“As the ground shakes underneath us, how do we practice to become the ground?” — Prentis Hemphill, The Embodiment Institute
On January 20 – a day when many of our grantee partners would have normally been participating in community-focused events and celebrations honoring the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of justice – so many in our sector simply continued in a months-long bracing for the groundshaking of a new federal administration being sworn into office. In the weeks that have followed, a series of executive orders have been issued with the intent to dismantle critical protections for our most under-resourced, marginalized communities. In the first of many, the Office of Management and Budget announced their intention that all federal agencies suspend payments, signaling catastrophic impacts ahead for local governments, social change organizations, and the communities they serve.
We must meet movement partners in their critical work to end intersecting systemic inequities and mass harm.
We must align our funding with our values and invest abundantly in those most at risk—today. And tomorrow. And all the days we can.
Borealis Philanthropy is issuing an urgent call for amplified accompliceship:
The philanthropic sector must be radically coordinated to sustain and scale both rapid response and long-term investments in grassroots movements.
These movements have always been the bedrocks of change—securing freedoms, care, and belonging. This watershed moment demands bold, unified action to ensure life-sustaining movements have the resources to thrive.
Somatic practitioner Prentis Hemphill offers that, when traversing shifting terrain, we must find a way to become the ground beneath ourselves, to practice “together, in community, [in ways that] allow our breath to eventually become the breath of this world.” As Borealis Philanthropy meditates on the possibilities of this communal practice, we find ourselves wondering:
What would it look like for philanthropy to position itself as a stabilizer for organizers?
The next four years will be defined by attempts to erode the progress movements have fought for over decades. But what would happen if philanthropy moved in lock step, and balanced formation, shoulder to shoulder, to steady the ground? Consider the impact of $10 million immediately deployed to grassroots organizers—keeping community safety net organizations alive, fueling rapid mobilizations, and stabilizing the very infrastructure of our democracy. Now imagine the impact of $100 million. Of $1 billion. These aren’t just numbers, or dollars; they are literal lifelines for our communities. They represent our sector’s capacity and willingness to turn our strategies, intentions, and potential—$1 trillion across philanthropic reserves—into tangible, necessary action.
Together, we can co-create a new chapter of American history—one which, should we move with the swiftness and abundance this moment demands, may become known as the time when we collectively reject authoritarian ideologies, deconstruct long-held systems of oppression, and organize ourselves around visions for more.
How we show up over the months and years ahead will not only determine the resilience of our movements, but the future of our democracy. Our work is here, and now.