As the nation confronts the significant and unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Campaign for Southern Equality has created a Rapid Response Grant Program to quickly route funds to individuals, families, and community organizations across the LGBTQ South. The grant round is distributed through CSE’s Southern Equality Fund. This page houses information and a link to the application for Emergency Assistance for Individuals and Families.
Updates to the COVID-19 Rapid Response Grant Process
Update June 23, 2021
Thank you for your interest in the Campaign for Southern Equality’s Emergency Assistance Grants through our COVID-19 Rapid Response Grant Program. We are sending love and support during this challenging time.
On June 23, 2021, we reopened the application and received 200 applications very quickly, reaching our $50,000 limit for this round, and the round is now closed. To stay tuned about this grant program, please sign up for our email list in the footer of this website or by clicking here
How It Works
LGBTQ Southerners are now able to apply for immediate financial support of $250. Applicants can use the funding for basic needs like groceries, rent/mortgage payments, prescriptions or medical bills, prevention supplies, and more. If you received an Emergency Assistance Grant in 2020 you are eligible to apply again – but if you received an Emergency Assistance Grant in 2021, you are unfortunately not eligible to apply for grants at this time. Please note that in 2021 we have increased the grant amount from $100 to $250 in response to the urgent needs across the LGBTQ South.
We’ve made the funding application short and simple. Please note that the Campaign for Southern Equality team is working remotely and will be working to process grants as quickly as possible, on a rolling basis.
Criteria to Receive Funding
The following are required in order to receive funding:
- You must be based in the South and a member of the LGBTQ community.
- This emergency funding is designed to route funds quickly to people already experiencing the health and financial impacts of the pandemic and its secondary consequences, with a focus on people and communities who are at particularly high risk.
- Note: If you received an Emergency Assistance Grant in 2020, you ARE eligible to apply for a new grant in 2021. If you received a grant in 2021, you are NOT eligible to apply for the April 1 round.
Priorities
These priorities also guide our funding decisions:
- Individuals that are disproportionately vulnerable to the health risks of COVID-19, including senior citizens, people with immune conditions, and people with chronic disease.
- Applicants who are first responders, health care providers, and employees in the industries that have already been impacted by the economic downturn resulting from COVID-19.
- People of color, trans and nonbinary people, people with low incomes, and people living in rural areas.
Ready to Apply?
Thank you for your interest in the Campaign for Southern Equality’s Emergency Assistance Grants through our COVID-19 Rapid Response Grant Program. We are sending love and support during this challenging time.
On June 23, 2021, we reopened the application and received 200 applications very quickly, reaching our $50,000 limit for this round, and the round is now closed. To stay tuned about this grant program, please sign up for our email list in the footer of this website or by clicking here
Please keep in mind that you once you start your application, you are unable to save your progress. To make it easier to prepare your application ahead of time, please see the application questions below.
APPLICATION QUESTIONS (CLICK TO EXPAND)
- First Name
- Last Name
- Pronouns
- Phone
- Street Address
- Zip Code
- Where are you based?
- Most grants will be processed electronically through Venmo or PayPal; if you require a paper check, how should the check be made out (name of individual)?
- If you require a paper check, where should the check be mailed? (street address, city, state, zip):
- How would you use the $250 emergency grant?
Options; meals/groceries, medication or other healthcare needs, rent - Demographic information (Optional): Gender identity, sexual orientation, race
- How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted you?
- Please check this box if your income has been negatively impacted by COVID-19.
Application Now Closed
On June 23, 2021, we reopened the application and received 200 applications very quickly, reaching our $50,000 limit for this round, and the round is now closed.
Impact and Stories
Read about how the COVID-19 Rapid Response Program has impacted LGBTQ Southerners. On this page you can view the breakdown of the types of grants that we have distributed through the program, the geographic distribution and demographics of Emergency Assistance Grant recipients, stories from grant recipients, the geographic distribution of Community Response Grant projects, and a full list of Frontline grant recipients.
Special Thanks
The Campaign for Southern Equality is grateful for our partner organizations and donors across the South who are helping to support the COVID-19 Rapid Response Grant Round.
Big thanks to Blue Ridge Pride, East Fork Pottery, Gender Benders, Southern Vision Alliance, We Are Family, and the Families and Workers Fund, a funders collaborative that includes the Ford Foundation, Schmidt Futures, and Open Society Foundation for their donations for Emergency Assistance Grants. And, for their support of the Southern Equality Fund and the COVID-19 Rapid Response Grant Program, thank you to foundations including Arcus Foundation, Freeman Foundation, Laughing Gull Foundation, Amy Mandel Fund, the Momentum Fund, the Jesse Smith Noyes Foundation, the Out in the South Initiative of Funders for LGBTQ Issues, and the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation.
Donate to Support the COVID-19 Rapid Response Grant Round
Want to donate to Campaign for Southern Equality’s COVID-19 Rapid Response Grant Round? Click here and your gift will go directly to a grant supporting LGBTQ Southerners impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Return to Southern Equality Fund program page to see all components of SEF, including grassroots training webinars, spotlights on grantees, and more.
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