Liberation Fund

Collaborating to Support the Field

In the wake of a game-changing election, Groundswell started the Liberation Fund to support the strongest grassroots organizing efforts led by women of color and transgender people of color across social justice sectors.

Groundswell Fund and Groundswell Action Fund are organizations with unique strategies.

501(c)3 organizations must be completely non-partisan and cannot support candidates. These organizations can give donors a tax exemption.

501(c)4 organizations that cannot offer donors a tax exemption for donations but can do unlimited lobbying and direct candidate support.

Liberation Fund Advisors

See List of Advisors

The Liberation Fund was launched in 2017 to support racial and gender justice organizations led by women of color and transgender and gender-expansive people of color.

A team of 14 of the most respected, impactful women of color leaders across social justice sectors advises and supports the fund, including high-profile thought leaders such as Alicia Garza of Black Futures Lab, Isa Noyola of Mijente, and Ai-jen Poo of the National Domestic Workers Alliance.

How do Liberation Funds get distributed?

Our grantee organizations fought against the prison and immigration industrial complex, pushed back against gentrification, defended community members’ homes from developers and corporate giants like Amazon, fought for the dignity and livelihood of trans and gender-expansive people, and for environmental justice.

Advisors also offered feedback to help shape Groundswell’s 2020-2025 Blueprint.

Am I a Good Fit for Liberation Fund grants?

Grantees must meet a high bar to be considered for funding and will be assessed for their strength in some of the following areas:

• Strong grassroots organizing capacity. The effective use of base-building leadership development and strategic campaigns to enable those most impacted by injustice to transform the policies, systems, and material conditions that impact their lives.
• A sophisticated race/class/gender/decolonization analysis of the political landscape (including how it impacts women of color and transgender people of color) that informs strategic campaign plans as well as internal organizational practices.
• Whole person organizing. Organizational values, practices, and priorities reflect an environment where staff and constituents are supported to bring their whole selves and their identities to the work.
• Leadership. Organizations led by women of color and/or transgender people of color with a highly engaged and growing membership base comprised of people directly impacted by the conditions that the organization seeks to transform.