2025 REV UP Small Grants
Founded by grassroots disabled activists in Texas in 2016, REV UP maintains the core belief that change happens at the local level and that disabled leaders must be at the forefront of building an accessible democracy. REV UP’s commitment to providing community funding through initiatives like the REV UP Small Grants helps ensure that disabled leaders have the resources and support they need to best reach their communities. In 2025, we are proud to be giving out $92,500 in small grants to 17 organizations across 11 states.
The Transformation Project
State: South Dakota
Organization Overview: The Transformation Project is a Sioux Falls-based nonprofit that empowers transgender and gender non-conforming individuals across South Dakota. Through programs like Marty’s Closet, name-change assistance, support groups, and South Dakota’s first LGBTQ2S+ center, Prism, the organization fosters understanding, celebrates identity, and builds community for TGNC people and their families.
Project Summary: In 2025, The Transformation Project will launch “Neurodivergent Voices Count,” a civic engagement series specifically for neurodivergent LGBTQ2S+ youth ages 16–24. Hosted at the Prism Community Center, the four-part workshop series will use sensory-friendly activities, voting simulations, and peer-led discussion to build confidence and voting literacy in a safe and affirming space. The goal is to engage 50 youth, register 20 new voters or pledges, and develop accessible civic materials in South Dakota where few tailored resources currently exist. Youth advisors will help lead the planning, and all events will incorporate accessibility tools including stim kits, quiet rooms, visual aids.
Washington Civil & Disability Advocate (WACDA)
State: Washington
Organization Overview: Based in Seattle, WACDA is a legal and civil rights nonprofit that centers disability justice through advocacy, education, and free legal services. WACDA helps people with disabilities navigate barriers to access and dignity, while advocating for policy change across Washington state.
Project Summary: WACDA will host Seattle’s first disability-centered citywide candidate forum in 2025, connecting people with disabilities, their families, and caregivers directly with those running for Mayor, City Attorney, and City Council. The event will be co-created with at least 15 disabled community members who will help craft the candidate questions and conduct community outreach. The forum will also feature on-site voter registration, accessibility support (ASL, captions, hybrid format), and live polling to gather feedback. By educating both voters and candidates, the project builds political power in communities historically excluded from civic decision-making.
Keystone Progress Education Fund
State: Pennsylvania
Organization Overview: Keystone Progress Education Fund is a long-standing leader in progressive civic education, digital organizing, and coalition building across Western Pennsylvania. Their work focuses on reaching disabled people, incarcerated individuals, and people seeking comprehensive reproductive healthcare, particularly in under-resourced urban and rural areas of Western Pennsylvania.
Project Summary: In 2025, Keystone Progress will bring voting access directly into Skilled Nursing Facilities, spaces where disabled residents often face compounded barriers to civic participation. The program will train staff, residents, and disability advocates on how to support voter registration and absentee ballot access, using a replicable curriculum that includes a handbook, accessible slide deck, and hands-on training. With a goal of training six voter advocates, implementing the program in at least three facilities, and supporting over 70 residents with voting, the project addresses a critical equity gap.
BLAC–SWPA (Black Liberation Autonomous Collective of Southwestern PA)
State: Pennsylvania
Organization Overview: BLAC–SWPA is the first youth-led nonprofit in the region founded by and for Black trans youth. Focused on civic education, mutual aid, and healing justice, they support queer and disabled Black youth who have been excluded from traditional systems and often face multiple layers of harm and disenfranchisement.
Project Summary: BLAC–SWPA’s 2025 project, “From Isolation to Influence,” is a three-part series of civic healing gatherings for Black trans disabled youth. Each trauma-informed event will combine voter education, movement, creative expression, and peer support. The goal: to transform shame into solidarity, and political isolation into empowered participation. The series aims to reach at least 75 youth, with over half reporting increased civic confidence and at least 30 committing to vote or organize in the future. Events will offer ASL, transportation support, and sensory kit, and will be spaces rooted in joy, healing, and disability justice. Led by youth with lived experience, this is the first project of its kind in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
One Heart One Vision Inc.
State: New York
Organization Overview: One Heart One Vision (OHOV) is a grassroots nonprofit led by blind/low-vision and disabled women, dedicated to empowering blind/low vision and disabled women from underserved neighborhoods across the country. The organization provides community services, social connection, education, and disability advocacy.
Project Summary: In 2025, OHOV is launching GIVE – Girls Involved in Voter Registration and Education, a civic engagement program for blind and disabled girls ages 15–25. The GIVE program trains young women to lead voter registration drives, host outreach events, and educate their peers on the voting process using both in-person and virtual platforms. GIVE events will be held monthly throughout NYC, targeting high schools, colleges, and youth-centered disability spaces. The project aims to register 100 disabled youth voters and will use mentorship, social media campaigns, and accessible swag to connect with Gen Z. The initiative is entirely led by disabled women and girls.
