North Star News: 2012
North Star Fund Distributes $50K During Second Round of Hurricane Relief & Recovery Grants
North Star Fund is pleased to announce its second round of grants from the Grassroots Hurricane Relief Fund. The following grassroots and community organizations are providing supplies, services, and rebuilding communities as part of ongoing Hurricane Sandy relief and recovery....
North Star Fund Makes Grants for Hurricane Relief & Recovery
North Star Fund is pleased to announce its first round of grants from the Grassroots Hurricane Relief Fund. We will continue to accept and review applications from organizations working with vulnerable populations in affected areas through November 30th.The following grassroots...
Grantees Respond to Hurricane Sandy
Eleven days after Hurricane Sandy ravaged the tri-state area, thousands of people in New York City's public housing are still without heat, water, electricity or food. Many people needed help after the storm, but our most vulnerable neighbors seem to...
Hurricane Relief Volunteer Opportunities
We are hearing from our grantees that there is continued need for volunteers and donated goods in affected areas of Staten Island, Brooklyn and lower Manhattan. If you want to get involved, below are resources that are providing daily...
Recovering from Hurricane Sandy
The hurricane devastated many parts of the tri-state area, and in its wake North Star Fund is announcing a Grassroots Hurricane Relief Fund to help the most vulnerable residents and communities in our region recover. This special appeal will...
North Star Fund Grantee Helps Trafficking Victim Win Justice
With help from North Star Fund grantee Damayan, and after nearly two years of fighting for her rights, Daedema (Dema) Ramos recently won back wages that were rightfully owed to her after months of exploitation. Dema's victory is one...
Spring 2012 Grants Announced
In our Spring 2012 cycle, we made grants in the Innovative Activism category, now in its second year of implementation, and continued our commitment to new and emerging groups through our Grassroots Action grants This photo shows members and allies...
Former North Star Program Officer Is Media Resource on New Immigration Landscape
Immigration policy has made major news in the past two weeks, first with President Obama's announcement that he is ordering a halt to the deportation of DREAM Act-eligible students. And then with the Supreme Court decision to uphold the...
Kim Hendler: Why I Give
My vision for the future: A New York City that's inter-connected. I see people having more understanding and empathy for the challenges and assets that different groups of people bring to the table. I would like every New Yorker...
Alexandra Jacobus: Why I Give
When I first heard about North Star, it was the late 1980's and I was teaching in the New York City public schools. Teaching was a radicalizing experience for me; I saw how difficult the conditions were and how...
Marjorie Fine: A 2012 North Star Award Honoree
Marjorie Fine recalls trick-or-treating for UNICEF as her first conscious activism. "I realized there were children in trouble someplace, and if we collected money, something good could happen from it." Social justice values were strong in her family, along...
Memories of Toby D'Oench
On January 23, 2012, Toby D'Oench, one of North Star's cherished founders, passed away following a long illness. His wide circle of friends, colleagues, and loved ones remembered him at a memorial service at Chelsea Piers, where his children...
REVIVE: In Pursuit of Something Larger
In 1979, a young group of donors sat around the table and made North Star. They believed that the existing models for making their city fairer and more just were too limited. They believed that creating social change in...
North Star Featured in ColorLines
North Star Fund is honored by a recent blog post in ColorLines by Kai Wright, the daily news site's editorial director. The title of the post is "Wanna Help Make New York City a Just Town? Here's How." According to...
Kai Wright: A 2012 North Star Award Honoree
Kai Wright grew up in Indiana in a family for whom social justice was a near-evangelical cause. "We talked about issues of the day the way other people talk about sports," he says. "We didn't think in terms of...
MinKwon Center for Community Action
MinKwon means "civil rights" in Korean, and this organization means civil rights in a "big tent" way, including justice for immigrants, low-income people, and other marginalized communities. Since its founding in 1984, the MinKwon Center for Community Action has...
Benjamin Warnke: A 2012 North Star Award Honoree
One of Benjamin Warnke's earliest memories is being at civil rights marches in Washington with his mother and siblings. His father, a Washington lawyer who held senior positions in the Johnson and Carter administrations, was a leading voice against...
Picture the Homeless
Picture the Homeless (PTH) operates on the principle that in order to end homelessness, people who are homeless must become an organized, effective voice for systemic change. Anthony Williams and Lewis Haggins, Jr., were both homeless when they founded...
An Activist, Organizer, and Leader
June MakelaProgram Director, Norman Foundation North Star Fund Donor since 1986 People knew Toby in many ways: brilliant legal colleague; exuberant hockey dad; dear friend, brother, nephew; proud father and loving spouse. Toby was also an activist and organizer who...
Remembering Toby D'Oench
On January 23, 2012, Toby D'Oench, one of North Star's cherished founders passed away from complications related to his treatment for cancer. On Saturday, February 18, 2012, his family held a memorial service at Chelsea Piers, where his children...
Keeping the Vision
Anne Hess Progressive Philanthropist and Community Activist North Star Fund Donor Since 1980 I wasn't living in New York when Toby co-founded the North Star Fund in 1978, but I had been very involved with the Vanguard Foundation and...
Looking to the Future
Michael Ratner President Emeritus of the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) North Star Fund Donor since 1979 Toward the end of his life, Toby invited me to a meeting with Hugh Hogan and a few others at his Skadden...
A Legacy of Love, Loyalty, and Joy
Katherine Acey Astraea Executive Director Emeritus North Star Fund Staff: 1993 - 1987 For me Toby D'Oench is synonymous with North Star. I feel his spirit will always hover in and around as we continue to celebrate and honor...
Toby Had a Plan
John Silva North Star Fund Staff: 1979-1982 It was 33 years ago in a run down building on the corner of Fifth and 14th that I first met Toby, got interviewed and joined North Star. He had just signed...
A Passion for Change
Marsha Bonner Philanthropic Executive North Star Fund Staff: 1981 - 1988 I joined the North Star Fund staff collective in 1981. I was immediately impressed with Toby's intelligence, quick wit, and fierce passion for the role that money could...
What It Takes to Build a Movement
When Daniel Gross looks at Brandworkers on this day in 2012, he sees a different organization than the one he ran last year. "Without any exaggeration, it's qualitatively a different feel. We're a better organization. We're a higher performing...
Michael Waterman: Why I Give
My father ran our family foundation until he passed away. It was based on his interests in social and economic justice. He came out of the 60's and was a product of the progressive movement of that time. He...
Year Two of Greening Western Queens Grants Announced
New Yorkers will enjoy new parks, more trees and cleaner neighborhoods this spring, thanks to a three‐year $8 million investment by North Star Fund. North Star's first round of grants are already reshaping the community, bringing together unlikely allies...
Remembering Toby D'Oench
On January 23, 2012, Toby D'Oench, one of North Star's cherished founders passed away from complications related to his treatment for cancer. On Saturday, February 18, 2012, his family held a memorial service at Chelsea Piers, where his children...
Valentine's Day Tribute to Frederick Douglass and His Love of Justice
Frederick Douglass was said to have been born on Valentine's Day. Hugh Hogan, North Star Fund's executive director, has just published an article in the Huffington Post paying tribute to his enduring legacy and his love of justice. To...
