We stand in solidarity with the Black community in calling for effective and tangible change for racial justice. We share the sadness, anger, and resolve reflected in the demonstrations within our home city of Austin and across the United States. We also share the hope we hear in these demands for justice, and remain committed to moving toward equity and inclusion.
GivePulse was founded on the principle of addressing the inequities in our system and serving as a catalyst for positive social change. We are humbled to work with partners who dedicate their lives to fighting against injustice, many in areas directly impacted by systemic racism. We now call on this community to focus their efforts on the broader tenets of systemic racism and inequity, which have for too long been pervasive in our society.
We ask all of our partners — nonprofits, corporations, campuses, cities — to reflect on what steps you have taken and will take to ensure racial justice. We will be reflecting as well, and looking for ways that we can use our position of privilege to push for equity in our community.
We believe that one critical way for us to do so is by disseminating information to our partners and our community. In this post, we highlight ways that you can make an impact at this crucial junction in our country’s history, at the individual or organizational level.
COVID-19, which has taken a disproportionate toll on black communities throughout the country, remains a significant threat. We encourage you to adhere to public health regulations by wearing a mask, practicing physical distancing, and exercising sanitation methods such as frequent handwashing. If you are able to do so, consider quarantining for 14 days following the protests. We also encourage protestors to follow local laws and observe any curfews set in place.
Cities and police forces, coordinate with and march alongside protestors. Look for ways that you can help rather than hurt. Show that protestors are heard by resolving to create policy-level change that goes beyond symbolic gestures at demonstrations.
There are many other ways you can get involved in addition to or as an alternative to in-person social activism. If you are able to do so, donating to organizations devoted to fighting for racial justice is a crucial way to increase capacity and efficacy of their efforts. At the end of this post, we share several such organizations.
You can also bring food, water, masks, and medical supplies to demonstrations to support protestors. If you have first-aid training, consider offering medical assistance at the demonstrations.
Advocacy work, such as making calls and sending emails, can amplify the message of protestors. Call attorney generals, police chiefs, and elected officials in your city and state to ask how they hold police officers accountable for police brutality.
Finally, organizing, researching, and disseminating information are crucial. We encourage you to deepen your understanding of anti-racism through this resource from the National Museum of African American History and Culture at the Smithsonian. There are many further resources available, including from the organizations listed at the end of this post, for you to learn and take action. Share this information with family and friends. Challenge yourself and your loved ones to show up.
Brick and mortar locations in protesting cities have been creating pop-up foodbanks, medical supply centers, and more to help respond to needs in these areas during the demonstrations. Consider whether this is something that your workspace or center is equipped to support. If it makes sense, let us help you set up a donation drive or fundraising campaign, whether for masks, hand sanitizer, medical supplies, monetary donations, or anything else that will help to keep protestors safe. If you need help getting started, email us at support@givepulse.com or schedule a call with our success team.
Moving forward, nonprofits must diversify their boardrooms and workspaces. According to information shared by BoardSource, 90% of nonprofit CEOs and 84% of nonprofit board members are white. If organizations want to fight inequity, this must be an internal process as well.
Ask if you can donate funds or goods to demonstrations. Consider whether your business can support pop-up foodbanks, medical supply centers, and similar efforts. Match donations from your employees to organizations dedicated to promoting social justice and racial equity. And moving forward, actively seek out black candidates for management and board positions. In other words, reach out to your community and diversify your workplace.
Additionally, it’s now more important than ever to have open dialogues with your team and identify opportunities to find healing together with employees, colleagues, and partners.
We believe that engaged scholarship and service-learning are crucial to creating lasting change in and beyond higher education. Addressing systemic racism through service-learning programs is necessary for such change, as well as to the goals of our higher education partners. Actively seeking black faculty members and expanding course offerings dedicated to unpacking racism in the United States and around the world are additional necessary steps for institutions to take.
We encourage you to also open your institution’s knowledge, resources, space, and time to the community for meetings, discussion, and activism. This will help to move your foundation of learning beyond the classroom and into your community, critical to making real change happen.
In his much-viewed Medium article posted on June 1, Former President Barack Obama said that if we want to bring about real change, “then the choice isn’t between protest and politics. We have to do both.”
This is a time to consider how you will take action for continued change. State, local, and national elections will determine whose voices are heard. We must vote for individuals who will fight against systemic racism. Advocate for policy changes that will protect and uplift your community. Canvass, phonebank, and consider running for office. Most importantly, make sure you are registered to vote if you can.
Remember that there are primaries today, June 2, in Washington, D.C., Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Montana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and South Dakota. For our partners in any of these states, please encourage your communities to vote.
For everyone else, if you haven’t, complete the 2020 Census and make sure you are prepared to vote, through an absentee ballot or in person, on or before November 3rd, 2020.
We’ve set up a fund to match 100% of all our employee donations to racial justice organizations within GivePulse. We hope you will do the same.
NAACP: https://www.naacp.org/
Campaign Zero: https://www.joincampaignzero.org/
Be the Bridge to Racial Unity: https://bethebridge.com/
The Bail Project: https://bailproject.org/
Equal Justice USA: https://ejusa.org/
Reclaim the Block: https://www.reclaimtheblock.org/
Black Lives Matter: https://blacklivesmatter.com/
Whatever actions you choose to take, we are here to support you. Please schedule a call and let us know how we can help.