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Queer Mobilization Fund’s Application is CLOSED.

What is the Queer Mobilization Fund?  

The Queer Mobilization Fund (QMF) was created in 2016 as a rapid response fund to support community mobilizations and projects that advance Queer and Trans liberation in the wake of NC House Bill 2 (HB2). The longterm vision and purpose of this fund is to support queer and trans people of color on the frontlines of struggles for freedom + liberation and to build power for and within queer communities. Many queer and trans people of color recognize the legacy of slavery, genocide, and violence that made HB2 possible. It is with this reflective lens that illuminates our histories and inspires change in our realities, that supporting queer and trans people of color organizing to reclaim our futures is centered in our funding efforts. 

Since our inception, QMF has supported grassroots organizing and community-building efforts across North Carolina. Historically we have primarily conducted rapid response funding, with grants ranging between $500-$750. After conducting a series of listening circles in 2018, QMF’s model shifted to receiving applications each spring for requests up to $5,000.  In addition to financial resources, QMF offers support in strengthening groups/organizations capacity through participation in a cohort that includes power building support and network gatherings, with the goal of increasing support for grassroots community organizing efforts across the state.   

Our goal is to strengthen the power and presence of queer and trans BIPOC-led organizations across the US Southeast [AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV]

The Queer Mobilization Fund is open to groups who have 501c3 status, a fiscal sponsor, or groups without any legal designation. We prioritize moving grants to organizations with budgets under $300,000 that are: LGBTQ, BIPOC-led, grassroots, community-led, new/emergent, and/or rural organizations doing work in the Southeastern US. QMF intentionally supports communities that are often barred from receiving financial support for their efforts. We do not fund: groups outside of the US southeast, for-profit businesses or projects that are not led by LGBTQ+ communities.  

If you have any questions, please email us at qmf@southernvision.org.

QMF’s Role in Power Building

Queer Mobilization Fund is a resource mobilization strategy within Southern Vision Alliance that seeks to provide financial and power building support to grassroots organizations across the US Southeast. Power building is a strategy to uplift our grantee network in social justice movement building strategies and historically successful organizing tactics with the purpose of supporting networking, skills sharing and base building. Organizing is taking action to change circumstances and to build a world that is free of harm where everyone can thrive. 

Our role is not to lead from above but to amplify and support the work already happening on the ground with aligned organizations, ensuring that those most impacted by systems of oppression are equipped with the tools, resources, spaces to strategize, and support needed to drive their own liberation and to strengthen the organizing and movement infrastructure in the South.

We believe in a holistic vision of organizing which supports Queer and Trans Black, Indigenous, and People of Color practitioners, organizers and leaders in addressing systems that harm, are ableist, and lead to burnout, which is why all of our grants come with an organizational wellness stipend. In our effort to build a broad base and cross-sectional power-building network in this mass movement moment, our current funding priorities (see below) will uplift work that includes healing justice, cultural organizing, and base building, while creating visibility for BIPOC/LGBTQ people through stories, creative expression, and other artistic mediums that directly impact and/or influence the work of power building. We believe this includes changing the internal dynamics of how we run our organizations to shift toward longer-term movement sustainability, as well.

The Queer Mobilization Fund is open to groups who have 501c3 status, a fiscal sponsor, or groups without any legal designation. We prioritize moving grants to organizations with budgets under $300,000 that are: centered in building power through organizing, base building, and collective action, LGBTQ, BIPOC-led, grassroots, community-led, new/emergent, and/or rural organizations doing work in the Southeastern US. QMF intentionally supports communities that are often barred from receiving financial support for their efforts. We do not fund: groups outside of the US southeast, for-profit businesses or projects that are not led by LGBTQ+ communities.  

If you have any questions, please email us at qmf@southernvision.org.

QMF is changing some of our offerings this year to highlight power building and concentrate our impact as we fight against cycles of systemic oppression. What’s new?

• Smaller cohort size

Because we are invested in making sure our power building cohort has the best support possible, QMF is cutting down the size of our cohort starting this year. This shift is designed to support our groups in making the highest possible impact on their communities, with an intense focus on growth and collaboration.

