Updates

Three new feminist activists appointed to the Urgent Action Fund Board of Directors

Urgent Action Fund is led by an activist Board of Directors, who represent communities around the world. Urgent Action Fund’s decision-making is grounded in an international, feminist framework. Board members play a critical role in advising the Rapid Response Grants program as well as guiding the strategic direction of the organization. We are pleased to welcome three new Board Members from the United States, Canada, and Poland to our team

Progressive Advocacy at the UN: What Gets Priority?

The short answer: our grantee partners. The 63rd Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)  just concluded and the final resolutions will be deliberated for weeks to come. CSW, the biggest conference hosted by UN Women, is often regarded as a slow-moving space for progressive activists.  Because of the unique position Urgent Action Fund (UAF) occupies as both an international funder and organization led by and for activists, we

Yara Shahidi Champions Urgent Action Fund Through New “Pretty Powerful Fund”

Yara Shahidi, activist, and actress has an impressive track record organizing for gender equity. She is using her latest partnership as the global ambassador for Bobbi Brown Cosmetics to unite and effect change through the launch of the Pretty Powerful Fund. Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights has been named near to Shahidi’s heart alongside Girls for Gender Equity and Third Wave Fund. All three organizations will be

Meet Our Newest Team Members

We are rounding out 2018 with a renewed focus on the women’s human rights defenders and non-binary people we support and equally excited to begin 2019 with our newest team members joining us in our fight. Learn more about each of them and please join us in giving them a warm Urgent Action Fund welcome. Programs Raisa Borshchigova | Program Officer raisa@urgentactionfund.org Raisa, a Chechen born and raised human rights

Is the Solution to Climate Change Caring More About People?

For more opportunities to dig deep on funding climate action, check out our 5-part online dialogue series “The Underpinning Stories”. The series will generate deeper understanding about the underlying narrative frames and assumptions funders have about what constitutes a ‘climate solution.’ Lindley Mease, Thousand Currents | Olivia Trabysh, Urgent Action Fund | Allison Davis, Global Greengrants Fund The SF climate summits exposed the deep rifts at play in

Supporting Feminist and Queer Activists Under Growing Threat Worldwide

Within women human rights activist circles, the recent rape and murder of Viktoria Marinova, journalist covering EU corruption, is all too familiar to circumstances surrounding the killing of Brazil’s Marielle Franco. And similar yet to the murder of Berta Caceres, a well-known environmental and human rights activist killed her in her bedroom when unidentified assailants broke into the Honduran home. In various parts of Africa including Democratic Republic

Ruth Baldacchino appointed to Urgent Action Fund Board of Directors

Ruth Baldacchino is a trans, queer and feminist activist from Malta who has extensive experience in community organising, international LGBTIQ activism and LGBTIQ research. Their human rights work started with the Malta LGBTIQ Rights Movement, where Ruth served on the Executive Committee for several years. Ruth is ILGA World Co-Secretary General (since 2014) and has served on a number of boards in the past years including IGLYO, ILGA World

Women from Movements Around the World Speak In One Voice at the United Nations to Ensure Safety for All

Frontline women activists representing over 20 countries will remind member states of their legal obligation to protect human rights on 20th anniversary of human rights declaration. Women from Guatemala, Nicaragua, Syria, India, Philippines, the United States and other nation states are scheduled to share their testimonies of violence and the state of their communities in the wake of rising fundamentalisms, political populism, and unchecked authoritarian rule. They will also share

Standing up for justice at the UN: Our response to Ambassador Haley

Every day, Urgent Action Fund provides rapid response support to human rights defenders working for gender justice and women’s rights. Our advocacy work strives to ensure that international human rights standards center the experience of women and gender non-binary human rights defenders and protect their ability to carry out their activism safely and freely. Urgent Action Fund believes that the United States’ decision to withdraw from the UN Human Rights

Data at the Intersections: Advancing environmental and climate justice using a human rights lens

Originally posted by the Human Rights Funding Network on May 23, 2018.  In February, in San Francisco, a group of funders gathered for a day-long discussion of funding trends in human rights. The discussion offered opportunities for a deeper dive into funding shifts, what they mean and what we, as funders, can do to advocate for funding growth where it’s needed. Those of us who use a human rights framework