Solidaire Network Five-Year Retrospective 2018 - 2022
INFRASTRUCTURE TO LIBERATE WEALTH
Since 2018 Solidaire has set its sights on creating the infrastructure to liberate wealth for intersectional social movements and to build lasting progressive power. Our network has moved critical resources to those at the frontlines of emerging and historical movements for racial, gender, and climate justice. We have intentionally built teams that have the experience and analysis necessary to support our donor members as they strive to transform themselves and the consolidation of power through engaging in bold wealth distribution.
Through cultivating meaningful relationships, equitable collaborations with those fighting on the frontlines, and innovating our grantmaking practices, we have become a trusted and supportive partner to grassroots formations. Solidaire aims to organize with our allies and push the sector toward a model of philanthropy that goes beyond charity toward resourcing social movements resources at the scale necessary to transform society and build a multiracial democracy. Solidaire is working with an urgency that matches that of our movement partners to lay the foundation for a new vision of a future rooted in inclusion, equity, and justice.
OUR MEMBERS
The Solidaire membership is the heartbeat of Solidaire. Building a loving, bold, and rigorous community is foundational to who we have become. Solidaire members are the lifeline that allows us to be in right relationship with each other, our communities, and the social movements we are a part of. Through excellent staff and member-led work and programming, Solidaire membership has increased in size as well as in our opportunities for connection within our unwavering commitment to radical giving and intersectional social movements.
CURRENT
Membership Snapshot
Member Growth
Click or touch the tabs on the left to see the membership totals for that fiscal year:
FY 2018
Total Members: 108
Number of States: 18
Individual Members: 82 (76%)
Institutional Members: 26 (24%)
*Membership data from fiscal years 2018 - 2020 are based on estimates
FY 2019
Total Members: 122
Number of States: 19
Individual Members: 96 (79%)
Institutional Members: 26 (21%)
*Membership data from fiscal years 2018 - 2020 are based on estimates
FY 2020
Total Members: 142 
Number of States: 22
Individual Members: 111 (78%)
Institutional Members: 31 (29%)
*Membership data from fiscal years 2018 - 2020 are based on estimates
FY 2021
Total Members: 222 
Number of States: 25
Individual Members: 166 (75%)
Institutional Members: 56 (25%)
*The uprisings after the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor drew many new members inspired by Solidaire’s track record funding Black-led organizing. We responded to the moment by launching the Black Liberation Pooled Fund and making a call for other funders to follow suit
FY 2022
Total Members: 304
Number of States: 31
Individual Members: 202 (66%)
Institutional Members: 102 (34%)
*Our growth in institutional members brings diversity to our network, including class, race, and age. Institutional members also afford Solidaire a unique opportunity to impact foundations and the philanthropic sector.
Program Highlights
Hover or tap on each illustration:
Black Liberation Is for Everybody Series
The Black Liberation Is for Everybody series is a four-part series and a component of Solidaire’s commitment to support Black-led movements and to deepen our members’ engagement in the struggle for Black liberation.
Member-Led Solidarity Circles
Solidarity Circles are member-driven spaces where members educate and organize each other toward taking action. Solidarity circles address varying topics, questions, or aspects of our members’ lives that matter to us and how we show up in solidarity with social justice movements.
Defund the Police for Funders
Defund the Police for Funders was created by the Decarceration Working Group to help donors and foundations understand the call to action, learn how to talk about it within philanthropy, and how to avoid common mistakes among funders.
Power Concedes Nothing Series
This three-session study group is based on the book Power Concedes Nothing: How Grassroots Organizing Wins Elections and is led by the book's editors Linda Burnham, Max Elbaum, and María Poblet.
Solidarity Circle for Exective Directors
This ten-part series supports members in leadership roles to thrive in their philanthropic transformation work. Vini Bhansali and Akaya Windwood lead based on their book Leading with Joy – Practices for Uncertain Times.
Changing Paradigm Series
The 2022 Changing Paradigms Series features three learning sessions to support network members in designing and implementing new paradigms to drive change within and beyond their philanthropic institutions.
OUR MOVEMENT PARTNERS
We believe in the power of social movements to transform our society toward racial, gender, and climate justice. We believe in the power of Black and Indigenous leadership and the efficacy of frontline communities to solve the biggest problems of our time. Solidaire is purposeful in building relationships with our movement partner grantees that inform our grantmaking practices, identify trends, and expand our support of movement ecosystems for the long term.
FISCAL YEAR 2022
Movement Partners Snapshot
0
movement partners0%
are multi-year partnerships0%
Black-led organizations in overall grantmaking0%
Indigenous-led organizations in the Movement Infrastructure Fund$0K
average grant to general operating budgets$0M
moved to the frontlines of social changeCURRENT
Grant vehicles
BLACK LIBERATION POOLED FUND
invests in a robust ecosystem of Black-led social change organizations.
JANISHA R. GABRIEL MOVEMENT PROTECTION FUND
protects our movements and leaders through funding urgent security needs.
MOVEMENT INFRASTRUCTURE FUND
provides long-term scaffolding for organizations at the frontlines of justice movements.
RAVI KHANNA SOCIAL JUSTICE FUNDS PARTNERSHIPS
advances the impact of social justice funds targeting communities they best serve.
