Investing in Creative Activism

I’ve spent the better part of the last few years deep in conversations about what it would take for grant-making to approach funding dramatically different. What would it look like for philanthropy to center the lived experience and expertise of communities of culture, to trust that their work is making a difference, and to invest with as little hoops to jump through as possible?

When Virginia Cumberbatch, a dear friend and Co-Founder or Rosa Rebellion shared with me her vision for a fund that supports women of color engaged in creative activism, I asked the question I always do when it is clear my service could be of assistance: how can I help? Her response was quick! Help her and Meagan (Rosa Rebellion’s Co-Founder) form the non-profit and be its inaugural chair. Can you guess what my response was?

Together we founded The Rebel Fund, a 501(c)(3) platform whose mission is to equip women of color, who are engaged in creative activism, with financial capital and a decolonizing community space to nourish imaginations and activate liberated futures where people of color thrive on our terms and according to our own values. Phew, that is a mouthful!

This year, The Rebel Fund launched its first grant making cycle and it made its first round of grants. You can learn more about the inspiring recipients here.

I am so grateful that I continue to be a vessel for change through philanthropy. In many ways, it is my form of creative activism - it is how I am establishing a place for me and my passions, on my own terms. For me, it goes far beyond giving my coin to causes I trust and believe in to do the work. It is about giving my time and my talent.

I wonder how many of us would give more of our time and our talent if they viewed it as a form of their philanthropy?