Rapid Response Fund

Rapid Response Fund

Status: Currently closed; First application cycle opens April 27 – May 1, 2026

Award Amount: $5,000

Geographic Scope: United States and U.S. Territories

Overview:
The 2026 Rapid Response Fund resources organizations with urgent projects or requests. Applications will open on the last Monday and close the following Friday of each month until cap has been reached. Projects that reflect escalated resistance, campaigns, events, projects or programmatic work will be prioritized.

Eligible Project Types

• Events
• Direct actions
• Accessibility work
• Mutual aid
• Escalated resistance campaigns
• Programmatic work

Eligibility

• New and returning 501(c)3 or fiscally sponsored organizations
• Organizational budget below $150,000
• Based in the United States and U.S. Territories
• Meet grantee eligibility criteria
• Organizations that received Movement Bank 2026 awards are NOT eligible

Evaluation Criteria

Grant panel evaluates applications based on four guidelines:
• Work is located within an ecology of social justice organizations; organization is aware of how their work fits into a greater whole
• Work reflects a clear understanding of purpose and function within movements for social change
• Have an intersectional/cross-issue analysis; work actively against white and Christian supremacy, capitalism, gender and sexual oppression, and all forms of patriarchy
• Led by those most affected by structural oppression

Application Timeline

• Monthly Cycle: Opens last Monday of each month, closes following Friday at midnight EST
• First 2026 Cycle: April 27 – May 1, 2026
• Decisions: Announced within a week of monthly closing
• Considered on a first-come, first-serve basis until funds depleted

What We Don't Fund

• Social service or research projects
• Legal defense costs or lawsuit projects not directly connected to a progressive organizing campaign
• Material aid campaigns
• Individuals
• Projects whose primary work is outside the United States
• Organizations with access to traditional sources of funding
• Capital campaigns, capital projects, or endowments
• Other foundations or grant-giving organizations
• Organizations with annual budgets over $150,000
• Event or specific program/strategy/campaign grants (unless specifically tied to accessibility)

Contact

• Email: nicki@resist.org
• Phone: 617.623.5110