Fall 2007 Grants

Ensuring Economic Justice

  • Andolan $5,000

    Andolan means “movement” in several South Asian languages. Through Andolan, low-wage South Asian women workers support each other and organize against exploitation. Andolan’s latest campaign is the  Workers Empowerment Zone, a focused outreach to immigrant owners and employees of retail businesses in Jackson Heights, Queens.

  • Adhikaar for Human Rights and Social Justice $5,000

    The Nepali community is one of the newest immigrants from South Asian in the metropolitan area. One out of 4 NYC Nepalis are undocumented, 2 out of 3 lack health insurance, and 2 out of 3 earn less than minimum wage salaries. Adhikaar is developing leadership within this marginalized community.

  • Bronx Land Trust $5,000

    Community gardens provide public open space, frequently in neighborhoods that are least served by the park system. As land development pressure increases, land trusts protect threatened community gardens, and organize local communities to manage them sustainably and democratically.

  • Bushwick Housing Independence Project $5,000

    Bushwick residents face a severe housing crises. Approximately 58% of its rent-regulated housing has been hit by predatory lending, fraud, and speculation. BHIP offers legal assistance to tenants, and builds the community networks and develops the leaders to push for systemic changes in the city’s housing programs.

  • CHANGER $10,000

    The impending crisis in subprime and predatory lending has made it difficult, often impossible, for for low-wealth and people of color to retain property. CHANGER organizes low and middle-income homeowners to keep them in their homes.

  • Cidadao Global/Global Citizen $5,000

    Brazilians are one of the largest and fastest growing undocumented populations in the U.S. Cidadao Global strives to open up avenues for working-class Brazilian immigrants to learn about their rights, access community resources, and organize for progressive social change.

  • Community Action Project $10,000

    Community Action Project (CAP) works to improve conditions in the low-income Flatbush and East Flatbush neighborhoods of Brooklyn. It joins together 22 local organizing committees in faith-based institutions, including a mosque and a synagogue.

  • Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition $10,000

    Religious faith plays a large role in immigrant; working-class; and communities of color. The GNYL-RC RC links the interfaith community with labor unions, and educates and mobilizes the religious community for the human rights of workers and immigrants.

  • El Centro de Hospitalidad $10,000

    El Centro de Hospitalidad is a storefront community center on Staten Island that organizes Mexican day laborers to advocate for themselves to gain living wage jobs; healthcare, and housing, and for their overall dignity.

  • Housing Here and Now $10,000

    Housing Here and Now is a citywide coalition with a vision of affordable and safe housing for all New Yorkers. There Fix It Now Campaign calls local control rent laws, permanent housing for homeless individuals with HIV/AIDS, stronger code enforcement, and an end to subsidies to abusive landlords.

  • Movimiento por Justicia del Barrio $10,000

    Movimiento por Justicia del Barrio mobilizes low-income Latinos, primarily Mexicans, for justice in New York and in Mexico. In New York, they focus on housing, from tenant harassment and lack of heat to evictions. In Mexico, they work to end the political and economic conditions that result in forced migration.

  • NYC AIDS Housing Network $10,000

    NYC AIDS Housing Network (NYCAHN) empowers individuals with HIV to press for sound and affordable housing. They provide services, such as a food pantry and access to showers and computers. And they they offer leadership training to members on public speaking, navigating the shelter and housing systems, and community organizing.

  • Picture the Homeless $10,000

    Picture the Homeless inserts the voices of homeless themselves into policy discussion on lack of housing. Following a building count in Manhattan, they produced a report that indicates there are enough vacant buildings to house all the people currently in shelters. They call for the end of warehousing by landlords and the opening up of empty buildings for affordable housing.

  • South Bronx Churches $5,000

    Bronx County ranks highest in poverty rate of any county in New York State. It also ranks highest in unemployment rate, lowest in homeownership, and highest in child poverty rate. South Bronx Churches provides a powerbase for Bronx residents to improve their neighborhoods, a much needed avenue for civic participation and social change work.

Ending Institutional Racism and Gender Discrimination

  • Al Awda-NY $10,000

    With over 6 million displaced individuals, Palestinians are the largest refugee group in the world. In the wake of Sept. 11th, they have experienced a rise in surveillance, illegal deportations and “disappearances”. Al Awda-New York publicizes violations of human and legal rights. They challenge traditional notions of gender; race; and class, and develop women’s leadership.

  • Arab Women Active in Arts and Media - $10,000

    Arab Women Active in Arts and Media (AWAAM) provides the space for the young women to explore their multiple identities as women of color, working-class, and immigrants. The young women of AWAAM develop media literacy, leadership, and organizing skills.

  • Border Crossers $10,000

    Border Crossers believe that young people, when given the tools, are able to challenge inequity across borders of race and class. The group convenes students in grades 2-6 from segregated areas of New York City to explore social justice issues using poetry, art, children’s literature, and music.

  • Haitian Gays and Lesbians Alliance $5,000

    Haitian Gays and Lesbians Alliance wants to end the homophobia within the Haitian community that forces LGBT individuals to either hide and deny their sexuality, or leave their communities to seek acceptance elsewhere. They provide counseling, HIV/AIDS education workshops and support to individuals in various stages of their coming out.

  • Lakou NY $5,000

    Lakou NY is a community radio station providing programming in Creole and French for the Haitian community. They cover immigration, education reform and human rights – and connect their leadership to movements for social change.

Securing Peace and Justice

  • IndyKids $10,000

    IndyKids inspires young people to learn about social justice. After taking a look at current events, the youth brainstorm on art work and news articles ideas for the Indykid newspaper.  The youth-friendly newspaper is then distributed to other students through educators, public libraries, and community organizations.

  • Nodutdol $5,000

    Nodutdol promotes the empowerment of the Korean community. Through education and unity-building, they have built a membership base that reflects the diversity of the Korean community. Their program include political education, community health organizing, and campaigns for global justice.

  • United for Peace and Justice-NY $10,000

    • United for Peace and Justice-NY (UFPJ-NY) is a coalition of over 60 peace, religious, labor, and community groups. UFPJ-NY has coordinated national demonstrations that have brought thousands of people into the streets to oppose the Iraq War. Plans for 2008 include a project to organize neighborhood peace groups and to facilitate collaboration among peace and justice groups.

Protecting Civil Liberties and Constitutional Rights

  • Concerned Citizens for Family Preservation $5,000

    Concerned Citizens for Family Preservation family advocacy and resource center on Staten Island. They offer resources to help parents understand and negotiate the child welfare system and family court process. To foster systemic change, they are developing a legislative advocacy and community organizing strategy.

    • Desis Rising Up and Moving - $10,000

    Based in Queens, Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM) is an immigrant justice organization of low-income South Asian and other immigrants facing deportation in New York City. They fight to halt the expansion of anti-immigrant enforcement policies, win legalization for undocumented immigrants, and gain safe access to social services.

  • Ojo de Agua - $5,000

    Media is an important tool to support community organizing. In an area in Brooklyn where 85% are immigrant Latino and low-income and where low-performing schools and limited youth programming is the norm, Ojo de Agua offers media-making training to youth. Young people identify an issue in their neighborhood, film and produce a video that explores the issue, and create a strategy to use the finished product in their advocacy work. Topics include education reform, immigrant rights, and neighborhood stability.

  • Rights for Imprisoned People with Psychiatric Disabilities $10,000

    A 2006 Bureau of Justice Statistics report showed that over half of the incarcerated individuals in US prisons have a history of mental illness. Police officers have limited training in dealing with their needs. Working in a human rights model, RIPPD is developing a program to train police officers to better respond to psychiatric crisis.