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Non-profit

Third Wave Fund

Website:

http://www.thirdwavefund.org
Type:

LGBT Donors Collaborative
Project of:

Proteus Fund
Formation:

1995
Co-Executive Directors:

‍MARS. Marshall and Morgan Willis

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The Third Wave Fund is a fiscally sponsored organization of the Proteus Fund that funnels grants to gay, lesbian, “intersex,” and transgender advocacy groups in the name of “gender justice.” The Third Wave Fund’s grantmaking foundations include the Groundswell Fund, the Arcus Foundation, the Elton John AIDS Foundation, the Overbrook Foundation, the Joshua Mailman Foundation, the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation, and a number of individual small-dollar donors. 1 The Third Wave Fund makes grants through two channels: the Mobilize Power Fund, which primarily funds LGBT activism, and the Grow Power Fund, which supports the creation of new activist groups. 2

History

In 1992, feminist writer Rebecca Walker wrote an article for Ms. Magazine called “Becoming the Third Wave” in response to the U.S. Senate hearings on the confirmation of U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, who defended himself against allegations of sexual harassment made by Anita Hill. Walker argued that Justice Thomas’s successful defense indicated ongoing misogyny in American society, and urged the formation of a new form of feminism called “Third Wave Feminism” based on female empowerment and inclusion in society. 3 4

In 1995, Third Wave Fund was launched by the Third Wave Direct Action Corporation, a feminist advocacy group advancing Walker’s interpretation of feminism. According to the group, fewer than four percent of philanthropic funding supported young women and girls at the time. 3

In 1997, the Third Wave Direct Action Corporation and the Third Wave Fund merged into the Third Wave Foundation. That year, the Foundation distributed just over $12,000 in grants to abortion initiatives and female scholarships. 3

In 1998, the Foundation launched the Emergency Abortion Fund, which, until its closure in 2011, awarded grants to 2,000 women who struggled to afford abortions. Also in 1998, the Foundation worked with the Tides Foundation to launch Making Money Make Change, a “retreat for progressive people with wealth.” 3

In 2003, the Foundation’s board “began an intentional discussion on the intersections of trans issues and feminism.” In the following year, the Foundation launched the Reproductive Health and Justice Initiative to support female, transgender, and gender-non-conforming abortion activists. In 2005, the Foundation received a $300,000 grant from the Ford Foundation to support this initiative. In 2006, transgender youth advocacy became an official part of the Foundation’s mission. 3

In 2008, the Ford Foundation donated $1 million to the Third Wave Foundation. 3

In 2013, due to financial instability, the Foundation restructured as the Third Wave Fund, a fiscally-sponsored project of the Proteus Fund, a left-of-center “pass-through” funder and donor-advised fund whose “collaboratives” and donor-advised funds include the Piper Fund, the Civil Marriage Collaborative, the Rights, Faith and Democracy Collaborative, the Themis Fund, the Security and Rights Collaborative, and the Colombe Foundation. 3

In 2014, the Fund paused grantmaking. In 2015, grantmaking was resumed with the new Mobilize Power Fund and the Flush Transphobia Fund, which donated to advocacy groups fighting for transgender individuals to have legal access to bathrooms matching their preferred gender preferences. 3

In 2018, the Fund launched the Sex Worker Giving Circle, which it claimed was the first sex worker-led fund based in an American nonprofit. 3

In 2020, the Fund donated $2 million, with most grants being related to the COVID-19 pandemic. 3

In 2022, the Fund received the largest donation in its history, being given $3 million by billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. 3

Activities

As of November 2025, the Third Wave Fund operated six philanthropic funds. 5

The Our Own Power Fund was launched in 2017 to fund youth-led abortion advocacy and gender justice. The Fund had disbursed over $700,000 in grants from its launch to 2025, but at that time it had not made grants since 2023. 6

The Disabilities Frontlines Fund was launched in 2021 to develop disabled racial minority leadership in activism. Grants are open to individuals who identify as “queer, trans, intersex, and gender non-conforming BIPOC people who are D/disabled, living with a disability, D/deaf, hard of hearing, chronically sick/ill, mad, and/or neurodivergent.” 7

The Grow Power Fund was founded in 2016 as an invitation-only fund targeting female, queer, and transgender racial minority activists under the age of 25 to develop their activist capabilities. 8

The Sex Worker Giving Circle launched in Spring 2018 to provide grants to sex worker advocacy groups. The Circle is run by current and former sex workers. 9

The Mobilize Power Fund was established in 2015 to provide grants to LGBT advocacy groups dealing with “unanticipated” financial problems that had allegedly occurred within the previous six months. 3 10

The Accountable Futures Fund supports racial minority-led organizations advocating for left-wing criminal justice policies. 11

Leadership

In 2024, ‍MARS. Marshall and Morgan Willis were appointed co-executive directors of the Third Wave Fund. Marshall is a writer, poet, and “cultural organizer;” at the announcement of his joining the Fund, Marshall said, “I believe there is a future where capitalism, patriarchy, and white supremacy no longer define our communities, bodies, and access to the things we need to thrive.” 12 13 Willis is a left-wing activist who directed and produced the Allied Media Conference in Detroit, Michigan. 12

References

  1. “Third Wave Supporters.” Third Wave Fund. Accessed July 1, 2019. http://www.thirdwavefund.org/our-supporters.html
  2. “Gender Justice Grantmaking.” Third Wave Fund. Accessed July 1, 2019. http://www.thirdwavefund.org/grants.html
  3. “Third Wave Fund History.” Third Wave Fund. Accessed November 21, 2025. https://www.thirdwavefund.org/history.
  4. Walker, Rebecca.” Becoming the Third Wave. January/February 1992. Accessed November 21, 2025. http://www.tonahangen.com/wsc/hi215/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/RW3rdWave-2.pdf.
  5. “Homepage.” Third Wave Fund. Accessed November 21, 2025. https://www.thirdwavefund.org/about.
  6. “Our Own Power Fund.” Third Wave Fund. Accessed November 21, 2025. https://www.thirdwavefund.org/sex-worker-giving-circle.
  7. Disabilities Frontlines Fund. Third Wave Fund. Accessed November 21, 2025. https://www.thirdwavefund.org/disability-frontlines-fund.
  8. “Grow Power Fund.” Third Wave Fund. Accessed November 21, 2025. https://www.thirdwavefund.org/grow-power-fund.
  9. “Sex Worker Giving Circle.” Third Wave Fund. Accessed November 21, 2025. https://www.thirdwavefund.org/sex-worker-giving-circle.
  10. “Mobilize Power Fund.” Third Wave Fund. Accessed November 21, 2025. https://www.thirdwavefund.org/mobilize-power-fund.
  11. “Accountable Futures Fund.” Third Wave Fund. Accessed November 21, 2025. https://www.thirdwavefund.org/accountable-futures-fund.
  12. “Welcome Our New Leaders!.” Third Wave Fund. January 22, 2024. Accessed November 21, 2025. https://www.thirdwavefund.org/blog/welcome-our-new-leaders.
  13. “MARS Marshall.” Third Wave Fund. Accessed November 21, 2025. https://kresgeartsindetroit.org/artist/mars-marshall/.
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