Across our nation, Black, African, Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian (BAMEMSA) communities face daily bias, discrimination, and intolerance from government, businesses, and individuals. Anti-Muslim bigotry coupled with xenophobia and White Christian nationalism threaten our commitment to building an inclusive democracy – one that not only accepts but embraces diverse faith traditions, cultures, and racial identities.
RISE Together Fund (RTF), an initiative of the Proteus Fund, works alongside impacted communities to advance their civil rights, fight for full inclusion, and promote their contributions to democracy, culture, and society. RISE Together Fund is the only national donor collaborative dedicated to supporting the BAMEMSA communities. With the support of our donor partners as well as our grantees and other allies, we will all achieve Rights, Inclusion, Solidarity, and Equity (RISE) Together.
Through its Rapid Response Fund, RTF provides a vehicle for deploying resources strategically to address unexpected and urgent needs and key opportunities within the BAMEMSA field.
RTF’s Opportunity and Convening Fund grants are designed to fund small-scale projects or discrete portions of larger projects related to proactive legal, advocacy, organizing, and research campaigns.
As we bear witness to the atrocities in Palestine, BAMEMSA communities in the U.S. report experiencing a nationwide wave of anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab, and anti-Muslim hate, intimidation, censorship and government suppression in response to community advocacy and protests of the ongoing siege, bombardment and humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the West Bank. In response to the escalating environment of hate, targeting and government suppression, RTF is making available additional Rapid Response grants on a rolling basis.