Letter from co-EDs & Board President
This has been a year when the idea that peace can be achieved through militarized state-sponsored violence has been unmasked.
From Palestine to Haiti, everywhere that violent conflict exists, it costs far too many lives and diverts far too many resources from life-affirming social projects. It leaves us with no apparent pathway to any lasting peace with justice.
Grassroots International has been leading efforts within the philanthropic community to expose the atrocities of violent and authoritarian governments and to amplify the courageous, transformative movement building we are honored to accompany in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, West Africa, and indeed in the United States. Through our praxis of movement-centered solidarity philanthropy, we have built community with philanthropic colleagues and gained support from hundreds of new donor partners. At the same time, we have seen an increase in right-wing efforts to attack and silence movements for global justice and those who stand with them, including measures that threaten the foundations of our work in solidarity philanthropy.
Grassroots International has always been in it for the long haul.
We build deep and lasting political relationships with our social movement partners that go beyond funding. But in moments of crisis, solidarity is truly put to the test.
Amid authoritarian attacks on democracy, assaults on ancestral territories and homes, live-streamed genocide, and more, our movement partners are responding with an unwavering responsibility and bold visions. We will continue to stand with them before, during, and after these crises — as we always have – with our eyes firmly fixed on the ultimate goal of liberation.
Since our founding, we have moved more than $70 million to social movements across the globe.
Grassroots International at 40
Longtime donor and former board member Tarso Ramos discusses Grassroots International’s growth over the years — holding fast to our principles even in hard times.
Solidarity
That Doesn't Waver
In 2023 and 2024, our accompaniment to social movements remained unwavering, and these deep relationships allowed us to respond quickly and effectively to the multiple intersecting crises our partners have faced.
There are no two better examples of this than Palestine and Haiti. The ongoing genocide in Gaza has murdered tens of thousands of people and shattered the lives of countless more. But even between the bombs, our partners continue to show the meaning of the word sumud (steadfastness).
Likewise, militarized gangs are terrorizing the streets of Port-au-Prince while the UN deploys troops to occupy Haiti. But our partners have been steadily advancing Haitian-led solutions to the country’s crises — grounded in the movement building we have accompanied for decades.
1.3 million
600,000+
Solidarity
with Palestine
From our beginning, the conditions faced by Palestinians – from expulsion off their ancestral territory through settler colonialism to their struggles for the right of return – sparked Grassroots International’s mission.
When we opened our doors in 1983 amid Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, we did so with a commitment to ensure a space in philanthropy for lasting partnerships centered on solidarity in the Middle East and beyond.
Support for Palestinian liberation has been a consistent thread running through our work ever since. Much of this work has been focused on struggles for territory – affirming the rights of Palestinians to live with self-determination and to sustain themselves through deeply rooted connections to their Indigenous land, water, seeds, knowledge systems, and foodways. This has in turn shaped our broader thinking and approach to accompaniment of struggles for territory elsewhere in the world.
Accompanying Palestinian movements has meant being consistent in our support and solidarity through the ongoing crisis inherent to settler colonialism, routine military aggression, and an apartheid system of rule. It has also meant stepping up during times of intensified crisis, the most extreme being the current genocide of Palestinians in Gaza by the Israeli government that began in October 2023, coupled with intensified land grabbing and assaults across the West Bank.
In the face of such atrocities, our strategy is multifold. A primary goal has been to get as many resources as possible into the hands of our partners on the ground. They are currently saving lives through distributions of food, water, and other essentials, provision of emergency medical relief, and documentation of human rights violations, which they are bringing before international courts. A main vehicle for this support has been our Palestine Emergency Fund, established in October of 2023, to which hundreds of donors have contributed.
Another strategy has been to add our voices to the groundswell of solidarity with Palestine across the US and internationally through education, organizing, advocacy, and protest. Among other action, Grassroots International staff, donor activists, and allies have joined in acts of civil disobedience to draw attention to the urgent need for a ceasefire and an end to the genocide, and US complicity in it.
A particular focus has been organizing from within the philanthropic sector to garner more support for Palestine. Building upon earlier organizing efforts, we collaborated with our peers to promote a Funders for Ceasefire letter in 2023, signed by more than 1000 philanthropic organizations and individuals, and still growing. We are now working with others from within philanthropy to build together from the demand for an end to genocide towards a collective call for the safety, dignity and freedom of the Palestinian people.
