News

Grants to Occupy

Soon after the occupation at Zuccotti Park began, North Star hosted conversations with Occupy activists and our grantee activist leaders. We identified the needs that we heard and quickly made several Rapid Response grants to strengthen the connection between OWS and community-based groups.

These are the grants that we have made so far to support OWS activities:

National Lawyers Guild: $5,000
To coordinate legal representation of the over 900 people arrested so far at OWS-related protests in New York.

Movement for Justice in El Barrio: $5,000
To hold an "Encuentro for Humanity," a gathering to strategize on how participants of Occupy Wall Street, community members, and social justice organizations can best move forward together in this moment.

Families United for Racial and Economic Equality (FUREE): $2,500
To connect its membership to Occupy activities and to organize an Occupy Brooklyn event.

People's Production House: $1,500
To conduct media training with activists participating in OWS and to broadcast their stories to media outlets.

In 2012, we will continue to support a range of strategies to build and sustain the grassroots-led movement that preceded Occupy Wall Street, and we will support the Occupy movement itself.