Greetings from the Social Justice Fund of Ventura County. It’s been a very productive time for SJFVC as we finalize fellowship awards for 2020. Here is an update (as of Monday, Nov. 23, 2020) on our progress:
- We received a dozen Letters of Interest for the Social Justice Fellowships. This response shows the desire of new leaders to make change happen in their communities and how important our Social Justice Fellowships are in helping to develop these new voices for justice. There are clearly more worthy fellows and projects than what we can award this year.
- That being said, the SJFVC will grant a total of over $50,000 this year. This represents the most we have granted in over 6 years. Over $35,000 in grants will go to the fellowships. The grant total also includes nearly $14,000 in emergency funds to local organizations to help deal with the consequences of the pandemic such as food insecurity for children, tutoring, and masks for farm workers. Thank you all for your generosity!
- One will go to “Justice in the Classroom” which is a group of HS and college students who advocate for ending the lack of diversity, equity, and inclusion within public schools across Ventura County. Our funding will enable them to become a registered nonprofit, upgrade their zoom account, and pay website expenses.We are able to announce today two grants to new organizations fighting for social justice:
- We will be announcing more grants next week. Our candidate fellows have proposed topics that include addressing food insecurity, awareness of the experience of indigenous students in the UC system, and equitable family involvement in the public-school system. We are inspired and excited by the talent and passion we see in the emerging leaders. Stay tuned for announcements on more Fellows in the coming weeks!
- The desire for change coming from these emerging leaders is awe inspiring. We already have requests for fellowships for spring 2021. Join us in helping to develop new leaders and making change in Ventura County. Every contribution helps an emerging leader to become a more skilled and confident new voice for justice in our community. Below is a donate button that will take you to our website to donate.
Please get back to us with any comments and thoughts - or if you want to get involved!