The Critical Response Fund provides rapid response funding to protect, empower, and support communities during these heightened political moments and threats to movement building work.
Donor Name: Crossroads Fund
State: Illinois, Indiana
County: Cook County (IL), DuPage County (IL), Kane County (IL), Lake County (IL), Lake County (IN), Will County (IL)
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: (mm/dd/yyyy) 11/04/2024
Size of the Grant: $1000 to $10,000
Grant Duration: 1 Year
Details:
The Foundation is witnessing an intensification of systemic inequities that disproportionately affect the communities. The ongoing struggle for social, racial, and economic justice, exacerbated by the increasing visibility of police violence and systemic racism, continues to galvanize people and organizations to take action. Simultaneously, the attacks on the right to protest, the rollback of civil and voting rights protections, and restrictions on reproductive rights, poses a direct threat to the progress made by previous generations. In this context, Crossroads Fund’s Critical Response Fund is more important than ever, as it provides immediate support to grassroots organizations on the frontlines of these struggles, enabling them to mobilize quickly and effectively in response to urgent threats.
Moreover, the intersection of the COVID-19 pandemic with existing inequalities has further exposed the vulnerabilities faced by communities of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, immigrants and migrants, and low-income populations. The pandemic has laid bare the structural failures of the healthcare, economic, and social systems, leading to the renewed commitment to supporting grassroots groups at this time. 
Types of support
Crossroads supports many different forms of social change organizing, such as (but not limited to):

Direct Action Organizing
Public Policy Advocacy
Art & Cultural work that is community-based and linked to activism
Economic Development
International Solidarity
Action Research as an organizing strategy to identify, document and analyze information, in partnership with a community group
Media Advocacy that promotes greater public understanding of critical issues and increasing organizing outreach efforts
Social Services linked with Activism
Leadership Development and Training
Providing Resources for Local Activists
Working Collaboratively Across Issues and Communities
Gatherings and Conferences.

Funding Information
Applicants may request between $5,000 – $10,000. Organizations with budgets under $500,000 or less will be prioritized.
Grant Period
Funding should be used within 6 months.
Funding Criteria

All applicants must meet the following criteria to be considered for funding:

Working for Social Change: Crossroads Fund supports organizations working to examine and challenge the underlying causes of injustice affecting their communities. They seek to change the conditions, institutions, and policies that create and maintain inequality and oppression.
Cross-Issue Organizing: The grantees work with an understanding of the connectedness among the various people and issues that make up the whole community.
Grassroots Leadership: They support groups that involve the people who are directly affected by an issue at all levels of the organization – in planning, organizing and leading, and working to continue building leadership within the grassroots community.
Solid Plan: They fund groups whose work is driven by the following:

a clear purpose with well-planned goals, objectives, activities and a tool to measure outcomes and impact
a timeline and budget that reflects the proposed objectives and activities
a realistic fundraising plan.

Work in the Chicago Metropolitan Area: Crossroads Fund supports organizations rooted in communities in the Chicago metropolitan area. Counties include: Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake and Will, along with Lake County, Indiana.
Budget: Groups with previous year annual expenses under $500,000.

Priority is given to organizations that are:

Collaborative or working in alliance with other progressive groups as a way to build multiple strategies for bringing social change
Risk-taking by doing work that may be controversial, marginalized, and/or new and emerging
Strategic and working with a long-term vision which clearly links to current plans
Achieving concrete success which has positively impacted the community
Raise money from multiple sources throughout the community, such as foundations, businesses, individuals, special events, and income-generating projects.

Eligibility Criteria

Crossroads Fund supports groups that have:

501(c)3 status
501(c)4 and co-operatives
Fiscal sponsor for those without tax-exempt status
Organizational bank account

Crossroads Fund does not fund:

Organizations involved in electoral campaigns
Contribute substantially to support lobbying at the federal, state, or local levels
Support private or individual interests, in contrast to public interests
Direct service work/social services (Food, Clothing, Shelter, Self-Help/Empowerment Programs, School Supplies, etc.)
Scholarships, fellowships, or grants to individuals.

For more information, visit Crossroads Fund.