Third Wave Fund

Coya White Hat-Artichoker was a visionary leader and advocate for Indigenous reproductive justice, who worked tirelessly to uplift Indigenous women and Two Spirit youth, and ensure philanthropy invested in their leadership. We offer our deepest condolences to the staff at Solidaire, and to all who knew Coya and whose lives were shaped by her fierce commitment to justice and liberation.

On Trans Day of Remembrance/Resilience/Revenge, we honor the lives of our trans siblings—those still with us and those we’ve lost to the violence of transphobia, white supremacy, patriarchy, and all systems of oppression. And, we continue to fight like hell for the living: By centering on trans joy and love and self-determination, by defending trans young people’s rights to gender-affirming care, by demanding that trans people also have access to reproductive health. And by organizing from the knowledge that policing, prisons, and borders will never keep our trans siblings safe—we do. Our fights are so intertwined, so let’s commit to deepening our liberation frameworks rather than ceding ground today. We foresee a future in which our young trans siblings become thriving elders. Invest in grassroots, trans-led organizing today. Artwork by Kah Yangni.

Third Wave Fund was built for moments like this. Our proud tradition of audacious grantmaking helps fortify us against fear and despair. We’re rooting into our legacy of bravery alongside?our hundreds of monthly and annual donors. We’re here for our grantee partners, and we’re not going anywhere. The resources that grassroots, gender justice movements receive don’t just appear. They exist because directly impacted people come together, demand that they exist, and make it happen. There are tangible things we can do together to reduce the harm ahead, both in the immediate moment and in the long-term.?The only way through this moment is to be in solidarity with those who have both the most to lose and the power to win.? Whether it’s hope, fear, or anger that has brought you to our work asking?“What can we do?”—the task ahead is clear.?We are in a battle for our future and we trust communities most impacted by oppression to lead the way. We must make good on our feelings and resource grassroots, gender justice movements like our liberation depends on it.?Join us today.

Our Co-Director, Morgan Willis, will rep Third Wave Fund this week at Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees 2024 convening, Mobilizing Philanthropy, Shifting Power! Mo will be speaking on the closing plenary, discussing Joy, Wellness, and Movement Resilience with some fabulous folks. If you're already a GCIR member, you can view the livestream for this plenary here on 10/30 at 9:45AM ET: https://lnkd.in/gzxz-PST

"I can go on and on about my guides from Black Southern radical tradition that taught me that gender justice is a critical lens to liberation, but I personally have been reminded recently on how organizing stewards a future where our communities can exist. In the recent devastation of Hurricane Helene, mutual aid and resources for rural and LGBTQ+ communities (historically forgotten in rescue and recovery) rapidly emerged from communities..." In our latest newsletter, we hear from Third Wave Fund’s campaign organizer, Charice Starr, on this movement moment and the guides leading us towards liberation. As our communities are inundated with compounding crises and grief-tending, Charice reminds us that now is not the time to abandon ourselves and our communities. We must believe that to have foresight towards liberation is not only possible, but crucial. ?? Read Charice’s full message in our latest newsletter: bit.ly/twfoct24news ?? Sign up for our newsletter to get them delivered right to your inbox: https://eepurl.com/c8Q9KD

We foresee gender justice and liberation in our lifetime, do you? As attacks on our communities mount and dollars from big philanthropy pivot towards elections, applications for our rapid response grants are at an all-time high. Allow your dollars to demonstrate?your values—that BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth leaders are shaping our futures towards liberation—and JOIN US virtually on Wednesday, October 30th at 7PM ET for We Foresee Liberation: A Conjuring for Gender Justice! Our beacons of joy for the night will be this illustrious lineup, including: ? Our host, Carlton V. Bell II (Program Associate, Sex Worker Giving Circle) ? Performers Aurielle Marie, FreeQuency, and KESSWA ? Speaker Kayla Rene Gore, Founder and Executive Director of former grantee partner, My Sistah's House ? And more to be announced soon! Let's conjure joy and pool our funds together to provide critical support for young queer, trans, and intersex organizers fighting for bodily autonomy. Register today at bit.ly/weforeseeliberation. See you there! Artwork by CozCon, a Black queer artist based in Los Angeles, CA.

"Third Wave’s 2023 year in review report is framed around the phrase 'we presume our power,' a principle from some of the work at Allied Media Projects, where MARS. and I were before this role. The full principle is 'we presume our power, not our powerlessness.' It’s this idea that who we are and what we might be seeking support for should be anchored in agency, possibility and work that's already happening." Learn more about our new Co-Directors, Mo Willis and MARS. Marshall, in our recent Inside Philanthropy Q&A feature! Shoutout to Michelle Dominguez, M.Ed. for making it possible. https://lnkd.in/g7qgVDbx

We were recently mentioned in “How Movement-Accountable Intermediaries Can Change Philanthropy” in the Stanford Social Innovation Review! Written by so many brilliant folks, including Alicia Sanchez Gill, MSW, a member of our Advisory Council and Co-Executive Director of Emergent Fund, this article provides a fresh and much-needed insight on why intermediary funders, like Third Wave, are crucial for breaking down the gates of philanthropy. https://lnkd.in/e6Xmr63j Third Wave emerged from movements and is made up of individuals who come from movements, making us well-positioned to reach emerging, grassroots organizations lifting up the biggest and boldest calls to action for liberation—the ones often overlooked and deemed “too risky” by bigger funders. Remaining accountable to movements and community organizers, Third Wave and other intermediary funders are not committed to becoming the “biggest” or “best” in philanthropy – instead we are committed to resourcing our communities so well that one day the need for an organization like ours will cease to exist.

We hope you'll join us on Thursday, May 9 for this critical conversation on funding LGBTQIA+ communities with disabilities. Cory Lira, Program Officer for the Disability Frontlines Fund at Third Wave Fund, will be a featured panelist! Registration is still open. Moderated by Amoretta Morris (President, Borealis Philanthropy), you'll hear from Shaena Johnson (Interim Out in the South Project Director, Funders for LGBTQ Issues), Masen Davis (Executive Director, Funders Concerned About AIDS), and Cory Lira (Program Officer for the Disability Frontlines Fund at Third Wave) on the lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ community members with disabilities, key disparities in funding, and how funders can best support. https://lnkd.in/gJykAszv

In case you missed it, our 2023 Year in Review is live! Take some time to read about our work last year and how we moved a record-breaking $3 million to 97 gender justice organizations. Also, hear from our new Co-Directors, Mo and MARS. "Over the years, we’ve worked closely with queer and trans BIPOC artists and movement workers in many different capacities, but perhaps the one that offers a throughline of how we come to this work is through our time organizing the Allied Media Conference (AMC)—where we embodied organizing principles that emphasized—We presume our power, not our powerlessness—and like Third Wave Fund, understanding that community-led movements must be led by people directly impacted by oppression." —Mo Willis & MARS. Marshall https://lnkd.in/g5Yw_585