BOREALIS CONVENING
BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT
Borealis Philanthropy believes that one of the most critical tools for upending white supremacy and anti-Blackness is to ensure that racial equity practitioners continue to be supported, compensated, and have the space to be with peers to dig deeply to understand the barriers to their work and to dream up the world we know is possible once we overcome them.
The Racial Equity to Accelerate Change Fund (REACH) invests in racial equity practitioners with expertise in working with the nonprofit sector on internal organizational racial equity transformation. Grantee partners deepen and scale their practices to support organizational development work with nonprofits of their choosing. The REACH Fund subsidizes racial equity practitioners working with nonprofits to apply a racial equity lens towards dismantling institutional racism, building race-conscious organizations and leadership, and designing internal and external strategy, policy, and cultural change.
In 2021, the REACH Fund moved $1.44 million to 19 grantee partners.
REACH GRANTEE PARNTER, RACIAL JUSTICE INSTITUTE OF THE SHRIVER CENTER ON POVERTY LAW
The REACH Fund:
- Helps meet the nonprofit sector’s increased demand and need for organizational development in areas of racial equity and justice;
- Provides funding to support the being and doing of racial equity within the nonprofit sector; and
- Creates opportunities for sharing key learnings,including the accelerators and barriers for progress towards racial equity within philanthropy, nonprofits and practitioners broadly.
The REACH Fund prioritizes funding for racial equity practitioners:
- Advancing racial equity.
- Interrupting white supremacy and racism.
- Transforming policies, practices, and cultures.
- Organizing and advocating for social justice.
REACH FUND 2022 HIGHLIGHTS
REACH’s Grantmaking Process
The REACH fund uses a participatory grantmaking process. Decisions on grantmaking for the REACH Fund are made through an advisory body that includes individual racial equity practitioners and individuals from nonprofits who have experience going through a racial equity organizational transformation.
Current Funding Opportunities
The REACH Fund is not currently accepting LOIs.
Donor Benefits
Borealis Philanthropy builds bridges between funders and organizers to resource grassroots movements that are rooted in liberation and justice for all people. By partnering with Borealis, philanthropy can maximize its collective impact; fund bold, leading-edge work; and learn in community with allied funders, expert staff, and grantee partners.
The REACH Fund offers funders:
- Access to a culture of learning by providing detailed and timely sessions on issues in policing, surveillance, and incarceration; and
- A host of additional resources, including monthly storyletters, landscape assessments, and detailed memos tracking the progress and impact of REACH grantees, to ensure that donor partners are kept informed on the fund’s current work and future initiatives.