Grants
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An oral history project that documents, archives, and shares stories of the 1947 partition of India. It is committed to preserving a collective history with the goal of inspiring a less divided future. In addition to the publicly accessible digital story repository, it also coaches citizen historians worldwide to collect stories from all ethnic, religious, and economic communities impacted by the partition.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$12,500 |
2018 |
general support |
|
$25,000 |
2017 |
general support |
|
$25,000 |
2016 |
general support |
A national network of chapters that amplify youth voices through writing. The largest youth writing network in the country, it serves 65,000 students annually in its centers and online. In addition to free writing programs, it publishes the narratives and perspectives of young writers and creates a space for volunteers and stakeholders to listen to and learn from local students. In addition to chapters across the country, its 826 Digital platform provides free access to timely and topical writing curricula alongside real samples of student writing.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$75,000 |
2018 |
general support, $75,000 per year for two years (payment one of two, total amount $150,000) |
A writing center in San Francisco's Tenderloin. Through programming that strengthens students' writing skills, it empowers youth to share their stories. Its free programs and community partnerships support students in expressing themselves in their own voices. Stories are compiled into print publications and podcasts to share with the broader community.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$25,000 |
2018 |
general support |
|
$50,000 |
2017 |
general support |
|
$50,000 |
2016 |
general support |
A public media organization that creates a pathway of support for Black story development and dissemination. It supports diverse voices by investing in the professional development of Black content creators and by funding, developing, producing, and distributing innovative media about the Black global experience. It actively curates audience engagement activities in select communities where the content can be used as a tool for generating public dialogue beyond the big screen.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$100,000 |
2018 |
general support, $100,000 per year for two years (payment one of two, total amount $200,000) |
A Sacramento-based public radio service. Its series "The View From Here" features first-person stories and multimedia documentaries about California communities. Its digital stories around a given topic inspire listeners to learn, understand, and respond. Creating space for first-person perspectives, it aims to build stronger communities through relevant storytelling that connects us to each other's experiences, challenges, and dreams.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$50,000 |
2018 |
support for "View From Here" |
|
$50,000 |
2017 |
support for "The View From Here" |
|
$50,000 |
2016 |
support for "The View From Here" |
An organization that supports Asian American narratives by producing, distributing, and exhibiting media works. It counters the scarcity of Asian/Asian American images, corrects distorted portrayals, and supports Asian American artists. It exposes audiences nationwide to new voices and marginalized communities within the Asian diaspora, emphasizing storytelling by / about Muslim, LGBTQ, and Southeast Asian populations.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$100,000 |
2018 |
general support, $100,000 per year for two years (payment one of two, total amount $200,000) |
|
$100,000 |
2017 |
general support |
|
$100,000 |
2016 |
general support |
A center for urban folk culture in New York City. It weaves the city's folklore, history, traditions, and grassroots arts into a living legacy. Through collaborations with and support for storytellers, it works towards a vision of cultural democracy that allows varied traditions to co-exist on equal footing and encourages active participation in cultural life.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$85,000 |
2018 |
general support, $85,000 per year for two years (payment one of two, total amount $170,000) |
|
$75,000 |
2017 |
general support |
|
$75,000 |
2016 |
general support |
A multilingual urban Latin dance theater company based in Los Angeles. Recognizing the links between community engagement and artistic production, its performances take inspiration from its communities' experiences, cultural creations, and stories. It intentionally engages diverse audiences and features stories not traditionally heard on the stage.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$60,000 |
2018 |
general support, $60,000 per year for two years (payment two of two, total amount $120,000) |
|
$60,000 |
2017 |
general support, $60,000 per year for two years (payment one of two, total amount $120,000) |
|
$50,000 |
2016 |
general support |
A socially engaged arts organization based in Oakland. Recognizing the role of artists in inciting conversations and inventing new ways of thinking, it invests in creative work that highlights the complexity, nuance, and beauty of communities too often rendered criminal or invisible. It works toward a just world rooted in a sense of shared humanity.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$75,000 |
2018 |
support for CultureStrike, $75,000 per year for two years (payment one of two, total amount $150,000) |
|
$75,000 |
2017 |
general support |
|
$75,000 |
2016 |
general support |
