Mobilize Power Fund

Status
Open

The Mobilize Power Fund is a rapid response fund that resources gender justice organizations to adapt or pivot their work when met with unanticipated, time-sensitive opportunities or threats to their movement building work and organizing conditions. 

Apply by written application, video, or phone!

​The Mobilize Power Fund prioritizes organizations that are responding to specific incidents or changes of circumstances that have occurred in the last six months. This can include rapid response mobilizations, healing justice work, conflict resolution/conflict transformation, community accountability, mutual aid, direct actions, emergency safety, security, and defense needs, and more. This fund prioritizes groups and organizations who are experiencing an unanticipated incident. Because of this, organizations applying on behalf of a budget shortfall or preplanned events or ongoing programming will not be prioritized.

An illustration of two dark-skinned femme people among large pink roses and green leaves. One person is wearing a pink headwrap and a teal shirt that reads "Black Lives Matter" and has their fist up. The other person is wearing purple hijab and a blue shirt that reads "Queer Power" and is speaking into a megaphone. They are set against a background of green, blue, pink, and yellow blobs. The Mobilize Power Fund logo (two interlocking blue semicircles) is in the upper left corner.

Key Dates

Deadlines are as follows at 7:00pm in your time zone. Please note we are no longer accepting applications on a rolling basis. See our calendar below for when our grant portal is open and accepting applications.

February Deadline
February 4, 2025
March Deadline
March 4, 2025
May Cycle Grant App Opens
April 4, 2025
May Deadline
May 6, 2025
July Cycle Grant App Opens
May 28, 2025
July Deadline
July 1, 2025
August Deadline
August 5, 2025
October Cycle Grant App Opens
September 2, 2025
October Deadline
October 7, 2025

Key Dates

Deadlines are as follows at midnight in your time zone, with the exception of April, June, August, November, and December for program break.

February Deadline
February 4, 2025
March Deadline
March 4, 2025
May Cycle Grant App Opens
April 4, 2025
May Deadline
May 6, 2025
July Cycle Grant App Opens
May 28, 2025
July Deadline
July 1, 2025
August Deadline
August 5, 2025
October Cycle Grant App Opens
September 2, 2025
October Deadline
October 7, 2025

History

We launched the Mobilize Power Fund because powerful movements need the ability to respond to and heal from immediate threats and opportunities with flexible and responsive funding. Mobilize Power Fund’s first iteration was to support organizers against HB2, the transphobic “Bathroom Bill” proposed in North Carolina in 2016.

The Mobilize Power Fund logo - an illustration with a light blue and bright green/leafy background partially filled with illustrations of yellow, pink, and orange flowers. Throughout the field of green and flowers, people are holding signs that say "Nunca Mas!" and "Access for all" and "Apply now." One person is holding a megaphone, and other people wear shirts that say "The future is gender full" and "Black Lives Matter" and "Queer Power." In a blue stripe towards the right, angled text reads "Mobilize Power Fund."

FAQs

​​The Mobilize Power Fund prioritizes organizations that are led by young women of color (transgender and cisgender), and trans, queer, gender non conforming and intersex young people of color under 35, led by and for communities directly impacted by the issues they focus on, have an intersectional gender justice lens, and have a total organizational budget under $500k​. Groups do not need 501c3 of fiscal sponsor status to apply.

We only fund within the United States and U.S. territories, including American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Mobilize Power Fund prioritizes pivots towards unanticipated and time-sensitive community organizing or direct action, Participatory Action Research, healing justice work, conflict mediation/resolution, legal or bail fees, marches or rallies, leadership training & skills building, mutual aid, and unanticipated legislative or ballot initiative campaigns. 

Mobilize Power Fund does not prioritize applications for covering budget shortfalls, ongoing, regularly scheduled programs, start-up or seed costs, general operating costs, fundraising, previously planned or long-term campaigns (we define long-term as programming extending beyond 6 months), projects led by individuals, charity, or groups based outside of the United States and U.S. territories.

​Grants can be made for up to $10,000 USD. Partnership or coalitions of two or more groups can request up to $20,000 USD.

​Proposals are accepted multiple times a year through our monthly review cycles. Proposals can be submitted as early as one month before a review deadline, but must be submitted by that deadline to be considered for that specific month’s cycle.

There are five main areas of criteria your organization must meet:

  • BIPOC Youth Leadership. Young women of color (transgender and cisgender), and trans, queer, gender non conforming and intersex young people of color under 35 are in leadership and decision-making roles. There is by and for leadership of communities directly-impacted by the issues you are responding to.
  • Gender Justice. Your political analysis shows how the issue(s) you're responding to are connected to patriarchy, transphobia, homophobia, gender inequity, or gender-based violence.
  • Rapid Response. Your proposal is a time-sensitive response to an immediate and unanticipated movement building threat or opportunity that requires your group to significantly pivot from your ongoing and regularly planned work. 
  • Community Power Building. The strategies and activities in your proposal strengthen the organizing and movement building power of your communities. In addition, these strategies and activities directly lead to the overall goals of your proposal. 
  • Organizational Budget. Organizations must have a budget under $500,000 to be eligible to receive a Mobilize Power Fund grant. In addition, we prioritize groups and organizations based in areas with limited access to philanthropic resources and who do not have access to 501c3 status or fiscal sponsorship.

Groups are notified within four to six weeks after the monthly review deadline about whether they are recommended for funding, not recommended for funding, or if there are additional follow-up questions for applicants.

Grant payment typically occurs up to two months after the monthly review deadline, after notification and all necessary paperwork is completed. Payments are made via ACH direct deposit (as applicable), around the 15th and last day of the month. We may be able to process requests faster for emergencies.

