Of and By
There is a poem by Gwen Nell Westerman that inspires me by shutting me up every time I read it. I had to close my laptop for a couple of days before writing this very short post.
Over the last seven months, with the help of my team, I gave $1,990,800,000 to 343 organizations supporting the voices and opportunities of people from underserved communities. Of special note is that many of the organizations are funds. For anyone similarly interested in supporting the leadership of people from the communities they’re assisting, funds are a great resource. They pool donations and spread them across a diverse group of smaller organizations working toward a common cause. The funds we picked look for teams with lived experience in the issues they’re addressing, as we did when selecting the other non-profits in this giving cycle, and the 1,200+ recipients before them, many of which are also funds. You can learn more about any of them in the database we’ll be releasing soon, with information supplied by their own teams, and mission statements in their own words.
I recently learned a saying used in disability communities: “Nothing about us without us.” For me, it’s another beautiful and powerful reminder. I needn’t ask those I care about what to say to them, or what to do for them. I can share what I have with them to stand behind them as they speak and act for themselves.
Alliance College-Ready Public Schools
American Association of People with Disabilities
Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP)
Autistic Self Advocacy Network
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
- Big Brothers Big Sisters Columbia Northwest
- Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawai’i
- Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Acadiana
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward County
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central California
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Carolinas
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Iowa
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Minnesota
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Coastal & Northern New Jersey
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Delaware
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of El Paso
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Essex, Hudson & Union Counties
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Franklin County
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Detroit
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Indiana
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Nevada
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County and the Inland Empire
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Alabama
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Louisiana
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Sacramento Area
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Midlands
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Tri-State
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Upstate
- Big Brothers Big Sisters Twin Cities
- Kansas Big Brothers Big Sisters
Black Alliance for Just Immigration
Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project
Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health
Boston Plan for Excellence (BPE)
Busara Center for Behavioral Economics
California Community Foundation — housing and unrestricted
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
Campaign for Southern Equality
Carmen Schools of Science and Technology
CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers
Chinese-American Planning Council
Cleveland Metropolitan School District
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA)
College Access: Research & Action (CARA)
Community Academies of New Orleans
Comunidades Indigenas En Liderazgo
Coney Island Preparatory Public Charter School
Desmond Tutu Health Foundation
Detroit Public Schools Community District
Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services
Digital Empowerment Foundation
Escondido Union School District
Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement
Family Focused Treatment Association (FFTA)
Family Life Academy Charter Schools
Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project
Foro Internacional de Mujeres Indígenas (FIMI)
Foundation for Amazon Sustainability (FAS)
Foundation for Ecological Security
Fresno Unified School District
- Friends of the Children — Austin
- Friends of the Children — Boston
- Friends of the Children — Central Oregon
- Friends of the Children — Chicago
- Friends of the Children — Detroit
- Friends of the Children — Klamath Basin
- Friends of the Children — Los Angeles
- Friends of the Children — Portland
- Friends of the Children — Seattle
- Friends of the Children — SF Bay Area
- Friends of the Children — Tacoma
- Friends of the Children — Tampa Bay
- Caribe Girl Scouts Council
- Girl Scouts — Arizona Cactus-Pine Council
- Girl Scouts — Diamonds of Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas
- Girl Scouts — North Carolina Coastal Pines
- Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey
- Girl Scouts Heart of the South
- Girl Scouts Hornets’ Nest Council
- Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital
- Girl Scouts of Central Indiana
- Girl Scouts of Colorado
- Girl Scouts of Connecticut
- Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois
- Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri
- Girl Scouts of Gateway Council
- Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana
- Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles
- Girl Scouts of Greater New York
- Girl Scouts of Hawai’i
- Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys
- Girl Scouts of Nassau County
- Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas
- Girl Scouts of Northern California
- Girl Scouts of Orange County
- Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council
- Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan
- Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona
- Girl Scouts of Virginia Skyline Council
- Girl Scouts of West Central Florida
- Girl Scouts Western Oklahoma
Global Fund for Community Foundations
Grand Prairie Independent School District
Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation
Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator
Health Foundation for Western and Central New York
Immigrant Legal Resource Center
Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)
Instituto de Liderazgo Simone de Beauvoir (ILSB)
Instituto Socioambiental (ISA)
International Initiative for Impact Evaluation
Jefferson County Public Schools
- Junior Achievement North
- Junior Achievement of Dallas
- Junior Achievement of Georgia
- Junior Achievement of Greater Boston
- Junior Achievement of Greater Kansas City
- Junior Achievement of Greater Miami
- Junior Achievement of Greater New Orleans
- Junior Achievement of Greater South Carolina
- Junior Achievement of New Mexico
- Junior Achievement of New York
- Junior Achievement of North Central Ohio
- Junior Achievement of North Florida
- Junior Achievement of Northern Indiana
- Junior Achievement of Oklahoma
- Junior Achievement of San Diego County
- Junior Achievement of South Florida
- Junior Achievement of South Texas
- Junior Achievement of Southeastern Michigan
- Junior Achievement of Southeastern Pennsylvania
- Junior Achievement of Southern California
- Junior Achievement of Southern Nevada
- Junior Achievement of Southwestern Indiana
- Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore
- Junior Achievement of the Michigan Great Lakes
- Junior Achievement of the Triad
- Junior Achievement of West Kentucky
Killeen Independent School District
Latino Coalition for Community Leadership
Lindsay Unified School District
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
Maine Health Access Foundation
Metro Early College High School
Mission Achievement and Success (MAS) Charter School
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
National Day Laborer Organizing Network
National Institute for Children’s Health Quality
National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC)
National Organization on Disability
National Partnership for New Americans
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Urban League
- Akron Urban League
- Austin Area Urban League
- Buffalo Urban League
- Chicago Urban League
- Columbia Urban League
- Columbus Urban League
- Greater Phoenix Urban League
- Greater Sacramento Urban League
- Houston Area Urban League
- Knoxville Area Urban League
- Louisville Urban League
- Pinellas County Urban League
- Springfield Urban League
- Urban League of Greater Atlanta
- Urban League of Greater Chattanooga
- Urban League of Greater Kansas City
- Urban League of Greater Madison
- Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh
- Urban League of Lexington-Fayette County
- Urban League of Louisiana
- Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle
- Urban League of Nebraska
- Urban League of Palm Beach County
- Urban League of Philadelphia
- Urban League of Rochester
Native American Community Academy
Noble Network of Charter Schools
Opportunities Industrialization Centers of America (OICA)
Paramount Schools of Excellence
Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans (PANA)
Paso del Norte Health Foundation
Rocky Mountain Preparatory Schools
Sallie B. Howard School of Arts & Science
Santa Gertrudis Independent School District
Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples
South Texas Independent School District
Study Hall Educational Foundation (SHEF)
The Assisi Foundation of Memphis
Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund
Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico
White River School District 47–1
Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO)
