Building the Movement for Social Justice: Grants at Work

At Grassroots International we believe that building a movement for social justice involves several ingredients: financial resources and globally connected advocacy, education and communication capacities. As we continue to broaden and deepen our work on Resource Rights, we are directing our funds to strategic organizations in the movement for democratizing land, water and food rights. This spring we increased our support of North American movement-based organizations that organize around local resource issues and link to global movements.

We have supported an exciting line-up:

1. The Creation of the North American Secretariat for the Via Campesina, which will support the first North American office for the world’s leading social movement for family farmers, small producers, community fishers, landless and agricultural workers;
2. The Food Sovereignty Campaign for the National Family Farm Coalition, the leading U.S. family farmer organization seeking agricultural policy change for the betterment of family farmers around the world;
3. Building Capacity of Rural Advocates for Social and Economic Justice, a project of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives that will enhance minority farmer involvement in agricultural policy and market development; and
4. Rural Civic Participation Project, an organizing effort of the Missouri Rural Crisis Center to engage rural communities in support of family farms, rural citizens and democratic control of land, agricultural technology and public health.

These grants are exciting because they fuel much needed movement building work in North America. Our own education and advocacy work is connected to these efforts. We will utilize our relationship to our international partners to inform the North American movements for land, water and food rights. Together, we can share our stories, exchange ideas and create sustainable, dignified rural communities around the world.