Immediate Response Action Fund Grant

The Immediate Response Action Fund (IRAF) provides urgent financial support for organizations addressing critical needs of women and girls. Established in 2017, this fund offers one-time grants up to $10,000, aimed at responding to unanticipated events requiring swift action. Eligible organizations must primarily serve women and girls and demonstrate a commitment to reproductive justice. Priority is given to those with limited budgets and a focus on low-income communities, ensuring impactful support where it's needed most.

NOTE: Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.
Goals
Important and urgent needs of women and girls are now arising more frequently than anyone could have predicted. As a result, we created the Immediate Response Action Fund (IRAF) in 2017 to quickly distribute funds to organizations to address those needs as they arise. The IRAF grant application and evaluation processes allow WOMEN’S WAY to assess urgent situations more thoroughly and quickly, and determine how to respond most effectively. IRAF funds are restricted grants designated to respond to a specific event, opportunity, or challenge.
Funding
The Fund will provide one-time small grants up to $10,000 for a grant period of up to 12 months. If approved, the grant will be processed in no more than 10 business days after receipt of application.

Eligibility

Grant applications should meet the following criteria to be eligible for funding:Urgent and Unanticipated: the specific event, opportunity, or challenge that your organization is responding to must be unanticipated and must require urgent action. Some examples of unanticipated events include, but are not limited to: a sudden increase in demand for services, an unexpected loss of funding, or unforeseen physical damage to a structure preventing services from being providedFocus on WOMEN’S WAY Four Core Pillars: the proposal must be in response to an unexpected moment or opportunity to address the needs of women and girls in one of the following four areas:

• Advancing reproductive justice and sexual healthIncreasing safety against gender-based violence
• Promoting economic self-sufficiency & justice

Developing the leadership of girls and young womenDemographic: the program/service that you are requesting IRAF funds to support must primarily serve women and/or girls
Geographic: must provide services in one or more of the following counties – Philadelphia, Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, Delaware, Camden, Burlington, Gloucester
Opportunity for Intervention: grant funds must be able to have an immediate impact on the defined issue
Organizations: must be a nonprofit organization that is determined to be a tax-exempt organization under sections 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code or have a fiscal sponsor. Organizations must affirm that they do not have any policies, programs, services, or advocacy that conflict with WOMEN’S WAY’s position on issues, specifically our belief that people should have access to the full range of reproductive health care, including abortion.

Ineligibility

WOMEN’S WAY cannot grant to individuals.