Rapid Response Fund

The Rapid Response Fund, administered by the Headwaters Foundation for Justice (HFJ), is designed to support urgent, strategic grassroots organizing efforts in Minnesota. Recognizing that the nature of advocacy and community work often requires real-time support, the Foundation created this fund to ensure nonprofits can respond swiftly to unexpected events, emerging political crises, and urgent internal organizational shifts. The grantmaking model is structured to enable quick decision-making and fast disbursement of unrestricted general operating support, up to $25,000 per award. The fund supports a wide array of eligible actions including short-term coalition building, civic engagement, legal defense, security responses, cultural or healing justice work, restorative justice following incidents of harm, and rapid internal organizational pivots such as unionization or leadership transitions. The focus is on organizing work that arises in response to new or unpredictable challenges and that demonstrates the potential for immediate and meaningful community impact. Organizations may apply during one of eight grant cycles occurring across the 2025–2026 fiscal year, with a total of approximately $600,000 to be awarded (about $75,000 per cycle). Eligibility is limited to legally incorporated nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status, those with fiscal sponsorship, and Tribal Nations or Tribal Entities. Applicants must be based in Minnesota and serve communities within the state. Organizations can be new to HFJ or current/past grantees. Notably, applications from for-profit entities (even with nonprofit sponsors), individuals, government projects (excluding Tribes), and events or activities already completed are not eligible. Organizations receiving an award must wait 12 months before applying again but may apply for other HFJ programs in the interim. Each application is evaluated by HFJ’s Program Team, which includes program officers, directors, coordinators, and grants management staff. Grants are awarded based on urgency, clarity of proposed impact, alignment with HFJ’s equity and justice values, and demonstrated commitment to building the power of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and other marginalized communities. Preference is given to organizations with representative leadership and a clear strategy for leveraging the grant to catalyze community-based change. The application process begins with a required inquiry form submitted through the Rapid Response section of the HFJ website. Within one business day, applicants are either invited to submit a full proposal or informed that they do not meet criteria at that time. If selected to apply, organizations submit a short narrative application via the grant portal. Funding decisions are typically made within three weeks of each cycle's deadline, and funds are distributed within two weeks of notification. The first cycle deadline is September 3, 2025, with subsequent deadlines scheduled every month through June 3, 2026. Applicants with questions are encouraged to contact Kate Vickery, Program Officer, or Robyn Browning, Grants Manager.

Focus on urgency and unanticipated events; show equity impact; be concise; avoid applying for pre-planned work