Agape in Action

by Nicole Hsiang
Last weekend, I attended the 2008 Raising Change Social Justice Fundraising Conference, which was organized by the Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training (GIFT). I was able to meet fellow fundraising comrades from all over the country (and some from other countries, as well), and attend workshops that covered everything from practical fundraising skills to analyzing our place in the global movement for social change.

The second morning of the conference kicked off with a lively debate on the topic, “Is the non-profit sector a vehicle – or has it become a barrier – to social justice?” This debate, by now, is not unfamiliar, thanks to the women of Incite! Women of Color Against Violence who recently produced the popular anthology, The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial Complex, in which its contributors seriously critique and challenge foundations and non-profit organizations to be more accountable to the communities that they serve. Their book serves as affirmation of the growing frustration among activists with the non-profit sector, a now highly professionalized, highly funded field, becoming the home for social justice movement building. Having to pay salaries, office rent, postage and more, non-profits are often enticed to conform to the interests of wealthy funders. Radical politics are downplayed, subversive language is watered down, and hours of weekly work time are spent writing grants, gathering data, and filing reports. And this is the way the wealthy may maintain the privilege and security of the powerful ruling classes, using their charity to manage and control activism. Read the rest of this entry »

by Karen Topakian

Whenever I donate blood, I am reminded of how well my body was designed as a highly functioning ecosystem. My blood circulates in a never-ending loop, constantly regenerating itself.

The other day while lying on my comfy cot at the blood bank, I decided to watch my friend Annie Leonard’s online video, The Story of Stuff. This 20-minute piece explains what happens to the stuff we buy, where it comes from, who makes it and where it goes when we are finished with it. And trust me we don’t keep it around for very long. We throw most of it away. The images are simple, black stick figure drawings on a white background. But the story is anything but simplistic.

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Members of ANAKBAYAN-East Bay, Agape Spring 2008 Grant Recipient with Agape Board of Trustee Members Gwyn Kirk and Susan Fang.

The Agape Foundation is once again casting its net out for emerging grassroots organizations that are ready and willing to change the world. We aim to fund community-based efforts towards creating systemic change for social justice. We value self-determination, in which leadership is taken from the communities most affected by the social problems they are working to change. Since our formation in 1969, the Agape Foundation is proud to have awarded more than 12.5 million dollars in the form of grants, loans and fiscal sponsorship to more than 800 grassroots organizations!

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by Karen Topakian

With their actions. With their vision. With their leadership. They light the path to equality and justice. For us to follow.

They inspire our courage and ignite our passion for peace.

Since our elected leaders rarely exhibit these traits, we must look to ourselves and others to lead the way.

Starting in 2005, the Agape Foundation has awarded two prizes each year to individuals or organizations that put peace at the forefront of the movement for social change and equality. The Awards Committee just announced this year’s winner of the Enduring Visionary Prize and the finalists for the Rising Peacemaker Prize. Read the rest of this entry »

by Nicole Hsiang

June is the month of Pride in San Francisco, during which queer and LGBT people celebrate and make visible their stories, experiences, and communities. It is a declaration that the queer, LGBT identified community will not be silenced, marginalized, or homogenized. Yet to me, Pride isn’t a holiday for people who are queer, but for all people who are proud to be different. Pride is about erasing societal boundaries, forcing each of us to rethink our concept of what is deemed “normal.” Read the rest of this entry »

by Karen Topakian

Who said these words?

How about “…I’ve realized my education isn’t worth dying for.”

Two 17-year old male high school students in Los Angeles wrote these statements in a survey. What prompted them to say it? They had just finished watching Peter Dudar and Sally Marr’s documentary film Arlington West about the physical and emotional effects of war. Read the rest of this entry »