Giving Compass' Take:

• At Medium, Nuala Cabral urges the philanthropic community to use this moment of crisis for dismantling oppressive systems across the world.

• How has coronavirus even further revealed deeply rooted racism across institutions? What are you doing in your giving to use this moment and build back better? 

• Learn more about how you can use this moment to avoid pandemic disaster and dismantle systemic racism.

As anti-racist protests sweep across the country in the middle of a pandemic that has exposed structural inequalities, creators and storytellers have been watching, listening and creating. They are reflecting and envisioning, uncovering truth, and fostering healing. Arundhati Roy speaks to this in her recent article, "The pandemic is a portal," where she offers some insight and a valuable call to action. Instead of feeling despair that the world will never be the same, Roy urges us to take a hard look at the suffering caused by systemic oppression and reimagine and create a new normal that is better for the world, one where equality is the norm.

Both media and philanthropy play important roles in supporting movements that challenge oppressive systems, and should do so without co-opting or containing them. As Program Officer at Independence Public Media Foundation (IPMF), which supports community media in the Philly region, I’ve been reflecting on what it means for a philanthropic institution to respond to this moment with a sense of urgency, trust of community and commitment. In our recent grant cycle, the Community Voices Fund, we sought out projects and organizations that are reckoning with this moment while centering communities. Our priority was to support vulnerable communities who are often overlooked in mainstream national and local news and media outlets. We were particularly interested in supporting movement media, BIPOC-led organizations, collaborations, and organizations with budgets under 1 million.

Someday we will look back on the creative efforts, stories and expressions created during this time, and they will help us make sense of the world around us, how we managed to come together, pull through and usher in a new normal that we so desperately need.

Read the full article about how philanthropy can use this moment by Nuala Cabral at Medium.