Our Responsibility During COVID-19 is Real — And We Need You
The COVID-19 pandemic and the global response is a magnifying glass on every systemic inequity that low income Black and brown communities, trans and gender non-conforming folks, sex workers, sick and disabled, undocumented, and incarcerated communities, and so many others have been fighting against forever.
For us at Third Wave Fund, our responsibility right now is clear — we will continue to support, fight for, and take care of our people in the best ways we can. That means in this moment, we are moving more rapid response dollars than before.
We increased our Mobilize Power rapid response fund from $375,000 to $500,000 (and growing!). We partnered with a team of public foundations to double down on our commitment to trans communities. We will continue to support our long-term grantees for the long haul because we know the economic and community impacts of this pandemic will persist beyond 2020. And we have made these shifts because we are committed to making sure that young, low income communities of color, queer, trans, and intersex folks have the resources and tools they need to safely take care of their communities, and to create the new, thriving world we all so desperately need.
In the past two weeks alone, we received $650K in rapid response requests ranging from bailing out and housing trans sex workers locked up at Rikers to healing justice and mutual aid strategies. This is almost 10 times the amount that we usually get — prior to the pandemic, $350K is what we budgeted for all of 2020. We are committed to resourcing folks fighting for safe, healthy, and thriving communities as best we can. But we need help to support this work.
Now is a time for us all to take action. The only way Third Wave can meet the flood of requests, is if we all do what we can to stretch in our resourcing, show up for our local communities and grassroots organizations with generosity, give as much as possible to social justice intermediaries, and double down on your commitments this year, if you can.
Here are some concrete ways you can plug in:
+ Give directly to any of our grantees, they are all doing amazing work
+ Pledge your stimulus check through #ShareMyCheck
+ Donate a one-time gift to help us meet our $350K rapid response goal
+ Commit to a sustained monthly gift to make sure we keep showing up for communities
If we've learned anything from the last financial crisis, it is that individuals are the lifeboat for many organizations during moments like these. Y’all got Third Wave Fund and our grantees through the last recession, and every day since — because of your consistent commitment to resourcing grassroots brilliance that centers the experience and wisdom of the folks closest to the issue. That’s why we are asking you to show up again, to take care of those in our communities who need support, and make sure we all survive to build the world that we not only need, but dream of.
We are so grateful for you.
We are thinking of you.
We wish you resiliency through this.
Third Wave Fund
