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Original Publication

April 8, 2026

Updated

April 8, 2026

Disability Inclusion Fund and Technology Request for Proposal  2026

We are happy to announce that the Disability Inclusion Fund (DIF) will be funding new work under its Disability x Tech Initiative for 2026-2027, thanks to ongoing support from the Ford Foundation and MacArthur Foundation!

Application Deadline

The deadline for proposals is May 20th, 2026, by 8:59 pm PT or 11:59 pm ET.

 

About Borealis Philanthropy

Borealis Philanthropy is a philanthropic social justice intermediary that works to resource grassroots leaders and social justice movements for transformative change. We help funders expand their reach and strengthen their impact through donor collaboratives that support a variety of issues, communities, and movements. Borealis is comprised of several intersecting donor collaboratives, including the Disability Inclusion Fund and its initiative, Disability x Tech.

 

About the Disability Inclusion Fund

The DIF supports U.S.-based groups run by and for people with disabilities to lead transformational change. The Fund is supported by donors including the Presidents’ Council on Disability Inclusion in Philanthropy, which is comprised of foundation presidents who are committed to disability inclusion as part of improving diversity, equity, and inclusion within philanthropy.

Part of the efforts of disability rights and justice includes the ways disability and technology are working towards shared goals in our movements. This initiative is housed at the DIF and supported by Ford Foundation’s Technology & Society Program and the MacArthur Foundation’s Technology in the Public Interest Program. 

The Disability x Tech initiative exists because we believe that in order for a world where true technology and disability justice are realized, we must support disabled leaders, and disability-led organizations, working to ensure technology can be used by everyone in order to fully participate in our society. We also believe that such a world would be a place where technology is free from perpetuating ableist biases, algorithmic discrimination, and other forms of disparate treatment towards disabled people that contribute to further marginalization.

 

Disability x Tech Initiative Values and Process

All grantee partners will be selected by members of the Disability x Tech and DIF teams, with support and recommendations from the 2026 advisory and review committee. The members of this committee include a range of expertise and backgrounds at the intersection of technology, disability rights and justice.

All Disability x Tech award decisions will align with the DIF’s guiding values:

  • Cross-movement solidarity: Intentional focus on collaboration and bridge-building amongst disability justice activists and across movements.
  • Intersectionality: Acknowledging that disabled people have multiple and intersecting social and political identities that can influence their access and inclusion including race, gender identity, class, and sexual orientation.
  • Leadership of those most impacted: Emphasis is given to organizations led by disabled people of color, queer, gender nonconforming and women with disabilities.
  • Participation: Movement funding is accountable to the disability justice movement. Those most impacted by injustice/exclusion should be involved in strategies to advance justice/inclusion. 
  • Radical inclusion: Deeply committed to removing barriers and ensuring access so that those most affected by intersecting identities can participate, valuing lived experience.
  • Sustainability: Resources and tools that support the growth of grassroots disabled-led organizations, and expand operational capacities for ongoing movement building. 
Commitment to Inclusive and Values-Aligned Funding
  • Borealis Philanthropy and the Disability Inclusion Fund and Technology are committed to values of equity, access, and inclusion. In alignment with our philanthropic mission, this grantmaking opportunity centers the lived experiences of people with disabilities, including those who hold multiple and intersecting identities.
  • While we prioritize support for organizations led by and for marginalized communities, our review is holistic and all eligible applicants will receive fair and full consideration. Final grant decisions will be made in collaboration with the grantmaking committee and will reflect a range of factors, including alignment with DIF’s values, community-informed priorities, and the overall balance of the funding portfolio.

 

What We Fund

We invite proposals that are at the nexus of technology, disability rights and justice. This opportunity may be a good fit for your organization, if you are doing work in any of these areas below:

  • Disabled people sharing technical skills and knowledge with others in the community.
  • Disabled people leading policy, rights, and disability justice activism work related to tech. 
  • Disabled people participate in all stages of the design and development of new tech that will enrich lives of people with disabilities.
  • Enabling collective and equitable access to digital infrastructure. 
  • Expanding the participation, leadership, and thought partnership of overlooked and under-resourced people with disabilities in all areas of the technology sector.
  • Partnerships between disability-focused engineering design labs and maker spaces within schools, centers for independent living, or local nonprofit organizations.
  • Permissible Policy Work: DIF does not fund partisan political activity. We may support nonpartisan policy education and advocacy related to disability and technology. Any lobbying must remain within applicable 501(c)(3) limits and Borealis grant restrictions.

 

Current Funded Projects

It may help you to determine if your organization is a good fit, if you look at the projects and people who currently receive funding from the Disability x Tech Initiative. Please “click through” to read a little about their work! Here’s a partial list:


Eligibility
  • Your organization’s annual budget with committed revenue is less than $1 million based on your most recently completed fiscal year, or your projected 2026 operating budget.
  • Your organization must be U.S.-based or U.S. territory-based and either a 501(c)(3), fiscally sponsored, or an LLC/for-profit applying only for a clearly defined charitable project with funds restricted to charitable use (no commercialization or profit) and able to accept Borealis’ standard grant terms.
  • Your organization must comply with applicable federal nondiscrimination laws and support equity, access, and inclusion in its policies and practices.

