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Urgent Action Fund

@urgentactionfund

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Sustaining feminist activism
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As global conflict and crises intensify and escalate, feminist activists on the frontlines are being pushed to adapt faster than ever. They must navigate shifting political landscapes, respond to sudden threats, and seize unexpected opportunities to change unjust legislation. All while prioritizing the safety, urgency, and care of their movements and communities. This is where our work becomes essential.

Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism delivers rapid, flexible support primarily to women, trans, and non-binary activists so they can meet emerging risks and opportunities, safeguard their wellbeing and that of their community, and strengthen the feminist movements building a more just and equitable future. Curious about our rapid response grants? Learn more on our website: urgentactionfund.org/grants. by @urgentactionfund

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From Southwest Asia to Canada to Europe and beyond, women and LGBTQ+ communities in our regions are seeing their rights eroded and their safety threatened. The activists who defend these rights face hostility, surveillance, and constant danger.

Yet even under these pressures, feminist movements continue to create spaces of care, solidarity, and practical solutions that help communities endure and resist. Urgent Action Fund partners with these activists by ensuring they can:

• Take swift action when threats or opportunities arise
• Prioritize safety, resilience, and collective care of their communities
• Strengthen and sustain the solutions they are building in response to today’s most urgent injustices

Want to find out how we do it? Visit us at: urgentactionfund.org. Link in bio.

Illustrations by @tracychahwan & @__petni by @urgentactionfund

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Our annual reports are one way we stay accountable to movements: not just reporting what we funded, but also telling their stories and what we learned alongside them.
Stories hold what numbers can’t: the courage, care, and strategy behind every act of resistance.

The 2025 annual reports from the Urgent Action Sister Funds offer distinct perspectives on sustaining feminist movements through permacrisis, and on what becomes possible when we invest in the people, relationships, and infrastructures that hold them together.

🔗 Explore the 2025 annual reports on each fund’s respective website. A textured blue background with illustrated foliage, flowers, constellations and the four Sister Fund’s 2025 annual report covers. The headline asks, “What does it take to sustain feminist movements in a time of crisis?” The post features snippets from the Urgent Action Sister Funds’ 2025 Annual Reports. by @urgentactionfund

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Across the world, feminist and human rights activists and movements are operating under hostile and unpredictable conditions. This includes:

-        Civic space disappearing
-        Intensifying conflicts
-        Regular climate disasters
-        Intense reprisals and risks for speaking out.

Nevertheless, they continue with their work and guide us toward a more equitable and just world using innovative and strategic approaches. Read stories of change-making by feminist activists in our annual report, Constellations of Courage, linked in our bio.

Illustration by Maretta Aivazian White text on a background of orange and blue with stars says, “The Night Sky and the Constellations that Guide Us – Around the world, civic space is disappearing, conflicts are intensifying, climate disasters are a constant reality, and feminist activists face intense reprisals and intertwined risks that are political, social and deeply personal. Despite these realities, feminist activists are leading change.” by @urgentactionfund

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6 days ago

These examples of gorgeous, intricate clothing designs by Indigenous peoples across the regions where we work have traditionally been created by women, femmes, and gender queer people.

Across the globe, these are the people who are often the cultural keepers of traditional and contemporary clothing within their communities. Yet all too often, their knowledge, talent and work are devalued or seen as just a ‘hobby,’ while at the same time, they’re capitalized on by corporations and appropriated by people in dominant cultures.

On #IndigenousPeoplesDay, we honor the cultural knowledge, labor, and skill of the creators of Indigenous clothing and design and appreciate how they continue to keep their communities adorned in love and care, warm, and vibrant.

Image 1: Turkmen scarf, photo by Gulzar Nurlyyeva
Sámi (Finland) clothes, photo by Zouavman Le Zouave

Image 2
Sámi (Russia) shoes, photo by Vaija
Uzbekistan shirt, photo from the Cleveland Museum of Art
Traditional Uzbek print

Image 3: Traditional outfit from Armenia
Image 4: Traditional Uzbek festive clothing
Image 5: Traditional Turkmen clothing and jewelry
Image 6: Traditional Basques clothing
Image 7: Traditional Dagestani clothing
Image 8: Ceremonial Kazakh dress
Image 9: Traditional clothing of the Yakama Tribe
Image 10: Traditional Sámi clothing in Russia
Image 11: Traditional Sámi clothing in Finland Turkmen scarf, photo by Gulzar Nurlyyeva Sámi (Finland) clothes, photo by Zouavman Le Zouave by @urgentactionfund

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7 days ago

When immigrant justice movements deploy rapid response networks, share ICE sighting locations, or track enforcement vehicles, they are drawing on an infrastructure built by Black and Indigenous abolitionists, sex workers, and survivors of gender-based violence.

Without grounding our movements in this feminist and racialized lineage of abolition and collective care, we risk recreating the same exclusions and harms we claim to resist.

