Emergent Fund

Thank you to everyone who joined us last week for “We Got Us: Resourcing BIPOC Trans/Queer Communities.” We'd like to share some incredible insights shared by our speakers, Ola Osaze at Trans Justice Funding Project, Monserrat P. at Satterberg Foundation, Malachi Garza at Solidaire Network, and Aldita Amaru G. Director of the Action for Transformation Fund. A big thank you to our co-sponsors Funders for Justice, and Funders for LGBTQ Issues. This is only the beginning, as we look towards 2025 we are committed to co-creating a world where trans people have safety, access to resources, and abundant futures. If you would like to partner and invest in the Action for Transformation Fund, reach out to Aldita Amaru G. at [email protected].

So many useful resources linked in this piece. A strong framework to understand the attacks on movement, and how #philanthopy, #nonprofits and #movement are weaving together funding, legal strategy, technology, and rotating vigilance (long-haul strategy against burnout) to create safety, protect dissent and resist oppression. Amplifying the big shout outs to the #rapidresponse and movement funders Janis shared in the piece, Proteus Fund, Emergent Fund, & Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism. Connecting money to movement is essential. https://lnkd.in/eWCBttQS #socialjustice #digitalsecurity #infrastructure #resistance

US-Based Funding Opportunity: Emergent Fund provides rapid-response funding to grassroots organizations advancing social justice initiatives through organizing and movement building. This fund prioritizes community-led efforts centered on racial equity, economic justice, and amplifying the voices of those most directly affected by systemic inequities.?They accept applications during most of the year. Emergent Fund: emergentfund.net/apply

Aldita Amaru G., Director of the Action for Transformation Fund at Emergent Fund, reminds us that it's essential to uphold our commitments to racial justice, disability justice, and transgender liberation. Learn more in Episode 20 of Disability Inclusion: Required: https://lnkd.in/gxkFYbz7 Image description: A white graphic with a gray asterisk that has quotation marks in the top right and the Disability & Philanthropy Forum logo on the bottom left. The podcast title, Disability Inclusion: Required, is at the top, followed by a quote from Aldita Amaru Gallardo, Director of the Action for Transformation Fund at Emergent Fund. The quote reads: "This is a time that we should know better and not fall in line, actually push back, actually double down on your commitment. As people of color, as trans folks, as disabled folks, we have lots to offer and our perspective only enriches the kind of work that we do." Next to the quote is a photo of Aldita, a disabled Indigenous queer trans woman. She is smiling at the camera against a blurred dark green background, wearing a black and white patterned top, aqua blue necklace, colorful earrings, and pink lipstick.

Still feeling incredibly moved by the wisdom and call-to-actions shared at our funder briefing on Dec 4th, “We Got Us: Resourcing BIPOC Trans/Queer Communities.” I wanted to extend my deep gratitude to Ola Osaze at Trans Justice Funding Project, Monserrat P. at Satterberg Foundation, Malachi Garza at Solidaire Network, and our co-sponsors Emergent Fund, Funders for Justice, and Funders for LGBTQ Issues. Below you'll see key takeaways from our conversation. Please share it far and wide. Thank you everyone who attended, amplified the invitation, and rooted for us (especially here on LinkedIn). We had nearly 200 people register and we left feeling the collective energy to show up for trans communities in this moment and for the long-haul. We hope to continue this momentum into 2025 and co-build new realities where trans people have safety, access to resources, and abundant futures. If you would like to partner and invest in the Action for Transformation Fund, reach out to me at [email protected]. [image description: a one-page document that opens with “Philanthropy: Invest in Trans Communities Now,” includes a screenshot of the speakers on the Zoom webinar, and shares recommendations and respective quotes from speakers to philanthropy: Break Silos, Practice Care, Skill Up, and Build Ecosystems.]

Today! Looking forward to seeing everyone at 12pm PST / 3pm EST

Uplifting the shout out to Emergent Fund from Adrienne Marie Brown's book #LovingCorrections. In one of the chapters you'll see Adrienne speak on Emergent Strategy -- nonlinear, adaptive, intentional change...where resources can flow in a decentralized way from inequality toward justice." Read the excerpt from Adrienne's book, via Nonprofit Quarterly ,here: https://lnkd.in/emGv9He2

Today is #GivingTuesday. I don't necessarily think of this as a day to expect massive waves of donations - but I do think of this as a day where we can lean into practices of mutual solidarity and shared vision. I started at the Emergent Fund earlier this year, already knowing that I was joining an impactful organization - but I honestly didn't expect to be this blown away and humbled by the truly liberatory vision and actions of the folks I share space with everyday. At the Emergent Fund, we’re not just building a funding pipeline - we’re cultivating an authentic resource mobilization ecosystem. We are sometimes the first (and one of the few) funders of the most exciting and transformative grassroots organizing in this country. I've said this before but I'll say it again - the Emergent Fund uses rapid response funding with intention, commitment, and strategy. Any act of generosity you show with your own donation towards the Emergent Fund will resource long-term change and power-building that allows movement organizations to respond to catalytic events in real time. The Emergent Fund is an intermediary fund entirely made up of BIPOC queer and trans folks who have built our principles and leadership in movement spaces and organizing. From our monthly grantmaking cycles, to our recent launch of the Action of Transformation Fund that moves resources to trans-led organizing, healing, and power-building - the Emergent Fund is a powerful intermediary nurtured by movement changemakers that lead with integrity and community. Emergent Fund was made for exactly this moment and we are committed to building a resource ecosystem for our movements rooted in care, consent, and interdependence. If you have the capacity, I encourage you to donate to the Emergent Fund today. :) TL;DR - donate to the Emergent Fund to support BIPOC queer and trans-led organizing ??

Our incredible Director of the Action for Transformation Fund, Aldita Amaru G. spoke with NBC News last week about the importance of fundraising in this critical moment: “Gallardo, who is based in Oakland, California, said the Action for Transformation Fund, which launched in September and just made its first round of grants, wasn’t previously thinking about long-term fundraising, but that changed after the election. ‘Now we see it as an opportunity to bring more dollars for the increasing amount of need,’ Gallardo said. ‘We know that things will escalate in the four years of the administration.’ Some of the groups that were supported by the fund’s first round of grants include House of Tulip, which provides housing to trans people of color in Louisiana; Transgender Advocates Knowledgeable Empowering, or TAKE, which provides services to trans people of color in Birmingham, Alabama; and the Unspoken Treasure Society, a Black, trans-led organization in Jacksonville, Florida.” https://lnkd.in/gKDEmeNt

Join Emergent Fund for "We Got Us: Resourcing BIPOC Trans/Queer Communities," a funder briefing co-sponsored by Funders for Justice, and Funders for LGBTQ Issues on Wednesday, December 4, 2024 at 12pm PST/3pm EST. Please share this invite to your funder circles and those working in/with philanthopy. RSVP here: https://bit.ly/ef-wegotus This webinar will feature the brilliance and wisdom of Mickaela B, Malachi Garza, Ola Osaze, and Monserrat P. - moderated by Aldita Amaru G.. Right now, philanthropy has the opportunity to invest in trans and queer communities of color who are transforming pain into power. As we continue to process the results of the elections, we invite you to join trans and queer resource mobilizers for this conversation with movement funders in public and private foundations who are committed to building trans power. Learn more about the Action for Transformation Fund and how philanthropy can be in alignment with trans/queer communities of color for the long-haul.