Urgent Response Fund

Urgent Response Fund

Overview: The Urgent Response Fund supports smart, efficient, and effective responses to geopolitical crises in their immediate aftermath. From natural disasters to threats to reproductive freedom, partners are working hard and saving lives under extraordinarily difficult circumstances.

Focus Areas

#### Human Rights & Immigration

ICE Detention Support: Paying bonds to help individuals get free from ICE detention

Family Support: Groceries, child care, and access to information technology for families of detained individuals

Transportation: Helping people get home after release from detention; providing gas for ride services for those afraid to walk streets

Income Support: Resources for families losing income due to fear of going to work

Housing: Rental assistance and other programs addressing medium-term impacts

Geographic Priority: BIPOC and Immigrant-led organizations in communities directly impacted by ICE, including Minneapolis MN, Portland OR, and Lewiston ME

#### Reproductive Rights

Direct services in states where abortion remains legal

Safe, legal pathways to abortion access

Intersection of reproductive rights and voter engagement for policy reform

Focus Areas Include:

Integrating full-spectrum reproductive health care into primary care settings

Supporting independent abortion clinics (security improvements, equipment replacement, legal compliance)

Benefit events and fundraising campaigns

#### Natural Disasters

Emergency relief and recovery support

Infrastructure restoration

Food security and housing assistance

Cash support for disaster survivors

Recent Examples:

July 2023: Vermont flood response

February 2023: Syria earthquake survivors

2022: Pakistan flood relief

2021: Haiti earthquake response

2017: Hurricane Irma in Anguilla

#### Humanitarian Relief

Support for organizations providing critical humanitarian services

Refugee and displacement support

Healthcare access (neonatal care, nutrition centers, clean water systems)

Grantee Organizations Highlighted

• Midwest Immigration Bond Fund (MIBF)
• We The Gente
• Seeds Worth Sowing
• Community Organizing Alliance
• BrightSide Produce
• Reproductive Health Care Access Project (RHAP)
• Noise for Now
• Abortion Care Network - Keep Our Clinics
• Alight

Contact Information

• Address: P.O. Box 1112, Richmond, Vermont 05477
• Email: info@pennywise.org
• Website: pennywise.org