MARCH 2020
Rural Renaissance in Grassroots Organizing
Peace Development Fund’s annual Community Organizing Grants program received a record 200+ applications this year from social justice and base building organizations nationwide.

Our applicant pool reflects a diverse range of struggles, but one major theme from this year’s docket was a “Rural Renaissance” of grassroots organizing...
People often assume that most organizing happens in urban areas and that rural areas are hard to organize because people are isolated or are too conservative. Quite the contrary: from farmworkers in the Central Valley and LGBTQ+ centers in the Midwest, to environmental justice organizations in Appalachia and movements in the South resisting mass incarceration, rural communities are banding together, building power and winning concrete changes in their local communities. 
We also have a number of applicants who are organizing for a Just Transition , a framework forged by labor unions, Indigenous Nations and low-income communities of color to shift away from an extractive, fossil-fuel dominated economy to a sustainable, regenerative economy.

Stay tuned for the announcement of our 2020 grantees and mark your calendars for Grassroots Funding Week (April 27 - May 1st), a week long crowdfunding campaign for social justice organizations across the nation.
The De Colores Rapid Response Fund:

Support for organizers responding to COVID-19
As the outbreak of COVID-19 presents growing and unprecedented challenges for organizers nationwide, PDF’s De Colores Rapid Response Fund, designed for strategic intervention in movement moments like this, offers grants of $500 to $1,000 to grassroots organizations working to make positive community interventions through strategic, organizing-focused approaches, especially in marginalized communities of color and working class communities.

De Colores Fund will respond to the cultural, social and economic challenges posed by COVID – 19. The fund is not designed to support budget shortfalls or direct services; they are small, strategic moment grants aimed at building community resilience. More information on the criteria and application instructions can be found here or by emailing our program coordinator.

When Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico, for example, the De Colores Fund provided immediate support for Defend Puerto Rico (DPR), who put those resources to use canvassing neighborhoods conducting needs assessments, documenting the rebuilding of roofs and organizing local food drives.
The De Colores Fund was established in honor of retired Development Officer, Ray Santiago, and his many years of involvement in the Farm Worker Movement. “De Colores,” a traditional Mexican folk song, was the unofficial anthem of that movement, and its message of solidarity is an important reminder today in responding to pressing, global challenges.  
PDF Women Peacemaker's Initiative:
Spring Newsletter and PDF Special Initiatives
PDF’s Spring Newsletter is hot off the press and spotlights PDF’s Women Peacemakers Initiative, which brought together women from Japan, Korea, France, India, Burkina Faso, Albania, Brazil, the U.S. and the U.K. to cultivate a shared vision and strategy for international feminist peace-building work. 
San Francisco Women's Building - Host of the Women Peacemakers Initiative
As a PDF Special Initiative, the Women Peacemakers Initiative was an effort to facilitate movement building through a collaborative process with our grantees. Read our newsletter to learn more about our other Special Initiatives like the Middle East Peace Initiative, the Criminal Justice Initiative and our 2020 initiative on Economic Dislocation and the Solidarity Economy. 

The newsletter also spotlights some of PDF’s international grantmaking work, which in conjunction with the Martín-Baró Community Advised Fund has supported organizations working for women’s rights in Colombia, Nicaragua, Palestine, and Democratic Republic of Congo. 
Mark Your Calendars:
2020 Grassroots Funding Week
April 27th - May 1st, 2020
Grassroots Funding Week is your chance to be a grant-maker. PDF will use our online presence to highlight the work, stories and missions of organizations we support and ask for your help in raising money for these grassroots groups. Can you commit to contributing during Grassroots Funding Week or want to use our media toolkit to help spread the word? Email Brennan to RSVP.

Kingian Nonviolence Training with Kazu Haga
June 1st from 6-8 pm, the Parlor Room, Northampton
The Pioneer Valley Workers Center (PVWC) and PDF will host our former staff member, Kazu Haga, for a training on Kingian Nonviolence. This training will be part of the monthly meeting for the PVWC Sanctuary in the Streets Rapid Response Network. This event may be subject to change or cancellation due to COVID-19.
Thank you for your support.