A national media and culture organization using the power of story to transcend politics and shift conversations about immigrants, identity, and citizenship in a changing America. It runs campaigns that challenge media narratives; develops films that connect immigration, women's rights, and racial and economic justice; and curates a digital platform for people to tell and share stories.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$150,000 |
2018 |
general support |
|
$150,000 |
2017 |
general support |
|
$150,000 |
2016 |
general support |
A storytelling organization working to advance the narrative of a Detroit built on justice. Through seed grants, technical support, skill development, and mentorship, complemented by community mapping and local engagement, it creates narrative-shifting moving image projects that support and connect the commiunity.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$50,000 |
2018 |
support for Detroit Narrative Agency, $50,000 per year for two years (payment one of two, total amount $100,000) |
|
$50,000 |
2017 |
support for Detroit Narratives Agency |
|
$50,000 |
2016 |
support for Detroit Narratives Agency |
A playwriting program for youth inside detention facilities in the Bay Area. It pairs incarcerated youth with mentors who work with them to write original plays, using non-human characters as metaphorical masks to tell personal stories. The exploration of stories without judgment and the final staged reading in front of an audience of families and community members empower youth to voice their experiences.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$20,000 |
2018 |
support for Playwriting and TOTO, $20,000 per year for two years (payment two of two, total amount $40,000) |
|
$20,000 |
2017 |
support for Playwriting and TOTO, $20,000 per year for two years (payment one of two, total amount $40,000) |
|
$20,000 |
2016 |
support for Playwriting and Dance |
A Rapid City-based organization that honors and supports the Collective Spirit of First Peoples artists and culture bearers. Its "Dances with Words" program is a youth spoken word initiative on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. It connects youth to Native American oral traditions and amplifies young voices in the community through facilitating and mentoring the creation of literature, poetry, spoken word, and music. It is among the organizations that make up the Youth Speaks Brave New Voices Network.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$7,500 |
2018 |
support for Dances With Words |
|
$15,000 |
2017 |
support for Dances With Words |
|
$15,000 |
2016 |
support for Dances With Words |
A social impact gaming nonprofit. Harnessing the narrative power of games to inspire action and connect with audiences beyond traditional media, it facilitates the creation and distribution of digital games to further humanitarian and educational efforts; convenes a community of practice; and empowers game creators to drive real-world impact.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$75,000 |
2018 |
general support, $75,000 per year for two years (payment two of two, total amount $150,000) |
|
$75,000 |
2017 |
general support, $75,000 per year for two years (payment one of two, total amount $150,000) |
|
$50,000 |
2016 |
general support |
A multimedia storytelling and production training organization for Los Angeles and New York City students. Its free programming aims to educate and celebrate the next generation of great American storytellers. Programs promote the idea that stories inspire global connections and therefore filming occurs around the world and films are translated into local languages.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$12,500 |
2018 |
general support |
|
$25,000 |
2017 |
general support |
|
$25,000 |
2016 |
general support |
A New York City-based media-arts organization focused on youth from low-income, new immigrant, and TLGBQ communities. It partners youth with professional artists and educators to develop narrative, non-fiction, and new media works that amplify diverse stories and then use them to educate about and advocate for their communities nationwide.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$25,000 |
2018 |
general support |
|
$25,000 |
2017 |
general support |
|
$25,000 |
2016 |
general support |
A New York City theater company helping communities come together by making meaningful connections through the public sharing of untold stories. One project, De Novo, crafted entirely from immigration court transcripts, interviews, and letters, tells the true story of a teenaged boy from Guatemala who faced deportation after fleeing to the U.S. to escape the gang MS-13. He travels over 3,000 miles across the borders of three countries in search of his mother and a better life in the United States.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$60,000 |
2018 |
general support |
|
$60,000 |
2017 |
support for De Novo |
|
$50,000 |
2016 |
support for gUN COUNTRY |
An educational and cultural institution based in Jonesborough, TN. It advocates for the value of storytelling nationwide by providing the knowledge, experience, and tools to help individuals, organizations, and communities tap into the power of their own voices. In conjunction with Harvard Graduate School of Education, it is developing research on the value of storytelling in building communities, furthering education, and resolving conflict.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$75,000 |
2018 |
general support, $75,000 per year for three years (payment one of three total amount $225,000) |
|
$75,000 |
2017 |
general support |
|
$75,000 |
2016 |
general support |
