OK, for the holidays I am shamelessly promoting some non-profits that could use your lovin’, be it some dollars, or some of your time. I know some of these folks, and I don’t know some of these folks, but what they have in common is that they provide resources, education, opportunities, and advocacy for people in their communities, rather than esoteric “research” or “charity”. If you can give to them, please do. ♥

For the tl;dr set:

• Catalyst Project :  http://collectiveliberation.org/
• Illumination Project : http://www.pcc.edu/resources/illumination/
• Bradley Angle : http://bradleyangle.org/
• BAWAR (Bay Area Women Against Rape) : http://www.bawar.org/
• The Ruckus Society : http://www.ruckus.org/
• POWER (People Organized to Win Employment Rights) http://www.peopleorganized.org/ 
• Causa Justa Just Cause : http://www.cjjc.org/
• Sisters Of The Road :  http:// sistersoftheroad.org
• Outside In : http://www.outsidein.org/
• POOR Magazine : http://www.poormagazine.org
• In Other Words : http://inotherwords.org/

Who are these folks and what do they do?

‎Catalyst Project is a center for political education and movement building based in the San Francisco Bay Area. We are committed to anti-racist work in majority white sections of left social movements with the goal of deepening anti-racist commitment in white communities and building multiracial left movements for liberation. We are committed to creating spaces for activists and organizers to collectively develop relevant theory, vision and strategy to build our movements. Catalyst programs prioritize leadership development, supporting grassroots fighting organizations and multiracial alliance building. http://collectiveliberation.org/

IlluminationProject Sylvania uses interactive social justice theater as a venue for Student Educators and audience members to join together to rehearse ways of solving problems. Interactive theater, with its capacity to engage diverse learning styles and members of a community, is an ideal way to challenge racism, sexism, heterosexism, and other forms of oppression. In performances audience members enter a scene and dynamically change its outcome. In this way, the Illumination Project challenges the viewpoints of both the audience and the actors/Student Educators in a performance. http://www.pcc.edu/resources/illumination/

In 1975, Bradley Angle became the first domestic violence shelter on the West Coast (and only the fourth in the United States). Over the years, our services have expanded to include a 24- hour crisis line, transitional housing, support groups, community-based advocacy, and three programs unique to Oregon: culturally specific programming for African and African-American survivors, an economic empowerment program called Making Cent$, and support for LGBTQ survivors. http://bradleyangle.org/

Bay Area Women Against Rape, the nation’s first rape crisis center, was formed in 1971 to provide 24-hour comprehensive services for survivors of sexual assault and their significant others. Last year, BAWAR continued its important work in our community by providing… 

• 960 new clients with crisis intervention services.
• 128 clients with free in-person counseling.
• 143 clients with free hospital or police accompaniment.
• 163 clients with advocacy services.
• 203 educational programs to over 11,914 children and adults.
• 9,976 individuals with information and referrals.
• http://www.bawar.org/

The Ruckus Society provides environmental, human rights, and social justice organizers with the tools, training, and support needed to achieve their goals. Working with a broad range of communities, organizations, and movements - from high school students to professional organizations - Ruckus facilitates the sharing of information and expertise that strengthens the capacity to change our relationship with the environment and each other. http://www.ruckus.org/

>POWER (People Organized to Win Employment Rights)’s work is guided by our theory of social change which sees that those people who are most affected by the problems of society- low-income and working class people, people of color, women, queer and transgender people- must lead a movement of millions to eradicate those problems. By building power from the bottom-up with a commitment to solidarity, POWER is able to ensure that public policy and public institutions serve the interests of everyone. Our work resolves around three core components: Base-Building, Movement Building, Leadership Development. http://www.peopleorganized.org/ 

Causa Justa Just Cause is a multi-racial, grassroots organization building community leadership to achieve justice for low-income San Francisco and Oakland residents. On January 1, 2010, St. Peter’s Housing Committee and Just Cause Oakland merged to form Causa Justa :: Just Cause (CJJC). Prior to the merger, St. Peter’s Housing Committee had been working for more than 25 years defending tenants’ and immigrant rights and fighting gentrification in San Francisco’s Mission District. Just Cause Oakland emerged from the Prop EE campaign ten years ago and began its work to build people’s power and defend housing rights. Our two organizations have been working together ever since. http://www.cjjc.org/

Sisters Of The Road exists to build authentic relationships and alleviate the hunger of isolation in an atmosphere of nonviolence and gentle personalism that nurtures the whole individual, while seeking systemic solutions that reach the roots of homelessness and poverty to end them forever. Sisters’ Philosophies are Nonviolence, Dining with Dignity, Gentle personalism, Systemic change, and Anti-Oppression. http:// sistersoftheroad.org

Outside In began in 1968, and we have continually revised our Homeless Youth Services and Medical Services to meet changing client needs. Our mission is to help homeless youth and other marginalized people move towards improved health and self-sufficiency. We are…

• Service providers and advocates.
• Experts in understanding adolescents.
• A Federally Qualified Health Center.
• A licensed Mental Health Agency.
• Leaders in serving GLBTQ youth.
• http://www.outsidein.org/

POOR Magazine is a poor people led/indigenous people led, grassroots non-profit,arts organization dedicated to providing revolutionary media access, art, education and advocacy to silenced youth, adults and elders in poverty across the globe. All of POOR’s programs are focused on providing non-colonizing, community-based and community-led media, art and education with the goals of creating access for silenced voices, preserving and degentrifying rooted communities of color and re-framing the debate on poverty, landlessness, indigenous resistance, disability and race locally and globally. http://www.poormagazine.org

In Other Words is a feminist community center that supports, enriches, and empowers communities through educational and cultural events, art and literature. We will also continue to expand the resource center that already exists at In Other Words. Our resource center provides tangible resources on topics like health and wellness, therapy and counseling, sexual and reproductive help, transgender issues, LGBTQ support and advocacy, birth and parenting, education, housing, activism and social change, and places to contact in crisis situations. Our resource center is unique because we are individually contacting and assessing all the businesses, organizations, and providers that are present in it to make sure that they are places that are safe for women and LGBTQ people to go. We intend to make these resources even more accessible by putting them on our website. We are also developing a computer lab that will enable people to search for resources, jobs, and other information. http://inotherwords.org/

Yay. ♥