“There is an Arabic saying:
لا تستوحش الطريق ولو قل فيه السالكون
that translates to ‘Do not fear the path of justice for the lack of people walking on it.’ Grassroots International has not feared that path. They have stuck in there with us…finding ways to tackle the challenges and stand up ultimately to the Israeli occupation, to the injustices of what it is doing to people…”
Palestinian partner on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Grassroots International
Image source: (cc) Alexa B Wilkinson
Image source: Jake Ratner @jakehratner
Image source: Afaq Jadeeda
Solidarity
with Haiti
Haiti’s history is steeped in emancipatory struggle, a legacy that continues through its current social movements. Grassroots International’s Haiti program began in the early 1990s.
It was originally formed to support Haitian movements who were confronting the repression of the military regime installed through a US-backed coup. This coup was part of a long cycle of foreign interventions the country has faced since its hard-fought independence, from neocolonial trade policies to land grabs to military operations. Many of these interventions come via development agencies and the NGO industrial complex, packaged in the form of “aid” despite their deeply extractive nature. From resisting the eradication of Haiti’s creole pigs to preserving artisanal rice production as imported rice flooded local markets, some of our earliest work in Haiti involved supporting rural movements in resisting destructive forms of so-called aid.
In the years since, we have deepened our relationships with our Haitian partners in multiple areas of work, particularly around food sovereignty, ecological justice, and human rights defense. Throughout, we have consistently joined them in denouncing foreign intervention in whatever its form and lifting up Haitian solutions – rooted in the conviction that Haitians know what they need and that Haitian social movements are best positioned to realize these visions.
Today, Haiti is in the crosshairs of multiple intersecting crises, with skyrocketing rates of hunger, poverty, violence, and climate-related disasters. And it is once again on the receiving end of the types of outside interference that led the country into crisis to begin with. Most concerningly, spikes in violence and lawlessness have served as a pretext for occupation by foreign military forces, sent by Kenya, funded by the US, and facilitated by the United Nations. This is despite the devastating consequences of similar operations in the past, which weakened the Haitian state, leading it to its nearly nonexistent form today.
In response, we have redoubled our grantmaking commitment to our Haitian partners while amplifying their voices and analysis and joining them in social action. In March of 2024, we brought together representatives of our Haitian movement partners with members of our donor activist community for a virtual Solidarity Encounter on “Unveiling Haiti’s Security Quandary: Perspectives from Grassroots Movements on the Frontlines.” We then distilled some key learnings, analysis, and resources from our Haitian partners and allies into an online learning guide on “The Crisis in Haiti: Analysis and Solutions from the Ground,” which remains a living document available online. Most recently, we have joined together with our partners and allies in Haiti and around the world in a powerful letter addressed to the Biden administration and the UN Secretary General demanding an urgent reassessment of US and UN involvement in Haiti’s crisis.
“What interests us most in our partnership with Grassroots International is that they are aiming for social transformation to fight against all kinds of domination and exploitation. Through our partnership with Grassroots, they unite and connect us with their other movement partners. We exchange, we share our experiences, and we feel as if we’re part of a family.”
Juslene Tyresias
Mouvman Peyizan Papay/Peasant Movement of Papaye (MPP)
Image source: La Via Campesina
2023 & 2024
Highlights
This timeline highlights key events showing how Grassroots International stepped up, from responding to crises to building lasting partnerships. It’s all about supporting communities and standing up for justice.
Donor and Funder Organizing
“I’m grateful for the community Grassroots International has built because we’ve, in turn, learned about so many other incredible groups. Their work with Grassroots Global Justice Alliance and the International Feminist Organizing School has been tremendously impactful for me as an individual.”
Hilary Grumman
Funder
“It’s not just ‘I gave money, and now the work is done.’ I know Grassroots International will come back to me, call on me to take action, to keep me accountable to be in solidarity with frontline communities well beyond just the small donation I can give every year.”
Gopal Dayaneni
Long-Time Donor and Supporter
Ongoing
Engagement
Over 2023-24 we engaged a growing base of donors and funders through Solidarity Encounters, funder briefings, delegations, and our first Solidarity Philanthropy Praxis Retreat. Joining these global philanthropic efforts based on solidarity inspires and connects our community with the solutions we are so invested in.
Special
Initiatives
Grassroots International has certain special initiatives that have developed in recent years: spaces so donors can continue organizing their family members and friends around the topics they care about, and collaborations with other philanthropic organizations to shift and influence the sector.
