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2020’s intersecting crises of the COVID-19 pandemic, racist violence, economic injustices and rising climate impacts catalyzed the rapid formation of countless grassroots groups across New England and beyond. These groups, largely focused on mutual aid, were often ad hoc/non-501c3 and inherently challenged traditional models for organizing — and for resourcing themselves. We hope and believe that growing base of community members rolling up their sleeves to solve local challenges with local ingenuity and resources are here to stay!
Here are some of the numbers we’re compiling for our upcoming 2020 Annual Report: We distributed just under $1M to 448 grassroots groups across New England last year, a sizable jump over any other year of grantmaking in our history. We received an unprecedented level of unplanned support — roughly $300,000 — from both foundations and individual donors for COVID-related response efforts. Those added resources allowed a nimble response during the early days of the global shut-down this time last year: We moved over $175,000 in rapid response grants to 180 mostly new, mostly all-volunteer mutual aid efforts across the region in early spring, followed by almost $90,000 additional funds in late fall of 2020. And an astonishing 295 of you joined our participatory review process as grant readers last year to decide how to move all those resources!
What’s not evident in the numbers is the creativity, care, and consistency of effort provided by each individual in each group who showed up, listened, planned and delivered, week after week, for their neighbors and communities. And now, some groups that were providing vital mutual aid this time last year are poised to pivot toward other types of action as the pandemic (hopefully!) winds down. Other longstanding grassroots groups are gearing up to get their food justice, environmental health and other types of projects back on track this year, while still more new projects are being formed to reimagine and recreate ’normal’ from all we’ve suffered and learned.
Thank you for the roles you’re playing in our collective effort to grow civic engagement while building healthy, safe, sustainable, just communities.
In solidarity,
Julia Dundorf
Executive Director
In this newsletter:
- Hiring for a New Position:
- Spring Grant Rounds in Review Phase
- How Shall We Convene?
- Have Legal Questions re: Grassroots Group Formation and Structure?
Hiring for a New Position: Strategic Communications & Network Weaver
We are still accepting applications for this new position! The Grassroots Fund seeks a Strategic Communications & Network Weaver who has lived experience in environmental justice and social change advocacy and organizing, particularly in under-resourced and marginalized communities. The Grassroots Fund’s participatory process creates a myriad set of communication moments – pre-application, during review and post-application – with a wide variety of audiences. The Strategic Communications & Network Weaver is a new position that will coordinate the development of strategic messaging/narrative to ensure communications deepen network building and help audiences understand the opportunities, responsibilities, tools and resources available. The Strategic Communications & Network Weaver will lead on external communications and knowledge management priorities in collaboration with all staff and will report to the Executive Director. Learn More
Spring Grant Rounds in Review Phase
Grow and Young Leaders grant programs application deadline has now closed and our volunteer readers are beginning the review process. If you missed this round of funding, don’t worry! Grow and Young Leaders will open again for submission in Late Summer 2021, and our Seed program is always open for new groups or pilot projects. Look forward to June 2021, when final decisions will be made and awards go out to our applicants!
How Shall We Convene?
Only 16 responses so far! If you haven’t yet, please take 10 minutes to inform our events planning for the year. We welcome input from all GF community members, whether or not you’ve attended past Convenings.
Have Legal Questions re: Grassroots Group Formation and Structure?
The Sustainable Economies Law Center (SELC) provides direct legal support to individuals and groups who are working to create new solutions for resilient local economies. They offer weekly (usually on Tuesdays) Legal Cafes, offered on a sliding-scale donation-based legal advice, via Zoom. Learn more.
We’ve also found SELC’s Mutal Aid Toolkit to be informative and comprehensive. Check it out
“I have been lucky enough to have a continual income throughout the public health emergency, stable housing and food. I do not need my stimulus check.” – Anonymous $600 donor
—-> Image courtesy of grantee SUSU Healing Collective and SUSU commUNITY Farm, “a BIPOC led farm with a mission to offer a life affirming space that nourishes and centers the liberation of Black, Indigenous, People of Color”.
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Our mailing address is:
New England Grassroots Environment Fund
PO Box 611
Newmarket, NH 03857