Jaime Sharp's Blog

From Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees: Earlier this year, GCIR released our 2023 Public Policy Agenda, a set of federal and state reforms that would advance immigrant justice and power across the country. From calling for pathways to naturalization for Afghan arrivals and DACA holders to opposing policies that increase immigrant detention, GCIR stands with community leaders and coalitions leading the charge on these critical issues. In this learning session, we will dive into three top priority issues for immigrant justice advocates:

• 287(g): a program that empowers local law enforcement to act as ICE agents.
• The “Asylum Ban”: President Biden’s new proposal limiting access to asylum.
• Prison transfers: state and local prisons in California transferring individuals to ICE custody.

GCIR and members of our network recently advocated on several of these issues in Washington, D.C. as part of Foundations on the Hill.

From A Philanthropic Partnership for Black Communities: The 2023 James A. Joseph Lecture and Awards follow a decades-long tradition of recognizing Black excellence in philanthropy. Ambassador Joseph was a civil rights activist, a former ambassador to South Africa, an adviser to four American presidents, and one of the pioneering founders of ABFE. This year’s lecture and award ceremony will be the first since his recent passing on February 17, 2023 and there will be a video tribute to honor his impact and legacy in the sector and beyond.

Good morning family,

Thank you to everyone that reached out to check on us down here in Mississippi after the devastating tornadoes Friday night. My family and Sipp Culture are safe and were not directly impacted by the storms. However, as you have seen on the news, our extended community has been severely impacted and will be in relief and recovery mode for years to come.

From Funders for LGBTQ Issues:

Last week, the governors of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas signed into law bills attacking the rights of LGBTQ communities:

➤ Arkansas restricted drag performances in public spaces.

➤ Mississippi banned gender-affirming health care for youth under the age of eighteen.

➤ Tennessee restricted drag performances in public spaces and banned gender-affirming healthcare for youth under the age of eighteen.

These bills are only four of three hundred and ninety-one anti-LGBTQ bills proposed in state legislatures across the country since the start of the 2023 legislative session and they join bills in Utah and South Dakota also signed into law in these first three months of the year. Republican controlled state houses and governors in the South and Midwest have ramped up their efforts to codify transphobia into state law. Throughout these two regions, lawmakers have signed bills that target trans people, our families, and trans youth in particular.

Launched on March 21, 2023, the $250 million Yield Giving Open Call is an initiative focused on elevating organizations working with people and in places experiencing the greatest need in the United States: communities, individuals, and families with access to the fewest foundational resources and opportunities. The registration period is now open.

From NEA: President Joseph R. Biden will present the 2021 National Medals of Arts in conjunction with the National Humanities Medals on Tuesday, March 21, 2023 at 4:30 p.m. ET in an East Room ceremony at the White House. First Lady Dr. Jill Biden will attend. The event will be live streamed at www.whitehouse.gov/live

Join Unbound Philanthropy for the second session of our Narrative Learning Series March 27, 2023 from 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM EDT featuring Ai-jen Poo (National Domestic Workers Alliance), Cristina Jimenz (United We Dream & United We Dream Action), and moderator Bridgit Antoinette Evans (Pop Culture Collaborative).

"Adjuntas, Puerto Rico, is celebrating a milestone this week as it completes the final phase in a project to boost its energy resiliency," said Ricardo Arduengo for Grist. "The community’s 17,600 residents now host the archipelago’s first cooperatively managed solar microgrid — a network of photovoltaic panels and battery storage units that will use renewable energy to keep the lights on and power flowing during a power outage."

"The system includes some 700 panels mounted on seven buildings in the town’s central plaza and a battery storage system capable of providing up to 187 kilowatts of power.* The batteries can provide enough off-grid electricity to keep 14 downtown businesses running for up to 10 days, serving as community hubs in case of an extended power outage."

"Business owners and residents will run the microgrid through a nonprofit called the nonprofit Community Solar Energy Association of Adjuntas, which will sell electricity to the commonwealth’s grid through a power purchase agreement. Money saved by not buying power from Puerto Rico’s main power company will support maintaining the microgrid and starting new community projects, according to the Honnold Foundation."

"Philanthropy comes in many forms. For over a decade, Black Philanthropy Month has been a time of reflection on Black philanthropists’ contributions—including the contributions of Black liberation movements," said Son Chau for Nonprofit Quarterly. "As an American-born, Vietnamese philanthropic professional, this annual convening in August prompts me to reflect not only on the financial and political contributions that Black communities up and down the socioeconomic ladder have made to a democratic society. It also encourages me to rethink the definition of philanthropy itself."

"'If you are silent about your pain, they’ll kill you and say you enjoyed it.' This Zora Neale Hurston quote was what started to rattle around my head this morning, after waking up to the news that Angela Bassett’s visible heartbreak - for not winning Best Supporting Actress at last night’s Oscars - was already being critiqued by the talking heads of Twitter for its lack of ‘graciousness’," said author Ella McCann-Tomlin for Ardent.

"Ahh, graciousness. A term that we Black women know all too well. A term that’s lobbed our way anytime we do not show the required level of civility and gratitude for the crumbs that white institutions deign to throw our way. When the facade that we so lovingly craft of agreeability and likeability and ‘grateful just to be here’ is cracked, even for a moment, the condemnation is always swift."

"But imagine being a Black actor that’s been at the very top of her game for over 30 years; someone who should arguably have won multiple Oscars already, but who has only ever been nominated twice. Imagine working in an industry known for its anti-blackness, known for its snubs, and its disrespect - but holding out hope that this could finally be your night. And then being criticised for your authentic reaction to the news that you probably knew was coming, because history has taught you what to expect."