Location:  Albany, NY
Region: New York
Founding: 2020
Founders/leadership: Jose Pineda, founder and project director 

After Incarceration is a diverse community of people impacted by systems of oppression. Many have been incarcerated, some still are. Drawing upon their lived experiences to identify the many ways in which all lives intersect, students, professors, public defenders, peacekeepers, activists, and advocates are reimagining life After Incarceration.

After Incarceration reconciles the conflict that comes from living in the contradiction of being free yet still confronting barriers and artificial divisions on a daily basis. By stripping away labels, After Incarceration affirms the value of every human being, recognizing themselves within each other. They listen, learn, and collectively imagine restorative reentry as an opportunity to introduce people to ideas, to grapple with the significance of those ideas as a community, and empower each person to pursue a life full of purpose.

After Incarceration uses restorative practice to transform the reentry experience using a community-centered model that supports people directly impacted by policies of over-policing, excessive punishment, and mass incarceration. By structuring equitable decision-making spaces, and empowering people to emerge as the leaders their communities need, they are moving at the speed of trust, drawing upon the strength of a shared humanity, countering the false narratives that divide, and collectively restorativing ways forward.

Read more about the relationship between funders and movement leaders including After Incarceration’s Jose Pienda on the Move Blog.

Location: Tamal-liwa (Tomales Bay), CA
Region: California
Founding: 2022
Founders/leadership: Theresa Harlan

The Alliance for Felix Cove is dedicated to preserving and restoring the ancestral homelands of the Felix Family, who were the last Coast Miwok/Támal-ko family to live on the western shores of Tomales Bay at Felix Cove, known as Laird’s Landing. 

At least four generations of the Coast Miwok/Támal-ko Felix Family are known to have lived at the cove, beginning with Domingo and Euphrasia (Támal-ko) Felix in the early 1800s. The Felix Family lived sustainably at the cove for generations, with vegetable gardens, farm animals, and by hunting and fishing. The family’s history includes building homes at Marshall Beach and Laird’s Landing, with extended family members living on other coves on the Marshall side of Tomales Bay. They also worked at Point Reyes Peninsula ranches as ranch hands and cooks. However, in 1956 they were forced to leave their homes due to eviction by ranchers. 

Today, the Alliance aims to re-Indigenize their ancestral homelands and honor the legacy of the Felix Family. Led by Theresa Harlan, the daughter of Elizabeth Campigli Harlan and the niece of Victor Campigli, they advocate for the protection and restoration of the only remaining 19th century Coast Miwok/Támal-ko built home at Point Reyes National Seashore.

Learn more about how volunteers built a tule canoe in honor of the Felix Family and other Támal-ko families whose homelands are now called Point Reyes National Seashore.

Read more about MSC’s visit to Felix Cove on the Move Blog.

Read more about the plants and flowers of Felix Cove on the Move Blog.

Location: Brooklyn, NY
Region: United States
Founding: 2021
Founders/leadership: Marina Lopez; Sruti Suryanarayanan; Caroline Woolard; Nati Linares; Ebony Gustave; Robin Bean Crane, co-organizers

Art.coop is a central hub, providing artists with financial resources, innovative ideas, and practical tools to strengthen their communities. Art.coop is reshaping the future of art, placing community governance at its core. It provides a haven for artists seeking alternatives to the traditional system, promoting the formation of networks based on solidarity within the arts sector. The critical role of culture in redistributing power and wealth is widely recognized, with artists building meaningful connections and holding each other accountable. Arts and social justice funders appreciate the importance of integrating equitable practices into cultural work, making Art.Coop a key collaborator in these efforts.

The art world, which reflects broader economic inequalities, often marginalizes artists from poor, working-class, queer, disabled, trans, and BIPOC backgrounds through exploitative practices. Art.Coop advocates for building solidarity networks as a crucial step towards change.

Dedicated to fostering a community of artists committed to redefining the art world, Art.coop is at the forefront of an artist-led movement for change, with a vision of collective liberation. A key achievement was the seven week Study-into-Action program, which engaged 105 cultural innovators and seven facilitators, incorporating feedback from a broad spectrum of contributors. This feedback was vital in shaping Art.coop’s strategic direction.

The Move the Money initiative underscores Art.Coop’s commitment to the solidarity economy, providing resources and events for grantmakers focused on economic justice in the arts. A highlight of this commitment is the launch of a pilot podcast season exploring the Solidarity Economy through the perspectives of artists and cultural workers actively contributing to it in their communities. This podcast offers a platform for sharing insights and inspiring collective action

Location: Oakland, CA
Founding: 2021
Founders/leadership: Leila McCabe, executive director

The Beloved Communities Network (BCN) is a continuation of the years of work and wisdom that went into building the Transitions Initiative. As we continue on this journey of transitioning to a world of love, interdependence, and resilience, the Beloved Communities Network will build from the foundation that has been laid, while also strengthening, reinforcing, and designing new ways to leap into the world we imagine. 

