Month: October 2020

Donors Help Progressive Nonprofits Protect Themselves From Growing Security Threats

 

 

Rajasvini Bhansali, executive director of Solidaire, recently spoke to the Chronicle of Philanthropy about creating the Janisha R. Gabriel Movement Protection Fund, a dedicated pool of security funding for movement leaders to stay safe in the face of rising threats to their physical safety as well as cyberthreats.

…Solidaire, a network of about 200 wealthy donors and foundations, started its own security fund last month with $1 million, using money from a $20 million contribution that the David and Lucile Packard Foundation had made to Solidaire’s Black Liberation Pooled Fund.

It quickly became clear that amount wouldn’t be enough to last through the end of the year, Bhansali said, so Solidaire went back to its network of donors and plans raise an additional $1 million.

The group provides security-related grants ranging from $2,000 to $100,000. Grant recipients are using the money to beef up computer virus protection and provide security guards for highly visible movement leaders who have been the victims of physical threats or actual violence, Bhansali said.

Thirty-five grant applications flowed in from across the country within three weeks. “The need and the demand for this kind of protection is immense,” she said.

The need is so acute and so sensitive that the organization uses an encrypted application system to prevent hackers from learning the identity of applicants, she said. Solidaire has kept the application process simple — it takes about five minutes, Bhansali said, and decisions are made within two days after the request is made.

“Donors Help Progressive Nonprofits Protect Themselves From Growing Security Threats” by Dan Parks, The Chronicle of Philanthropy / October 22, 2020

Read the full article here.

Apply for a grant here.

How Funders Can Deepen Their Support for a Black-led Movement Ecosystem

In a new article for Inside Philanthropy, Rajasvini Bhansali, executive director of Solidaire Network, and Nwamaka Agobo, CEO of The Kataly Foundation, shed light on how the two groups have been mobilizing resources to build a Black-led movement ecosystem. They outline five priorities for supporting Black liberation work in an effort to encourage other grantmakers to intensify their efforts. They write:

Supporting Black liberation calls on philanthropy to liberate capital and wealth in new ways so we can build a durable Black movement for dignified Black lives…

It’s time to leave behind the rules and fund social movements so that Black-led groups have what they need to change our collective society for good. Ten years from now, when we who believe in freedom, human dignity and justice look back, let us be in a position to celebrate that when this movement asked us to step up and step in for our collective liberation, we replied with a most historical and resounding yes.

“How Funders Can Deepen Their Support for a Black-led Movement Ecosystem’” by Nwamaka Agbo and Rajasvini Bhansali, Inside Philanthropy / October 20, 2020

Read Nwamaka and Vini’s full article here.

The Kataly Foundation Launches

 

The Kataly Foundation, an institutional member of Solidaire and a family foundation founded by Solidaire member Regan Pritzker, has announced their launch. CEO Nwamaka Agobo (also a longtime Solidaire consultant) writes:

I am honored to introduce you to the Kataly Foundation, a new family foundation that I will lead, working to redistribute and redefine wealth. In partnership and with humility, we’ll work to generate transformation, abundance, and regeneration in Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color.

“‘In Solidarity: Introducing the Kataly Foundation’” by Nwamaka Agbo, Medium / October 1, 2020

Read Nwamaka’s full post here.