Borealis Philanthropy

“We understand ourselves as part of a larger group of people who are leveraging tools and skills—in our case journalism, narrative, and storytelling—to try and galvanize people to build power and then drive action.” — Cierra Brown Hinton, Director of Development, Blue Engine Collaborative & Board Member, Scalawag

Blue Engine Collaborative works with mission-driven news organizations to help them grow their audiences, diversify revenue streams, and build the internal systems and skills needed to sustain their work. By strengthening how newsrooms operate and fund their work, Blue Engine helps independent media thrive and better serve their communities.

Stories about the South are often told by people outside the region, which leads to shallow coverage that misses what life and organizing actually looks like. Scalawag exists to disrupt that and tell stories from the South by people who live there. By centering voices that are usually ignored in national media, Scalawag offers a fuller, more truthful account of Southern life, politics, and culture.

This #WomensHistoryMonth, we honor a lineage of truth-tellers as a living act of resistance.

Today, we honor Cierra Brown Hinton of Blue Engine Collaborative and @scalawagmagazine.bsky.social!

Congrats to Sade Dumas on being named a 2026 Gladys K. Washington Connecting Leaders Fellow! This selective program supports leaders advancing racial equity and community-centered philanthropy. We can’t wait to see how this fellowship amplifies her impact and deepens her contributions to the field.

We're attending SXSW! As part of SXSW's Impact Lounge, this session invites funders, creators, and civic leaders to explore how stories about identity and belonging influence the future of a multiracial democracy. Because are doesn't just reflect society. It shapes who gets to belong. The Power of Narratives & Culture to Shape Democracy: The Roots of Belonging Thursday, March 12 from 10-11am.

Headed to #SXSW next week?

Join us for a riveting panel featuring Yrthya Dinzey Flores of @warnermusic.bsky.social, @kashifshaikh.bsky.social of @pillarsfund.bsky.social, and @rinkusen.bsky.social of Narrative Strategies — moderated by Borealis' own alvin starks.

RSVP here: lnkd.in/gAZc67Bn

El Grupo Vida and Living Hope Wheelchair Association, working across Colorado and Texas, are building cross-organizational capacity to support disabled immigrant families through mutual aid, education, and advocacy, so that families navigating both disability and immigration systems can access vital resources like healthcare, mobility support, and language services. Borealis is proud to move resources to the frontline of movements for justice, protecting bodily autonomy and community wellbeing, so people can decide if, when, and how to build families.

SisTers PGH provides direct economic support—including housing and employment—to community members shut out of mainstream systems. They offer supportive housing, employment assistance, and emergency resources while also advocating for policies that expand safety, opportunity and inclusion for trans communities in Pittsburgh.

Knights and Orchids Society’s reproductive justice program provides reproductive care and material support for birthing people. Through condom distribution, HIV/STI testing, infant care supplies, household essentials, and wellness resources, they ensure that families have access to care, safety, and dignity.

Organizers recognize the Heritage Foundation’s playbook and are building a different future—one that strengthens public systems, expands collective care, and materially supports families in all their forms.

The Heritage Foundation’s Saving America by Saving the Family promotes an exclusionary vision that limits who is seen as deserving of care, dignity, and protection. In a multiracial democracy, belonging is infrastructure. We uplift movement leaders who are expanding—not narrowing—the circle of who gets to be reflected, protected, and resourced.

While the Heritage Foundation—and other conservative leaders—draw tight boundaries around who counts as family, movements are building the infrastructure that makes space for us all. In the fight for belonging and democracy, resources must flow to the architects of tomorrow.

Nonprofits have defended justice, community, and democracy for centuries. Will you help us welcome our 2026 Civic Columnists, who embody this ancestry?@joegoldman.bsky.social @protectdemocracy.org @dimplea.bsky.social, @nineequa.bsky.social @borealisphil.bsky.social's Sade Dozan @stateinnovation.org

Attack on Press. Black History Month began with Black journalists jailed for documenting history in Minneapolis.

We’re outraged by the arrests of Don Lemon, Georgia Fort, and the lesser-profiled media makers across our country who are being targeted for reporting the truth and stories of our beloved communities.

Attacks on journalists are attacks on democracy. Funding BIPOC media fuels our multiracial democracy.

We're proud to resource truth tellers, culture keepers, and meaning makers through (and beyond) our REJ Fund. We stand with those who risk their safety and freedom to secure belonging for all.

Here’s a tough truth: Too many of the nonprofits protecting free, fair, and representative elections in 2026 still don’t have enough funds to prepare for this year’s elections. It’s not enough to be aware of the threats facing our elections—we must act. As part of the #AllByApril campaign, we’re moving elections-related 501c3 money quickly and efficiently to show our frontline partners that we have their backs.

We’re proud to participate in @democracyfund.bsky.social's #AllByApril call to action by distributing 501c3 election-related funding to movements by April 30. allbyapril.org

This #BlackFuturesMonth, we are honored to spotlight movement wisdom from those organizing today, and decades ago.

