The Black Trans Prayer Book
National
Black Trans Fund
Accepting Applications
- Applications due
Rolling acceptance January 18th – April 15th, 2022
The Black Trans Fund is the first national fund in the country dedicated to uplifting, resourcing, and building the capacity of Black trans social justice leaders.
It’s about joy and resilience
Launched in 2020, Black Trans Fund (BTF) seeks to change culture by shifting the narrative about Black trans communities towards joy and resilience, and away from violence and despair.
During its inaugural year, the Black Trans Fund awarded $209,000 in grants and paid fiscal sponsor fees for 10 Black trans-led organizations.
In response to the pandemic, BTF partnered with Groundswell’s Rapid Response Fund to move an additional $200,000 to 29 Black trans-led organizations.
Meet the Black Trans Fund Advisors
Read Black Trans Fund’s Inaugural 2020 Docket
Our 5-Year Plan
You can review Black Trans Fund’s five-year plan, and how we plan to change culture through grantmaking, capacity building, and philanthropic organizing. This work will contribute towards significantly shifting the narrative about Black trans communities towards more joy and resilience, and away from violence and despair.
Black Trans Leadership Visions A Way Forward
Directed by Bré Rivera, Incubated by Groundswell
The Black Trans Fund is a groundbreaking endeavor: the first national fund in the country dedicated to uplifting and resourcing Black trans social justice leaders.
BTF seeks to address the lack of funding for Black trans communities in the U.S. through direct grantmaking, capacity building support, and funder organizing to transform philanthropy.
Bré’s vision for the Black Trans Fund is rooted in her experience as a former executive director of an under-resourced grassroots organization and her commitment to supporting abundance within Black trans movements.
How to Apply for a Community Care Grant
If you’re interested in applying for Community Care Grant funding, please:
- review the eligibility criteria, funding priorities, and deadline information;
- prepare all documents required for submitting your application; and
- complete the application online.
The Black Trans Fund strives to directly fund and uplift the joy and liberation of Black trans communities.
Community Care Grants, like all other grants funded by the Black Trans Fund, are fiscal sponsorship fee-free! BTF will cover the cost of fees associated with grant funding for organizations that are fiscally sponsored because we are committed to ensuring all funds are accessible with limited barriers to Black trans communities.
We are accepting Community Care Grant applications on a rolling basis throughout the year. Please note the cycle timelines provided for information on when cycles are open, closed, or providing a determination. CCG requests can be submitted at any time but must be submitted by that cycle’s deadline date to be considered for that determination cycle.
Community Care Grant funding for 2022 may range from $3,000 to $10,000 and are for a 6-month term.
Process and Deadlines
Review the process, deadlines, and criteria, then complete our online application for review and consideration. If your organization’s request is a match for The Black Trans Fund’s criteria, your request will be further reviewed by the Black Trans Fund’s Advisor Grantmaking team. Our staff may reach out if information is unclear or requires additional follow-up in order to make a final determination.
Applications that are complete by the deadlines listed below will receive a determination notification with the corresponding date provided.
Deadlines, Criteria, and How to Apply
Deadlines
Summer Community Care Grant Cycle (2022)
- Applications accepted January 18th – April 15th, 2022
- Cycle closes on April 15th, 5 pm Mountain Time
- Funding for June 2022
Fall/Winter Community Care Grant Cycle 2022
- Applications accepted July 15th – September 15th, 2022
- Cycle closes on September 15th, 5 pm Mountain Time
- Funding for November 2022
Criteria and Funding Priorities
If your organization received a Community Care Grant in 2021 and are looking to submit another request in 2022, please keep in mind:
- Funding is awarded once per fiscal year, per organization.
- Organizations funded in 2021 must have completed their grant term and submitted their report for review as outlined in your grant agreement.
If you have questions concerning your organization’s grant terms, please contact Black Trans Fund at [email protected].
The Black Trans Fund is a fund explicitly for Black transgender, gender non-conforming, and gender-expansive communities rooted in the resilience and legacy of Black Trans leaders. We support bold, innovative, and underfunded organizations to build power and create meaningful impact in their communities.
The Black Trans Fund supports organizations led by Black trans people. This means a majority (75% or greater) of the board, staff, leadership team, and volunteers of the organization are in leadership positions and decision-making is led by these communities.
Community Care Grant Funding is open to all Black trans-identified communities, although we strongly encourage applications that uplift and center:
- Black trans masculine communities
- Black non-binary, gender-expansive, gender non-conforming communities
- Black trans-identified sex workers
- Black trans communities identifying as disabled and/or navigating chronic health conditions
- Black trans youth and adolescents
The Black Trans Fund defines Black trans-led grassroots organizing as working with directly impacted communities to act collectively to change conditions harming the community due to systemic oppression and state-sanctioned violence. The Community Care Grant opportunity invites requests centering the joy and liberation of Black trans communities and may include:
- Mutual Aid – Moving resources directly to the community, offering to support the wellbeing of the community.
- Wellness and Healing – Offerings of healing sessions, convening, and retreats, supports for mental and emotional health, and gender-affirming care.
- Organizing and Activism – Community-organized campaigns, educational offerings and training, leadership development, and movement response.
- Gender Justice for Trans and Gender-Expansive Youth – supporting organizations, and initiatives that are protecting, supporting, and advocating for trans youth in schools, sports, health, and wellness amidst current legislative threats and/or bans on body autonomy and affirmation.
Application
Before beginning the application process, please make sure you have the following information and documents ready:
+Organization summary information (contact information, budget, nonprofit status)+Fiscal sponsor information, if applicable+501(c)3 letter or fiscal sponsor’s 501(c)3 letter+Three print quality action photos that illustrate your organization’s work in 2020+Diversity Information — download form here: bit.ly/DiversityForm
If you have questions concerning this RFP, please contact Black Trans Fund at [email protected]
You will be taken to a separate page to fill out the application.
For security purposes, you will be required to log into Gmail to complete the application.
