Black Girls Defense Fund Resistance and Resilience Grant 2026: Up to $20,000 for Southern Groups

Are you working to protect and empower Black girls, women, and femme-identifying youth in the Southern U.S.? The Black Girls Defense Fund Resistance and Resilience Grant 2026 offers up to $20,000 to support your efforts. This funding helps grassroots groups tackle tough issues like violence, health inequities, and unfair systems.

About the Black Girls Defense Fund

The Black Girls Defense Fund comes from the Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium. It aims to build up groups that fight for the rights, safety, and dignity of Black girls and women in the South. The fund puts a focus on community-led work in key areas. These include safety, reproductive health justice, stopping gender-based violence, restorative justice, and fighting adultification and dehumanization. Groups that lead with and answer to their communities get top priority.

Grant Overview

The Resistance and Resilience Grant gives flexible support for new or ongoing projects. It funds general operations so groups can keep up their work or grow it. Examples include advocacy drives, community programs, justice reforms, health efforts, and youth programs. The main goal is to boost long-term strength for organizations serving Black girls, women, and femme youth.

Funding Details

Grants range from $5,000 to $20,000. This money can go toward everyday costs, giving groups freedom to use it where needed most.

Who Can Apply

To qualify, your group must fit these rules:

Organizational Rules

• Be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, or
• Work under a fiscal sponsor that is a nonprofit.

Budget Limit

• Have an annual budget under $1 million.

Location

• Operate in one or more of these Southern states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, or Texas.

Key Focus Areas

Your work must cover at least one of these topics:

• Preventing and responding to gender-based violence.
• Reproductive and maternal health justice.
• Reforming justice and prison systems.
• Restorative justice methods.
• Safety and well-being for Black girls and women.
• Advocacy against adultification and dehumanization.

What Funded Groups Must Do

Groups that get funding need to show real results. This means:

• Running programs that help Black girls, women, and femme youth.
• Building community safety through advocacy or services.
• Working directly with communities, using their input for responsive programs.
• Setting clear goals, tracking progress, and sharing what works.

Application Documents

Use the JustFund Common Application. Include:

• W9 form.
• Proof of 501(c)(3) status or fiscal sponsor agreement.
• Latest Form 990.
• Current organizational budget.

Application Questions

Expect to answer about:

• Your program’s design, plans, outcomes, and group history.
• How you engage communities and plan for the future.
• How you’ll use the money, your partners, funding gaps, and other needs.

Important Dates

• Opens: May 5, 2026 (9:00 AM EST).
• Info session: May 7, 2026 (7:00 PM EST).
• Deadline: May 14, 2026 (8:00 PM EST).
• Decisions: June 24, 2026.

Info Session

Join the live workshop on May 7, 2026, at 7:00 PM Eastern Time. It covers the process and answers questions.

How to Apply

Go to https://southernblackgirls.org/bgdefensefund/ to register and submit. Set up your account early, as it can take up to two days. Apply at least three days before the deadline. Late apps might not count.

This grant fills a key need by backing frontline groups. It lets them keep advocating, meet community demands, grow justice work, and build strong leadership.

Frequently Asked Questions