ICE Minneapolis killing highlights federal immigration violence Renee Nicole Good’s death drew national attention, but people have been facing harm from immigration enforcement, with little accountability

ICE killing in Minneapolis highlights escalating pattern of federal immigration violence, @alexmar.bsky.social reports. Renee Nicole Good’s death drew national attention, but people have long been killed or seriously harmed through immigration enforcement with little accountability.

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Today we honor Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on what would have been his 97th birthday.

"Therapists and academics say they are seeing more young adults and teens who feel they must protect parents who may not speak English or understand the risks posed by immigration agents. This stress can take a toll on their normal life — and could lead to depression, anxiety, other health issues."

Supreme Court Seems Likely to Uphold Bans on Transgender Athletes in Girls and Women’s Sports The Supreme Court seems likely to uphold state laws barring transgender girls and women from playing on school athletic teams.

At least five of the six conservatives on the nine-member court indicated they would rule that the state laws banning transgender athletes from playing on girls and women's athletic teams don't violate either the Constitution or the landmark Title IX law.

"When communities lack access to stable employment, poverty rates remain entrenched, economic desperation becomes generational, the federal govt steps in to offer what private sector won't. In doing so, it transforms members of marginalized communities into enforcers against those same communities."

Black and white photo of the NYC subway with a quote by STOP Comms Director Will Owen

“Any AI software that claims to flag so-called unusual behavior is pure pseudoscience… New Yorkers need safe, reliable transit, not magical thinking from Silicon Valley.”
This tech fuels profiling of Black, Indigenous & disabled riders.
statescoop.com/civil-rights...

"We have to keep coming to these very steps, to this very building, to argue that nobody gets to decide who belongs." - Mariah Moore of Transgender Law Center

Today, the 30th National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, we honor both the legacy and the ongoing struggle toward a world of true safety and wellbeing, as defined and led by our communities and movements.

Answering the Call: How Philanthropy Can Combat Attacks and Secure the Financial Futures of Movements Please click the link to complete this form.

Join a session that will ground philanthropy in the scale of recent financial threats, show how movements are fortifying themselves against authoritarian repression, and make clear the distinct role we must play to safeguard financial access.

🗓️ 10/14 at 2pm ET

form.jotform.com/252514636935...

At Borealis, we’re providing our staff and grantee partners with #DigitalSafety guides and training, and we’re mobilizing funds to support #CapacityBuilding efforts that protect frontline organizers.

What is your digital safety strategy?

www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/trolls-...

What if we mobilized a significant portion of DAF funds immediately, to the frontlines of movements for equity, justice, and civic participation, at a critical time when the future of our democracy is on the line?

#DAFDay

Are you attending the Grantmakers in the Arts conference in Minneapolis this month? Join us for this session!

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In a letter to the editor of @chronphilanthropy.bsky.social, Alvin Starks and Helen Wong, Borealis VPs of Programs, wrote that “Wealth Hoarding Harms Nonprofits” and that spending down wealth is perhaps the one true measure of solidarity with communities.

🔗 www.philanthropy.com/blogs/letter...

In an op-ed published by @insidephilanthropy.com, our VP of Advancement Sade Dozan laid out the argument for narrative change as a key strategic investment for those funding movements for justice and liberation. For one, it’s been used in every movement.

🔗 www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/funders...

Borealis Philanthropy is proud to join 145 other funders in signing the “Statement on Political Violence and the Fundamental Freedom of Speech.”

🔗 www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/philant...

In partnership with Meyer Memorial Trust, we're launching a new Oregon round of SAFE grants. SAFE provides rapid-response funding to grassroots organizations facing urgent threats to safety and justice. Applications are open & will be accepted on a rolling basis. borealis.tfaforms.net/f/SAFEOregon.

Klie Kliebert speaks to two attendees about Imagine Water Works during the grantee reflections.

Jamie Frazier speaks to five attendees about Lighthouse Foundation of Chicagoland during the 2025 Presidents’ Council meeting grantee reflections.

Brittanie Hernandez-Wilson presents about Hand in Hand to four attendees of the Presidents' Council Meeting.

Elisa Aucancela presents about El Grupo Vida to attendees of the Presidents' Council meeting.

Thank you to El Grupo VIDA, Detroit Disability Power, Lighthouse Foundation of Chicagoland, @imaginewaterworks.bsky.social‬, and @domesticemployers.bsky.social‬ for sharing your leadership, and to the Disability Inclusion Fund at @borealisphil.bsky.social‬ for supporting the convening.

Find us at the Funders' Committee for Civic Participation conference! Come and hear how Black organizers are forging coalitions, shifting policy, and transforming care systems—and what funders can do to resource this liberation-centered work with integrity and purpose. #OurBodiesOurDemocracy