As we grapple with the impacts of rising anti-rights movements, Astraea has needed to pivot to meet the needs of the moment both internally and externally. We asked ourselves: How do we meet the needs of grantees who are struggling to remain open and grappling with the various impacts of the pandemic, which has disproportionately impacted communities of color, particularly those in the Global South? What does it look like to create spaciousness and center staff wellness and sustainability so that we can support our movements for the long-term?
Astraea’s grantee partners – the LBTQI organizers on the frontlines – are often facing the brunt of violence in our communities; yet they are the ones charting the path towards our collective liberation. With your support during this critical moment, we are continuing to resource our grantee partners through no-strings-attached multi-year flexible grantmaking. It is more urgent than ever that we create alternative flows of resources and this is where Astraea is creating pathways of mobilizing and redistributing resources, with the goal of redistributing power to those who use it for social change.
Living under the cloud of multiple pandemics has also given us the opportunity to refine our purpose and recommit to our mandate to disrupt, to transform, and to queer philanthropy. Through building deep relationships with our grantees, our peers, and our donors, we’re working together to create stronger ecosystems to walk alongside our movements and understand what they need to remain resilient, fight back against exclusion and repression, and care for themselves and each other.
We hope you will enjoy learning more about our work through this report. Our gratitude to all of our supporters, donors, allies and staff members.
