivismWithoutFear.org/story/hana/
Trust is the bedrock of transformative philanthropy.
Quick, flexible funding from a trusted funder can be a lifeline for women and LGBTQ+ movements and activists who face direct threats to their safety and well-being. When we trust frontline feminist activists to identify their own priorities and respond with flexible, holistic funding they can use it to mobilize quickly to address urgent threats and strengthen feminist movements for long-term change.
This approach is inherently feminist. It elevates the voices, lived experiences, and self-determination of those traditionally disempowered by philanthropic institutions. It redistributes agency, resources, and authority to communities spearheading movements for justice, equity, and liberation.
For feminist movements, trust-based philanthropy:
✨Devolves decision-making to movement leaders
✨Replaces restrictions with transparency
✨Prioritizes shared vision over top-down mandates
To explore trust-based philanthropy further, watch The Chorus We Carry now. /the-chorus-we-carry/
Black women, girls, and LGBTQ+ people are leading movements confronting intersecting oppressions with unparalleled creativity, power, and brilliance. Nowhere is this more evident than in the powerful, catalytic work of Black feminists and the intersectional movements they've built.
Black feminists are building powerful grassroots movements addressing issues like sexual violence, reproductive justice, reparations, mass incarceration, police brutality, and economic inequity—imagining a more just and equitable world for us all.
At Urgent Action Fund, we are honored to support organizations working for Black liberation in the U.S. like:
▪️Activists in Tennessee dedicated to nurturing autonomous power-building projects and campaigns spearheaded by racially and gender-oppressed working-class leaders and youth.
▪️Black-led, multi-racial, intergenerational coalitions seeking to build a replicable and sustainable model to eradicate police terror in communities of color.
This Juneteenth, we celebrate the invaluable contributions of Black feminist activists, thinkers, and movement leaders—past, present, and future—to the work of liberation. Their vital efforts are ushering society towards justice and equity liberation for all.
What is trust-based philanthropy? In short, it upends the conventional funder-grantee power dynamic. It is a transformative model grounded in mutual trust, transparency, and shared vision between funders and movement leaders. By loosening restrictive constraints and redistributing decision-making power, it empowers those closest to the issues to determine strategies, pivot agilely, and drive sustained impact.
For too long, the philanthropic sector has perpetuated patriarchal, colonial, and white supremacist power dynamics and inequities through top-down, restrictive grantmaking practices. Imposing burdensome reporting requirements, stringent metrics, and narrowly prescribed guidelines hampers the very change they seek to create.
As feminist philanthropists, we know deep in our bones that meaningful social change requires a fundamental restructuring of how we approach grantmaking. It demands that we relinquish traditional standards and methods in favor of cultivating trust-based relationships with local grassroots feminist movements and activists leading the charge.
Watch our 18-minute documentary, The Chorus We Carry, to examine the shift towards trust-based philanthropy—one that could catalyze the redistribution of power and resources on an unprecedented scale.
#FeministFunding#TrustBasedPhilanthropy
As governments crack down on dissent and roll back human rights, and crises escalate, we cannot continue failing & under-resourcing feminist movements.
Well-resourced feminist movements have the potential to change our world for the better. Want to learn more about the vital role of philanthropy in funding and supporting feminist activism globally?
🎥 Watch our documentary short film now.
/the-chorus-we-carry/
LGBTQ+ activists in Russia are navigating a treacherous landscape. From "gay propaganda" policies restricting freedom of expression to rampant hate speech, queer people face relentless discrimination. Decades of oppression culminated in a chilling new law being passed this year labeling activists as “extremists.”
This erosion of LGBTQ+ rights echoes across the region, prompting surrounding countries to adopt similar discriminatory legislation, further shrinking space for LGBTQIA+ advocacy. Despite the risks, LGBTQI+ movements persevere - denouncing injustice, supporting survivors, and raising awareness through bold campaigns. As LGBTQ+ activists and movements in Russia work to overcome these obstacles, Urgent Action Fund has played a crucial role in supporting them by funding:
✊ Relocation from unsafe and dangerous situations
💜 Psychological services to survivors of gender-based violence and local LGBTQ+ community members
📢 Awareness-raising digital campaigns about harmful queer-phobic laws
⚖️ Resources for activists seeking asylum
Want to dive deeper into what activists in Russia are facing and how we are supporting them? Check out our blog post for more. Link in bio.
📸: grooveisintheheart
Fully funding feminist movements isn't just the right thing to do - it's essential for driving lasting positive change. Women and LGBTQ+ activists play key roles in resolving many of the issues facing humanity today, including climate change, human rights threats and abuse, and key social and racial justice issues.
More funding means that feminist movements have access to:
1. Critical life-saving support
2. Opportunities to drive policy change
3. Resources to build sustainable movements
Watch the Chorus We Carry Now to witness the transformative impact of funding on feminist movements, and its ripple effect on societies. /the-chorus-we-carry/
Both the extraordinary stress that activists experience and the risks they face exact a considerable toll on their individual well being–impacting the stability of their organizations and the sustainability of their movements.
Collective care and protection networks are one of the most effective ways feminist activists keep themselves and each other safe.
How important is #collectivecare in your work as a #feminist activist? If you’re comfortable, share your thoughts in the comments of this post.
🔗 Learn more: FeministActivismWithoutFear.org