Denison University – DU Votes
State: Ohio
Organization Overview: DU Votes is a nonpartisan, student-led civic engagement organization at Denison University, committed to expanding voter access, education, and turnout. In partnership with the Denison Disability Advocacy Association (DDAA), the League of Women Voters, and other community groups, DU Votes is working to build an inclusive democracy on campus and across Licking County.
Project Summary: For Disability Voting Rights Week (Sept 8–12, 2025), DU Votes will launch a campus- and county-wide campaign to educate, register, and empower voters with disabilities. Programming will include educational tabling, a public panel on disability voting rights, and voter registration drives in collaboration with local partners like the Licking County Board of Developmental Disabilities. Voter resource kits with accessible information will be distributed throughout the year. The campaign aims to register 120 new voters (students and residents) and educate over 550 individuals on voting access and disability rights. Panels, pamphlets in braille, closed captioning, and ASL interpretation (budget allowing) will ensure accessibility for all.
Metropolitan Asian Deaf Association (MADA)
State: New York
Organization Overview: The Metropolitan Asian Deaf Association (MADA) works to empower and preserve Asian cultural values within the Deaf community in the Greater New York Metropolitan Area and beyond. MADA rallies Deaf and Hard of Hearing Asian-American and immigrant communities within the Greater New York area and beyond for civic engagement, accessibility, and racial justice.
Project Summary: Building on its 2024 efforts, MADA will expand voter outreach and education to Deaf and Disabled Asian Americans in NYC and other major cities. Their 2025 project will include bilingual ASL voter education workshops, in-person registration drives at events like the Deaf Asian Street Festival, and social media campaigns featuring GOTV videos in ASL with captions. With a goal of registering at least 25 new voters, the project will also provide culturally relevant support to new voters and partner with nonprofits serving Deaf and BIPOC communities. The team of Deaf ASL users will ensure that language access, accessibility, and cultural context are central to every phase of the work.
CUNY Coalition for Students with Disabilities at York College (CCSD@York)
State: New York
Organization Overview: CCSD@York is a student-led group advocating for the rights and inclusion of disabled students at York College, CUNY. Located in Jamaica, Queens, the organization engages BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and low-income students with disabilities through civic education and peer organizing.
Project Summary: For the first time, York College will see a campus-wide disability-led civic campaign. CCSD@York will host a campus-wide, disability-led civic campaign called “Vote Without Limits.” During October 2025, the initiative will include voter registration drives, peer-led workshops, and a disability-centered candidate forum. The campaign aims to register at least 50 new voters and increase political participation among disabled young adults in Southeast Queens.
Disability Rights & Resources
State: North Carolina
Organization Overview: Disability Rights & Resources is a Center for Independent Living based in Charlotte, NC, serving people with disabilities across Cabarrus, Gaston, Mecklenburg, and Union counties. The cross-disability organization works to support people with disabilities in living, working, and participating in the community.
Project Summary: Building on a successful 2024 project, Disability Rights & Resources will expand its accessible voting education through a three-part training series. The series will include a “Know Your Voting Rights” workshop designed in plain language for youth with intellectual disabilities, poll worker training in partnership with the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections, and a new “NC Disability Voting Rights” card for voters to carry. The project will also include taking summer youth program participants (Summer of Independent Living or SOIL) on a field trip to the local Board of Elections office to practice casting their vote on either standard or accessible voting machines, depending on their individual needs.
Project READY
State: New York
Organization Overview: Project READY is a grassroots nonprofit serving Asian American families and individuals with developmental disabilities across the New York metro area. Founded by and for families, the organization provides advocacy, education, and inclusive support to empower the community and ensure equal access to civic life.
Project Summary: Project READY is launching the Asian American Disability Voting Coalition, the first of its kind in New York. Through the coalition, partners across the state will lead bilingual voter education sessions titled “You Can Vote Too!” focused on correcting misconceptions about voting rights for people with developmental disabilities. Digital outreach, social media campaigns, and multilingual materials will support widespread civic participation—reaching over 1,300 individuals. The coalition’s culturally and linguistically relevant approach aims to break down barriers to voting for one of the most underserved communities in the disability rights movement.
League of Women Voters of Greater Rockford
State: Illinois
Organization Overview: The League of Women Voters of Greater Rockford is a nonpartisan organization committed to empowering voters and strengthening democracy through education, advocacy, and community engagement.
Project Summary: The Rockford League will host two major civic engagement events in 2025: Light 4 Democracy during Disability Voting Rights Week and the Your Voice, Your Vote Civic Empowerment Fair in September. These events will center disabled youth, immigrants with disabilities and mixed-status families, and multiply marginalized voters offering accessible voter education, legal rights materials, multilingual support, and trauma-informed outreach to break down participation barriers and support informed, safe civic engagement. The events and materials will include community space and resources that acknowledge the presence of ICE and support voter safety.
