Giving Projects
This project will support community organizing led by and for Black communities and communities of African descent who are working to end anti-Black racism and discrimination, support and invest in Black leadership, and sustain movements for Black liberation to achieve a world where Black communities are protected, honored, and thriving. Participants of this giving project will therefore fund and help sustain the momentum of groups who are organizing to build power for Black communities and improve the quality of Black life in the Northwest.
Participants in this project will engage in shared political education, skill building for grassroots fundraising, and a democratic grantmaking process to support Black-led organizations working for Black Liberation in the Pacific Northwest.
“The selling point for me, like many of our peers on this [Black Led Organizing Giving Project], was the rare and unique opportunity to do the work with an ALL Black group on behalf of organizations led by Black folks doing services for Black folks. Joining this Giving Project was absolutely an opportunity to tell our stories and to tell them loud and wide.” – Andriana Alexis, 2018-2019 Black-Led Organizing giving project participant.
Learn more about our 2018-2019 Black-Led Organizing Giving Project here.
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Application details:
Open to descendants of the African Diaspora (Black, African, African-American, Afro-Caribbean etc) living in Portland.
Meets 10/24/2020 through 5/15/2021, online via Zoom. Accessibility accommodations are available — contact Shardé with questions or requests.
Schedule TBA
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If you are interested in applying for funding through the Black-Led Organizing grant, you can learn more here.
Giving project structure
- All Giving Projects have the same basic structure:
- A cross-class, multiracial group of 15-25 volunteers commits to the entire process.
- Each person makes a meaningful gift — whatever that means for you.
- Through workshops and trainings we develop a shared analysis of race, class, and the issue focus of this Giving Project.
- We train you in grassroots fundraising and provide lots of hands-on support as you raise money from your friends and family.
- We train you in our grantmaking process and support you as you read and score proposals, participate in site visits, make collective deicisions, and move money to some of the most inspiring, effective social change work in the region.
“One thing that sticks with me is how much I enjoy and get energy from these issues. I came in tired, and now feel energized.”