Alma's Giving Project 2020

I'm very excited to announce my participation in Chinook Fund's Giving Project, this project funds diverse organizations in all types of social justice community organizing across Colorado.

I have already personally given $495 to support this project, separate from this fundraiser. The $495 represents the money I pay US Immigration and Customs to process my DACA and working permit re-newal application every 2 years. When renewed this permit allows me the privilege of working in this country without the fear of deportation. Though fears remain, this permit and this amount signify my complex relationship with money and this nation. Many of Chinook Fund grantees are like me, immigrants and indigenous, who, unlike me, may not have the same privileges my working permit allows AND YET THEY STILL SHOW UP FOR ME in their organizing. Please consider supporting their work through this page.

Five things that make me excited to commit to this project:
-Funding Black Liberation and Indigenous Sovereignty
-Reclaiming the ability of our communities to fundraise and manage our own resources
-Reclaiming the ability to decide where our resources go
-Learning how to have (sometimes very complex) conversations around my money
-Re-learning that our biggest resource is each other and our humanity <3

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The basic Giving Project structure is:

A diverse group of up to 25 individuals commits to gathering 11 times online over the course of 6 months.
Through workshops and trainings, the group develops a shared understanding of race, class, and power within society.
Each person makes a meaningful financial gift.
Each person commits to fundraising from their friends, family, and community to support the financial goal of the group.
Each member is trained in Chinook Fund's democratic grantmaking process. As a participant, I am reading and scoring proposals, just wrapped up my assigned site visits, wrote the site visit reports, and will soon participate in a collective decision process which will grant money to some of the most inspiring, effective social change work in Colorado.

Thank you for considering justice in Colorado ~
-Alma Urbano