Every Bread & Roses Community Fund grant is made possible by a network of thousands of donors from all over the Philadelphia region.
Future Fund
The Future Fund supports organizations that are working on emerging issues or developing new approaches to social justice activism. These groups may employ a variety of strategies, including cultural work, media advocacy, and political education.
The Girls’ Justice League convenes girls and young women to identify issues and advocate for their interests. In July, they held an “activist summer camp” in which girls developed direct action campaigns.
Parents United for Public Education fights for full and equitable funding for Philadelphia’s public schools. Their new school-based training programs will help parents to push for fair education reform.
The Pennsylvania Student Equality Coalition (PSEC) is developing queer youth activists to pressure school districts to implement trans-friendly anti-discrimination policies in the Philadelphia suburbs. PSEC hopes these policies will provide a model for schools across the state.
The Philadelphia Workers’ Association organizes day laborers in Northeast Philadelphia to negotiate with police and representatives from Home Depot. They hope to create a safe space to look for work and assemble to address common grievances.
Racial & Economic Justice Fund
The Racial & Economic Justice Fund supports groups that are engaged in direct-action community organizing in the Philadelphia region to promote racial and economic justice at the local, state, national, or international policy levels.
1 Love Movement unites immigrants to fight the discrimination and deportation practices that separate their families and damage their neighborhoods. They are addressing the intersection of the criminal justice and deportation systems and plan to take collective action.
ACT UP Philadelphia uses direct action to work toward an end to the AIDS crisis. They are mobilizing to ensure that Pennsylvania’s next governor makes AIDS treatments affordable and accessible for everyone in the state.
The Campaign to Take Back Vacant Land is a coalition of faith, labor, and community organizations that gives residents a voice in the redevelopment of abandoned properties. They are monitoring the creation of Philadelphia’s land bank to ensure that its implementation is fair.
DreamActivist PA is a group of undocumented youth who disrupt deportation proceedings through civil disobedience. They also connect with community allies and other immigrant advocacy groups to expose illegal detention procedures and fight for fair immigration reform.
Heeding God’s Call is a multi-faith coalition addressing the epidemic of gun violence in Philadelphia. They confront both politicians and individual gun shop owners to pressure them to better regulate gun sales in the city.
The Philadelphia Student Union organizes high school students to fight budget and staff cuts, lack of services, and unfair policies in the School District of Philadelphia. They are currently establishing new high school chapters and pressuring gubernatorial candidates to support more education funding.
POWER (Philadelphians Organized to Witness, Empower and Rebuild) is a cross-faith network of congregations that take action on issues affecting low- and moderate-income Philadelphians. POWER is focused on holding city council and the mayor accountable for enforcing the new living-wage standards for subcontracted workers that POWER helped win earlier this year.
The Restaurant Opportunities Center of Philadelphia helps restaurant employees take collective action against unfair employers. They are escalating their “Dignity at Darden” campaign to force the Darden Restaurant Group to improve working conditions in popular restaurant chains.
Phoebus Criminal Justice Initiative
A partnership with the Phoebus Fund family foundation, the Phoebus Criminal Justice Initiative provides grants for criminal justice reform activism. Grantees target issues that include police accountability, racially biased sentencing, the growth of the for-profit prison industry, criminalization of youth, and the death penalty.
Books Through Bars distributes books and other publications to prisoners. They are establishing book clubs, volunteer forums, and partnerships with halfway houses to encourage collaboration across prison walls.
EXIT-US holds civic engagement and voter education forums for returning citizens, helping them challenge the unfair political and punitive systems that oppress them.
Heart to Heart: Comienzos East conducts workshops that help inmates develop spiritual, nonviolent, and community-based leadership skills through meditation and reflective discussion.
Hearts on a Wire is a transgender and gender-variant prison justice collective. Their Homecoming Project helps transgender returning citizens re-enter society as comfortable, accurate versions of themselves.
The Human Rights Coalition documents and exposes cases of torture, abuse, and inhumane conditions in Pennsylvania prisons. They are canvassing to talk directly with people in the community about prison abuse and reform.
Mothers in Charge brings together victims, families, and perpetrators of violent crime to break cycles of violence and criminalization. The group held their third national conference in May, convening anti-violence activists from around the country.
New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia organizes faith communities in Philadelphia to push for fair immigration reform. Having persuaded Mayor Nutter to end ICE holds in the city, the group is holding the city accountable for its promise while advocating for national reform.
The Pennsylvania Innocence Project litigates on behalf of those wrongfully convicted of serious crimes. They provide services to prisoners and their families while conducting research and legal advocacy to support systemic judicial reform.
Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity (PLSE) challenges legal and employment policies that keep formerly convicted people from earning an income. PLSE are developing an online platform to inform people of their rights and help them combat unjust policies.
Prison Radio gives a voice to those who are incarcerated, allowing them to expose prison conditions firsthand. They are identifying incarcerated correspondents in Pennsylvania to produce a series of several dozen broadcast essays.
