Over the past six years, there has been a rapid increase in the political repression and prosecutions of protesters and movement organizers advocating for their safety and bodily autonomy. This is currently playing out in Atlanta as the Stop Cop City protests are underway. The Stop Cop City movement was formed in reaction to a proposal to destroy Weelaunee forest to build a privately operated law enforcement training facility. Elected officials and law enforcement have responded with legislation and politically motivated prosecutions with the goal of eroding public and philanthropic trust in social movements.

This is a critical moment for philanthropy to stand up for and protect democracy. The time is now for the philanthropic sector to exercise its power and make its resources more accessible to protesters and organizers on the ground fighting for climate justice, racial justice and land justice.

This is the time for philanthropy to stand up and support against these unprecedented attacks on social movements, bail funds, and legal support organizations.

Borealis Philanthropy recently developed a toolkit to help educate peer philanthropic organizations on how they can support protesters experiencing violence. Currently, they are planning a site visit to bring fellow funders to Atlanta this month to show them the grassroots mobilization on the ground. The goal is to give funders strategies and ideas about where to direct resources and emergency support for those on the front lines, and challenge the criminalization of grassroots mobilizing that elected officials are trying to bolster in Atlanta.

The Communities Transforming Policing FundDemocratizing Justice Initiative, Piper FundCS Fund, and Funders for Justice are calling on fellow funders and affinity groups to fully support the rights and defend the abilities of communities to protest oppressive government and corporate structures.

The Stop Cop City movement is presenting philanthropy with an opportunity to help over-policed communities who have experienced divestment get much-needed justice and resources.

We ask our fellow funders to stand with communities and employ three critical strategies:

  1. Don’t act out of fear of reactionary narratives.
  2. Resource the safety, security, and legal support of movements.
  3. Be the trusted partner your grantee needs.

Read the full article about the Stop Cop City movement by Jeree Thomas and Ken Chapman at Nonprofit Quarterly.