​​The Mobilize Power Fund exists as a resource for urgent reproductive and gender justice activism because of individual contributions from our community. If you are moved by this fund, consider joining hundreds of other community members who give monthly to sustain this resourcing, or give a one-time gift today.

Email mpf@thirdwavefund.org or call us at 917-387-1262 x 920.

Application Instructions

2025 Update: We’ve refined the questions for the narrative proposal in order to get a better sense of your work. Even if you’ve applied before, please read the questions carefully as they’ve been updated in March of 2025.

Access Note:
Our goal is to make our application process as easy as possible. We use a screen reader-compatible online portal for English applications. If you have feedback on what works well or what doesn’t work well, or need accommodations in order to apply, we'd like to hear from you. Please contact us at mpf@thirdwavefund.org or call us at 917-387-1262 x 920.

To apply for the Mobilize Power Fund, we’ll need the following information for a complete application:

Basic Information: Contact information, group description, and a brief (1-2 sentence) description of your application.

Proposed Budget: Please include the full budget for the work you are proposing, even if it exceeds your requested amount. You can download and use this Project Budget template.

Group / Organizational Budget: Please include your group or organization's total budget of your current calendar or fiscal year (if applicable). Please download and use this Organizational Budget template.

If you are an independent 501(c)(3): IRS Letter for your Organization

If you are Fiscally Sponsored:

  1. Fiscal Sponsor’s Organizational Budget
  2. Fiscal Sponsor’s 501(c)(3) IRS Letter
  3. Current Fiscal Sponsor Agreement signed by both parties

Answers to our Application Narrative Questions: We accept application narratives as written proposals, selfie video submissions, OR through a Zoom or phone call. Please download and use this Application Narrative template. Application narrative questions are below. 

  • Written application narratives should be no more than 1-2 pages in length uploaded to our grant portal. 
  • Video narratives should be no more than 10 minutes in length with a link to the video uploaded to our grant portal.
  • Interview calls should be scheduled by emailing mpf@thirdwavefund.org or by calling 917-387-1262 x 920. Interview calls must be scheduled and completed at least one week before the application deadline.
  • Please note: Due to limited staff capacity, depending on the number of requests we get each month, we may not be able to accommodate your group for an interview call. We aim to prioritize phone interviews for groups for which a written narrative is not accessible, as well as groups led by BIPOC trans people, groups led by young people under 25, groups with no tax status, Spanish-speaking groups, and groups based in U.S. territories.
  1. Please describe the purpose and structure of your organization. Include a brief overview of your ongoing or long-term programming, projects, and campaigns. If you are applying as a partnership or coalition, provide a brief description of each group or organization.
  2. Context: Tell us about the specific incident or change in circumstance that has occurred in the last six months that you are responding to. Please let us know how this response is connected to gender justice.
  3. Pivot: Tell us how your organization or group has or plans to pivot  in response to this change in circumstance. How is this pivot different  from the work you’ve already been doing? Please include a detailed timeline for your response and how your strategies and activities directly address the incident or change of circumstance that has occurred in the six months.  What impact do you hope to have within 6-8 months as a result of this pivot? 
  4. Leadership: Please specify the leadership roles that young BIWOC and/or TIGNCBIPOC** have in your work.
  5. Impact: How will young BIWOC and/or TIGNCBIPOC** benefit from your proposed work? Who else will be directly impacted through this proposed work?
  6. For partnerships only: How did your groups decide to work together on this issue? What is your history of collaboration, if any? What roles will each group/organization have in your proposed work?​

* Black, Indigenous, women of color (transgender and cisgender)
**Trans, intersex, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming Black, Indigenous, people of color

Third Wave Fund has a new process for applying to our grantmaking programs!  

  • You will need to submit the above application materials to our online portal using the instructions below. Please set up your portal account at least 2 business days before you plan on submitting your application to allow for any potential technical difficulties.

To submit your application:

  1. Go to proteus.fluxx.io.
  1. Login or create an account: 
  • For returning applicants & grantees: If you have previously applied to any of Third Wave Fund or Proteus Fund's grantmaking programs but have not used our new application system before, use the "Forgot Password" function with your email address to reset your password and access your account.
  • For new applicants: Select "Register" and create your account.
  • Once your account has been created, login to apply.
  1. Once you have logged in, select “Apply for Funding” and then “Apply for Third Wave Fund” and then “Apply for Mobilize Power Fund.”
  1. From there, you will be guided to submit the information we need for your application. 
  • For returning applicants & grantees: If you have previously applied to any of Third Wave Fund or Proteus Fund's grantmaking programs, Fluxx will auto-populate your organizational information and materials into your application. You can update this information as you fill out the application. To update your mailing address, go to “My Org.”
  1. Once you have submitted your application, you will receive a confirmation email directly from Fluxx, and your application will be listed under “Submitted Requests” in your account. If we have any follow up questions or need any additional materials, you will be notified through the email address attached to your account and your application will be moved to “Requests to Edit.” In “Requests to Edit,” you can see what materials or information is needed and make changes there. 
  1. You will be able to see where your application is in the decision-making process through your account on Fluxx. We typically approve grants 4 weeks after the deadline, and funds are typically released within 5-8 weeks after the deadline. You can expect to receive a notification email about whether your application was approved for a grant or not within 4-6 weeks of the application deadline.

Questions about submitting your application materials?

If you have questions about submitting your application or using our new application system through Fluxx, please contact mpf@thirdwavefund.org.

Grantees