Introducing Kindle’s 2017 Summer Grantees

Aug 14, 2017

Intersectional. The buzzword of the moment, don’t you think? We keep hearing it, reading it, saying it, dreaming it. This word is getting used and amplified more and more these days. And, with good reason. The problems we’re facing cannot be solved in silos. Kindle has never been big on silos. Our lens of the world focuses more on holistic crossovers between people and organizations rather than focusing on issue areas. Just as we are not isolated from one another, we also have little distance from the challenges we’re facing. The great news about this is that we’re seeing groups of all kinds working in their unique ways to address global problems in a naturally intersectional way.

So, how’d we meet these amazing groups? Through our special blend of collaborations with grantees, donors, friends, and allies as well as through a handful of our Flow Fund programs. Sourcing great work takes great collaborators and we are so happy to introduce you to the latest members of the Kindle family. Get to know them and their work below.

Are you sparked by these groups and interested in supporting Kindle’s collaborative grantmaking? Click on our donate button to get involved.

Alas de Agua
https://alasdeagua.com/

“Without Art There is NO MOVEMENT”. Our project gives opportunities through the arts to our local community of immigrants and people of color. We want to meet the unmet artistic needs of our community by creating opportunities through workshops, teach ins, mural projects, and other mentoring possibilities. We want to infiltrate local galleries, art spaces, art schools with alternative narratives told by our immigrants families and people of color. We want to nurture sustainable art practices for diverse members of our community that have been historically silenced. We aim to nurture and help heal historical wounds and empower individuals through the arts.

Aurora Lights
http://auroralights.org

Aurora Lights is an environmental non-profit dedicated to building solidarity for a healthy Appalachia.  Located in Morgantown, WV, Aurora Lights’ main programs are the West Virginia Herbal Medic Chapter and Mountain Stewardship & Outdoor Leadership School (Mountain SOL).  The Herbal Medic Chapter provides free herbal clinics in underserved communities and herbal medicine trainings.  Mountain SOL educates youth ages 3-18 on nature, environmental stewardship and wilderness skills and develops leadership skills to foster the next generation of environmental leaders.

Be Present, Inc.
http://bepresent.org

Be Present, Inc. builds collective leadership for social justice through providing trainings and systems of support using the Be Present Empowerment Model®, sustaining a national network of activists, and creating partnerships with nonprofits engaged in the work of creating a just world. We support people from diverse backgrounds to be present in their lives – to be more effective leaders in creating well being within themselves as well as their families, schools, organizations, and communities.

LittleSis
https://littlesis.org

The Public Accountability Initiative (PAI) – also known as LittleSis – is a nonprofit watchdog research group that investigates power and corruption at the intersection of business and government. We publish high-impact research; collaborate with journalists, academics, and activists who are investigating and challenging powerful individuals and institutions; and build and maintain our flagship research site, LittleSis.org (the opposite of “Big Brother”). LittleSis.org is a free, online wiki database of who-knows-who at the heights of business and government. This grant is supporting Map the Power, a recently-launched project to train and organize activist-researchers to investigate Trump’s backers and beneficiaries, so that activists and grassroots organizations are armed with the information they need to develop effective campaign strategies and win real victories.

Majal
https://majal.org

Majal creates innovative platforms to amplify underrepresented voices. From the rights of invisible migrant workers, to the stigmatized Arab LGBTQ community, to those seeking to express dissent through music, Majal elevates issues that receive little or no attention.

MuckRock
https://muckrock.com

MuckRock is a collaborative news site and public records tool that makes it easy for journalists, researchers, and the general public to file, track, and share public records requests, keeping our government transparent and our democracy more informed.

Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance
http://nativefoodalliance.org

The mission of the Indigenous Seed Keepers Network is to nourish and assist the growing Seed Sovereignty movement across Turtle Island (North America). As a national network, we leverage resources and cultivate solidarity and communication within the matrix of regional grass-roots tribal Seed Sovereignty projects. We accomplish this mission by providing educational resources, mentorship training, outreach and advocacy support on seed policy issues, and organizing national and regional events and convenings to connect many communities who are engaging in this vital work. The Indigenous Seed Keepers Network is a shade tree of support to the essential work of regional and tribal seed initiatives, as we offer a diverse array of resources aimed at nourishing and supporting a vibrant indigenous seed movement, as a compliment to the growing Food Sovereignty movement within Indian Country. The Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance has successfully established as a new inter-tribal organization with a diverse leadership council and overall membership base spanning the entire nation.

The Northern Lights Student Scholarship
http://nnmc.edu

The Northern Lights Student Scholarship is dedicated to the memory of Max Trujillo Sr., Maria “Brenda” Rosita Gallegos, Brendon Herrera, Michael Kyte and Manuel Serrano, who were all taken too soon by violence on 15 June 2017.

The scholarship is inspired by Max Trujillo, son of Max Trujillo Sr., who had obtained his High School Equivalency at Northern New Mexico College (NNMC), and was spurred by the tragedy to make his father proud by returning to school and becoming the first member of his family to obtain a college degree.

He exemplifies the need to create positive outlets for young people struggling with adversity, and demonstrates the transformational impact an education can have.

The Scholarship intends to help first generation college students, as NNMC believes that only through education can young people change their health and economic outcomes, and lift up their communities.

Silent Barn
http://silentbarn.org

Silent Barn is an all-ages hub for music and performance in New York City, hosting more than 400 events every year. As a social and political experiment, more than 70 emerging artists, engineers, entrepreneurs, curators, writers, and administrators practice a non-hierarchical management structure to sustain a performance venue, artist and music recording studios, and residencies. The collective believes that many hierarchical structures allow a minority to have a voice at the expense of silencing others, and that the most interesting, spontaneous, and creative ideas can best be realized in spaces where an anti-oppressive ethos is nurtured with intention and care.