Proteus Fund Inc.

Disability Culture Lab

The Disability Culture Lab (DCL), housed at the Proteus Fund, is a new nonprofit media lab for the disability community. Its mission is to shift the narrative on disability and ableism in the United States from fear and pity to solidarity and liberation. Launched in the spring of 2024, DCL serves as a communications training facility and community hub for the disability justice movement. Through strategic communications trainings, leadership development, and culture-driven projects, DCL will equip the next generation of Disabled leaders to shift narratives about disability and ableism and change the politics of what is possible for Disabled people. This flexible support grant enables DCL to hire staff and launch programming in 2024, which includes standing up an in-house communications firm for the disability community, focused on north star narrative work, messaging, and media training.

Disability & Philanthropy Forum

Proteus Fund, founded in 1994 and based in Amherst, MA, connects philanthropy to the frontlines of social justice to advance racial, gender, queer, and disability justice, as well as an inclusive, fully representative democracy. The Disability & Philanthropy Forum, a fiscally sponsored project of Proteus Fund, is a philanthropic network seeking to dismantle ableism by increasing funding for disability inclusion, rights, and justice; amplifying the leadership of disabled people in the philanthropic sector; and educating philanthropy to build a culture of inclusion. This grant provides flexible support to the Disability & Philanthropy Forum for its core activities.

ReFrame

Reframe, housed at the Proteus Fund, equips individuals, organizations and networks with the acumen, skills, and strategic insights they need to advance narratives that support the conditions for racial, gender, and economic justice. It conducts research to understand and identify emerging narratives across society in real time. It also offers trainings in the use of narrative strategy to build power in local communities and mentorship opportunities for organizations and networks to integrate the use of narrative strategy into all they do. This grant provides flexible support to ReFrame to help scale its offerings to individuals and organizations across the country, including community-based groups working to combat racialized disinformation and conspiracy. ReFrame’s goal is to help align the social justice sector around stories that reinforce narratives to shift the terrain towards a more equitable society and a healthier democracy.

Trust, Accountability, and Inclusion Collaborative

Located in Amherst, Massachusetts, the Proteus Fund is a full-service philanthropy organization that partners with foundations, advocates, and individual donors to advance democracy, human rights, and peace. The Proteus Fund is the fiscal sponsor of the Transparency and Accountability Initiative (TAI), which is a collaborative of leading donors of global transparency, accountability, and participation programming. Transparency and Accountability Initiative is committed to building a more just, equitable, and inclusive society where citizens are informed and empowered; governments are open and responsive; and peoples' engagement with government advances the public good. TAI is helping donor members to improve grantmaking practices and strengthen their learning and collaboration.

Trust, Accountability, and Inclusion Collaborative

Located in Amherst, Massachusetts, the Proteus Fund is a full-service philanthropy organization that partners with foundations, advocates, and individual donors to advance democracy, human rights, and peace. The Proteus Fund is the fiscal sponsor of the Transparency and Accountability Initiative, which is a collaborative of leading donors of global transparency, accountability, and participation programming. The Transparency and Accountability Initiative is helping donor members to improve grantmaking practices and strengthening their learning and collaboration.