Partnerships Enable Support to a Wide Range of Grassroots Groups in Social Justice Priority Regions

October 4, 2019

Grants awarded in Arcus’ fall Social Justice Program docket to seven organizations will enable Arcus Foundation to reach dozens of small, grassroots groups led by those most impacted by hate violence, discrimination, and marginalization in our focus areas.

Continued support for UHAI-EASHRI, a grantmaking organization in Kenya that supports LGBTI groups in East African countries, will not only provide core funding, but also enable those groups to convene at a biennial conference. Grants will address community security and anti-discrimination initiatives in Kenya; advocacy for LGBTI-inclusive health and public policies and reduction of impunity and violence against those communities in Uganda; and more.

A significant grant to Borealis Philanthropy for the Fund for Trans Generations—which receives support from Arcus and other foundations—not only ensures that a wide variety of grassroots groups led by and working for transgender communities receive core support, but also helps these groups build a networked movement through convenings, coaching, and technical assistance.

Last June marked three years since the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in which 49 people, mostly LGBTQ people of color, lost their lives and many others were wounded. Our continued support of the Contigo Fund based at Our Fund is helping to strengthen the LGBTQ community of Central Florida with an emphasis on empowering queer and trans Latinx and immigrant communities.

Other grants awarded this fall that help Arcus reach the grassroots include funding for the Astraea Foundation for grantmaking in the Caribbean; Third Wave Fund to support organizations that are trans and non-binary POC-led; the Tides Foundation, for a donor-advised fund that Arcus can access to support important movement building opportunities; and the Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights to address urgent security needs and advocacy opportunities of LGBTQI groups.

Also receiving grants this fall are ACT for Women and Girls, Equality Arizona, Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100), California Rural Legal Assistance, Fundación Arcoíris por el Respeto a la Diversidad Sexual, Fundación Mexicana para la Planeación Familiar, Grupo de Información en Reproducción Elegida (GIRE), Human Rights Watch, Las Reinas Chulas Cabaret y Derechos Humanos, Power California, Public Religion Research Institute, Santa Fe Dreamers Project, and Transgender Law Center.