Equality Fund FY24 Applications
Application deadline: February 29, 2024 at 11:59 p.m.
The Equality Fund at the Boston Foundation FY24 grantmaking cycle closed on Thursday, February 29, 2024 at 11:59 p.m.
About the Equality Fund
The Equality Fund at the Boston Foundation was established in 2012 to advance the equitable treatment of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) individuals and their families, and to support Greater Boston nonprofit organizations that serve and strengthen the LGBTQ+ community. The Equality Fund’s priorities are guided by an Advisory Committee of community members and allies who possess a depth and breadth of understanding about the most pressing issues affecting LGBTQ+ people today.
The Equality Fund is the largest philanthropic fund exclusively dedicated to supporting the LGBTQ+ community in Greater Boston. The Fund is committed to investing in research, advocacy, public forums and convenings, strategic partnerships, and grantmaking to nonprofit organizations in support of our diverse LGBTQ+ community. To date, the Fund has awarded $1,828,947 to over 90 LGBTQ+ organizations and projects.
About this Application Cycle
Starting in 2023, the Equality Fund embarked on a new strategic vision to better serve Greater Boston’s LGBTQ+ community and, as part of our strategy, contribute meaningfully to address the racial and ethnic inequities that exist within this community.
The Equality Fund’s grantmaking approach takes a proactive intersectional lens, as we work across the many diverse spaces that make up the LGBTQ+ community to support the most urgent community needs. This year, the Equality Fund is awarding grants at three levels (see further details below). Priority consideration for larger grants will be for organizations and/or programs that address the following:
- Intersectionality: Organizations and/or programs working at the intersection(s) of race, gender identity, and social justice to further the work of dismantling disparities within the LGBTQ+ community. Organizations and programs whose work starts with, and is centered around, the most marginalized groups in the LGBTQ+ community: people of color (particularly youth of color), transgender and gender expansive communities, refugees and asylum seekers, LGBTQ+ aging adults and senior populations, and individuals who are experiencing homelessness.
- Research & field-building: This is a very concerning moment for the LGBTQ+ community as a whole, but particularly for individuals whose life experience and identity are at the intersection of race and gender, for it jeopardizes their safety, integrity and quality of life. The Equality Fund seeks to partner with organizations and programs pursuing advocacy, educating the public about the LGBTQ+ community’s needs, and amplifying the voices of the most marginalized groups who speak out against the current racial, economic, and legal disparities in our own community.
Applications were due Thursday, February 29, 2024, by 11:59 p.m. The eligibility and application guidelines are below.
About the Grants
- Equality Fund grants for FY24 will be awarded at three (3) levels:
- $1,000 to $5,000
- $15,000
- $25,000
- Grants will be made for general operating support, to organizations and/or projects serving the LGBTQ+ community in Greater Boston and the Boston’s Foundation “catchment area”.
- Grants will be awarded in June 2024. In lieu of written grant report requirements, grantees will be expected to share their experience and the impact of their grant in a phone call with TBF staff.
Eligibility Criteria:
- Eligible organizations and programs include:
- Organizations serving primarily LGBTQ+ populations
- LGBTQ+ serving programs or projects, fiscally sponsored by another organization, in which at least 60% of the program’s participants identify as LGBTQ+
- LGBTQ+ serving programs or projects, housed or operating within a larger organization, in which at least 60% of the program’s participants identify as LGBTQ+
- Programs and organizations serving LGBTQ+ communities, and whose composition of boards, staff, and volunteers are representative of the demographics and lived-experiences of their constituencies
- Funding will support the following types of work:
- Organizations or programs providing critical research, advocacy, or field-building support for the LGBTQ+ community
- Organizations or programs serving the general needs of the LGBTQ+ community. Examples include but are not limited to: arts projects; community-building activities; capacity building (except capital construction costs and related); outreach and educational activities; legal services; youth development and mentoring; cultural awareness and racial and social justice campaigns; economic empowerment; health equity; and human services (such as addressing food insecurity, homelessness and housing instability, healthcare access, refugee support services, and more)
How to Apply:
- Visit our Grants Portal to create and/or verify your user account. Last year the Boston Foundation updated our grant management system, so we encourage you to activate your account well in advance of submitting your grant.
- Please first try using the "Password Reset" link to access the system, as you may already be in our database. You should receive a password reset email after 10 minutes, with additional prompts and instructions.
- If you do not receive this email, click the "Register" button underneath the Login box and follow the prompts to create a new account.
- For detailed instructions on how to activate your account, please review this guide. If you have any difficulty logging in, please reach out to scott.knox@tbf.org.
- Once in the grant portal, follow the instructions to open the Funding Opportunities and select "Equality Fund FY24".
- Fill out the application, and don’t forget to attach your Organizational Operating Budget (in any format you have it).
- Please complete the application on a computer (do not attempt to complete on a hand-held device).
Reminder: Applications were due on Thursday, February 29, 2024, by 11:59 p.m.
If you have any further questions, please email Equality Fund Director Scott Knox at scott.knox@tbf.org.