LWSC Community Circle
State: Michigan
Organization Overview: LWSC Community Circle is a grassroots, intergenerational Black women-led collective rooted in disability justice, healing, and mutual aid. Based in Detroit, the group serves Black and brown disabled communities, particularly those with invisible disabilities, through political education, restorative gatherings, and affirming spaces that challenge isolation and systemic injustice.
Project Summary: The #WinFromWithin initiative will host monthly community-led, healing-centered gatherings for Black disabled individuals, especially women, nonbinary people, and caregivers. The events will reach people living with invisible disabilities such as chronic illness, neurodivergence, and trauma-related mental health conditions, intentionaly working to engage those who have been disconnected from traditional organizing or civic engagement due to systemic barriers, medical neglect, or stigma. Many in the #WinFromWithin audience may not identify with mainstream disability labels but are deeply impacted by ableism, racism, and state violence. The events will blend political education, storytelling, and joyful cultural connection, creating spaces where people with invisible disabilities can build power, deepen solidarity, and engage in civic life from a place of rest and relationship.
REV UP Georgia
State: Georgia
Organization Overview: REV UP Georgia is a grassroots, disability-led initiative working to build the political power of people with disabilities—particularly in rural communities of color. Primary leadership is disabled people of color in those rural communities. The coalition’s mission is to ensure that every person has the tools, access, and support they need to participate fully in civic life.
Project Summary: REV UP Georgia will launch the Gaylon Tootle Youth Power & Participation Toolkit as part of its “Are You Vote Ready?” campaign. Co-designed by youth with disabilities from rural communities of color, the project will train 30 Youth Vote Ambassadors to lead accessible, peer-driven outreach efforts. Through pop-up events, digital campaigns, and leadership development, the initiative will uplift a new generation of disabled civic leaders across Georgia.
FEBO Vintage Rare Inc.
State: Georgia
Organization Overview: FEBO Vintage Rare Inc. is a nonprofit, nonpartisan grassroots organization focused on expanding voter education and engagement among Black disabled voters in West Savannah and surrounding precincts. Through canvassing, rallies, and resource events, FEBO connects residents with tools to participate in elections and build community power.
Project Summary: FEBO will host its 3rd Annual Juneteenth Celebration in West Savannah, combining cultural festivities with voter education, registration, and rides to the polls. The event will feature music, food, games, and an ADA-accessible environment (including for the first time, ADA-accessible porta pottys). The project will also be providing accessible transportation to older adults and people with disabilities to the polls. Voters will be able to connect to this service at the event.
DEAFs, Inc. (Deaf Empowering Advocating Florida Southwest, Inc.)
State: Florida
Organization Overview: DEAFs, Inc. is a Deaf-led nonprofit based in Southwest Florida serving the Deaf and DeafBlind community across five counties. Founded in 2023, the organization provides education, advocacy, and communication access with a mission to empower Deaf individuals and foster an inclusive society.
Project Summary: Through their inaugural civic engagement initiative, BUILD UP, DEAFs, Inc. will offer ASL-accessible workshops, one-on-one voter education, and leadership development to increase Deaf and DeafBlind participation in civic life. The project will also recruit and train Deaf and hearing allies to serve as ASL-accessible poll workers and community liaisons. This project introduces the first fully ASL-accessible civic engagement initiative in the region, addressing a critical gap in voter education, accessibility, and leadership for Deaf and DeafBlind individuals. The grant will fund interpreters, materials, outreach, and training that would otherwise be unavailable to an underserved community.
BAIN, Inc.
State: Georgia
Organization Overview: BAIN, Inc. is a Center for Independent Living serving ten counties in Southwest Georgia. With a focus on disability rights and independent living, BAIN works to remove barriers in transportation, voting, and community access for individuals with disabilities—especially those in rural areas.
Project Summary: BAIN will enhance polling place accessibility by conducting ADA compliance surveys at key polling locations during peak voting times, training poll workers, and offering transportation stipends to 25 voters with disabilities. The initiative will also distribute accessible voter materials to ensure voters with disabilities can cast their ballots during the 2025 election.
The Arc Arizona
State: Arizona
Organization Overview: The Arc of Arizona is a statewide nonprofit dedicated to advancing the rights of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and ensuring their full inclusion in all aspects of community life, including civic participation. With a network of over 10,000 individuals, The Arc Arizona works to advocate with and alongside rural, underserved, and multiply marginalized disability communities
Project Summary: The Arc Arizona will launch a nonpartisan voter engagement campaign tailored to individuals with IDD, particularly those in rural and underserved areas. The campaign includes in-person outreach, digital education, and plain-language materials to help voters navigate registration and access the polls. Grounded in feedback from self-advocates, the initiative will focus on communities often excluded from civic life and will work to educate voters who may now have the right to vote, after Arizona’s law around guardianship and voting changed in 2024.