•  Participation guidelines

Historically, engagement for grantees in QMF’s power building opportunities has been completely optional. With the intentional shift to better focus on power building, we are changing our grant requirements to include consistent engagement in cohort offerings, with a minimum participation goal for grantees of once per month. As a capacity building fund, we consider this offering to be at least as important as the money! Grant decisions for this cycle will be deeply informed by applicants’ interest in engaging in power building offerings.

• Multi-year funding

We’re thrilled to announce that QMF is launching our first ever multi-year grant! The Multi-Year Funding Fellowship offers returning grantees an opportunity to invest in their own growth with a three-year grant that offers $20,000 per year to awarded organizations, for a total of $60,000 over the grant term. Multi-Year Fellows will be required to regularly engage in power building opportunities, including cohort networking, one-on-one coaching, executive support, and fundraising skill building consistently throughout the grant cycle. This offering centers an intention and responsibility to grow movement maturity through efforts to increase organizational capacity and overall sustainability.

• Other funding opportunities

Outside of our BISCUITS, GRAVY, and Multi-Year grants, QMF will now be offering additional grant opportunities for organizations that are not awarded a power building grant. Small grants of up to $3,000 will be available for general operations and/or rapid response support for QTBIPOC-led and centered projects in the US Southeast. For more information on these funds, please reach out to us at qmf@southernvision.org. 

• Material support

QMF is beginning a resource sharing program, in which we will do our best to match those with material needs (i.e. technology, furniture, office supplies, space access, accessibility tools) to those who may be able to meet those needs. This information will be gathered through our existing applications. Those with materials to share are encouraged to reach out to our team at qmf@southernvision.org

We offer two different grant opportunities:

BISCUITS Grant

A capacity-building grant of up to $5,000 that is open to organizations with budgets under $300,000 and who center building power through organizing, base building, and collective action in their work. The BISCUITS grant includes access to a power-building cohort of peer organizations with networking + skills-building opportunities. If your organization needs support with developing or strengthening an organizing and base-building strategy, please let us know.

Grant recipients are asked to attend two short virtual gatherings to open and close the grant cycle, as well as a QMF gathering, time and format TBD. This grant comes with a $500 organizational wellness stipend and encourages participation in power building. Shifting this year to double down on QMF’s commitment to power building, participation in the cohort is required to receive funding, but groups who are not interested in participating in QMF’s power building support may still seek other funding opportunities with us. We hear from many grantees that the power building and cohort experiences are the best parts of the grant! This grant is only open to groups who have never received a QMF grant before OR are a previous QMF grantee who has turned in their most recent QMF final report.

We offer two different grant opportunities:

BISCUITS Grant

A capacity-building grant of up to $5,000 that is open to organizations with budgets under $300,000 and who center building power through organizing, base building, and collective action in their work. The BISCUITS grant includes access to a power-building cohort of peer organizations with networking + skills-building opportunities. If your organization needs support with developing or strengthening an organizing and base-building strategy, please let us know.

Grant recipients are asked to attend two short virtual gatherings to open and close the grant cycle, as well as a QMF gathering, time and format TBD. This grant comes with a $500 organizational wellness stipend and encourages participation in power building. Shifting this year to double down on QMF’s commitment to power building, participation in the cohort is required to receive funding, but groups who are not interested in participating in QMF’s power building support may still seek other funding opportunities with us. We hear from many grantees that the power building and cohort experiences are the best parts of the grant! This grant is only open to groups who have never received a QMF grant before OR are a previous QMF grantee who has turned in their most recent QMF final report.

GRAVY Grant

A $10,000 capacity-building grant that invites grantees to prioritize and commit to power building and is available only to prior BISCUITS grant recipients with budgets under $450,000. Grant recipients have access to all resources provided to them in previous grant cycles, as well as a $1000 organizational wellness stipend. If your organization needs support with developing or strengthening an organizing and base-building strategy, please let us know.

Grant recipients are required to attend two short virtual gatherings to open and close the grant cycle, as well as engaging in QMF’s power building offerings at least once per month for the duration of the grant. This grant is available only to previous BISCUITS grant recipients who have turned in their most recent final report. There are a limited number of GRAVY grants – any group that applies for and does not receive a GRAVY grant, will automatically be considered for the BISCUITS grant (as long as total budget is under $300k).

