Proteus Fund is excited to announce the launch of a new, innovative donor collaborative. The Solidarity Collaborative will support intersectional solidarity between organizations and communities working towards racial justice through dedicated grantmaking and programming support.
We believe a collaborative that is specifically focused on solidarity is not only the next logical step in our work, but is also a critical driver to advance racial, gender, queer, and disability justice. While philanthropy has increased and expanded support to racial justice and organizing work in Black, Latinx, Native, AAPI, Muslim, Jewish, Sikh, Arab, and South Asian communities in recent years, minimal attention is paid to the vital work of solidarity between and among communities. We believe that it is in these in-between spaces where a representative democracy is more fully realized. Moreover, recognizing the importance of faith and faith identity in an inclusive, just, and representative society, three of the Solidarity Collaborative’s founding donors are foundations with a faith-based lens to their work.
Building upon the work of our three donor collaboratives—best-in-class models for bridging responsive philanthropy and cutting-edge social justice movements for deeper impact—we will create dedicated space for and encourage investment in this essential work between communities. The Solidarity Collaborative has three clear, primary objectives:
1. Deeply build authentic and ultimately action-oriented relationships centered on solidarity between and among social justice leaders, organizations, and philanthropy;
2. Promote through grantmaking and programmatic support the impactful work of solidarity between and among social justice leaders and organizations; and
3. Continue a learning path with philanthropy to understand what resources and scale are necessary for impactful solidarity.
Proteus Fund is deeply grateful to the Solidarity Collaborative’s founding funders—Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Ford Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, The JPB Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Righteous Persons Foundation, the Henry Luce Foundation, and the Fetzer Institute—for their shared vision and courageous philanthropy as we seek to build durable, action-oriented solidarity practice. We look forward to engaging other funders with demonstrated commitment to capacity-building, leadership development, equity and justice, and grassroots organizing and power-building for marginalized communities in this work. To learn more, please contact Vice President of Programs Amar Singh.
