Borealis Philanthropy has announced grants totaling $3.5 million through its Disability Inclusion Fund (DIF) to seed and expand the capacity of the disability justice movement and amplify grassroots leaders at the forefront of policy advocacy, community organizing, and narrative change work.

Grants were awarded to 49 organizations and organizers working to promote a world with access to self-determination, human dignity, civic participation, and joy for all people. All DIF grantee partners are led by people with disabilities, and 75 percent are led by disabled BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) individuals. The latest cohort of grantees also helps elevate disability communities that have historically experienced barriers to funding, including Native Americans with disabilities, people who are linguistically diverse and/or use augmentative and alternative communication devices, and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

“It is imperative that those of us in philanthropy listen to and engage with the people and communities who are most impacted by our work,” said Richard E. Besser, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and co-chair of the Presidents’ Council on Disability Inclusion in Philanthropy, “so that they are not just influencing, but in many cases also leading the work.”

For a complete list of grantees, see the Borealis Philanthropy website.

(Photo credit: Getty Images/Koh Sze Kiat)