 

What We Don’t Fund
  • Organizations that are non U.S-based or non U.S. Territories
  • Hardware and software product development as a primary focus
  • Hospitals, medical research, direct services, individual / personal support
  • Commercial for-profit activity or product commercialization

Here’s some examples of projects we likely would not fund:

  • A social justice or community organization that wants to pay for a computer lab, or add better accessibility for its existing programs
  • A performance venue that wants to improve accessibility via interpreters, audio description, and other features
  • A project that is primarily focused on making a new app for disabled people
  • Academic research projects

 

Grantmaking Process

Please review the sections below for more information about the Disability Inclusion Fund and technology grantmaking process and application. 

 

Application Link

To access the DIF x TECH 2026 application, please use the following link:  https://borealis.tfaforms.net/f/DIFxTech2026

Application Deadline

The deadline for proposals is May 20th, 2026, by 8:59 pm PT or 11:59 pm ET.


Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools

The DIF values hearing your unique voice and the specificity of your organization’s work—we are not looking for perfection, and thus encourage you to show up as you are. We recognize that AI and other digital tools can support with access and ease in the writing process, and welcome you to use them. If you do, we ask that your responses reflect the real, concrete details of your organization’s work, the people you’re building with, the circumstances you are navigating, and the strategies you are enacting daily to advance disability justice. This writing doesn’t need to be polished or lengthy; nor does it have to be writing. Have a social media post or article to share that answers the prompt? We’d love to see it. What’s most important to us is the opportunity to learn more about your work, wins, and visions.

 

These are the questions we will be asking on the application. We are looking for brief answers, not essays. 
About your organization
  • Name of Organization
  • Primary Contact title, name and email 
  • Website or other web presences
  • Organization’s mission statement and brief description of your work.
  • How much is your total operating budget for 2026? We are not requiring you to provide an actual budget. 
  • Briefly describe your leadership team, and how your organization is led by and inclusive of disabled people. We define ‘disability-led’ as the leadership in your organization are people with disabilities, including more than 50% of the organization’s management staff/advisory committees/governing boards.
About your partners
  • List your primary funders
  • If you work with partner organizations, please name your primary partners.
  • If you have a fiscal sponsor, let us know who they are. 
About your work
  • Briefly describe the project or work that this funding will support.
  • What are some of your organization’s key program plans and activities for this next year?
  • Is there anything else you would like us to know?
Other required information
  • If you are a 501(c)(3), we will need a copy of your 501(c)(3) letter of determination.
  • If fiscally sponsored, we will need a copy of your fiscal sponsorship agreement and your fiscal sponsor 501(c)(3) letter of determination.

Levels of Support

This funding opportunity will provide one to two-year grants. Grant sizes will range from $25,000 to $70,000. Grant sizes will not typically exceed more than 25% of an organization’s total committed budget.

 

Contact

 

Alternative/Accessible Applications Process

The DIF is committed to making all application materials available in multiple forms to be accessible to all. Alternative application options include (Zooms, phone conversations, Word doc, PDF, etc). To obtain and complete an application in alternative formats, please email us at difxtech@borealisphilanthropy.org. with the subject line: NEW DIFxTECH RFP 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

We have put together answers to frequently asked questions, which include the list of proposal questions. Read the FAQs.

 

Saving and Resuming Your Application

If you would like to save your progress and return to your application, please use the ‘Save my progress and resume later’ checkbox at the top and bottom of the DIF x TECH 2026 application page to create a password and save your progress. 

If you forget your password for the DIF x TECH 2026 application, the best way to regain access to your DIF x TECH 2026 application draft is to use the ‘Forgot your password’ link. Find this link by clicking ‘Resume a previously saved form’. 

 

Submitting Your Application

Once you’ve completed your application, please check the Google reCAPTCHA checkbox and use the ‘Submit’ button to submit your application. The Google reCAPTCHA feature helps prevent spam and bot application submissions. The ‘Submit’ button will not submit the application unless all required questions are answered. Required questions are marked with a red asterisk (*) on the application. 

After you click the ‘Submit’ button, you will be asked to Review and Confirm your application responses. We recommend that you review your submissions before officially submitting your application. 

At the bottom of the review page, you will see a ‘Confirm’ button, a ‘Make a correction’ link, and a ‘Print this page’ link. 

  • After reviewing your application, if you need to make a correction, click the ‘Make a correction’ link to edit your application. 
  • If you would like to print a copy of your application, click the ‘Print this page’ link. 
  • Once you are ready to submit your application, please click the ‘Confirm’ button. Your application is not submitted until you click the ‘Confirm’ Button. 

Once you’ve submitted your application, the Application Contact listed on the application will receive an email confirmation and PDF copy of your application. 

 

Troubleshooting 

If you encounter any system or process-related issues while using the application, please do not hesitate to contact grants@borealisphilanthropy.org.