An incubator and presenter of independent films. It partners with filmmakers to bring untold stories to public television and communities around the world. It encourages independent artists to take creative risks and tell complex, character-driven stories that uplift underrepresented voices in order to kindle empathy, combat negative stereotyping, and promote understanding and positive social change.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$500,000 |
2018 |
general support, $500,000 per year for two years (payment two of two, total amount $1,000,000) |
|
$500,000 |
2017 |
general support, $500,000 per year for two years (payment one of two, total amount $1,000,000) |
|
$250,000 |
2016 |
general support |
A Northern California public media organization. Its television, radio, digital media, and educational services convene community dialogue and take people of all ages on journeys of exploration — exposing them to new people, places and ideas. Its podcast "The Leap" shares stories of people who start out in one place in life and end up somewhere else — or as someone else — entirely.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$87,500 |
2018 |
general support |
|
$75,000 |
2017 |
support for "The Leap" |
|
$100,000 |
2017 |
general support |
|
$75,000 |
2016 |
support for "The Leap" and "Truth Be Told" |
|
$100,000 |
2016 |
general support |
An international theater laboratory based in New York City. It empowers playwrights financially, professionally, and artistically to explore what they choose. It champions voices and perspectives that have been historically misrepresented and under-resourced by the theater field by providing development opportunities, resources, and connections in the theater community.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$75,000 |
2018 |
general support, $75,000 per year for two years (payment one of two, total amount $150,000) |
|
$75,000 |
2017 |
general support |
|
$75,000 |
2016 |
general support |
A developer, producer, and distributor of non-commercial educational and cultural media that is representative of Latino people or addresses issues of particular interest to Latino Americans. By acting as a minority consortium, it provides a voice to the diverse Latino community on public media throughout the United States.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$100,000 |
2018 |
general support, $100,000 per year for two years (payment one of two, total amount $200,000) |
|
$100,000 |
2017 |
general support |
A documentary photography organization in New York City. Grounded in the premise that stories transform how we see the world, it supports a global network of social justice and human rights focused photographers, fostering diverse visual storytelling projects as a means to raise awareness, awaken empathy, mobilize action, and strengthen society.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$75,000 |
2018 |
general support, $75,000 per year for three years (payment one of three total amount $225,000) |
|
$75,000 |
2017 |
general support |
|
$75,000 |
2016 |
general support |
A national multimedia news organization and radio program producer. Its "Embedded" podcast uses storytelling to offer listeners a chance to visit places and hear voices that might be unreachable otherwise, giving vulnerable people a chance to tell their stories firsthand. Reporters admit when they are scared or confused, helping listeners grow to understand not just what happened, but what it feels like to the people who are there.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$200,000 |
2018 |
general support |
|
$100,000 |
2017 |
support for "Embedded" |
|
$200,000 |
2017 |
general support |
|
$100,000 |
2016 |
support for "Embedded" |
|
$200,000 |
2016 |
general support |
A media organization that works to promote a deeper understanding of and appreciation for Pacific Islander themes, culture, and contemporary issues. A member of the National Minority Consortia, it helps Pacific Islander stories reach national audiences through funding support for productions, training and education, broadcast services, and community outreach.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$50,000 |
2018 |
general support |
A nationwide champion of writers and of freedom of expression. Recognizing the written word as a tool of great power and great change, it brings together novelists, journalists, essayists, poets, translators, and more to create a network of advocates to inspire change in America and the world. It encourages discourse, diversity, and the spread of ideas with a focus on ensuring that everyone has the freedom to create, express, share, and access literature.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$125,000 |
2018 |
general support, $125,000 per year for three years (payment one of three total amount $375,000) |
|
$125,000 |
2017 |
general support |
|
$75,000 |
2016 |
general support |
A digital storytelling center based in Berkeley that believes listening deeply and sharing stories are tools to build a just and healthy world. It supports storytelling projects in vulnerable Bay Area communities and worldwide; runs workshops for telling and listening to emotionally honest stories; and explores the role of participatory media in social justice and beyond.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$60,000 |
2018 |
general support, $60,000 per year for three years (payment one of three total amount $180,000) |
|
$50,000 |
2017 |
general support |
|
$50,000 |
2016 |
general support |
A national storytelling organization. It preserves and shares humanity’s stories in order to build connections and create a more just and compassionate world. It provides people across the country the opportunity to record interviews about their lives, pass wisdom from one generation to the next, and leave a legacy for future generations in its archive at the Library of Congress. Through "One Small Step," it asks people with different political viewpoints to record interviews with each other to help people get to know each other as human beings and remember our common humanity.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$500,000 |
