Spring 2011 eThreads released! Read about a transfeminism dialogue in Guatemala, and how LGBTQQ people in San Francisco are creating safety together. View the work of exceptional lesbian visual artists, and hear from Astraea’s new Executive Director about Astraea’s future in social justice philanthropy.

Read eThreads here: www.ethreads.org

Astraea is accepting applications to the 2011 Lesbian Writers Fund through March 22, 2011.  The Fund is open to lesbian-identified fiction and poetry writers across the U.S. Since 1991, the Fund has granted more than a half-million dollars to support emerging writers and acknowledge the contributions of established writers to our culture and movement.  Awards are determined by a panel of writers.

Read more about the Astraea Lesbian Writers Fund and Apply

Astraea is now accepting letters of inquiry through March 15th for consideration in the 2011 cycle of the U.S. Fund. The Fund supports Lesbian, Trans, Intersex and LGBTI social change organizations and projects (including film, video, media and cultural projects) that directly address the depth and complexity of critical issues in LGBTI communities.

Read more about the U.S. Fund and Submit an LOI

Executive Director Transition

February 1st, 2011 Update from the Astraea Board of Directors

Dear Friend,

On behalf of the Astraea board and staff, I am thrilled to write you today to share some exciting news. After an extensive international search, Astraea has named J. Bob Alotta as Executive Director. Bob will join the Foundation in April of this year. I want to introduce you to Bob and share our excitement about her experience, vision and dedication.

Bob will work closely with the Board and Interim Executive Director Aimée Thorne-Thomsen to ensure a smooth transition. We hope you will have the opportunity to meet Bob personally at one of a series of events in several cities in the coming months—–stay tuned! In the meantime, we invite you to meet Bob online through her video message.

Bob brings a unique combination of skills and passion to steward Astraea into its next phase of global philanthropic leadership. A lifelong activist and accomplished filmmaker, Bob has an impressive track record of exponentially expanding organizational capacity through skillful management and fundraising. She is adept at developing strong partnerships with diverse communities, donors, institutional funders and corporate stakeholders.

Bob has deep experience in Astraea’s grantee partner community. From 2006-2010 Bob served as the Board Chair of FIERCE, a longtime Astraea grantee partner and effective policy advocate working to build the leadership and power of LGBTQ youth of color. During her tenure, Bob worked with board and staff to more than double FIERCE’s budget and engaged in two strategic-planning processes resulting in a ten-year plan for the organization. In 2009, on behalf of the FIERCE Board of Directors, Bob was awarded the Stonewall Foundation’s Alan Morrow Prize for Excellence in Board Leadership.

Bob’s philanthropic work reflects a commitment to community-centered fundraising as a vehicle to raise funds and awareness and strengthen movements. In addition to innovative individual fundraising campaigns at FIERCE, she also developed successful philanthropic partnerships with Apple, Adobe and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. In grantmaking, Bob served for six years as a grant reviewer for the Community Fellowship Program at the Open Society Foundations.

Throughout her career as a filmmaker, Bob has used film to elevate the lived experiences of LGBTI communities. Bob directed Outspoken, an award-winning project of the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center. Outspoken is a peer-led HIV-prevention project that uses video and social media tools to prevent HIV transmission in communities of color. Her innovative viral video campaign, Caster Runs for Me, leveraged social media to support the World Championship runner during the 2009-2010 controversy surrounding her gender. The project garnered international media coverage. Bob has produced a considerable body of work that is technically sophisticated, aesthetically interesting, commercially viable and rooted in social justice principles.

Since 2007, Bob has served as Director of Digital Media and Content at Zeitbyte Digital Media. At Zeitbyte, Bob grew the firm’s staff ten-fold as the principal executive responsible for technical, financial and staffing infrastructures. Earlier in her career, Bob was the Director of Digital Technology for Film at Columbia University’s School of the Arts, one of the most highly regarded film programs in the U.S., where she expanded the program and secured multi-million dollar gifts.

Bob will work closely with the Board and Interim Executive Director Aimée Thorne-Thomsen to ensure a smooth transition. We hope you will have the opportunity to meet Bob personally at one of a series of events in several cities in the coming months—stay tuned! In the meantime, we invite you to meet Bob online through her video message.

As we look toward the future, we are grateful for the leadership of Katherine Acey, Astraea’s founding Executive Director, and the incredible work of our staff and our partners. As a result of this groundwork, Astraea is in a strong position to address core human rights and social justice issues and to engage an even larger group of advocates, donors and partners. For more than three decades, Astraea has supported hundreds of innovative organizations working for deep and lasting change to improve the lives of LGBTI people. We have a talented staff, a dedicated Board of Directors, a loyal base of donors and funding partners, and an incredible group of grantee partners. We are ready to welcome and leverage new leadership for LGBTI human rights and social, racial, economic and gender justice worldwide.

