Urgent Action Fund, Asia & Pacific

What Urgent Action Fund, Asia & Pacific does

Urgent Action Fund, Asia & Pacific (UAF A&P) is a regional feminist rapid-response grantmaking fund established in November 2017 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and operated as a private nonprofit. It is the Asia-Pacific member of a global sisterhood of Urgent Action Funds that collectively trace back to 1997 and now span Africa (2001), Latin America and the Caribbean (2009), and Asia-Pacific. UAF A&P provides emergency and strategic grants — Security and Well-being Grants, Resourcing Resilience Grants, Webs of Safety and Care Grants, and Special Grants — of up to USD $5,000 (and up to $10,000 for assessment-led Webs of Safety and Care implementations) to women, trans, and non-binary human rights defenders across at least 13 Asian and Pacific countries including Indonesia, the Philippines, Nepal, Thailand, Cambodia, Fiji, China, Myanmar, Afghanistan, India, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, and Papua New Guinea.

The fund's core technology is a self-serve online Rapid Response Grant (RRG) portal at apply.uafanp.org, supplemented by ProtonMail-based encrypted email applications, Signal messaging, and downloadable PDF application forms available in at least 8 languages. The portal mandates ProtonMail registration and supports two-factor authentication via multiple TOTP authenticators, and is documented on a GitBook-hosted manual. UAF A&P operates two cross-cutting programmes — Enabling Defenders (safety-and-care ecosystem building) and Activating Philanthropy (resource mobilisation) — and runs a sub-brand, the Pacific Feminist Fund, launched in April 2023 to address the under-1% direct-grant funding reaching Pacific women's organisations. Applications are accepted 365 days a year in any language, with a 72-hour acknowledgment SLA and 10-15 day fund delivery.

The revenue model is 100% philanthropic: donations from individuals and institutions, processed through Donorbox, fund grant disbursements and operations. The team consists of approximately 17 facilitators plus regional and Australian boards (~20 people total), structured around co-leadership (Virisila Buadromo, Co-Lead for Partnerships and Resource Mobilisation; Vinita Sahasranaman, Co-Lead for Programmes and Innovation) and a Regional Board chaired by Devi Leiper O'Malley and Ivy Josiah, with an Australian Board chaired by Praveen Sharma. The fund is currently executing a 2024–2029 strategic plan following the 2021–2023 'Steering Towards New Feminist Horizons' plan.

Name

Urgent Action Fund, Asia & Pacific

Legal name

Urgent Action Fund for Women's Human Rights Asia and Pacific

Website

https://uafanp.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Feminist Grantmaking and Human Rights Philanthropy

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Trust Funds & Multi-Donor Pooled Funds (BPADAOAE), Humanitarian Pooled Funds & Rapid Response Financing (BPADAOAK)

Keywords

• Feminist grantmaking
• Rapid response grants
• Human rights funding
• Nonprofit philanthropy
• Women defender support

Headquarters

HQ city

Colombo

HQ country

Sri Lanka

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Donations: UAF A&P operates as a feminist fund receiving donations from individuals and institutions to support rapid response grants for women and non-binary human rights defenders

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Urgent Action Fund, Asia & Pacific (UAF A&P) is a feminist fund that provides rapid response grants of up to USD $5,000 to women and non-binary human rights defenders facing safety threats or well-being needs across Asia and the Pacific. Grants are accepted 365 days a year in any language, with 72-hour acknowledgment and 10-15 day fund delivery after approval. The fund also operates strategic grant programmes (Resourcing Resilience, Webs of Safety and Care, Special Grants) and the Enabling Defenders and Activating Philanthropy programmes to strengthen feminist movements.

Product overview

Urgent Action Fund, Asia & Pacific operates as a feminist rapid response fund providing emergency and strategic grants to women and non-binary human rights defenders across Asia and the Pacific. The core offering is the Rapid Response Grant-making (RRG) System, an online application portal through which defenders can access four main grant types: Security and Well-being Grants (for immediate threats and crises), Resourcing Resilience Grants (for strategic preparation and opportunities), Webs of Safety and Care Grants (for building community-based safety structures under the Enabling Defenders Programme), and Special Grants (for emerging regional crises). The fund also operates the Activating Philanthropy Programme to mobilise resources and support. All grants are delivered through the RRG system which integrates with ProtonMail for secure communications and supports two-factor authentication. Grants are typically limited to $5,000 USD with rapid turnaround times of 48-72 hours for acknowledgment and 10-15 days for disbursement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Pacific Feminist Fund: A specialized fund for women and non-binary human rights defenders in the Pacific region, addressing the less than 1% of direct grant funding that goes to women's organisations in the Pacific.

