General FAQs
We provide core, long term and flexible grants to Black feminist -led and -serving organizations in Africa, the America’s and Europe. Our grant-making 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 Black feminists who are most often denied support from mainstream funders.
Who do you fund?
- 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 support groups and initiatives that meet all of the following criteria:
- Work from a Black feminist perspective;
- Are self-led by the Black women, girls, trans people and/or intersex people they serve;
- Have the promotion of Black women’s, girls’, trans people’s and/or intersex people’s rights as their primary mission, and not just as the focus of part of their programmes.
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 enable resources to be generated for groups and are guided by economic justice and solidarity economy lenses such as worker owned cooperatives)
- Political parties
- Religious institutions
- Government agencies (including groups founded, led or primarily economically supported by government agencies)
- Groups whose mission and/or primary focus are not the promotion Black of women’s, girls’, trans people’s or intersex people’s human rights
- Groups who are not led by Black women, girls, trans and/or intersex people
- Groups that actively seek to deny the rights of certain women, girls, trans and intersex people, based on who they are, the work they do or on their position in society
- Individual activists
- Urgent or emergency funding requests
Where do we fund?
- The BFF currently provides funding to Black feminist groups in the Americas (Latin America, the Caribbean and North America), the Middle East, Europe and Africa.
When are the Black Feminist Fund grantmaking opportunities open for grant applications?
- The Sustain Fund is currently closed.
- The application window for the Solidarity Fund will begin on October 9, 2023 and will be open for one month. You can find more information here about both of our funds.
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. The inaugural committee is composed of Black feminist activists from diverse movements, geographies and identities. 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.
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 six months 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?
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As a new applicant, the first step is to create an Organizational Profile, which will include general contact information. The information added to this profile will apply to either grant application.
Once the profile is complete, your group can apply to the Sustain and/or Solidarity grant, based on your needs. Applicants can start and stop either application process along the way and have until the deadline to submit the completed form.
Applications will initially be screened by the Black Feminist Fund team for eligibility.
After applications have been screened, the Black Feminist Fund Grant Review Committee, which reflects the communities we aim to serve, will review the applications and make the final decisions on who our grantee-partners will be.
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.
How can I stay informed of future funding opportunities?
If you would like to receive the Black Feminist Fund movement newsletter, which includes other funding opportunities, news from our grantees, and other resources such as training, exchange and learning opportunities.
The Sustain Fund
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 next Sustain Fund grant cycle will open in 2024.
How long will it take to receive a decision on an application?
We aim to respond to applications to the Sustain Fund by December, 2024.
What can I apply for?
The Sustain Fund is core, flexible funding. This means we fund your group and your strategy. 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, we will agree on a grant amount based on available funding and the number of grantees 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 grantee partners for up to 8 years. Moving resources over the long term to Black feminist movements 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 grantee 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 is a four year grant and accompaniment. During this stage, we hold annual grant 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.
- The third and last stage of our partnership is a three year transition grant and accompaniment.
By the end of our five to eight year support, we want to have increased your group’s sustainability and resilience.
The Solidarity Fund
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 Black Feminist groups globally an opportunity to apply for flexible core funding to enable solidarity efforts across geographies, movements or people.
When can I apply for the Solidarity Fund?
The next Solidarity Fund application window opens on October 9. We will be accepting applications until November 9.
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.
What can I apply for?
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.
Click here to apply for the Solidarity Fund.
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. We expect grant sizes to be between USD 10,000 and USD 50,000.
If you are looking for long term core support, apply to the Sustain Fund.