Radical Hope Fund

Overview

<p>Radical Hope Fund -- The NoVo Foundation’s mission is to foster transformation from a world of domination and exploitation to one of collaboration and partnership. We remain steadfast in our approach of supporting the development of capacities in people—individually and collectively—to help create a more caring and balanced world. As one of our core values, we believe in Radical Hope: we are deeply optimistic that we can contribute to systemic progress that addresses the root causes of injustice. Grounded in that optimism, we remain focused on long-term solutions and join our voices with those who proudly advocate for fundamental social change. This Fund seeks to support efforts that are bold and imaginative, focused on building the movements we need, with efforts that will springboard us forward in this moment of both crisis and opportunity. This means that we must engage in strategies that are adaptive and that aim for transformation rather than solely incremental change.<br>In the spirit of boldness and imagination, the Radical Hope Fund will focus on supporting the following essential strategies for change: *Bringing communities together for cross-issue, cross-sectoral organizing that centers feminist leadership, including but not limited to policy advocacy campaigns. *Global solidarity and transnational movement-building connecting issues and movements that are aligned in their purpose and vision. *Leveraging the power of media, culture, and the arts to engage in storytelling and share ideas, moving hearts and minds for change, including creating new strategic platforms and collaboration between artists/culture-makers and movement organizations. *Seeding experiments in building new structures and systems to propel us into a world that is oriented around interdependence, mutuality, and love rather than domination and extraction, with an emphasis on cultivating local, community-driven solutions. To gain a broader awareness of work happening across the country and transnationally, NoVo is accepting Letters of Inquiry (LOIs) that align with the goals of this Fund, prioritizing organizations and collaborative efforts in accordance with the following guiding principles:<br>Seizing the opportunity to be bold, creative, and risk-taking in a way that expands our notions of what is possible<br>Demonstrating sharp strategic approach, with particular focus on organizing and building power that centers feminist leadership, especially the leadership of girls and women (cis-, trans-, and gender non-conforming) of color<br>Building organizational capacity to go the distance with alliances, coalitions, and networks, and reach across issues, sectors, and other traditional divisions in our movements<br>Holding a national and global perspective that connects movements and defies the false nationalism both being touted by the current U.S. administration and on the rise globally<br>Adopting a proactive stance that keeps a view of the horizon and building a foundation for the future, even as we do defensive and resistance work<br>Reexamining how we show up to do the work of social justice and experimenting with ways of doing/being that center our humanity, interrupting movement habits in favor of practices that will sustain leaders and movements in the long run<br>Bolstering security and adaptation of groups that amplify the voices of targeted communities and/or challenge the normalization of white supremacy, xenophobia, and misogyny</p>