For Erika Aaron, a 2023 Racial & Economic Justice Giving Project alum, volunteering with Bread & Roses has been a transformative experience. Erika, a lifelong Philadelphia resident, has been involved with Bread & Roses since the 1970s “I first heard of Bread & Roses as a community-based organization that was working for radical change. I immediately felt like Bread & Roses represented my values and my political beliefs.”   

The Giving Project gave Erika a unique opportunity to engage with other members of the Bread & Roses community on a deeper level. “The Giving Project’s goals represent what’s dearest to me: using an anti-racist, class-conscious lens to support social justice movements. We all had to address our own racism and classism, it was done in a very thoughtful and intentional way and included some uncomfortable conversations. I strongly believe that uncomfortable conversations are the root of all growth and learning. Being in the Giving Project helped me better understand and work on my own prejudices.”   

Through the Giving Project, Erika was able to see Bread & Roses’ theory of “change, not charity” in action. “There’s a wide range of grassroots organizations that Bread & Roses supports and each one of them is amazing! When we interviewed groups seeking grants, they all said that Bread & Roses allowed them to do what they believed in and that they didn’t feel like they had to change any goals or objectives. Throughout the grant-making process, it was made clear that the people in the community know best about what the community needs, and they should make the decisions, not us.”   

“I got a chance to meet unbelievably remarkable people who are doing revolutionary work. I left the project feeling so hopeful about the future. That was important to me, especially during this time of despair.”    

In June of 2023, Bread & Roses Community Fund’s Racial & Economic Justice Fund and Future Fund made $290,000 in grants to thirty-four grassroots groups working to promote racial and economic justice in the Philadelphia region. This marks the largest amount of money raised by a Giving Project at Bread & Roses in recent history.  

The unprecedented amount of funds raised by members of the 2023 Racial & Economic Justice Giving Project is an example of what can happen when people from different backgrounds come together under the banner of justice. The record-making effort of our Giving Project members, the generosity of our donors, and the tenacity of our grantees is a true testament of Bread & Roses’ community-driven grantmaking model, where the people most affected by the issues are the ones making decisions about where money is needed most.  

 “Especially with the uncertainty that the coming year brings, funding the organizers doing the hard work of fighting to change unjust systems of oppression is critical,” says Bread & Roses executive director Casey Cook.  

For groups like Juntos, grants from Bread & Roses support the expansion of their community organizing efforts to protect the rights of immigrants in the Philadelphia region. “The growth of our membership…and the continuation of our youth development [work] are critical areas we are focusing on for the future. There’s a real need in the community and our work is necessary. Juntos is about keeping the community supported and thriving and we just need to be the strongest organization that we can be to better respond to the challenges that we’re facing,” says Erika Gaudalupe Núñez, executive director of Juntos. 

For Native American House Alliance the grant goes towards a greater goal of state recognition. “When we first reached out to Bread & Roses, we were trying to start a Native American Commission here in Philadelphia. Federally recognized Indians have the Bureau of Indian Affairs, but currently we have nobody to go to for help. With the new city administration, in 2024 we hope to establish a commission locally and eventually statewide,” says executive director Cornelia Dimalanta.   

For Unique Dreams, grant funds help to build power in communities in Frankford. “Coming into an election year, our work is more important now. The communities we serve are hard to reach unless you live there. Since we are based in the community, the funds go directly towards initiatives to help community members.  We were able to host a large community carnival and resource fair that allowed us to have the voter commission come out to set up a table. Because of that initiative, we were able to be a polling place for the election. We opened our doors to people that probably wouldn’t vote otherwise, that was huge for us,” says chief executive officer and founder Angenique Howard. 

Howard further asserts, “Nonprofits led by Black women are in a very difficult arena when it comes to funding. Bread & Roses streamlines the process and allows us to focus on the work.”  

In November 2022, the federal government announced that Berks County Residential Center would be closing after twenty years of operating as an immigrant detention facility. The closure is a significant victory for the Shut Down Berks Coalition, comprised of several Bread & Roses grantees and other immigrant rights advocates who have long fought against the inhumane treatment of people detained at the Berks County Residential Center.

“It has been a long 8-year campaign where many people, most importantly those who have directly suffered imprisonment at Berks —Black and Brown families and women— have organized and lifted up their voices against the shameful practice of imprisoning immigrants,” says Adrianna Torres-Garcia, deputy director of Free Migration Project, an organizational member of the Shut Down Berks Coalition and a Racial & Economic Justice Fund grantee.

The Berks County Residential Center became a federal immigrant detention facility in 2001, and in 2014 it became one of three immigrant family detention centers in the United States used to detain mothers and children, finally transitioning to a women-only facility. Throughout its history, Berks County Residential Center was fraught with allegations of human rights abuses including lack of access to basic medical care, denial of legal representation, and assault and exploitation. Because of these harms, the Shut Down Berks Coalition focused on an abolitionist model rather than working with an eye on reform.

“It was important to always make clear that our demand was to shut it down, not just create better conditions. For years, people from Berks County asked that the building be turned into something that provides health and human services or educational services, and not be used to detain people who are in this country trying to make a better life for themselves,” says Torres-Garcia.

The coalition used various tactics to keep pressure on the state and federal government to close the facility. “We did a lot of work to make sure the issue was in front of the media, such as writing op-eds, letters to the editor, and ensuring the press was there to capture our actions. We collaborated with artists to create signs for protests and to run art programs for the detainees when we were allowed inside. These programs were not only therapeutic but were also an opportunity for the women to radicalize and organize themselves,” says Torres-Garcia.  

The Shut Down Berks Coalition’s campaign spanned three presidencies, each with its own deficiencies when it came to the treatment of migrants and asylum seekers. The Obama administration expanded family detention in response to an increase in Central American migrants seeking refuge in the United States. The Trump administration enacted an infamous zero-tolerance policy that resulted in the separation of families and the detention of children.

Erika Guadalupe Núñez, executive director of Juntos, a Shut Down Berks Coalition organizational member and Racial & Economic Justice Fund grantee, says, “Under Biden, there are more people in physical detention centers than under Trump. Biden has also kept many of Trump’s policies in place regarding the southern border.”

While the closure of Berks County Residential Center and the subsequent release of the remaining women detained there was a resounding victory, it also marked the end of the coalition. However, member organizations continue the fight for immigrant rights, such as ending the practice of medical deportations, lobbying for driver’s licenses regardless of immigration status, and ensuring that immigrants have equal access to city programs and services.

We are excited to announce a new collaboration with Philadelphia Health Partnership, Vanguard Strong Start for Kids, and Bread & Roses Community Fund to create a fund to move money to grassroots groups of parents and caregivers organizing for change. 

The fund will focus specifically on early childhood. Like all our funds, community input will drive the design of the fund and distribution of the grants, and the fund will focus on issues prioritized by parents and caregivers.  

The fund will also be a platform for building community among its grantees and creating opportunities for them to support and learn from each other. After the first grant cycle, Bread & Roses will also convene grantees to identify common barriers and challenges, and to make recommendations to funders and policymakers on how to continue, adapt, and expand support for family voices and leadership. 

Bread & Roses is currently recruiting parents, caregivers, and allies to serve on the Community Grantmaking Committee, which will design the fund criteria, review applications, and make decisions.

You can read more about the fund process in this interview with Lauren Wechsler, Program Director of Philadelphia Health Partnership.