Sincerely,
Mary Li
Chair, Board of Directors
Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice

“”Bob Alotta is a remarkable social justice leader with the experience and vision to lead Astraea to our next level of growth,”” said Astraea Board Chair Mary Li. “”Her ability to foster sustainable organizational expansion and her experience with media as a tool for change will be instrumental in widening Astraea’s reach in the digital age.””

The Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice is the world’’s only foundation solely dedicated to supporting LGBTI organizations worldwide. A feminist-social-justice hub, Astraea works side by side with grantee and donor partners for transformative and lasting social, racial, economic and gender justice. Last year, Astraea granted more than $1.7 million to 146 organizations and individuals in 40 countries around the world.

““I’’ve always known my work in the arts, in technology, and in the movement was inextricably linked,”” said Alotta. “”Now I have the privilege of cultivating that further while working in the service of Astraea’’s crucial mission. Together, Astraea and our grantee and donor partners have an opportunity to build on more than three decades of success and broaden Astraea’s capacity to secure justice and LGBTI human rights worldwide. I am thrilled to be joining the Foundation at this time.””

Alotta has successfully grown and managed non-profits, media companies, education and film projects over the course of her career.

In four years as the Board Chair of FIERCE, a longtime Astraea grantee partner and successful policy advocate that builds the power of LGBT youth of color, Alotta led the organization in doubling its budget and completing a 10-year strategic plan. On behalf of the FIERCE Board of Directors, Bob accepted the Stonewall Foundation’’s Alan Morrow Prize for Excellence in Board Leadership in 2009. In philanthropy, Alotta has served as a longtime grant reviewer for the Open Society Foundations, and has partnered with a number of their grantees to lead media trainings for their constituents.

Over the past three years, Alotta served as Director of Digital Media and Content at Zeitbyte Digital Media where she was the principal executive responsible for technical, financial and staffing infrastructures while serving as Creative Producer/Director for all productions. Previously, Alotta raised multi-million dollar gifts and expanded her staff from three to thirty as the Director of Digital Technology at Columbia University, where she developed successful philanthropic partnerships with Apple, Adobe and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Under Alotta’’s direction, film has proven an effective medium to tell the stories of LGBTI communities and advance human rights and social justice. Her viral video project, Caster Runs for Me, garnered international media attention in support of the World Championship runner Caster Semenya during the 2009-10 controversy surrounding her gender. Alotta also directed Outspoken, an award-winning, peer-led project for Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center that used social media to help prevent HIV transmission. She has trained media activists in many countries around the world: as a grassroots organizer, in academic institutions, and through social service and human rights agencies— affirming the use of media as a vital tool for instigating social change.

Alotta will work closely with the Board and Interim Executive Director Aimée Thorne-Thomsen to ensure a smooth transition.

About Astraea: Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice works for social, racial, economic and gender justice in the U.S. and internationally.  Our grantmaking and philanthropic advocacy programs help lesbians and allied communities challenge oppression and claim their human rights. www.astraeafoundation.org

Women’s eNews writes, “Katherine Acey was the first full-time employee 23 years ago of Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice. She built the organization into a powerhouse that provides financial support to lesbian-led, transgender and progressive groups. Under her leadership, the group has provided grants to secure human rights at home and abroad.”

Read Women’s eNews Profile of Katherine and six others who “dismantle bias.”

Read about each of the 21 Leaders for the 21st Century 2011.

If you would like to honor Katherine Acey’s tenure at Astraea, click here to write a Tribute.

This report contains the inspiring work of our grantee partners, whose tireless efforts have secured rights, fearlessly told LGBTI stories, and stood up to violence. It reflects the commitment of Astraea donor partners, who support a worldwide movement for justice and human rights.

Open our 2010 Annual Report to read more.

This year, as responsible stewards of our resources, both monetary and material, and to make the report available to as wide an audience as possible, we are presenting our full annual report in electronic format.

The Feministing Five: Katherine Acey

Chloe writes:

“Acey has been involved with Astraea for the better part of three decades, as well as with a mind-boggling number of other organizations including Women in the Arts, New York Women Against Rape, Human Rights Watch and Women Make Movies. After twenty-three years as executive director she is moving on (the interim executive director is Aimee Thorne-Thomsen, who I interviewed not long ago). Acey’’s plans for the near future, she says, involve resting and reflecting, then spending quality time with friends and family around the world. But she’’ll be staying on as a senior advisor at Astraea, and she predicts that she’’ll back in political work soon–. After a lifetime devoted to social justice, it’’s a difficult habit to break.”

For the whole interview, visit: The Feministing Five: Katherine Acey

Consider writing a tribute to celebrate Katherine, or make a gift to the Acey Fund to support her legacy.