Witness Grants

The Witness Fund Committee has been charged by the Quarterly Meeting to oversee the disbursal of funds for projects that serve to bear witness to Quaker Testimonies. We will make two dispersals of funds during the year. To that end we are seeking requests for funding from members of the Quarter for just such projects. We anticipate receiving requests for multiple projects so might not be able to fund all of the requests to the full amount requested.  

The Quarter has also recently changed our committee’s mandate so that we no longer limit the number of years people and groups can request funds for the same project, thus increasing the amount of money that we are being asked for over time. We are expecting but not requiring the projects to be with 501 c 3 organizations or under the aegis of such an organization.    

Proposals for project funds need to include: 

1. A description of the project to be funded, which includes the timing of the project;
2. The project budget (and where the Quarter’s grant fits in if appropriate);
3. Finally, an annual update on the project which must include a financial report. 

NEXT DEADLINE: To Be Determined. Historically, deadlines for proposals have been at the end of February and September.

Send proposals to nyqm-witness-fund@nycquakers.org.

Thank you Friends for all the wonderful work you are doing. We look forward to hearing from you. 

Sincerely, 

Ed Elder- Morningside Meeting 
Jonathan Fluck - Brooklyn Meeting 
Margery Cornwell - 15th Street Meeting 
Beverly Archibald  - Manhattan Meeting 

Grants distributed in April, 2025

These are the groups we were able to fund (mostly partially) again this year:

NYQM African Education Committee to help with the support of more Kisangura students going on for further vocational or academic education.  This is the third year of making a grant to this committee. The amount was $11000.

Davanga Friends School, Kenya: “Since its inception in 2009, Davanga Friends School has stood as a testament to the collective effort and generosity of our Quaker community.  Currently, with six classrooms, a teacher's common room, essential water infrastructure, and an administrative office, Davanga Friends School serves over 300 students ranging from Pre-K to 9th grade.  We are seeking to add a new classroom to alleviate the strain on existing resources.”  This is the second year of funding this project.  The amount was $11000

Juri See “is a newly formed data driven watchdog organization, with a mission to uncover judicial corruption in civil court proceedings, using data at scale to drive grassroots investigative journalism and to empower victims in their fight to protect fundamental rights.  This is the second year of funding this project.  The funding amount was $10000.

These are the new programs we were able to fund (mostly partially):

Food for the Immigrants Rights meetings: this is a project managed by Carl Blumenthal of Brooklyn Meeting to provide meal support to the immigrants’ rights advocates who meet weekly to discuss ways to protect immigrants rights. The plan is to provide meals twice a month for this weekly group. The funding amount for the year is $500.

New Sanctuary Coalition: This grant is primarily to invest in rebuilding the initiative.  Some of the things the NSC will focus its efforts on are reestablishing community contacts and a network of volunteers around the work of the NSC. The funds will be used as well to invest in updating and maintaining the NSC website and social media presence. The NSC will have legal training for all volunteers, ensuring they can provide legal support through the reestablished clinic among other things. The NSC does not provide legal advice. The contact people are Lucy Buckman and Lena Parker.  The funding amount is $10000

Brooklyn Soup Kitchen: The Peace and Social Action Committee of Brooklyn Monthly Meeting has noted a leading among the membership to better utilize their facilities in providing direct aid to local folks in need. Committee members are organizing a volunteer-run warming center/soup kitchen which plans to serve simple meals out of the community room. The long-run goal is to operate a rolling lunch and dinner service all week long, with a rotating kitchen staff of 2-3 volunteers.  The funding amount is $10000.

Quaker Solidarity Walk: A solidarity walk from Flushing, Queens to Washington, DC to express the support of the Quaker community for individuals and communities that have been unfairly and unconstitutionally targeted by the new administration. The starting point was chosen to draw attention to the 1657 Flushing Remonstrance, a plea from European settlers of Flushing, Queens to Peter Stuyvesant saying that their Quaker neighbors did not deserve the persecution they were subject to under his administration. The project is being led by a group of regular attenders (and some in the membership process) at Brooklyn Meeting.  The funding amount is $5000.