Multi-Year Funding Fellowship

A three-year, $20,000/year ($60,000 total) capacity-building grant that expects grantees to prioritize and commit to power building and is available only to prior BISCUITS or GRAVY grant recipients with budgets under $450,000.  Grant recipients have access to all resources provided to them in previous grant cycles, as well as a $1000 organizational wellness stipend.  This funding fellowship is designed to support organizations in building toward greater collective action and movement sustainability through regular power building commitments with QMF staff, contractors, partners, and other grantees. If your organization needs support with developing or strengthening an organizing and base-building strategy, please let us know. 

Grant recipients are required to participate in two short virtual gatherings to open and close the grant cycle, ongoing one-on-one coaching, cohort networking, and regular executive leadership support. This fellowship also holds a higher focus on grant writing skills and relationship- building with other funders, as it is intended to shift grantees toward longer-term organizational growth via funding sources outside of QMF. This grant is available only to previous QMF grant recipients who have turned in their most recent final report and have not received a GRAVY grant more than once. There are a limited number of Multi-Year grants – any group that applies for and does not receive a Multi-Year grant, will automatically be considered for the other BISCUITS or GRAVY grant opportunities in this cycle, pending eligibility.

Funds applications that fall within one or more of the following funding priorities:

• Organizing, Base-Building, Direct-Action: Support for your organization to support existing programming or to create new programming related to organizing/mobilizing/campaigning/collective action or other strategies to build power and take action within QTBIPOC communities
• Organizational development: Support for your organization to do strategic planning, organizational strengthening, development of organizational structures and processes, build out a safety and security strategy, etc. 

• Leadership development: Support for you or your organization to take advantage of opportunities to strengthen the leadership, capacity, and sustainability of LGBTQ BIPOC. (i.e. coaching, accessing trainings/conferences, or support for the creation of a leadership development program within your organization).  

• Solidarity Convenings & Land-Based Sanctuary: Support for efforts that increase protection and safety for LGBTQ BIPOC and/or bring together LGBTQ BIPOC to relationship build, strategize, and extend solidarity efforts across issues, identities, and geographies.   

Areas of work we fund (based on community input):

• Organizational development: Support for your organization to do strategic planning, organizational strengthening, development of organizational structures, processes, etc. 

• Leadership development: Support for you or your organization to take advantage of opportunities to strengthen the leadership of LGBTQ BIPOC. (i.e. coaching, accessing trainings/conferences, or support for the creation of a leadership development program within your organization).  

• Solidarity convenings/gatherings: Support for efforts that bring together LGBTQ BIPOC to relationship build, strategize, and extend solidarity efforts across issues, identities, and geographies.   

• Healing Justice: Support for efforts that address trauma and healing with a political, social, economic, and spiritual framework.  

• Creative Liberation: Support for projects that embody arts based-liberation strategies, create visibility for BIPOC/LGBTQ people through stories, creative expression, and other artistic mediums.  

QMF’s Process – Grant Cycle Closed

Applications are reviewed by QMF’s community grantmaking panel, consisting of community members, activists/organizers and QMF grantees from and connected to the US Southeast [AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV]. 

August 1: Application opens  

August 27: Application Rep. appointment deadline

September 5: Application closes 

November 4: Grant decisions announced 

November 4-22: Distribution of funds 

How to Apply – Grant Cycle Closed

You can submit an application online via the clickable button above. We also understand  that written communication is not the best means of showing off every project, and we are happy to offer an Application Representative (Application Rep.) to anyone who requests this option. An Application Rep. is a member of our staff or grantmaking panel and supports groups who want to apply to QMF but may not feel comfortable applying using a written application. An Application Rep may also reach out to your group if the grantmaking panel has questions about your application. The deadline to request an Application Rep. appointment is August 25.

Do you want assistance in developing your organizations project proposal? We are happy to talk through your idea and give you feedback on your application before you submit. Please email us at qmf@southernvision.org.  

Alternative Applications:

Please email us at qmf@southernvision.org for more information on alternate ways to apply to the program including phone conversation, video, portfolio submissions, or other creative ideas via our Application Representative process.

If you have any safety and/or security concerns regarding submitting an application to QMF, please reach out to us to schedule a conversation. We are deeply cognizant of the challenges and dangers posed to many of our applicants and grantees in this political moment, and are committed to protecting your safety as best we can.

Do you want assistance in developing your organization’s project proposal? We are happy to talk through your idea and give you feedback on your application before you submit. Please email us at qmf@southernvision.org.  

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