Key Lessons in Grantmaking
Hover or tap on each highlight to learn more:
MOVEMENT DIRECTED
SUSTAINING SUPPORT
REDUCING BARRIERS
ACCOMPANY MOVEMENT
FOSTERING INNOVATION
Movement Partner Highlights
In 2020, Equality Labs received Movement Protection Fund funding to scale their systems to support more movement leaders in trauma-informed physical and digital security
RESPONSIVE TO THE MOMENT:
The Janisha R. Gabriel Movement Protection Fund
The demand for racial justice in the summer of 2020 saw a dangerous and targeted backlash in right-wing violence and digital harassment of those who work for peace and justice. Solidaire responded by launching the Janisha R. Gabriel Movement Protection Fund. We moved $3,209,200 to the urgent needs of movement leaders facing threats of violence, state surveillance, and online harassment campaigns. Through this new vehicle, funds were distributed for physical, digital, and legal security to 86 applicants, who typically received funds within a week. We responded to the moment through swift innovation and have now folded this funding into our Movement Infrastructure Fund.
FOLLOWING THE CALL OF MOVEMENT PARTNERS:
Southern Power Fund
When our movement partners at Highlander Center, Southerners on New Ground, Project South, and Alternate Roots told us that funding the South was urgent, our members leaped into action by providing seed funding for the Southern Power Fund in 2020. Organizing in the South is drastically underfunded despite being the frontline of the struggle for climate justice and against harmful political policies impacting the nation. The foresight and trust of our members helped Southern Power Fund to be ready to move critical resources to abortion providers and reproductive justice advocacy after the SCOTUS ruling on Roe v. Wade. In addition, it moved immediately to support mutual aid efforts after the flooding in Central Appalachia in the summer of 2022.
Southern Power Fund movement partner The Ordinary People Society (TOPS)
FUNDING MOVEMENT INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA
Too often, philanthropy creates a climate of competition instead of collaboration. Our grantmaking team connects directly with movement partners to discover what they and movements need to thrive. For example, through our Black Liberation Pooled Fund, we partner with Action St. Louis, which builds power for Black communities through housing justice, electoral justice and anti-carceral organizing. Action St. Louis collaborates with our Movement Infrastructure Fund partner, ArchCity Defenders, a holistic legal advocacy organization working for the rights of communities of color. Together the organizations run a monthly renter’s meeting, collaborate on Close the Workhouse, and even co-host a podcast, Under the Arch.
OUR CULTURE
We strive to cultivate a sustainable, joyful work culture while centering our commitment to movements. We work to create and promote a workplace where diverse individuals can thrive while advancing Solidaire’s collective goals. Our staff members are a cross-class, multiracial, multicultural group of people rooted in movement work. Since 2018 we have greatly expanded our Finance, Operations & Culture department.
We pivoted from primarily rapid response giving to long-term multi-year general operating support through our pooled funds and became an independent 501(c)(3) entity in 2020. This allowed us to bring on Movement Partnerships and Grantmaking Practitioners to build deeper relationships with our grantee partners. Solidaire runs lean, with supporting services representing 11% of our budget over the last two years. 89% of our budget goes into the frontlines as direct grants.
2018 - 2022
Our Team's Growth
Key Lessons in Our Culture
Hover or tap on each highlight to learn more:
SUSTAINABLE WORK CULTURE
INTENTIONAL GROWTH
COLLECTIVE CARE
Highlights of Solidaire Culture
The New Rules of Old Money
October 17, 2021 | Harper's Bazaar
by Nancy Jo Sales
Philanthropy used to be all about black-tie galas and dedicated wings. But the scions of some of America’s richest families are now partnering with progressive organizations to democratize generational wealth and put their money where the movement is.
"It’s Not Just About Moving Money." How Solidaire Is Challenging Wealth, Power and Privilege
October 26, 2022 | Inside Philanthropy
by Dawn Wolfe
Solidaire is a philanthropy-serving organization whose ultimate goal is to upend conventional philanthropy. Additionally, the organization believes that the systems that have allowed the concentration of power and wealth “must be fundamentally reimagined” to fulfill the group’s vision for social and racial justice.
FINANCE & INVESTMENTS
Finance and Investments
Finance and Investments Highlights
Integrated Capital
Integrated Capital
Integrated capital gives communities the means necessary to invest in land, infrastructure, and large-scale projects. It is a key component of restorative economics. Solidaire established a reserve fund for our organizational costs and multi-year grantmaking commitments. We initiated this cutting-edge approach to investing our reserve, as outlined in 2020 by our first Investment Policy Statement. Our first investment was in 285 Turk Street in San Francisco. With a combination of $900,000 in grants and loans crowdsourced by our members, plus a $500,000 low-interest loan from Solidaire, as an organization, the San Francisco Land Trust was able to acquire the $9.25 Million building, which turned 40 speculative market-rate units into permanent affordable housing. Our second investment was in Potlikker Capital, a community governed charitable loan fund created to serve BIPOC farmers in the South. Solidaire recently invested $250,000 in Potlikker’s 3-year Justice note to support Potlikker’s mission to increase equitable access to healthy food, build wealth and knowledge within local farming communities, and address climate change through regenerative farming practices.
Photo Caption: Jubilee Justice is an organization supported by Potlikker Capital.
Attracting Large Gifts
Attracting Large Gifts
In August of 2020, shortly after Solidaire launched as an independent c(3), we received a $20 million grant from the Packard Foundation, disbursed over two years, exponentially expanding the reach of our pooled funds. Then, in June 2021, Solidaire received a $10 million unrestricted grant from MacKenzie Scott. These significant windfalls allowed us to establish a reserve and launch our integrated capital strategy. While Solidaire’s mission is to organize members for transformative giving, we recognize these dollars' massive impact on movements. Moreover, they validate our approach and capacity to impact the philanthropic sector. Our years-long solidarity grantmaking approach was key to demonstrating to these large funders our added value to movements and deep partnerships with organizations on the frontlines.
Photo Caption: Question Culture is a media company run by currently and formerly incarcerated people to bring Black abolitionist feminism into pop culture.