CS Fund’s Rights and Governance program area is “dedicated to securing the constitutional rights and democratic governance needed for movements for justice to succeed.” Amanda Solter, the director of this program, shares her thoughts on CS Fund’s support for Piper Fund’s Judicial Integrity and Right to Protest programs.
CS Fund has supported work protecting the right to protest since our inception in 1981. We were thrilled when the Piper Fund created the first pooled fund dedicated to supporting the right to protest and gathered other funders to the table. Their relational and holistic approach resonated with our values. As we learned more about the Judicial Integrity program it also became a logical fit for our portfolio because of that same thoughtful, holistic approach that provides more than just dollars to the field. While we support some of the Piper Fund’s partners separately, the Piper Fund provides capacity and direct assistance to partners in a way that multiplies the value of our grant many times over.
Protest has always been an integral component of every social justice movement in U.S. history. CSF believes that protecting this right is vital for movement success across every area that we care about. Likewise, many of the goals that our movements for justice seek to achieve will ultimately be decided in the courts. That we have a court system that is an avenue for justice rather than repression and that can operate free of co-option is a vital component of our democracy and one that has been consistently under threat. The Piper Fund has recognized these two areas as critical to our democracy and yet have been historically underfunded within philanthropy. By creating these funds they have channeled resources and created funding stability in these areas that simply didn’t exist before.
The Piper Fund provides capacity to the field that we as a small foundation could never do. The fact that there are dedicated program officers that are deeply embedded in the field with incredible knowledge and expertise providing assistance and coordination to partners and responding in real time to crises as they emerge is simply invaluable. I frequently hear from partners about the trust and appreciation they have for [Program Officers] Kathy Bonnifield and Mel Rudnick, and I think this speaks volumes.
By convening and educating funders on these issues, Piper Fund has helped deepen our understanding of the field and the needs on the ground while simultaneously building out a philanthropic community that didn’t exist before and which was desperately needed. It has been a gift to be in relationship with the Piper Fund, to learn from them and to see the thoughtful way that they have resourced the field.
