Fall 2024 Equity & Access Fund Status Update

Hello! Thank you for your interest in the health and status of ICOY’s Equity & Access Fund. This blog post serves as the first annual public update on the Fund. We are making this update to promote transparency about what the fund is doing and how it is impacting the organizations it serves.

The Equity & Access Fund’s inception occurred in 2020, as the world grappled with the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder. The Fund is supported by voluntary contributions from ICOY members that go above and beyond their annual member dues. The purpose of The Fund is to allow for organizations with limited access to unrestricted revenue, especially organizations led by people from historically marginalized communities, to become full-fledged ICOY members.

By bringing historically excluded and marginalized voices into the organization, ICOY has and will continue to bring diverse and unique perspectives into our coalition. Please note: The list of organizations that receive subsidies is kept confidential.

The Membership Team hope that these blog posts will encourage further donations to the Fund by demonstrating the positive impact it has on ICOY members. To get you up to speed, here are some key facts about where the Fund is at:

• Recipients
  • 10 out of the 76 Organizational members currently belonging to ICOY are receiving subsidies via the Equity & Access Fund.
• Funding
  • In 2024, ICOY began the year with $28,704.19 in rollover donations from contributions during previous yearsIn 2024, ICOY has received $12,700 in additional donations to the Equity & Access Fund
  • This brings the total amount available in the Fund in 2024 to $41,404.19
• Expenses
  • In 2024, $26,410 in subsidies has been issued to Equity & Access Fund members
• Remaining funds for 2025
  • As of right now, ICOY will have $14,994.19 remaining to cover subsidies in 2025.
  • We anticipate receiving ~$10,000 in additional renewal contributions, but hope to bring that figure up with further outreach and promotion

Given these key measures, the Fund’s future sustainability is a question mark. On one hand, ICOY will most likely have enough to cover subsidies at their current rate in 2025. Based on our current trajectory, however, we will not have the necessary rollover funds to subsidize membership at its current level beyond 2025.

The Fund has provided many organizations with the means to join and participate in ICOY by lowering the financial barrier to entry. If our funding shortfall continues at its current pace, however, we may need to reevaluate who ought to receive a subsidized membership.

Subsidy recipients have provided ICOY with positive feedback about their membership experience via feedback forms and during check-ins. ICOY has also worked to provide specific resources to these members, including a series of Capacity-Building webinars.

As a reminder, subsidies are awarded based on the judgment of ICOY’s Board Membership Committee after an application from a prospective member has been submitted. The Committee considers the organization’s budget, their needs, and what they hope to gain from being an ICOY member. From there, the Committee decides whether to issue a subsidy or not.

In the future, if the fund is not able to recoup expenses at a replacement rate, this process may need to be reevaluated to be more restrictive in who may receive a subsidy.

To help ICOY make the Equity & Access Fund a resource that will last well into the future, please consider contributing to the Fund today! Your contribution will go towards subsidizing the dues of ICOY members with the most need. Keeping as many voices apart of our coalition as possible has always been a goal of ours, but we need your help to do it.