Accountable Futures Fund

Status
Invite-only

The Accountable Futures Fund supports communities, organizations, and movements led by young BIPOC cis and trans women, and queer, trans, and gender non conforming people to navigate conflict and harm in ways that decrease the power of carceral and state systems. This fund specifically aims to resource Black people, trans people, sex workers, and youth who are on the frontlines and at the forefront of both visioning and practicing transformative justice, restorative justice, and community accountability.*

Meet our grantees
Illustration of a femme person with kinky black hair, wearing a yellow blouse and a bracelet of blue beads. They are cupping their hands in front of their face and blowing yellow flower petals in front of their face. The illustration is set against a black background with large pink, blue, and yellow blobs. The Accountable Futures Fund logo (with an imperfect yellow triangle) is in the upper left corner.

Fund Status

Currently, the Accountable Futures Fund gives out grants on an annual, invite-only basis. Invitations are given to groups who are recommended through other Third Wave Fund grantmaking programs, Accountable Futures Fund grantees, Third Wave Fund staff, and our Advisory Committee Members. Groups/organizations do not need to be an existing Third Wave Fund grantee to be eligible for this fund.

History

Third Wave Fund has learned through decades of grantee partnership that reproductive and gender justice organizations, like any institutions, will experience conflict and those involved, like all people, will intentionally and unintentionally perpetuate harm. When young people - especially young trans and cis women of color and trans, intersex, queer, and gender non-conforming youth of color; and low-income communities - have the resources and opportunities to navigate conflict and transform the conditions under which conflict occurs - they have the opportunity to build stronger organizations and movements for social change.

In response to emerging trends in rapid response applications and grantee discussions that spoke to an increased need to resolve conflict and prevent harm, Third Wave Fund launched a series of exploratory interviews with women, trans, and queer people of color with experience in community accountability, restorative justice, and transformative justice processes. They included emerging and established facilitators and practitioners, grantees, adults, and youth with and without organizational affiliations from the Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Midwest, and West Coast. The insight shared was rich and nuanced and led to two years of making pilot grants to organizations who have deep history developing frameworks and practices for transforming harm and conflict. Through conversations with grantees across these two years, we learned that resourcing this work in ways that are accessible, prevent co-optation, and shift philanthropy away from punitive, top-down responses to conflict and harm is not only necessary but possible.

With a commitment to providing truly flexible funding that is responsive to and aligned with the needs of transformative justice, restorative justice, and community accountability practitioners, we have developed the Accountable Futures Fund.

​Accountable Futures Fund logo/illustrations created by Cristy C. Road, a first generation Cuban-American artist and musician who uses illustration, writing, and punk rock music as her preferred mediums. Cristy is the creator of the Next World Tarot, an illustrated tarot deck depicting resilience and revolution. Her illustrations have been featured in New York Magazine, The Advocate, The New York Times, Bitch magazine, and many more. Image Description (top): An illustrative logo with the words "Accountable Futures Fund" below a collage of people modeling modes of care and resilience, such as a young person with black curly hair blowing petals in the air, two elderly people laughing and working with plants, another person sitting in a wheelchair smiling, and more people in the background tending to the land. The word "accountable" is in seafoam green cursive script and the words "Futures Fund" are below in grey capital lettering and vines and flowers wrapping around the letters. Image Description (right side): A young person of color with black curly hair and a yellow shirt blowing petals in the air.

FAQs

The Accountable Futures Fund provides general operating support grants up to $21,000 to grassroots organizations who are developing the fields of transformative justice, restorative justice, and community accountability. This means funding organizations whose work is building up the skills and capacity of their communities to respond to harm and violence in ways that create sustainable alternatives to the police, prison, and other carceral systems.

This fund is committed to providing flexible funding through general operating support grants; offering an accessible, low barrier application and reporting process; centering relationship building; and moving philanthropy to better resource the fields of transformative justice, restorative justice, and community accountability with responsibility, responsiveness, and care. Funds can be used for training and leadership development, resource sharing, research, public education, and more.

While this fund is not meant to resource specific accountability processes, funds may be used to support facilitators in this work.

  • Youth and / or intergenerational leadership: young BIPOC cis and trans women, and queer, trans, and gender non conforming people are in leadership, facilitation, and decision-making roles
  • Gender justice: an analysis of gender-based violence is embedded within the practice of the group/organization. Ending patriarchy, transphobia, homophobia, gender inequity, or gender-based violence is central to the group/organization’s work.
  • Transformative justice, restorative justice, and community accountability: groups/organizations are developing infrastructure, resources, and practices that build and strengthen the fields of transformative justice, restorative justice, and community accountability
  • Organizational need: group/organization has a budget under $500,000
  • Tax status: groups must have 501c3 or fiscal sponsor status to receive grants through this fund

If your group/organization fits the criteria listed above and you would like to share your work with us, please reach out to mai@thirdwavefund.org. We welcome calls with current and former Third Wave Fund grantees, as well as groups/organizations who have not yet received a Third Wave Fund grant.

Advisory Council

In 2022, we launched the Accountable Futures Fund Advisory Council, made up of transformative justice, restorative justice, and community accountability practitioners and organizers. This Advisory Council works to ensure that this fund is responsive and accountable to frontline transformative justice, restorative justice, and community accountability practitioners, networks, and organizers who are centering youth leadership and intersectional gender justice.

Headshot of Ana Mercado, who has short dark hair and is wearing colorful dangling earrings, framed against a bright red mosaic background

Ana Mercado

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Headshot of Che Johnson-Long (in black and white), who has a shaved head and is wearing a high-necked shirt

Che Johnson-Long

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Five colorful shapes overlap slightly to form one image, all solid colors: a green illustration of a leaf (DFF logo), two blue interlocking half circles (MPF logo), a yellow triangle (AFF logo), two red semicircle lines, one within the other (GPF logo), and a pink flower-like shape with four sides (SWGC logo).

Hyejin Shim

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Headshot of Stas Schmiedt, who is wearing thin gold-framed glasses and a dark green headscarf, framed against a background of sunny trees

Stas Schmiedt

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Headshot of Woods Ervin, who has a loose afro and is wearing round black-framed glasses, framed against a gray, beachy background

Woods Ervin

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Grantees