Urgent Action Fund is a feminist fund with the vision to protect, strengthen and sustain women and trans* human rights defenders at critical moments. The Fund knows how critical it is to support women’s rights organizations that are doing valuable work during these times of crisis. The Fund intervenes quickly when activists are poised to make great gains or face serious threats to their lives and work. Through their Rapid Response Grantmaking, UAF provides small rapid response grants to women and trans* human rights defenders in Asia, the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe, and North America. Activists can apply for grants of up to $5,000 USD in any language on any day of the year and are guaranteed a response within 72 hours.
There are two categories of funding:
1) Advocacy/Opportunity Grants: Potentially precedent-setting legal, legislative, or other advocacy actions that arise at unanticipated and particularly timely moments, or windows of opportunity. In the context of the current refugee crisis, examples of what might fit under this category include: rapid documentation of human rights violations against women and girls to be presented to policymakers; women or trans*-led public awareness raising actions to bring attention to or push for improved conditions for women and girl refugees; and/or activities with a specific focus on LBTQI refugees.
2) Safety/Security Grants:Protection and security of women and trans* human rights defenders and women and trans*-led organizations facing threats or attacks due to their activism. Note that Evacuation Grants fall under this category. Evacuation Grants are designed for women’s human rights activists who are in urgent need of relocation funding because of threats, persecution and/or an extreme security situation.
**Please note that UAF do not support humanitarian/charity aid (such as distribution of medicines and hygiene products), or pre-planned long-term assistance projects. They also do not provide asylum/refugee status establishment related legal support for individuals.
To apply for a grant you must fit the following four criteria:
1) Strategic – the action promotes the advancement of women’s human rights.
2) Unanticipated and Time Urgent – the specific event or situation your organization is responding to was unanticipated and action must happen quickly to be effective.
3) Supported – the group has the support of others involved in women’s human rights or related fields, locally or globally.
4) Woman/Trans*-led – women/transgender people must be the primary decision-makers in the organization, group, or action.
UAF would like to extend their support and solidarity to organizations and activists in Bulgaria and encourage them to apply for a rapid response grant if the situation arises. For more information, please visit the website: urgentactionfund.org. For additonal information please respond to office@bgfundforwomen.org.
