To join Vocal Minority, you must pledge to donate once a month to the nonprofit chosen by the group. Once you make the pledge, you will be granted access to our private announcement list and community chat forum.
Here is the monthly schedule:
– Donation Day: On the 2nd Tuesday of every month, we will announce the month’s nonprofit via email, with a link to donate your pledge amount. We’ll also include a link to confirm that you donated.
– Reporting: Over the next week, we’ll follow up with you to confirm that you’ve donated.
– Impact: On the final day of the month, the impact of our community’s donation will be announced.
The first Donation Day will be December 13, 2016.
Organizations will be selected in direct response to rising threats: offenses by the Trump administration, hate activity, and other forms of inequity or injustice. We’ll solicit nominations from the group, and our founding team will be responsible for ultimately conducting due diligence on each nonprofit and making the final call. Organizations will be vetted on three primary criteria:
– Are they fighting to protect equity and justice in America?
– Will a collective donation from our group make an impact on their work?
– Is the organization in good financial standing?
Grapevine is an online platform that hosts Vocal Minority. We work with Grapevine to collect donations, discuss nonprofits, and make grants.
By pooling our resources and focusing on the smaller nonprofits who often miss out on national visibility and fundraising, we are able to appreciably increase their ability to deliver impact. Our group will forge direct relationships with the nonprofits we give to, and connect our donors to the impact of their dollars through a unique impact report sent at the end of every month. As our membership grows, we expect that the impact from our member donations will result in concrete, positive outcomes that will be communicated to the group.
Part of our purpose is to shed light on the many organizations that are doing great work to defend the disenfranchised. By highlighting a different nonprofit every month, members will learn about new organizations, and have opportunities to get more involved if they choose.
We've set 3 donation levels:
– $27: Small enough to be accessible, big enough for impact; Vocal Minority is a campaign by the people, for the people
– $99: For the 99%, and those who are able to contribute $99 in the name of equity and justice.
– $538: Where the electoral college has failed to represent us, we are taking a stand for the underrepresented.
After Donation Day (the 2nd Tuesday of every month), we will direct our members to donate to the Vocal Minority Fund. The Vocal Minority Fund is a committee-advised fund administered in partnership with Silicon Valley Community Foundation.
A commitee-advised fund helps us organize all of our donations. Any donation to the fund qualifies for an immediate tax-deduction, and allows us to bundle the donations into monthly grants.
– Contributions are tax-deductible
– Contributions can be made by Paypal, phone or even check
– Establishment of the fund has no overhead for donors
– The fund allows us to make the grant in one lump sum; our singular giftdemonstrates the focus and power of our voice
Yes. Through your employer’s online giving portal, make a donation to Social Good Fund, with "Grapevine DAF: Vocal Minority" in the memo.
Membership is month-to-month. You can leave at any time.
– Civil Liberties
– Disability Rights
– Economic Justice
– Gay Rights
– Immigrant Rights
– Media Ethics
– Prison Reform
– Racial Justice
– Veterans’ Rights
– Women’s Rights
Yes. Donations to committee-advised funds are tax-deductible. Grapevine uses the billing information you enter through PayPal to mail you the necessary tax documents.
Yes. However, we ask that you list your donation in honor of “Vocal Minority”, so that our community’s total impact can be tracked.
Contact [email protected] for more information.
Vocal Minority was started by Anne Diaz, Chris Chan, Jake Przespo, Jeff Shiau, Kevin Ball, Noah Silas and Taylor McLemore. As friends with experience in community organizing and nonprofit fundraising—as well as a deep-seated belief in the need for equity and justice in our society—we were moved by the results of the 2016 election to find a simple but impactful way for people to come together.