“We’ve been busy in these internet streets,” as Melody Baker, Amplify’s Senior Program Officer said on a recent staff call.
- We were thrilled to end June and begin July with so many of you at the start of NFG’s 2020 virtual convening series: 40 Years Strong. On the fourth day of programming, on Thursday, July 2, Melody joined Jazmin Segura, Program Officer for the Fund for an Inclusive California (F4ICA) and Syma Mirza, Staff Consultant at HouseUS, to talk about Building Philanthropic Infrastructure to Build Power during the Democratizing Development session.
- Just a few days later on July 8, Amplify Director Amy Morris, joined Jazmin Segura again, along with Beatrice Camacho, Tenant Organizer at the North Bay Organizing Project, for a 60-minute webinar hosted by the Funders Network (TFN) called Keeping it Local: Strategies to Support Power-Building and Economic Self-Determination. They all shared clear analysis along with vivid and accessible stories of their work. A full recording of the webinar is available here and many of the images that Amy shared about Amplify’s structure are available for download on our webpage here.
- In addition to Zooming at funder conferences, we hosted our second Amplification session facilitated by Social Movement Technologies (SMT), a non-profit training hub providing organizing support to build power and win campaigns in the digital age. SMT highlighted how groups are combining online with offline action in this moment to build power and win change, and shared technical information about digital campaign tools and tactics that organizations can use to engage members, expand their reach, and be heard by decision-makers. Over 50 Amplify grantees registered, including a number of organizations supported through our sister fund, the Fund for an Inclusive California (F4ICA). All materials were offered in English and Spanish, and simultaneous interpretation was provided by Lingovox.
- We encourage you to check out the full list of Amplify grantees here, and follow us and them on social media.
- @AmplifyFund on Instragram
- @FundAmplify on Twitter
- And for a quick link to follow all Amplify’s grantees on Twitter, click here
Keep an eye out for upcoming events and announcements:
- More information about Amplify and Funders for a Just Economy's joint virtual learning visit to Nashville, TN.
- Amplify grantees Kayla Reed and Blake Strode, Executive Directors of Action STL and ArchCity Defenders, respectively, and key members of the Close the Workhouse Campaign, will speak on FFJ’s upcoming webinar, From Bail Reform to Closing the Jail: Organizing Wins for Divestment, on July 30 starting at 12pm ET. They will likely talk about the historic win that they accomplished just this week:
— CloseTheWorkhouse (@CLOSEWorkhouse) July 20, 2020