About
Rainbow Railroad is a charitable organization with headquarters in the United States and Canada that helps lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals escape violence and persecution in their home countries.
Rainbow Railroad is expanding the post-relocation support available to LGBTQI+ migrants through its Communities of Care program (ComC). The newest component of ComC is the Community Access Fund (CAF), which will provide funds directly to service providers, community activists, and grassroots organizations in order to help meet the needs of LGBTQI+ asylum seekers and other queer migrants in the US and Canada.
Fund Details
- The Fund will make awards up to $10,000.
- In keeping with trust-based grantmaking principles and to decrease access barriers, reporting requirements for successful grantees will be minimal. Grantees will write a final narrative summary of how the funds provided community impact, report the total number of individuals served, and participate in one check-in call and one concluding call with a Rainbow Railroad staff member.
Eligibility Criteria
- The Fund is accepting applications on a rolling basis starting immediately.
- Potential grantees do not need 501(c)(3) or charitable status; non-registered community groups, mutual aid collectives, support networks, and other organizations that serve LGBTQI+ asylum seekers and other queer migrants are invited to apply.
- Organizations and groups from any location in the US and Canada will be considered.
Projects can cover any number of support needs for displaced LGBTQI+ people – legal assistance, printed materials, cash assistance, transportation funds, medical care – or community-building work. Projects do not have to be original to the CAF; proposals can be designed to extend the impact of an ongoing project of the community group or organization. Projects should aim to have an impact on a minimum of 50 individuals.
Application Evaluation Criteria
Proposals will be evaluated based on:
- The project’s alignment with Rainbow Railroad’s mission and values;
- Demonstrated capacity of applicant group or organization to carry out the project;
- Timeline of proposed project (i.e. if the funds will be able to be utilized quickly).
Proposals will be evaluated on a rolling basis and applicants can expect to hear from Rainbow Railroad within two weeks of application submission regarding next steps.
