About

Rapid Response Fund

Working in the environmental sector is never predictable. The Rapid Response Fund (RRF) is a funding mechanism we created with our members to help them respond swiftly to unexpected opportunities or respond to unanticipated crises – especially those that have a potentially significant environmental outcome. Since the launch of the RRF in 2018, over £1.1 million has been awarded to a wide variety of organisations and projects.

The RRF was closed on Friday 19 July 2024. We are using this time to gather important feedback on the RRF and redesign the fund so that it works more effectively for our members, funders and fundraisers once it reopens.

About the Rapid Response Fund so far

In 2018, we worked with members to establish a mechanism that enabled them to provide urgent funding directly to applicants. EFN is not set up to provide funding itself, but we successfully worked with funders to coordinate and disburse rapid funding to an incredibly wide range of initiatives in the UK and abroad. We supported:

  • The Amazonian Kayapó tribe to organise its largest gathering since 1989, involving leaders from their own as well as a large number of other tribes, to co-develop their strategy to defend their territory against Bolsonaro and his policies.
  • The Climate Coalition to organise their first ever virtual mass lobby of UK Parliament, on the importance of a green recovery from COVID-19, during which over 12,000 people signed up to talk to 300 MPs.
  • The #StateofNature campaign led by Wildlife and Countryside Link, which contributed to the UK government’s commitment to a binding nature recovery target.
  • Fern to protect forests through mandatory paper reductions in the EU Packaging Directive
  • Hope for the Future partnered with Channel 4 to mobilise viewers following a three-part series to holding MPs accountable for Climate Change Committee recommendations

What’s next for the Rapid Response Fund?

We are using this invaluable pause to gather important feedback and redesign the fund. Thank you for your patience whilst we do this important work behind the scenes!

All announcements regarding the re-opening of the RRF will be made via our social media channels, our blog and our newsletters. If you are a fundraiser, you can join our Green Fundraisers Forum. If you are a funder or advisor, you can apply to Join EFN.