Notes from the Left Coast

Drummond Pike’s Blog

The List

I want to share with all of you something I recently shared with Lorenzo, Jane, Mike A and Farnaz, for their persistence in working with a new client, the “List” project.

This all started with a phone call from a very perplexed young man intent on starting a new program to advocate on behalf of the hundreds, even thousands, of Iraqis who have worked for American interests in the war (as translators, drivers, cleaners, etc.). Turns out we Americans were fine having them work for us there, but now that they are targeted for having done so, we have no interest in offering them visas to come here and avoid almost certain death. Instead, we are consigning them to questionable fates in refugee camps in Syria and Jordan. He had a deal to become a program with Amnesty fall apart (they wanted to charge him 35% overhead!) and was at a loss.

In the course of two or three days, Tides redirected a grant from the Tides Foundation, set him up as a consultant in the Tides Center, and got him moving through the process to become a full Tides Center Project within 60 days. He couldn’t believe it. This is from my email to this extraordinary team - clearly all Cranes at heart! - after learning what they had all accomplished.

“I want to appreciate just how amazing this team was. They were responsive, thoughtful, and so smart. I was really impressed. I know from talking with this particular client that his [terrible] experience with Amnesty - one of the most respected institutions around - was the opposite of what he experienced with Tides. I really hope that he can appreciate what happened here.

A special thanks to Lorenzo, for moving through the Foundation’s processes so adroitly. Just splendid. Sometimes, we find a client for whom we want to go out on a limb. In this case, if he achieves half of what he has set out for himself, I think we will all take pride in having helped the work.

“What I hope we all can take away from this is a lesson in discerning those situations where time is of the essence, and recognizing what a difference creative work-arounds and adroit intake can make. I know we cannot do this regularly, but when we can, its impact can be huge.”

I also want to take a moment to acknowledge Tod Hill for playing the key role in working with Tides’ biggest donor ever, a philanthropist who is moving her 8 figure Donor Advised Fund to a supporting organization under Tides, from Silicon Valley Community Foundation, because she loves Tides’ ability to help her achieve ‘what’s possible.’

Fantastic job, Tod!

It’s that time again, please circulate amongst folks who may want to apply! As many of you probably already know, it’s a pretty prestigious award and a great way to refresh and rejuvenate many folks of color whose work has helped push forward social change to a higher level. I’ve been fortunate to have worked with and for some of the past recipients of this award program and know how much it helped sustain and renew their fervor in their work.

The Alston/Bannerman Fellowship Program

Long-Time Activists of Color Invited to Apply for Sabbatical Program

Deadline: December 15, 2007

The Alston/Bannerman Fellowship Program is committed to advancing progressive social change by helping to sustain long-time activists of color. The program honors those who have devoted their lives to helping their communities organize for racial, social, economic, and environmental justice, and provides resources for these organizers to take sabbaticals for reflection and renewal.

To qualify for an Alston/Bannerman Fellowship, applicants must:

• be a person of color;
• have more than ten years of community organizing experience; be committed to continuing to work for social change;
• and live in the United States or its territories.

Both full-time and volunteer activists are eligible to apply.

Fellows receive a $25,000 award to take sabbaticals of three months or more.

Fellows are expected to stop their day-to-day work activities for at least three months and devote that time to activities that are substantially different from their normal routine. Fellows have the freedom to use their sabbaticals however they think will best re-energize them for the work ahead. Past fellows have used the time and resources to travel, study, visit with other activists, read, relax, acquire new skills, explore new interests, spend time with their families, restore their health, plan, evaluate, and “just be still.”

Visit the program’s Web site for complete program details:
http://fconline.foundationcenter.org/pnd/10009223/alstonbannerman

Alston/Bannerman Fellowship Progam
1627 Lancaster Street, Baltimore, MD 21231
Phone: 410-327-6220
Fax: 501-421-5862
E-mail: info@Alston/Bannerman.org
Web: www.AlstonBannerman.org

I also want to acknowledge the stellar work of Maritza Schafer and Christopher Herrera on The Right to the City, Tides’ newest Donor Guide.

If you haven’t picked up a copy from Maritza (or viewed the video documentary on the Tides Foundation’s website), you should. The content offers a powerful model for organizing to revitalize our cities, and introduces basic issues of human rights.

It is a model for what Tides can achieve, bringing together donors and activists to maximize our impact and create strategic change.

I want to highlight a new Tides donor, Ishmael Beah, who hosted a “tea discussion” with Tides staff on the afternoon of the New York launch. Ishmael is a 26 year old whose new Tides fund will support young people in his native Sierra Leone, where he was a child soldier.

Now an activist, and author of A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, Ishmael serves on many international human rights commissions, and is a brilliant writer with a captivating presence. During the discussion, Ishmael elaborated on the inspiration behind his fund and his plans for implementation.

Ishmael Beah Fund

Ishmael has lived through the kind of death and destruction that most of us cannot imagine. His work with Tides is one of his ways healing and creating change. The purpose of the Ishmael Beah Fund is to assist in the rehabilitation and reintegration of former child soldiers as they transition back into their communities after years of captivity and torture. It will support projects run by local organizations in Sierra Leone and other African countries that deal with the rehabilitation and reintegration of children who have been used as weapons in war.

Rene Joslyn in NYC is Ishmael’s Philanthropic Advisor, and she facilitated the tea discussion last week. Kudos, also, to Gary Schwartz for having the vision to secure Ishmael as a donor.

As a token of his appreciation, Ishmael gave a signed a copy of his book to Tides. It is inscribed to the Tides San Francisco Office, and was delivered via Berit and Gary to me. I encourage you to read it, as it is a remarkable story of the resilience of the human spirit and a great reminder of why we do this work.

For more details about his book, and life see videos at
http://www.alongwaygone.com/media.html
.

Just a few things to add about last week’s grand Thoreau Centers for Sustainability NY opening event: It is amazing what the Tides organizations can pull off when they work together.

This gathering was simply fantastic. The Communications team created a beautiful slide show presentation that was running in four different conference rooms while the event was happening. The presentation includes some basic facts about Tides, an in-depth look at Tides Shared Spaces, and an amazing pictorial overview of our Tides projects, grantees, funds and initiatives.

I encourage you all to take a look.