Dear Resister,

As we look forward to 2021, we remain hopeful. Hopeful that in spite of a global health and economic crisis, our grantees will continue to organize with and on behalf of those most impacted by oppression. Hopeful that we will keep witnessing historic victories as frontline communities fearlessly lead the resistance and reimagine what’s possible.

Resiste grantees don’t stop, and when they win, WE win.

Support the resistance by donating today!

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[Image description: Group of "Don't Shoot Portland" members pose with fists up in the air. There is a graffiti mural in the background that reads: "Say their names" in orange.][/caption]

Below are just a fistful of Resist grantee wins in 2020 alone thanks to your support.

Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM)¹ is publishing a report on their Building Power and Safety through Solidarity campaign which was launched in response to the pandemic. Over the last 6 months, DRUM members and organizers have called over 12,000 community members to not only meet basic needs, but also to politically educate, agitate, and organize in their communities.

Don’t Shoot Portland² filed a class-action lawsuit with the support of a group of 80 former and current law enforcement officials, including eight attorneys general and the district attorney representing Portland, OR, calling for a judge to restrict the federal deployment of troops to U.S. cities, saying the "abusive" tactics unleashed during protests this year risks "lasting damage to the entire justice system."

In a matter of months since the pandemic hit, G.L.I.T.S. (Gays and Lesbians Living in a Transgender Society)³ raised over $1 million dollars to open community housing and social services centers in New York for the Black trans community. In addition to this great feat, members of G.L.I.T.S. teamed up to donate to an emergency relief fund that helps bail Black trans sex workers out of jail and devised a COVID safe plan to get Black trans women and men out of Rikers Island and into isolation.

In 2020 alone, Herbal Gardens Wellness⁴ helped facilitate the planting of more than 50 Indigenous gardens using heirloom seeds saved by families for many generations. They experience these gardens as more than an exercise in spiritual grounding or society building—they are a health right for Indigenous people.

The Earthlodge Center⁵ put on a myriad of community healing programs that include: building sacred altars at sites of state violence, holding healing circles in defense of Black Lives, creating an on-going Earth School for parents and essential workers focused on holistic education of yoga and nature-based healing principles, and hosting a month-long virtual Wellness Weekend Series throughout the holidays to support organizers, community members and all impacted by COVID by introducing holistic ways to ground and alleviate stress.

Pilsen Alliance⁶ youth and community advocates helped to successfully stop the “Pilsen Landmark Ordinance” from passing in early December, which would have resulted in more gentrification and displacement in their community. Their youth are continuing to push forth a new ordinance that would protect housing affordability for longtime Pilsen residents.

While the state of the country might seem dark and dire, our grantees see through the darkness and imagine brighter days ahead. With your support, our grantees can continue to push the boundaries of what we deem is possible and come out victorious.

We will not give up and we know you won’t either.

To resisting and winning together,

Resist Co-directors

p.s. We have to raise an additional $200,000 by 12/31 to meet the urgent grantee requests awaiting funding this cycle. We need you now. Can we count on you? Resist may be a small organization, but your impact is enormous.