Products and services

• Rapid Response Grants

Quantifiable outcome

• 72-hour response time for grant acknowledgments
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Urgent Action Fund Latin America & CaribbeancoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009Sister fund founded in Bogota, Colombia in 2009, first women's fund in the region to offer protection support to defenders. Has supported nearly 400 community-based organizations in 19 countries. Led integration of learning and intercultural grantmaking approaches.
• Urgent Action Fund AfricacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2001Sister fund established in Nairobi, Kenya in 2001. Has supported women and non-binary defenders affiliated with over 700 community-based organizations in 48 African countries. Demonstrates impact of convening defenders and building leadership capabilities.
• Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism (UAF-WHR)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1997The original Urgent Action Fund for Women's Human Rights, now known as UAF for Feminist Activism, co-created in 1997 by Asian and Pacific feminists. This global consortium provides the foundation for UAF A&P's operations and philosophy.
• Prospera International (Women's Funds Network)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational network of women's funds including 8 members from Asia and the Pacific. Organized 'Revolutionising Philanthropy' convergence in 2019 with nearly 130 activists and funders committed to women's rights.
• Pacific Feminist FundmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaunched to address the funding gap for women's rights organizations in the Pacific, where less than 1% of direct grant funding reaches women-led organizations.
• Latitude GlobalminorOthersIndependent due diligence verification provider used by UAF A&P for organizational assessment.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Global Fund for Women: One of the largest feminist foundations globally, providing grants to women-led organizations worldwide. Highly comparable in mission (resourcing women's movements), though operates at much larger scale and with broader grant types.
• Urgent Action Fund - Africa: Direct sister fund founded in 2001 in Nairobi, applying the same rapid-response feminist grantmaking model in Africa. Operates with shared philosophy, mutual learning, and co-responsibility within the UAF sisterhood.
• Pacific Feminist Fund: Launched by UAF A&P in 2023 to address the under-1% Pacific funding gap. Operates the same rapid-response grant model, but is being structured as a dedicated Pacific vehicle — most directly comparable emerging peer.
• Urgent Action Fund - Latin America & Caribbean: Sister fund founded in 2009 in Bogota, applying the same rapid-response model for women HRDs in Latin America. Operates within the UAF sisterhood with shared framework and joint capacity-building.
• FRIDA - The Young Feminist Fund: Global feminist fund providing small grants and capacity-building to young feminist-led groups. Overlapping mission and grantmaking structure, with comparable multi-language accessibility and rapid-turnaround ethos.
• Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism (UAF-WHR/US): The original Urgent Action Fund, co-founded in 1997 by the same Asian and Pacific feminists who later created UAF A&P. Operates the same rapid-response grantmaking model for women and non-binary HRDs in the US/global, with shared learning, sisterhood membership, and overlapping governance.
• AmplifyChange: Global fund supporting civil society advocacy for SRHR and gender justice, particularly in Africa and Asia. Comparable small-grant, rapid-disbursement model targeting rights defenders and activists in restrictive contexts.
• Mama Cash: Amsterdam-based feminist fund (Netherlands origin, hence the Dutch website host for UAF A&P) that resources women's, trans, and non-binary-led organizations globally via grants and capacity building. Directly comparable grantmaking model and beneficiary base.

Regional players

• Prospera International Network of Women's Funds: International network of women's funds that includes UAF A&P as a member. Operates as a convener and meta-funder across Asia-Pacific and globally, with shared grantee community and co-funded convenings like 'Revolutionising Philanthropy'.
• Women's Fund Asia: Asia-focused women's fund making grants to women's rights organizations across the region. Directly comparable in geography and mission, with longer regional track record but distinct programmatic approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/UAF_AnP
• Facebookfacebook.com/uafasiapacific
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/urgent-action-fund-for-women-s-human-rights-asia-and-pacific
• Instagraminstagram.com/uaf_anp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Urgent Action Fund, Asia & Pacific