Beloved Community is not ours in conception. The concept is rooted in the legacy of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Grace Lee Boggs, and others, and is carried forward through many people investing in the idea that we can live in a world of economic and social justice. With the imagination we bring to this work, we envision a holistic approach that includes leading with bold vision and values, embodied practice, radical connection, and strategic navigation.

We know that now is a time of great transition and change. Around the globe 
we see unprecedented climate disruption and upheaval across economic, political, and cultural systems. We are all facing uncertainty and seeking paths to a future we can believe in. In this time we also feel a calling, an invitation, a possibility, beyond what we can presently see.

We have the capacity to answer this call. We have the capacity to bring forth a future that is kicking to be born. We have the capacity to be that future, to be the power and strength of our vision, our purpose, and our relationships. 

Our communities are calling on us to recognize our undeniable interdependence and make a courageous commitment to love. Our mutual future depends on generating new solutions that reflect this recognition and commitment.  

This is the calling of the Beloved Communities Network.

Leila McCabe

Leila (she/her), executive director of the Beloved Communities Network and founder of JoyLabs, is a mama, artist, strategist, movement maker, and builder. She brings over 15 years of experience in community and campus organizing, electoral organizing, movement building, and facilitation. She is dedicated to creating spaces for deep and authentic relationships to emerge across diverse constituencies and coalitions. 

In 2010, Leila was a founding member of the successful minimum wage campaign in San Jose, California that helped kick-start the national minimum wage movement. In the 2012 election cycle, Leila led a team of 20 people to register 14,000 new voters in Santa Clara County going on to be the deputy field director for a progressive mayoral candidate in San Jose, the 10th largest city in the country. She has also worked in many nonprofit organizations and partnered with multiple colleges, churches, community members, and other organizations in developing curriculum and facilitating workshops. 

Leila completed a certificate in leadership and social change at DeAnza College and Bachelor’s in sociology with a concentration in community change from San Jose State University. She is currently studying to complete her certificate as a certified personal trainer from the National Academy of Sports Medicine. 

In 2021, Leila founded JoyLabs, a space where physical movement meets emotional resilience in a beloved community. JoyLabs trains the resistance through embodied resistance training. 

Leila lives in Oakland California with her husband Calvin and son Malik. She serves on the advisory board to In Lak’ech dance academy and, to bring balance and healing to her life, Leila trains capoeira, lifts weights, and dances. 

Read more about BCN’s involvement in the Queer Afro Latin Dance Fest in San Jose, CA on the Move Blog.

Read more about BCN’s graphic guide, Ten Thousand Beloved Communities, on the Move Blog.

Check out part 1 of the fireside chats cohosted by BCN and MSC at the Transformative Movement building event on the Move Blog.

Check out part 2 of the fireside chats cohosted by BCN and MSC at the Transformative Movement building event on the Move Blog.

Location: Alabama; California; Tennessee
Region: National
Founding: 2018
Founders/leadership: Anasa Troutman, project director, founder

BIG We Foundation (BWF) unleashes the social imagination of those who often go unheard, and supports building a world reimagined from their point of view. It cultivates economic and cultural drivers grounded in Black imagination to foster a culture of belonging for everyone. By following the vision and leadership of those who live in or come from historically undermined communities, BWF values are their north star, guiding them on the journey of embodying the culture shift we are working to create in the world. BWF does its part to generate a thriving culture and healthy communities, where we can all experience sustained safety, joy, abundance, and love.  

BIG We Foundation is a nonprofit arts and culture intermediary built to provide infrastructure and opportunity for high potential, under-resourced communities. The organization employs a culture shift model that leverages storytelling, community building, and real world implementation. It expresses a commitment to co-creating the future by investing in people and communities aligned with and working towards a shared vision. BWF priority areas — womxn and girls, wellness equity, and restorative economics — are designed to work together in Black, Indigenous, and other BIPOC communities, forming a fully integrated, narrative-based, and holistic approach to their work. 

Read more about BWF’s Anasa Troutman’s participation in a Transfromative Movement building event on the Move Blog.

Location: Bay Area, CA
Region: California
Founding: 2023
Founders/leadership: Mika Cade and Evaly Long, project directors

The BIPOC Student Midwives Fund is a groundbreaking initiative aimed at promoting diversity in the field of midwifery, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area. This fund is designed to provide financial assistance and educational resources to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) students who aspire to become midwives.

Research has consistently shown that midwifery care can significantly reduce health disparities that disproportionately affect BIPOC birthing people and families. However, despite the growing recognition of the importance of midwifery care, the number of BIPOC midwives remains insufficient to meet the needs of the community. The BIPOC Student Midwives Fund seeks to address this critical issue by providing support to BIPOC students who are currently studying midwifery or who are interested in pursuing a career in this field. The fund will provide financial assistance to cover tuition fees, textbooks, and other expenses associated with midwifery education. In addition, the fund will also provide access to training and mentorship programs that will equip students with the necessary skills to become competent and compassionate midwives.

