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➡️ Projects and Trainings
➡️ Southern Healers Grant Rounds
➡️ COVID-19 Rapid Response Grants
➡️ Southern Equality Studios Special Grant Rounds
➡️ Other Special Grant Rounds
This page is an archive of Southern Equality Fund’s past projects and grant rounds. Since 2015, the Southern Equality Fund (SEF) has provided funding and training to Southern LGBTQ+ folks doing heroic organizing in their home regions. Each year we distribute at least 10% of CSE’s organizational budget through SEF grants. We prioritize work addressing the intersections of race, class and gender in the lives of LGBTQ+ Southerners. We also prioritize groups and individual leaders whose access to funding and support is limited due to barriers such as not having 501c3 status, or being located in a rural area.
Projects and Trainings
Resource Mobilization Team
The Resource Mobilization Team (RMT) worked in partnership with the Southern Equality Fund to increase capacity of Southern LGBTQ grassroots leaders by connecting them with funding, expanding social networks and by providing opportunities for training and support.
Southern Movement Infrastructure Exchange
The Southern Movement Infrastructure Exchange was a collaborative initiative dedicated to growing and strengthening a network of responsive, values-aligned fiscal sponsors and other intermediaries to grow, connect, and leverage their resources to fuel grassroots-led movements. It was led by the Campaign for Southern Equality and the Southern Vision Alliance, with support from the Out in the South Fund.
Southern Healers Grant Rounds
Southern Healers – Special Grant Round 2024
In 2024, twenty healers received the Southern Healers grant! These grants are dedicated to so many of the innovative healing efforts led by LGBTQI Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) Southerners. We define healers broadly to include therapists, counselors, social workers, healers, addiction specialists, life coaches, body workers, yoga instructors, reiki masters, energy healers and other wellness practitioners who are working to improve their clients’ lives.
Southern Healers – Special Grant Round 2023
For the second year we hosted a special grant round of our Southern Equality Fund dedicated to the many innovative healing efforts led by LGBTQI Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) Southerners. This $10,000 Southern Healers Special Grant Round distributed grants of up to $500 to organizing efforts led by BIPOC LGBTQI Southerners.
Southern Healers – Special Grant Round 2021
Our team at the Campaign for Southern Equality was inspired to see innovative healing efforts led by LGBTQI Indigenous, Black, and Brown Southerners – that’s why we hosted a special grant round of our Southern Equality Fund. This $10,000 Southern Healers Special Grant Round distributed grants of up to $500 to organizing efforts led by Indigenous, Black, and Brown LGBTQI Southerners.
COVID-19 Rapid Response Grants
2020-2022: COVID-19 Rapid Response Grants
In March 2020, the Campaign for Southern Equality launched the COVID-19 Rapid Response Grant Program to address the immediate needs of LGBTQ people in the South, with an emphasis on BIPOC, TGNC people, people with low incomes, and those in rural areas. As of February 2022, we opened $525,000 in rapid response funding.
COVID-19 Rapid Response Grants: 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.
Southern Equality Studios Special Grant Rounds
Winter 2022: Southern Equality Studios
The Campaign for Southern Equality accepted nominations for a Special SEF Grant Round of $500 each to support LGBTQ artists and creatives in the South in January and February 2022.
Fall 2020: Southern Equality Studios Special Grant Round for BIPOC LGBTQ Artists & Creatives
In Fall of 2020, CSE hosted a Southern Equality Studios special grant round, dedicated to resourcing and celebrating LGBTQ artists and creatives across the LGBTQ South who are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, or people of color). Grants of up to $500 supported BIPOC LGBTQ Southern artists working on a wide range of creative projects.
Other Special Grant Rounds
Fall 2022: Special Grant Round to Support Organizations and Projects Focused on LGBTQ Mississippians
In the Fall of 2022, The Campaign for Southern Equality and the LGBTQ Fund of Mississippi hosted a special grant round dedicated to supporting organizers and advocates focused on LGBTQ people across Mississippi. This $20,000 Southern Equality Fund grant round supported activities, events, and projects developed to care for LGBTQ Mississippians. Grants of up to $2,500 were made available to LGBTQ organizers in Mississippi leading projects such as direct action, resilience and healing efforts, direct service, artistic endeavors, and more, across the South.
Fall 2021: Special Grant Round for TDOR – Trans Day of Resilience & Remembrance
In Fall of 2021, the Campaign for Southern Equality accepted nominations for a Special SEF Grant Round designed to support organizers working on projects related to TDOR: Transgender Day of Resilience & Remembrance (November 20) or Transgender Awareness Week (November 13-19). Grants of up to $500 will support a wide range of projects.
Summer 2020: #BlackLivesMatter Special Grant Round
During the summer of 2020, our #BlackLivesMatter special grant round was dedicated to resourcing and celebrating the Black-led organizing across the LGBTQ South. Grants of up to $1,000 supported Black LGBTQ organizers leading projects such as direct action, resilience and healing efforts, direct service, artistic endeavors, and bail-out funds, across the South. The nominations for the second phase of our #BlackLivesMatter grant round closed on September 1, 2020.
Summer 2019: LGBTQ Health Equity Community Grants
In August 2019, the Campaign for Southern Equality awarded $30,000 in community grants focused on transforming the landscape of LGBTQ health equity in the South. This infusion of funding to organizations on the leading edge of serving LGBTQ Southerners supported new models in the South that increase access to care and ensure that people are treated with dignity and respect in health care settings. Grantees included WNCCHS, CHOICES Memphis, Gender Benders, and Nationz Foundation.
