Call for Concepts

Climate Justice for queer, trans, and intersex communities in the U.S.

I. Summary

The Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice is the only philanthropic organization working exclusively to advance queer, trans, and intersex human rights around the globe. We support brilliant and brave grantee partners in the U.S and internationally who challenge oppression and seed change. We work for racial, economic, social, and gender justice, because we all deserve to live our lives freely, without fear, and with dignity.

Astraea has been funding at the intersections of racial, gender, economic and reproductive justice movements, while centering the leadership of Queer and Trans people of color, for forty five years. Astraea’s US Fund centers the liberation of Queer, Trans, Two-Spirit, and Intersex people of color and challenges the criminalization of 2SLBTQI BIPOC, migrants, women of color, mothers, sex workers and youth, among other constituencies who experience high levels of violence and oppression.  Astraea strengthens organizations and movements that acknowledge and fight these multiple barriers to self-determination.

Through this call for concepts, Astraea seeks to award up to 15 one or two year grants in October 2023, totaling approximately $250,000. Grant awards for applications focusing on core support for ongoing work on climate justice will range from $20,000 to $30,000; those for applications focusing on planning for future work on climate justice, either from existing or new groups, will range from $5,000-$10,000. While this new funding program aims to bring additional grantees to our existing portfolio, awards will be considered to current grantees who are working on climate justice or interested in expanding in that direction. To be considered, organizations or groups must be registered or able to be fiscally sponsored in the United States or its claimed territories and must work directly with and for queer, trans, or intersex communities, with strong priority given to BIPOC led and focused organizations. 

II. Scope

Our world is at a critical moment for climate change, with global impacts, unprecedented in scale and frequency, increasing exponentially. Already, much of the world’s population feels the impact of decreased food production, mass migration, and climate disasters, trends that will only increase in scale as the world continues to heat. As has been true historically and remains true today, the most marginalized populations will be the most adversely affected. We’ve seen this in recent years in the United States as mismanaged responses to hurricanes in the gulf south and Puerto Rico ravage communities for years to come, through the impact drought and wildfires have had and continue to have on migrants, farmers, and people experiencing food insecurity  in the United States, and through community suffering through environmental disasters such as the water crisis in Flint or in Navajo Nation, or toxic chemical spills in Ohio, Arizona, and throughout inhabited regions of this nation. Queer, trans, and intersex people are now and will continue to be on the front lines of the climate crisis and Astraea understands that currently, out of sheer necessity, our communities work directly on disaster relief, climate resilience, environmental racism, food scarcity, and other climate justice related initiatives even when that work technically falls outside of their mission.  

Astraea seeks to support initiatives/organizations working on climate justice, environmental racism, and weather and disaster resilience and adaptation with and on behalf of queer, trans, and intersex communities. Astraea is open to a wide range of projects and ways of working. We are less interested in setting parameters than in hearing about the work the community is interested in prioritizing and pursuing. The following guidelines are intended to give a wide range of possibilities and are not exhaustive. We are seeking proposals from groups that are working to: 

1. Mitigate the disproportionate impact of climate change on queer, trans and intersex communities through grassroots activism or direct services, such as providing disaster relief housing, access to clean water and food, providing disaster preparedness trainings or other services (direct or not) related to climate justice, disaster relief, and climate crisis resilience; 
2. Address environmental racism through grassroots activism or direct services, including but not limited to organizing campaigns to combat profit motivated environmental disasters, the use of toxic materials and waste dumping in communities, or organizing for relief and resilience strategies in the wake of environmental disasters; and that are,
3. Explicitly anti-racist and anti-colonialist in their pursuits with special consideration given to QTBIPOC-led and community based efforts. 

While all concepts should respond to the specific requirements of this request for concepts, our intent is to provide grants in the form of “general operating support” to organizations or initiatives whose work speaks specifically to climate justice. This includes queer, trans, and intersex groups who by design or necessity work to house, feed, otherwise service, or build resilience for queer, trans, and intersex communities on the front lines of the climate crisis in the United States and its claimed territories. 

III. Priorities

With Astraea’s strong commitment to racial, gender, and economic justice, our evaluation of concepts will prioritize:

• Organizations/projects with leadership from within the society or community they seek to serve; and open consultation of and accountability to local queer, trans, or intersex communities, particularly Black communities, Indigenous communities, POC communities, trans/gender-diverse people, intersex people, LBQ women, refugees/migrants, people with disabilities

IV. Eligibility Criteria

Every concept will be evaluated by Astraea staff. Applicants should consider the following:

1. Legal status: Applicants must be registered legal entities with a charitable purpose or be fiscally sponsored or willing to be fiscally sponsored with Astraea’s assistance. 
2. Location of applicants: Organizations must be based in and work on behalf of communities in the United States and its claimed territories. 
3. Structure: Work that is led by and centers queer, trans, or intersex communities with strong priority given to BIPOC led and focused organizations or groups. 
4. Focus: Have a demonstrable anti-racist focus and work to shift power to communities that have been historically and continually marginalized 
5. Priority: Your group focuses in whole or in part on climate justice, environmental racism, climate resilience, or disaster relief–this can include but is not limited to work that your organization has taken on by necessity that falls outside of your group’s core mission, such as rapid response disaster relief, in the face of increasing climate related injustice.
6. Budget: Budget size of $500,000 or less annually 

Concepts should  demonstrate clearly how the proposed work relates to the goals and priorities of this call for concepts, and into the wider context of liberatory work. 

V. Concepts must include the following:

1. Identification: Full name of the organization, including legal status.
2. Purpose of funding concept (no more than 1 page):  Describe the proposed work, articulate a main goal, desired outcomes, and how your proposed work fits into a larger struggle for liberation for queer, trans, and intersex communities. Successful concepts will clearly articulate how your proposed work relates to climate. 
3. Populations served (no more than ½ of one page):  Explain the relevance of your proposed work to the communities with whom you work, and how racial and gender analyses inform the proposed work. In short, who are your communities, what is their relationship to climate, and how do you anticipate they will benefit from your proposed work? 
4. Organizational budget: for the most recently completed fiscal year.
5. Amount requested; general operating support or planning support; geographic focus of the intended impact of the work.
6. Organization background and history: describe the leadership of the organization or group and said leadership’s relationship to the communities your work serves 
7. Additional comments: Any additional relevant information the applicant would like Astraea to take into consideration.

VI. Grant logistics and timeline:

• Grants will be provided as unrestricted funds. If granted, funds can be used to support anything that furthers your mission and is aligned with this call, including operating expenses like rent or salaries. 
• Grants will be for one or two years. 
• We anticipate that 10-15 grants will be made across this cycle 
• Concepts are accepted in writing in English or in Spanish, or in video form in English or in Spanish. If neither of these language options are preferable, please reach out in advance of submitting the concept so that we may facilitate language assistance 

HOW TO APPLY:

Please send the required information in an email with “Climate Justice Concept” in the subject line to usfund@astraeafoundation.org by April 15, 2023. No phone calls, please. Only finalists will be contacted.

Questions:

For more information or with any questions please contact usfund@astraeafoundation.org