If philanthropy wants to meet this moment, it must acknowledge who has been doing this work all along. The question is not whether this infrastructure exists. It does. The question is whether philanthropy is willing to recognize and sustain the people who have been building it all along.

Read more in our new article on @npquarterly by Somer Nowak, Shira Hassan, Rachel Caidor, and Ruth Ifakemi Jeannoel. Link is in the bio. @fanmsajinc There's a green background with three images in three corners of hands holding flowers. There are leaves in the background. There is a quote in white font in the middle saying, "Without grounding our movements in liberation in the feminist and racialized lineages of abolition and collective care, we risk creating the same exclusions and harms we claim to resist." by @urgentactionfund

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10 days ago

Feminist struggles are interconnected and our strength is undeniable. This solidarity was on full display during Women Human Rights Defenders Advocacy Week in September. During this week of advocacy and training, women human rights defenders lent their powerful voices for land, environment, anti-militarization, and gender justice.

The #WHRDAdvocacyWeek in Geneva focused on elevating the voices of frontline feminist activists, collective strength, and intersectional advocacy at the UN. In partnership with @ishrglobal, @pbi_norge, @amnesty, the @whrdmena, @imdefensoras, @awidwomensrights, @frontlinedefenders, Urgent Action Fund, and the @whrdic, we brought together 12 powerful defenders from across the globe to foster solidarity, enable direct advocacy with UN mechanisms, and provide capacity-building opportunities.

🔗 for full recap in bio. Screenshot of a blog post with the headline, "'We are not alone': Women Human Rights Defenders Bring Frontline Advocacy to Geneva" with a photo of the activists in a conference room together. by @urgentactionfund

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11 days ago

Trans-led groups from across the world can now apply for the @internationaltransfund’s yearly grantmaking cycle.

Applications are open now through December 1, 2026 via the ITF’s grants portal.  The International Trans Fund (ITF) provides flexible funding to trans-led groups working to build stronger trans movements and improve the lives of trans people around the world.

What the ITF funds:

— Activism for and by trans people: Trans-led groups trusted by their communities, working with resilience and vision.

 — Movement-focused approaches: Projects that go beyond service delivery to build collective power, dismantle structural barriers, and strengthen sustainable infrastructures.

 — Diverse voices and contexts: Initiatives led by trans communities navigating intersecting forms of marginalization.

If you are part of a trans-led group, or know a group that could benefit from ITF funding, please spread the word!  Read more about the ITF’s eligibility criteria and grantmaking process.

All links in their bio: @internationaltransfund Four images of people with different hair and skin color, facing away from each other are under the words, "ITF's 11th Cycle is Open!" by @urgentactionfund

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12 days ago

Women are essential builders of longlasting peace, yet they remain largely unseen. They are consistently excluded from peacebuilding efforts— and when they do secure a seat at the table, they’re met with backlash and threats.

But you can support women peacebuilders 🕊️✌️ Learn more and read Anna's story at the 🔗 in our bio. An illustration by Nafisa Ferdous showing two women with serene expressions tending to a vibrant, flowering plant. Below, a quote from Sarah Hendriks of UN Women: “The evidence is clear: when women lead and when their organizations are resourced, peace is more possible, recovery is faster, and societies are stronger.” by @urgentactionfund

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Our 2025 annual report is out now. It documents the ways in which activists continue to be courageous constellations, showing us the way forward during a time of global backlash against movements for equity and justice.

Read Constellations of Courage via the link in our bio. An image of the cover of the report with text that reads: "Constellations of Courage 2025 Annual Report Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism" by @urgentactionfund

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18 days ago

In an emergency, time matters. So does who gets to decide what the response looks like — and how resources are used.
Following the earthquakes in Colombia and Venezuela, movements were already responding: organizing shelter, food, medicines, transport, care and protection in their communities, often before outside funding arrived.

In our latest Sister Funds blog, FAU LAC reflects on why fast funding alone is not enough. Resources also need to be flexible and shaped by the knowledge and priorities of people closest to the crisis.
Read the full piece on our Sister Funds Substack. Link in bio.

#FeministCrisisResponse by @urgentactionfund

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People in low-income communities of color are often disproportionately impacted by wildfire smoke, extreme heat, and other dangers fueled by climate change. A 2023 Stanford-led study outlines how to partner with and support people in frontline communities; those experiencing the “first and the worst” outcomes of climate change. This is important because communities most impacted by climate disaster hold the strategies and lessons we need to adapt and prepare all our communities. https://tinyurl.com/36pp53hp

Art by: Anna Rabko A person with long brown hair in pig tails looks to the right and holds up a pink megaphone in her left arm. She is wearing a purple shirt with orange dots. The background is blue. The words over her say "People in frontline communities hold the solutions and strategies we need to address climate crises. We must listen to and fund them." by @urgentactionfund

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