The BIPOC Student Midwives Fund is a powerful and transformative initiative that has the potential to positively impact the lives of many BIPOC communities. By supporting aspiring BIPOC midwives in their journey towards becoming skilled and culturally competent practitioners, the fund is helping to ensure that all birthing people and families receive the care they deserve.

Location: Indianapolis, IN
Region:Indiana and the Black Diaspora
Founding: 2023
Founders/leadership: Denise Abdul-Rahman

Black Sun Light Sustainability (BSLS) is at the forefront of transformative change, connecting communities through a mission that resonates both domestically and abroad. With a focus on equitable energy expertise, training, job creation, and clean energy development, BSLS is driving progress in a culturally competent manner.

With a strong commitment to fostering a diverse and equitable transition, BSLS is dedicated to creating positive impacts both locally and globally. At the core of the BSLS mission is a focus on equitable energy expertise, workforce development, and clean energy innovation.

BSLS’s multifaceted approach includes facilitation services, consultancy (spanning policy, DEI, energy, climate, and global affairs), impactful clean energy demonstration projects, and educational webinars. The team’s diverse expertise, ranging from management to healthcare and informatics, equips them to tackle complex challenges with innovative solutions. They are committed to reducing harmful emissions, advancing energy efficiency, and enhancing community resilience.

Location: Bay Area, CA
Region: California
Founding: 2020
Founders/leadership: Lawrence Ellis, board president; Tania Abdul, board secretary; Javier LaFianza, board member

Breathe understands that comprehensive, accelerated change requires the pressure of a mass movement with historically marginalized people at the center. Breathe exists to support and increase the numbers of people working for racial equity, justice, and resilience, prioritizing BIPOC and young people. 

In the summer of 2020, a group of people with a wide range of experience began a synergistic process to arrive at Breathe’s unique formula for change. Everyone serving on the team is a lifelong activist, devoted to building a just, equitable, resilient world. Breathe’s current leadership includes: a concert/event producer, a teacher/community builder, an AGILE business coach/multinational venture designer, a tenants’ rights lawyer, a nonprofit executive director, the CFO of a global advertising firm, an actor/coach, and a web designer/immersive experience producer.

Breathe believes that intersectional solitary is the only way forward. An anti-racism organization at its core, Breathe utilizes media, events, interactive technology, the arts, and activist development to amplify, unify, and support impacted communities’ work for racial, environmental, and climate justice. Breathe is a network and platform that draws supporters with compelling media by and about community leaders and artists to educate and motivate audiences to act. Breathe’s web network for learning, action, and community-building provides a sense of solidarity and empowerment, with tools for recruitment and ongoing engagement. These catalytic events and action campaigns build relationships based on shared knowledge, effort, and resources, and offer constituents support networks, leadership and organizer training, and production and accelerator assistance for development and funding.

Read more about Breathe’s podcast, Sandblasted at the Shipyard, on the Move Blog.

Location: Oakland, CA
Region: California
Founding: 2010
Founders/leadership: B. Cole, founder; Matis Moore, co-director; Mariana Silva, co-director; Tiana Vargas, co-director

The Brown Boi Project (BBP) is a community of people working across race and gender to eradicate sexism, homophobia, and transphobia and create healthy frameworks of masculinity and change. B. Cole, who has worked as a community facilitator and strategist for more than 15 years, launched BBP in 2010. Centering on gender justice, with responsibility and privilege as masculine people, BBP works to change the power dynamics in our relationships, families, and communities through investment in the lives of feminine-identified people.

The Brown Boi Project Leadership Retreat, held twice a year, is a five day cohort of leaders from all walks of life, brought together to talk about race, class, culture, gender, and sexuality; and explores a commitment to social justice. Participants receive training in understanding power, communications, cross-culture coalition building, personal finance, community organizing, self-care, fundraising, relationship building, gender justice, and personal life planning; and BBP covers the cost of travel, food, and lodging.

Location: Bowie, MD
Region: National, Mid-Atlantic focus
Founding: 2022
Founders/leadership: Sacoby Wilson

Center for Community Engagement, Environmental Justice, and Health (CEEJH) is advancing environmental justice through Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR), community science, Community-Owned and Managed Research (COMR) principles, and the Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) Model, with a focus on equitable planning, healthy zoning, and sustainable community development.

CEEJH’s objectives encompass leading nationally and globally in addressing environmental injustice and health inequities using CBPR, citizen science, and collaborative problem-solving principles to empower underserved populations through education, outreach, capacity-building, research, and technological solutions. They bridge gaps between communities, advocacy groups, professionals, researchers, and policymakers, primarily focusing on the Mid-Atlantic region.

The My Block Counts Environmental Justice podcast, hosted by Dr. Sacoby Wilson in partnership with WYPR Baltimore radio station, is integral to CEEJH’s outreach efforts. The podcast explores crucial topics such as air quality, climate change, redlining, and environmental hazards. It offers a platform for conversations with experts and grassroots groups, highlighting ways individuals can contribute to advancing environmental justice in their communities.