Moving Resources in Service of Liberation: Kataly’s Statement on the 2024 Election
As we process the outcome of the 2024 presidential election, we want to first acknowledge the fear, anxiety, and grief that many people are feeling. The threats against our communities are real.
And, we want to express our hope that we will not move from a place of fear. Fear divides us, and makes us operate from a mindset of scarcity. Fear encourages us to view each other as the opposition. Fear creates a sense of fight or flight.
Right now, as difficult as it may seem, we need to be in community with each other, move from a spirit of collective liberation, and strengthen our relationships through principled struggle.
For us at Kataly, we are dedicated to our mission: supporting the political, cultural, and economic power of Black and Indigenous communities, and all communities of color. Our commitment to our grantee partners is unwavering and steadfast, whatever the political realities of the moment and the coming years.
We are also asking ourselves: What is the role of philanthropy when democracy is at risk? Our hope is for funders to stand in solidarity with communities, and take direction from people who have been on the ground and in the fight for liberation. We can move resources in a way that follows the lead of the people most impacted, and leverage our institutional power to support the narratives, policies, and demands of grassroots groups.
As a spend-out foundation, Kataly has a few years left to make grants and investments. Our intention is to redistribute resources in a way that leaves communities stronger and ensures they have the resources to lead self-determined lives. That looks like continuing our long-term grantmaking and investments, while also responding to urgent needs of social movements.
Kataly is in the process of moving $2.4 million in rapid response grantmaking to support the needs we have heard expressed by our grantee partners: social movement defense, safety, and security for organizations and community leaders, climate disaster relief following Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and U.S.-based Jewish and Arab organizing for land and liberation in solidarity with Palestine.
Rapid response grantmaking on its own cannot address the needs of social movements — it must accompany at-scale, long-term, general support of the grassroots. But in moments of crisis, distributing rapid response resources can be one way that funders can materially show support for the urgent needs of groups winning liberation and justice for all of us.
At this moment, we want to ask funders to step into our full potential and embrace our role in preserving and protecting democracy. We can do this by opening the coffers: this is not the time to scale back or retreat out of fear. Every institution should increase its grantmaking in the coming years to ensure impacted communities can build beyond one election cycle and into the future.
Money isn’t enough. Money will not save us.
But as funders, moving resources from a mindset of abundance, justice, and solidarity is how we protect social movements and preserve the promise of democracy and the possibility of the liberatory and just future that it can hold for all of us.
Resources from our partners (we will add to this list):
- Post Election Embodiment Practice (The Embodiment Institute) — November 6 at 9 AM PT
- Post-Election Community Healing Circle (Equality Labs)—November 7 at 6 pm PT
- Love, Power, and Liberation with Angela Davis and Lama Rod Owens — November 8 at 7 PM PT
- State of Solidarity: Solidarity Beyond the Elections (Building Movement Project/Solidarity Is) — November 14 at 9 AM PT
- We Are Generations: Building Endurance for Liberation, Post-Election Edition (AORTA)—November 15 from 11:30 am — 1 pm PT
- Shedding & Grounding: Tending to Ourselves in this Political Moment (Healing Clinic Collective)—November 18 from 5:30–8 pm PT
- Neighborhood Funders Group Post-Election Call—November 18 at 10 am PT
- Investing in the Long Arc of Justice: Post-Election Convening (Northern California Grantmakers)—November 18 from 10 am — 6 pm PT
- Sunday Morning Meditation with Kuya Gonzalez (Spirit Root Medicine People)—November 24 — January 12, 8:30 am PT
- Windcall Instititute’s Winter Solstice Practice Session — December 13 at 10 am PT
