Rapid Response Fund

Geographic Scope: Chicagoland area (includes city and collar counties and, in some cases, statewide)

Rapid Response Fund grants support grassroots, community solutions and approaches through a variety of advocacy strategies that will protect women, girls, and gender-expansive people and their families and advance policies and interventions that center communities during times of uncertainty and attacks against fundamental rights. The fund supports safety and security-related costs—including legal, digital, and physical protections for community organizations and their teams.

What They Fund:

• Short-term, one-time organizing, advocacy, and safety grants
• Unforeseen program expenses
• Operational capacity in response to urgent advocacy demands
• Activities or costs related to ensuring the safety and security of community members and staff during periods of heightened risk or visibility

Eligible Activities:

• Constituency organizing and mobilization
• Forming and sustaining coalitions
• Leadership development and training
• Public education
• Litigation
• Research
• Policy development and advocacy
• Safety and security activities (determined by each organization based on its work, risk assessment, and identified needs)

Eligibility Requirements:

• Must be a 501(c)(3) or have a fiscal grant with a 501(c)(3)
• Operate in the Chicagoland area
• Have an organizational budget under $4M
• Be able to affirm CFW's guiding principles
• Applicants are not required to have been previously funded by CFW

Contact:

• Phone: 312-577-2801
• Fax: 312-577-2802
• TTY: 312-577-2803
• Email: info@cfw.org
• Address: 140 S. Dearborn St. Suite 400, Chicago, IL 60603

Application Process

Status: Applications have closed

No current application details are available as the application period has ended.