2018 |
general support, $500,000 per year for two years (payment two of two, total amount $1,000,000) |
|
$500,000 |
2017 |
general support, $500,000 per year for two years (payment one of two, total amount $1,000,000) |
|
$500,000 |
2016 |
general support |
An institute dedicated to the discovery and development of independent artists and audiences from the United States and around the world. It connects film, television, new media, and theater artists with audiences to present original voices, inspire new ideas, and create community around independent storytelling. Through mentorship, outreach, community-building, and research to investigate barriers and opportunities for diverse artists, it aims to reach the widest possible array of projects for support across its programs.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$1,000,000 |
2018 |
general support, $1,000,000 per year for two years (payment two of two, total amount $2,000,000) |
|
$1,000,000 |
2017 |
general support, $1,000,000 per year for two years (payment one of two, total amount $2,000,000) |
|
$1,000,000 |
2016 |
general support |
A nonprofit devoted to the art and craft of storytelling. Built on the principle that sharing personal experiences prompts us to see each other's storied complexity, it inspires a worldwide community of courageous storytellers and connects them to compassionate listeners. It uncovers and elevates stories that are often overlooked, reinforcing our shared humanity.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$150,000 |
2018 |
general support, $150,000 per year for two years (payment two of two, total amount $300,000) |
|
$150,000 |
2017 |
general support, $150,000 per year for two years (payment one of two, total amount $300,000) |
|
$150,000 |
2016 |
general support |
A national performing arts nonprofit that works to deepen understanding of the military and veteran experience. It believes that by building understanding through person-to-person contact in a theater setting, a community can strengthen its connection to its veterans, itself, its place in the nation, and its relationship with the world.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$50,000 |
2018 |
general support |
|
$50,000 |
2017 |
general support |
|
$50,000 |
2016 |
general support and support of Bay Area Expansion if possible |
A New York City organization that approaches dance from a woman-centered perspective and as members of the African Diaspora community. Working to create a more equitable balance of power and representation in the dance world, they use their peformances as the message and the medium to bring together diverse audiences across the country through choreography and collaboration.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$75,000 |
2018 |
general support |
|
$100,000 |
2017 |
general support |
|
$100,000 |
2016 |
general support |
A public media organization devoted to empowering and engaging Native People to tell stories. It helps to create programming, preserves tribal media archives, produces classroom tools, and supports contemporary and historic stories. It works to counteract a history of cultural appropriation and negative portrayals to the outside world. It celebrates Native culture, heritage, wisdom, sacred stories, and the storyteller while promoting diversity in cultures, peoples, and programming across the country.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$100,000 |
2018 |
general support, $100,000 per year for two years (payment one of two, total amount $200,000) |
|
$100,000 |
2017 |
general support |
|
$100,000 |
2016 |
general support |
An oral history book series and education program. Believing in the importance of listening to and learning from the firsthand experiences of marginalized communities, it works to advance human rights by amplifying the voices of those impacted by injustice in the United States and globally. Its stories build empathy that fosters critical inquiry into and understanding of seldom-heard stories.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$150,000 |
2018 |
general support, $150,000 per year for two years (payment two of two, total amount $300,000) |
|
$150,000 |
2017 |
general support, $150,000 per year for two years (payment one of two, total amount $300,000) |
|
$100,000 |
2016 |
general support |
An arts organization that brings storytelling programming to public schools. Through giving underserved young people in Los Angeles and New York City opportunities to write stories and see them brought to life via performance and film production, it furthers its mission to inspire young people to discover the power of their own voice.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$12,500 |
2018 |
general support |
|
$25,000 |
2017 |
general support |
|
$25,000 |
2016 |
general support |
A San Francisco-based youth storytelling and empowerment organization. It creates spaces that challenge youth to find and present their voices through arts education and youth development practices, civic engagement strategies, and artistic presentations. It produces local and national poetry slams, festivals, and readings, alongside a slate of arts-in-education programs.
| Amount |
Year |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
|
$125,000 |
2018 |
general support, $125,000 per year for two years (payment one of two, total amount $250,000) |
|
$100,000 |
2017 |
general support |