Reconstruction Inc. convenes returning citizens, youth, and the families of incarcerated people to incubate a large-scale movement to end mass incarceration. Reconstruction is developing several new programs focused on grant writing, organizational development, and youth leadership.
Reunification Transportation Services provides bus trips to prison facilities in rural Pennsylvania so that Philadelphia residents can visit incarcerated relatives. They are mobilizing family members to become advocates for prison reform.
Why Not Prosper Inc. empowers women ex-offenders to reenter society and move toward positions of power and leadership. It offers pre-release mentoring and live-in residence at the Why Not Prosper House.
Witness to Innocence is an organization led by death row exonerees that advocates for an end to capital punishment. They are conducting outreach in Philadelphia’s low-income black and Latino neighborhoods to inform residents about race and class biases in death penalty sentencing.
X-Offenders for Community Empowerment organizes formerly convicted people to reduce recidivism, prevent violent crime, and help returning citizens access essential services. Their “Pardon Me” clinics teach people how to get convictions cleared from their permanent records.
The Youth Art and Self-empowerment Project (YASP) holds art and poetry workshops for youth incarcerated in adult jails. YASP is also working to repeal Pennsylvania Act 33, which allows youth to be charged as adults.
Youth United for Change (YUC) organizes Philadelphia students to end the school-to-prison pipeline. They are pressuring public officials to implement a variety of improvements, from accelerated school oversight to cafeteria nutrition programs.
Opportunity Fund
Offered monthly, Opportunity Fund grants are intended for unforeseen projects that are not part of an organization’s ongoing work. These activities are frequently in response to rapidly emerging issues and may include demonstrations and rallies, coalition activities, conferences/forums, and outreach materials.
The 2014 Community Forum for the Next Governor was a people’s forum produced by a coalition of progressive organizations and convened by Neighborhood Networks. The forum took place in February 2014 and was televised by the Pennsylvania Cable Network and made available on the web to increase grassroots participation in the election as well as advocacy for progressive issues.
The AIDS Policy Project is a small, all-volunteer AIDS and human rights organization that is focused on advocating for an AIDS cure. AIDS Policy Project received funding to attend the GIFT two day conference for grassroots fundraising in Baltimore on August 2 and 3, 2014. The conference allowed the organization to learn more about ways to raise money to support their work and build development skills.
Black Lily Inc. received a grant for the third BlackStar Film Festival that took place in University City from July 31 through August 3, 2014. BlackStar celebrates the visual and storytelling traditions of the African diaspora, showcasing film and video works by and about black people from across the globe and providing panels and workshops about the industry. BlackStar is a highly visible platform for the voices of independent black filmmakers.
Camp Sojourner, Girls’ Leadership Camp is a nonprofit leadership development program for Philadelphia girls ages 8 to 16. Camp Sojourner used this grant to expand their second annual 5K walkathon event, “The Sojourner Truth Walk: Inspiring Girls’ and Womens’ Leadership,” that took place on April 26, 2014. The walk is an opportunity to honor women and girls as leaders and to connect girls, parents, and the wider community with important social justice work happening in Philadelphia.
Decarcerate PA, a coalition seeking to end mass incarceration and prison expansion in Pennsylvania, received funding to attend the Allied Media Conference and the Nation Inside Gathering in Detroit on June 19 – 22, 2014. Both events provided Decarcerate PA with communication and media based tools that will help the coalition build relationships across the city and advance the campaign across the state.
Filadelfia Latin American Film Festival (FLAFF) received a grant to support the first Philadelphia screening of the socially conscious documentary depicting Cesar Chavez’s Last Fast. The film provided an opportunity for audience members to view the struggles facing farm workers, many of which continue to exist today. FLAFF held a discussion following the film which allowed for audience questions and discussion on how to support the cause.
The Independence EDGE Studio is a new grassroots group that is committed to social change for people with disabilities. The studio provides space and implements programs so that artists with and without disabilities can practice their craft, learning from each other’s perspectives. The Independence EDGE Studio used their grant to hire a consultant for help with developing a solid organizational and financial plan to ensure the future stability of the studio’s initiatives.
The Philadelphia Unemployment Project (PUP) recently convened the Raise the Wage PA Coalition to fight for an increase in Pennsylvania’s minimum wage. PUP received a grant for transportation to a lobby day and rally in Harrisburg on June 3, 2014 as part of the Raise the Wage campaign. This event allowed low wage workers and their community allies to connect with their elected officials and press them to take action to raise the minimum wage.
The Women’s Therapy Center (WTC) nurtures individual well-being and personal growth by providing high-quality, affordable psychotherapeutic services in a feminist environment. WTC received funding to host a Community Forum addressing Trans-Affirming Mental Health Care, organized in response to transgender communities’ demands for trans-affirming mental health services. The Community Forum was held on May 1, 2014 and generated community dialogue around past barriers and micro-aggressions and ways that WTC can be transparent and accountable to the trans community.