2014 Small Grant Press Release
/Press Release
Date: April 23, 2014
Contacts: Beehive Collective: Liz Hester, 919-673-2828, hester.liz@gmail.com
Youth Organizing Institute: Bryan Perlmutter, 704-770-6418, bryan@empoweryouthnc.org
The Beehive Collective, local giving circle, awards $2,000 grant to Youth Organizing Institute to support their Freedom School.
The Beehive Collective, a giving circle that awards grants to nonprofits working toward making Raleigh a better place, selected Youth Organizing Institute (YOI) to receive a $2,000 grant to sponsor a Raleigh-based young leader’s participation in this summer’s fifth Youth Organizing Institute Freedom School. This year, the Freedom School honors the 50th Anniversary of the Summer of Freedom and its critical role in civil rights organizing.
YOI is a leadership development program centered on empowering the lives and experiences of young people through peer education, leadership cultivation and organizer trainings. Locally, YOI trainings and leaders have been successful organizing around ending racism and the re-segregation of schools, the school-to-prison pipeline and making schools safe for LBGTQ youth.
“The Youth Organizing Institute provides seasonal trainings to develop the political analysis and organizing skills of youth in the Triangle area around the issues they are passionate about, as well as providing support and adult allies to youth organizing efforts throughout the year,” said Qasima Wideman, NC HEAT Youth Organizer.
The Beehive Collective’s annual small grant cycle is intended for Raleigh nonprofit programs that support Women’s Empowerment as defined by the United Nations: (1) women’s sense of self-worth; (2) their right to have and determine choices; (3) their right to have access to opportunities and resources; (4) their right to control their own lives, both within and outside the home; (5) and their ability to influence the direction of social change to create a more just social and economic order.
YOI’s work with area youth provides skills to directly address all of the components of Women’s Empowerment through youth organizing. YOI has a track record of graduating strong young women that take direct leadership roles organizing in our community.
The two-fold mission of the Beehive Collective is to put philanthropy within everyone’s reach and inspire women leaders in the community. To raise money for grants, the organization’s 45-person membership donates half of one percent of their income yearly. Additionally, the Beehive Collective hosts fundraising events throughout the year and is supported by hundreds of participating community members. Since 2008, the Beehive Collective has given away more than $125,000 to local nonprofits.
For questions, please contact Liz Hester, hester.liz@gmail.com.
For more information on either organization, visit their websites: