Alarmed by hate crimes committed in the wake of the presidential election, two donor networks have teamed up to create a fund designed to quickly distribute money to nonprofits and activists working to protect vulnerable people.
Leaders at the Women Donors Network and Solidaire say grants from the new Emergent Fund — so named because its priorities will emerge as social and political conditions change — will prepare organizations to fight anticipated Trump administration policies affecting Muslims, people of color, immigrants, women, and gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people.
“Some of the most dramatic changes take place when new organizations of young people try out new things and experiments,” said Leah Hunt-Hendrix, executive director of Solidaire. “This is going to support organizations really led by communities that are going to be targeted and communities that are thinking of experimental, innovative ways of responding to Trump, taking risks, and trying new things.”
Organizers of the Emergent Fund want to raise $500,000 by the time Mr. Trump is inaugurated on January 20. The fund, which currently has $100,000 in seed money from the founding groups, accepts donations from members of Women Donors Network and Solidaire as well as the public.
The incoming president has philanthropy pondering the big changes that lie ahead in the new administration and what they mean for fundraising, tax policy, spending, immigration, regulation, advocacy efforts, and more.
Identifying Causes
The Emergent Fund will support campaigns and organizations that do community organizing, develop leaders among women and people of color, and work to advance racial justice. Anyone can nominate up to three groups using a form on the fund’s website. Additionally, the group’s founders have tapped community leaders, including those affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement, to join a nominations network designed to actively identify relevant causes.
An advisory board made up of donors and activists “working with expertise in these communities we are trying to protect” will decide how to apportion grant money on a rolling basis starting in January, says Jenifer Fernandez Ancona, vice president for strategy and member engagement at the Women Donors Network.
Advisory board members include Lateefah Simon, executive director of the Akonadi Foundation; Shireen Zaman, director of the Security & Rights Collaborative at the Proteus Fund; Charlene Sinclair, director of reinvestment for the Center for Community Change; Loan Tran, director of the Youth Organizing Institute and communications director for the Southern Vision Alliance; and Cristina Jiménez, co-founder of the United We Dream network.
Giving activists and nonprofit leaders decision-making power over donations is “a way to start to democratize the decisions about funding and open it up to more leaders in the field,” Ms. Fernandez Ancona says.
Beyond Rapid Response
The idea for the Emergent Fund came out of the annual Women Donors Network conference, held this year two days after the presidential election. Members felt strongly that “we need to do something to protect communities who feel vulnerable by investing in them to organize themselves to push back against any policies that would harm them,” Ms. Fernandez Ancona says.
Leaders of the project hope to collaborate with other rapid-response funds. One idea is developing a common grant application to cut down on the paperwork required to tap into financial resources.
The Emergent Fund and two other rapid-response funds will co-host a fundraising event in San Francisco on the evening of the inauguration.
Although it’s important to distribute money quickly, that’s not enough to sustain movements in the long run, said Ms. Hunt-Hendrix, who recommends grant makers tell nonprofits now that their support will continue through 2021.
“We’re also encouraging everyone we know in philanthropy to try as much as possible to make long-term commitments,” she said.
Mr. Hunt-Hendrix also suggested that individuals looking for more ways to give consider donating their savings from expected tax cuts to charity, an idea embraced by individuals who have taken the Trump Relief Pledge.
“Don’t allow yourself to benefit from an administration that is going to be so caustic to those communities,” she said.
