For FAU LAC, a more just region and world are only possible with strong social movements capable of sustaining life and continuing to transform their territories. This requires as a baseline condition protection and comprehensive security;that is, conditions to face risks and threats through physical, digital, legal, and mental-emotional protection strategies.

For example:
• Rapid implementation of security protocols.
• Support and accompaniment in response to raids or criminalization.
• Temporary relocations
• Connectivity
• Digital security training.

We understand political opportunity as a limited moment in time, often unexpected, where it is possible to influence a specific decision, debate, or situation.

For example:
• A law or measure about to be decided.
• An upcoming public hearing.
• A key moment to position collective demands.
• A political opportunity is not an action that can be carried out later without significantly affecting its impact.

They are shared spaces and practices of support, rest, healing, and accompaniment that help sustain people and collective processes in contexts of crisis or high burnout. These actions can take diverse forms, according to what each organization understands as well-being and care.

For example:
• Community and/or spiritual care practices.
• Workshops, therapies, or collective well-being processes.
• Other actions to prevent extreme burnout in crisis contexts.

When we speak of people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities, we refer to lesbian, non-binary, queer, trans, intersex, or other people whose identities, expressions, or experiences challenge dominant norms around sex, gender, and sexuality. Within this population, FAU LAC prioritizes supporting and accompanying those facing the highest levels of violence, exclusion, and risk in their contexts.

It means having in-depth knowledge of the context where it operates, being part of the community, and working alongside other organizations, networks, or movements linked to the defense of rights and territories.

For example, an organization that arrives only to carry out a one-off activity, without prior work or relationship with the people or communities involved, does not meet this criterion.

Our Network of Advisors and Partners, made up of over 100 organizations and activists with extensive experience in Latin America and the Caribbean, helps us understand territorial contexts and the trajectories of the organizations and movements behind the applications.

It means that we give particular consideration to applications led by Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and other racialized communities that face heightened exclusion, violence, or risk because of their work defending their rights, territories, and ways of life.
This priority reflects a reality across the region: many of these communities are among the first to respond to territorial conflicts, extractive activities, the climate crisis, and other threats, while also facing greater barriers to accessing resources and funding.
For this reason, we seek to ensure that our support strengthens the conditions these communities need to protect themselves, sustain their collective action, and continue defending their rights and territories.

FAU LAC has a Network of Advisors and Partners made up of over 100 organizations, activists, and human rights defenders from Latin America and the Caribbean,all with extensive experience in social and feminist movements in the region.

As part of our application review process, we may seek guidance from the Network. Its members help us better understand local and territorial contexts, the histories and experience of applicant organizations, and their relationships with communities, movements, and collective struggles.

All information shared during this process is handled securely and confidentially.

FAU LAC trusts movements to develop their own responses, strategies, and approaches to holistic protection and security, collective care, and political opportunities based on their specific territories and contexts.The examples below are therefore illustrative rather than exhaustive, and we invite organizations to submit proposals grounded in their own realities.

Our support funds actions at local, national, and regional levels.

• Respond to an unexpected situation or an immediate political opportunity.

• Contribute to the protection, comprehensive security, and collective care of people and communities at risk.

• In the case of seizing political opportunities, actions leverage an unexpected and favorable moment to drive change, a decision, or an agenda benefiting women and people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities.

• Seek to generate concrete short-term change.
Examples may include:

• When a human rights defender faces immediate risk, covering the cost of temporary relocation, safe transportation, or urgent protection measures.

• In response to threats, harassment, or criminalization, implementing security measures, activating support networks, or covering urgent legal assistance.

• When several organizations need to coordinate in response to an emerging situation, covering the cost of an urgent meeting, transportation, or other logistics needed to organize a joint response.

Our support may fund actions at the local, national, or regional level.

We do not fund:

• Regular operating expenses for an organization or collective, such as rent for office or meeting space and routine equipment costs, unless they are directly related to a crisis.
• Ongoing staff salaries.
• Long-term projects.
• The continuation or follow-up of activities included in a previously approved Rapid Response Grant when the circumstances have not changed since the original application.
• Scholarships, training programs, or international residencies and placements.

It means that the proposed action has a clear and achievable outcome that can be accomplished within the context of the urgency or situation described.
For example, protecting a defender or collective at risk, strengthening the infrastructure of an organization at risk, or influencing a legislative decision about to be made. It does not refer to broad or long-term changes that would take months or years to materialize. That is why Rapid Response supports have a maximum implementation period of 6 months.

No. Our support is intended for organizations and organized groups,including communities, networks, collectives, and unions; not for individuals applying independently without a connection to an organization or collective process.

In some cases, support may be provided directly to a member of an organization, such as a human rights defender facing risk. However, the situation must be connected to the group’s collective work, the application must be submitted by the individual or with their consent, and the proposed holistic protection and security measures must be supported by a broader collective or organizational process.

No. FAU LAC does not work with intermediaries or charge any fees to access the application process. The entire process is free of charge.

Our SÍGUEME platform is designed so that organizations, movements, and collectives can complete their applications directly, without needing to pay for outside assistance. The platform is intended to be accessible to applicants with varying levels of experience, access to technology, and training.

Receiving outside assistance does not guarantee that an application will be approved. It may also create an unnecessary expense for the organization and expose sensitive information about individuals and communities.

If you have questions about your application, you can email us at: soporteapoyos@faulac.org.

The SÍGUEME platform is currently available in Spanish and Portuguese. You may complete the application form and communicate with FAU LAC throughout the application, follow-up, and support delivery process in Spanish, Portuguese, French, or English.

No. FAU LAC does not require applicant organizations to be officially registered or have legal status.
We recognize that formal registration may increase risks for activists and organizations in certain countries or contexts.

However, if the application is approved, the funds must be transferred through a fiscal sponsor. This is a legally registered organization that can receive the grant and transfer the funds to the applicant organization or collective.

No. Once an application or report has been submitted, the information it contains cannot be edited directly.
If your organization needs to add or modify information, please post the updated information in the SÍGUEME platform forum or contact us at soporteapoyos@faulac.org.

Our digital infrastructure and data-handling practices are designed to protect the security and confidentiality of all information shared with FAU LAC.Information entered into the online system can be accessed only by the applicant organization and authorized members of the FAU LAC team.If we ever need to share information with a third party, we will first request the applicant organization’s consent. The organization may choose not to authorize the disclosure, and that decision will not affect the review or handling of its current or future applications.

Your application will be reviewed through a collective evaluation process carried out by the FAU LAC team. It will be assessed based on:

• Who is leading the proposed initiative?
• Whether it responds to an urgent situation or a political opportunity.
• Its expected impact.
• Its connection to the communities, territories, and movements involved.

If we have any questions during the review process, we will contact you through the forum on the SÍGUEME platform. We recommend checking the forum regularly for updates.