Black Feminist Fund (Core, Long-Term Grants and Solidarity Initiatives)

Black Feminist Fund (Core, Long-Term Grants and Solidarity Initiatives) is sponsored by Black Feminist Fund. Supports Black feminist movements worldwide by providing core, long-term grants and solidarity initiatives. Focuses on groups led by Black women, girls, trans, and intersex people, promoting human rights and collective power.

Grantmaking FAQs | Black Feminist Fund We provide core, long term grants to groups in the Caribbean, South and Central America, Africa, the Middle East, and North America and Europe that work from a Black feminist perspective and are led by the constituencies they serve. Our grantmaking program is Participatory, Inclusive, Community-led and Context-informed.

It is designed with low barriers and reporting to allow widespread access to funding. We are committed to providing funding access to groups who are most often denied support from mainstream funders.

The Black Feminist Fund resources registered and non-registered groups that are at the forefront of ​Black feminist resistance​, who are building Black feminist joy, creativity, alternatives and futures, and who strengthen the Black feminist movement architecture and infrastructure in their communities and transnationally​.

We seek to support groups and initiatives that work from a Black feminist perspective and are led by the constituencies they serve. Who or what do you not fund?

Academic research or scholarships Micro financing, loans or credit Businesses or profit-driven economic activities (we make exceptions for economic activities that are guided by economic justice and solidarity economy lenses, such as worker owned cooperatives) Government agencies (including groups founded, led or primarily economically supported by government agencies) Urgent or emergency funding requests The BFF currently provides funding to groups in the Caribbean, South and Central America, Africa, the Middle East, and North America and Europe .

When are the Black Feminist Fund grantmaking opportunities open for grant applications? The Sustain Fund is open for applications. Applications will be accepted until May 24, 2025 at 11:59PM PST.

The Solidarity Fund is currently closed. Are you a participatory grantmaker? Yes!

To ensure we are moving resources in a meaningful and transparent way, the BFF has created the Black Feminist Fund Grant Review Committee. This committee is the Black Feminist Fund’s participatory grantmaking decision-making body, who decides which organizations receive funding.

The Black Feminist Fund Grant Review Committee also supports the Black Feminist Fund to continue to improve our grantmaking process and to strengthen the participatory nature of our grantmaking. How many grants will be awarded for each cycle? The Black Feminist Fund has limited resources.

We ourselves fundraise for the funding we provide. For this reason, we anticipate that there will be more groups applying for funding than we can fund. This means that we will have to decline groups for financial support even though they meet our criteria and priorities.

Our group has an urgent or emergency request. Can the Black Feminist Fund provide funding? We are not an emergency grantmaker.

If you have an urgent request for funding, we are happy to advise you on other funders to contact in your region or country. Contact us through the contact form . How many grants will be awarded for each cycle?

The Black Feminist Fund has limited resources. We ourselves fundraise for the funding we provide. For this reason, we anticipate that there will be more groups applying for funding than we can fund.

This means that we will have to decline groups for financial support even though they meet our criteria and priorities. Our group received a Black Feminist Fund grant, can we apply again?

If your group received a Sustain Fund grant, you will not be eligible to apply for another Black Feminist Fund grant for the duration of your current grant (8 years) If your group received a Solidarity Fund grant, you are eligible to apply for the Sustain Fund during the application period.

If your group received a Solidarity Fund grant, you are eligible to apply for the Solidarity Fund after one year of receiving your previous Solidarity Fund grant. This is to enable others to apply and benefit from the funding. What is the process for me as a new applicant?

Can I apply for a grant for the Solidarity Fund and Sustain Funds? You can apply for both the Solidarity and Sustain Funds. Just make sure you check the purpose of each fund to see if you are eligible and meet the criteria.

provides core, long-term, flexible grants to Black feminist groups, collectives, organisations and consortium who work to build collective power, claim justice and create alternatives. From the second year of partnership, we provide grantee partners with opportunities for exchange and learning. When can I apply for the Sustain Fund?

The Sustain Fund is currently closed. We expect to reopen the Sustain Fund in 2028. How long will it take to receive a decision on an application?

We aim to respond to applications to the Sustain Fund within 12 weeks of the application deadline. The Sustain Fund is core, flexible funding. This means that if your group is accepted, we fund your group and your proposed activities in furtherance of your strategy and proposed charitable and educational activities.

We do not fund specific projects. What is important is who you are and the change you want to make in the world. We trust you to decide how you get there, what action to take and when to pivot.

How much can I apply for? Grants are for between USD 50,000 and USD 200,000 per year. You tell us what your annual budget is and how much you would like the Black Feminist Fund to contribute.

In conversation, the review committee will agree on a grant amount based on available funding and the number of movement partners in our cohort. In our first year of grantmaking, we awarded 21 groups Sustain Fund grants, with an average grant size of USD 81,000 per group. How long is the grant for?

The Sustain Fund provides long-term core support. We aim to resource our movement partners for up to 8 years. Moving resources over the long term unlocks the power and potential of long lasting change.

By the end of our 8-year support we want to have increased your group’s sustainability and resilience. We do this because we know that social and structural change takes time. We intend to support our movements building sustainable structures that will last long after the BFF’s resourcing.

There are three stages of partnership: In the first year, we get to know movement partners and you get to know us. At the end of the first year, we assess our partnership and decide if it’s a good fit in the long term. The second stage includes accompaniment.

During this stage, we hold annual meetings and provide exchange, learning, solidarity and visibility opportunities. At the beginning and end of this phase, partners get to meet one another as a cohort. In the third and last stage of our partnership, our accompaniment focuses on support for partner exit and transition.

By the end of our five to eight year support, we want to have increased your group’s sustainability and resilience, however you define this. supports timely, one-off initiatives that respond to or create an opportunity for change; enable solidarity across geographies, movements or people; seed a new project, new collective or new idea; or support wellness, safety and security. Is the Solidarity Fund project specific funding?

The intention of the Solidarity Fund is to provide an opportunity to apply for flexible core funding to enable specific solidarity efforts across geographies, movements or people. When can I apply for the Solidarity Fund? The Solidarity Fund is currently closed.

We expect to reopen the Solidarity Fund in late 2027. How long will it take to receive a decision on an application? We aim to respond to the Solidarity Fund applicants within 12 weeks of the application deadline.

Do you want to be in solidarity with others in your community or around the world? Internationalist, translocal, inter-movement and cross-generational solidarity has been a constituent element of Black feminist movements over time. The Solidarity Fund supports initiatives that enable solidarity across geographies, movements or people.

How long is the grant for? The Solidarity Fund provides grants for up to a one-year period. How much can I apply for?

Solidarity Fund grants are intended to be small or medium size grants for a period of up to one year. Grants are between USD 20,000 and USD 50,000. Since our grantmaking launched in 2022, we have awarded Solidarity Fund grants to 54 groups, with an average grant size of USD 34,000.