Racial, Gender & Economic Justice Fund

Racial, Gender & Economic Justice Fund is sponsored by The LIFT Fund (in partnership with Open Society Foundations). This fund focuses on strengthening strategies and collaborations that center economic and racial justice as the core means to advance the labor movement.

Grantmaking – The LIFT Fund The LIFT Fund catalyzes partnerships among labor and philanthropy to strengthen worker power, build thriving families and develop strong communities. To best address the diverse needs of workers, we target our grantmaking through the following funds and partnerships.

The LIFT Fund brings together community-driven leaders to build worker power and elevate racial and economic justice across the United States through our Partnership Fund, which distributes $150,000 grants for two-year partnerships between labor unions, councils, or federations and worker centers.

This intersectional movement-building work through our national partnerships has improved how unions work with c3’s, increased understanding of respective organizational cultures, and helped align worker centers and labor on strategies to build worker power. In 2022, we awarded $675,000 to labor-community partnerships around the country.

Racial, Gender & Economic Justice The Racial, Gender & Economic Justice Fund focuses on strengthening strategies and collaborations that center economic and racial justice as the core means to advance the labor movement. The coalitions supported by this fund will shape municipal and regional budget priorities that translate into tangible gains for Black and Brown workers.

The LIFT Fund partnered with Open Society Foundations to create this fund after the wave of racial justice reckonings that followed George Floyd’s killing. This fund brings together labor with racial justice community organizations across the U.S. Racial, Gender & Economic Justice Grantees In 2022, we distributed $375,000 to six organizations in our pilot round of grantmaking through this fund.

Southern Workers Opportunity Fund The Southern Workers Opportunity (SWO) Fund is a first-of-its-kind grant program exclusively focused on directing necessary resources to fundamentally improve the lives of workers in the Southern part of the United States. SWO is committed to countering the legacy of embedded racism in the South that has led to historical disinvestment in Black and Brown communities and their working conditions.

Black and Brown workers in the South, ranging from those working in food processing to agriculture to the auto industry, are some of the most marginalized individuals who consistently face unjust labor practices, including low wages and harsh working conditions.

SWO’s work centers Black and Brown workers to ensure that the communities most affected by centuries of exploitation are leading the way to create a just economy that works for all. Over the next three years, $5. 1 million will be distributed to support campaigns and advocacy efforts that will enable workers in the South to make a better and safer living, support their families and be treated fairly and with dignity.

Upcoming Grant Opportunities The LIFT Fund is now accepting applications for the Southern Workers Opportunity (SWO) Fund 2025-2028 grant cycle to build worker power in the South! Our primary goal is to support workers in the Southern states, prioritizing applications from Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee . The grant deadline is July 10, 2025.