The Rapid Response Fund is a grant opportunity that supports emergency and/or time-sensitive needs of organizations and communities whose work aligns with the Sewall Foundation’s mission: to support work in Maine to improve the well-being of people, animals and the environment while fostering relationships that strive for social equity and community resilience.

Emergency refers to an unexpected and unplanned event or situation that requires an immediate and time-limited response.

Time-sensitive refers to opportunities that are short-term in duration (usually within the next few months) and purpose.  

Some examples of Rapid Response Fund grants that we’ve recently made are included below. Funding requests can be for work happening anywhere in Maine and do not need to fit into one of our grant programs (Animal Welfare or Healthy People Healthy Places).

**Please note, if you have an inquiry about funding to support response efforts following the shootings in Lewiston in October 2023, please contact Lauress Lawrence.**

 
 

Fund Details

Available Funding for 2024: $300,000

Rapid Response Fund grants do not support:

  • Ongoing operations, programs, or activities

  • Requests to replace existing sources of funding

  • Sponsorship of events for organizational promotion

Grant Size: Most Rapid Response Fund grants will be no greater than $10,000.

Grant Term: All Rapid Response Fund grants are limited to a 12 month term.

Application Timeline: Inquiries will be accepted on a rolling basis through September 1, 2024. Please see Application Process below for details and instructions.

 
 

Eligibility and Priorities

The Rapid Response Fund has limited resources that are available through a competitive process to organizations across the state that meet the criteria described below.   

Eligibility

  • Applicants must be eligible to receive tax-deductible donations as outlined in Section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code. This includes: 501(c)(3) federal tax-exempt organizations; public schools; public agencies working for the State of Maine; Indian tribal governments (and their political subdivisions) recognized by the Department of the Interior

  • Applicants may also apply through a fiscal sponsor

  • The work of the applicant must be aligned with the mission and values of the Sewall Foundation

  • Eligible organizations may apply regardless of their funding history with the Sewall Foundation

  • Sewall Foundation does not fund: direct or grassroots lobbying or political campaign activities

Priorities

In keeping with Sewall’s values and commitment to fostering equity and centering community voice, Rapid Response Fund grants are generally limited to:

  • Community-based organizations with operating budgets under $250,000

  • Organizations led by and serving people in under-resourced populations and geographies, including: African Americans, Indigenous, and people of color; immigrants and refugees; LGBTQ; people with low incomes; differently-abled populations; incarcerated populations; people in recovery; and populations who are homeless or at risk of homelessness

Additional priorities include:

  • Organizations, networks, or grassroots efforts working to coordinate or mobilize response/action for their field or sector, a geographic region, or a specific community or population

  • Collaborative and cross-sector efforts

  • Efforts that are explicit in their commitment to social and environmental justice

  • Efforts that integrate the well-being of people, animals and the environment

 
 

Examples of Rapid Response Fund Grants

Below are examples of the kinds of opportunities that Rapid Response Fund grants might support.  These examples are for illustration only – not intended as an exhaustive list – and do not guarantee funding nor refusal to fund individual requests.  

Some examples of Rapid Response Fund grant uses:

  • Increasing capacity of a small nonprofit to respond to emergency needs (food, fuel, housing) in their community

  • Supporting an animal shelter to address an unforeseen crisis

  • Supporting unexpected legal costs to remove barriers to equity

 
 

Application Process

We have allocated all available funding for 2023 and are no longer accepting inquiries. We will begin accepting inquiries for 2024 funding on January 2, 2024.

This grant opportunity will follow a two-step process, which will begin with an initial inquiry to the foundation via email.  Staff will review this inquiry and if there is strong alignment with the program intentions and priorities, the foundation will follow-up with a link to a brief application.

 
 

Email the Foundation
After reviewing program intentions and priorities, please send your inquiry to Lisa Smith. Inquiries must be received by September 1, 2024. Please include the following information:

  • A brief summary of the emergency or time sensitive need which the funds requested would address.  One to two paragraphs are suggested. 

  • Requested amount

  • One to two sentences addressing how your work aligns with the Rapid Response Fund priorities.

Inquiry Review
Sewall staff will review your inquiry for alignment with program criteria and priorities, and will respond within two weeks. 

Complete an Online Application
If there is clear alignment, you will be invited to submit an application and a link will be sent via email.  The application is very brief.  We will add the text from your inquiry email to the application once it is submitted.  Please note that an invitation to submit an application does not guarantee funding.

Application Review
Sewall staff will review your request and make a decision.  You will be notified within two weeks once your application is received.

 
 

Why we changed our process

The original intention of our Rapid Response Fund was to have a rolling application process to provide the flexibility to respond in a timely manner to emergency and time-sensitive needs as they arose - and then the pandemic hit.  Organizations throughout the state were all experiencing emergency situations.  

We made funding available through grant rounds in order to more effectively manage the high volume of requests.  We also spaced them throughout the year recognizing that we could easily grant all the funds in the first quarter, and then not have the ability to respond to critical needs that might emerge later in the year.  However, holding open, competitive grant rounds resulted in very high declination rates.  This meant that many organizations were spending a great deal of time and effort applying, without a high probability of receiving a grant.  More recent grant rounds also saw a number of requests that didn’t meet the program criteria or priorities. 

As we are all now adjusting to the new normal, we feel in a better position to shift to the original intention of the program and try it out.  We are hopeful that this new process will save you time and effort, and will provide us an opportunity to make decisions based on individual requests and needs rather than in the context of a pool of applicants.