Safety and Security Fund - Horizons Foundation

Horizons Foundation is Accepting Rolling Applications for the Safety and Security Fund
Until January 2025

This crucial new initiative will support the safety and security of the LGBTQ community in the San Francisco Bay Area. Please review the priorities and guidelines below to ensure your organization is eligible before visiting the application portal.

About the Safety and Security Fund

With a maximum award of $2,500, Horizons Foundation’s Safety and Security Fund (SSF) is a rapid response small grants program designed to support the safety and security of Bay Area LGBTQ community organizations. We encourage applications from LGBTQ-primary organizations seeking to secure and repair their physical space and enhance the safety of public events, their staff, and the community. It has been seeded with $40,000 and will be making grants from September 16, 2024 to January 31, 2025, or when funds are depleted.

Why Now?

Horizons Foundation is deeply concerned about the escalating anti-LGBTQ hate crimes–including vandalism, threats, and harassment–targeting our grantee partners and the wider LGBTQ community in the San Francisco Bay Area. To address immediate needs, when possible, Horizons has historically provided emergency funding to help our grantee partners mitigate the damage and threats associated with these incidents. It is clear that more action is needed today.

The San Francisco Bay Area is not immune to anti-LGBTQ incidents. Community organizations and events have continued to report hate-based threats, attacks, and vandalism into this year.

This disturbing trend for 2024 is mirrored in Attorney General Rob Bonta’s 2023 Hate Crimes in California Report, which reflected an 86% increase in anti-LGBTQ incidents statewide from the previous year.

Horizons Foundation is taking action by launching the Safety and Security Fund (SSF) to address the alarming surge in anti-LGBTQ threats and hate crimes in the San Francisco Bay Area, especially as the 2024 election season rhetoric heats up. This rapid response grants program aims to bolster the safety and security of Bay Area LGBTQ organizations and programs. The SSF aligns with Horizons Foundation's vision to create a world where all LGBTQ individuals can live freely and fully, which is impossible so long as we live with threats, crime, and harassment against us.

Selection Criteria and Review Process

The Safety and Security Fund is specifically intended to help organizations respond to anti-LGBTQ threats, harassment, and hate crimes. Grants supported by the fund will...

Help to ensure that LGBTQ community organizations can confidently participate in public and programmatic events.

Repair and protect physical spaces to guarantee staff and participants are entering a welcoming and inviting space.

Allow organizations to strengthen security measures to ensure programmatic deliverables and community safety.

Eligibility

SSF grantee partners are limited to one approved request per grant period per organization. Please note that SSF awards may not be used retroactively. To be eligible for an SSF award, an organization must:

Be a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization, or provide documentation that the organization is fiscally sponsored by an organization that has 501(c)(3) status.
Have its home office based in the nine counties of the San Francisco Bay Area (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, or Sonoma counties).
Be an LGBTQ-primary organization (LGBTQ-primary is defined as an organization whose mission includes the LGBTQ population as the primary focus of the work; whose staff and board predominantly reflect the LGBTQ community; and which primarily serves LGBTQ people 65% or more).

In addition, the foundation particularly encourages applications from:

Organizations based in and organizing in rural or semi-rural parts of the Bay Area

Small- to medium-sized LGBTQ organizations

Organizations that have ongoing in-person events, programming, etc.

Please note that the following are not eligible for support:

Organizations located outside Horizons Foundation's nine counties of the Bay Area
Government agencies and programs
Scholarship funds or other aid to individuals
Schools and educational institutions
For-profit business, social enterprise, or start-ups
Requests for repair costs for damages that occurred before the date of the anti-LGBTQ incident (e.g., vandalism)

Timeline and How to Apply

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis starting Monday, September 16, 2024. Grant award applicants will be notified within ten business days of a completed application. The Safety and Security Fund will be open until January 2025 or when funds are depleted.

If your organization fits all or most of the above eligibility criteria, you may submit an SSF Grant Application Form to Horizons Foundation.

Proposal Process

Create an account: Create a user and organization account on our grantmaking portal. Questions about using the portal? Please review this handy guide. Still need help? Email us at grants [at] horizonsfoundation.org
Complete the Proposal: Address all sections of the proposal and submit application online through our grantmaking portal. Preview the list of application questions (PDF).
Review and Notification: Staff from Horizons Foundation will review proposals and make final funding decisions. This is a competitive application process.

Visit Application Portal

For questions about the Safety and Security Fund, or to set up an appointment to talk with a Horizons team member, contact us via email at grants [at] horizonsfoundation.org.