Posts Tagged ‘Housing Justice’
Building Collectively: 4 Takeaways from Movement-Led Community Ownership Models
Developed by Chimene Okere and Tara Mohtadi, designed by Karla Flemming Within a solidarity economy framework, community ownership has emerged as a strategy for communities to steward land, resources, and capital, shifting power and wealth from banks and corporations, and redistributing it to those who have been most impacted by cycles of extraction and…
Read MorePhilanthropy’s Contradiction in the Latest Housing Crisis
Just a few years after the 2008 foreclosure crisis, tenants and residents are yet again facing another housing crisis. Eviction rates are 50% higher than pre-pandemic levels, the number of individuals experiencing homelessness has reached all time highs with an estimated one in ten 18-25 year olds expected to experience homelessness, and recent data report…
Read MoreDDP June 2023 Event Update
Hi friend, If events in Atlanta, GA and countless instances of mass criminalization reveal anything, now is the moment for philanthropy to lean deeper into invest-divest frameworks. Decades of research and generations of grassroots leaders have affirmed that housing is critically important to make communities safer and healthier. However, instead of substantial investments in community land stewardship, tenant protections, or food justice,…
Read MoreDDP May 2023 Newsletter
Hi friend, Join us for an in-depth discussion and interactive workshop for philanthropy to identify roles their institutions can serve in advancing community-led land stewardship models. Based on their recent report entitled “Community Ownership: Emerging Models and Roles for Philanthropy” Inclusive Capital Collective and Roanhorse Consulting will introduce how community land stewardship models are proven…
Read More2023 March Amplify Newsletter
Dear friends, Amplify Fund was originally created to support groups at the intersection of racial justice, power building, and equitable development. Our new vision focuses on generational wealth building, land justice, holistic well-being, and human dignity. In other words, our grantees work on a variety of issues. To read about some of the amazing strides they made in…
Read MoreDDP February 2023 Newsletter
Mural on Lake Street in Minneapolis, MN supported by members of Inquilinxs Unidxs Por Justicia that states “From the grips of landlords to the community” “Land is a basic requirement of life” – Gilda Haas Hi friend, The statement above from Gilda Haas during the Land Stewardship Learning Series launch helped chart the direction and…
Read More4-Year Reflection
The Amplify Fund started in 2017 with the intention of existing for four years. It became clear in 2021 that in order to be values-aligned, we needed to extend beyond the initial time horizon, so we decided to embark on a year of looking back and learning. Our reflections are organized in alignment with our…
Read MoreAmplify Fund’s Updated Vision
Amplify Fund’s original vision focused on “a reality where Black, indigenous, people of color, and low-income people benefit from the changes caused by development, including wealth creation, land control, and quality of life outcomes.” While this original vision served us well, it was written in 2018 by funders and staff. In 2021, adhering to our…
Read MoreDDP November 2022 Newsletter
Hi friend, This newsletter contains updates from our partners at HouseUS, a national housing justice fund supporting organizing and tenant-led change at the local, state, and federal levels, and the Homes Guarantee campaign: In November, the Homes Guarantee campaign will host a convening of its tenant leadership team, the Tenant Reckoning: The Rent is Too Damn High, in Washington DC.…
Read More2022 October Amplify Newsletter
Dear friends, Our commitment to deep, relational grantmaking means that, in addition to our long-term commitment to racial justice powerbuilding, we respond during crises of all kinds. Crises that affect 1) all our grantees partners, like COVID; 2) individual grantee partners; and 3) grantee partners in just one of our eight places as was the case…
Read MoreDDP August 2022 Newsletter
Hi friend, The Democratizing Development Program hired its next full-time director in June. And it’s me, Chimene Okere (follow this link for pronunciation). There’s so much work I’m excited to partner with you on. But before the emails proliferate, webinars start, and scheduling requests begin, I want to begin with gratitude for the folks who…
Read MoreDDP February 2022 Newsletter
Hello friend, Wishing you all a safe and healthful 2022. We hope you had a restorative holiday break and that you are easing into work feeling hopeful. Thank you to all who joined us for The Why and How of Ceding Power to Community Organizations to Achieve Systems Change, our webinar last week with Fund for…
Read MoreAmplify Fund Collaboration Grants
Aligned with our initial theory of change that stated a commitment to “fund an ecosystem of groups and prioritize deep collaboration,” in 2021 we introduced collaboration grants. These grants support work that Amplify grantees are taking on with other trusted allies. In 2021, Amplify granted $634,000 to 16 collaborations. in two rounds of funding. In…
Read More