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All the things that truly matter: love, kindness, creativity, beauty, joy.
We are pleased to announce our 2018 Grant Recipients!
Most of the 2017 Kelly Ann Brown Foundation grants focused on supporting nonprofits that were hell-bent on resisting the Trump agenda of white, heterosexual, male supremacy. 2018 KABF grants have the same focus. Trump did not win the popular vote, and he won the electoral college in many key states by slim margins. Tragically, The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was gutted in 2013 by the U.S. Supreme Court, which has made it easier for racist administrators and Republican government officials to stop many from voting. In response KABF has given gladly and generously to get-out-the-vote efforts of incredibly determined and powerful nonprofits that are working overtime to empower progressives and resist Trump. Kelly was a great political strategist. We have no doubt that she would want us to empower the communities that Trump’s agenda is working hard to weaken and marginalize.
Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley
(Formerly the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society)

“Somewhere inside of all of us is the power to change the world.” --Roald Dahl
In 2018, the Kelly Ann Brown Foundation board focused on supporting efforts to Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV). The Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley works to expand the electorate by strengthening outreach to underrepresented voter groups. The Institute is a multidisciplinary research center that connects established and emerging academic researchers, community organizers, communications specialists, and policymakers to find and eradicate barriers in order to build a more inclusive, just and sustainable society.
Read more about the Othering & Belonging Institute here.
In 2018, the Kelly Ann Brown Foundation board focused on supporting efforts to Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV). The Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley works to expand the electorate by strengthening outreach to underrepresented voter groups. The Institute is a multidisciplinary research center that connects established and emerging academic researchers, community organizers, communications specialists, and policymakers to find and eradicate barriers in order to build a more inclusive, just and sustainable society.
Read more about the Othering & Belonging Institute here.
Texas Organizing Project (Education Fund)

“A man without a vote is a man without protection.” --Lyndon B. Johnson
Texas Organizing Project (TOP) works to organize Black and Latino communities in Dallas, Harris and Bexar counties to transform Texas into a state where working people of color have power and equal representation. They are a membership-based organization that provides training, leadership development, and public education, as well as putting community organizers on the ground in working communities throughout Texas. TOP works to create effective ways to ensure that low income and minority communities are heard and have the power to advance the issues that affect them. By linking these issues to the importance of voting, they have built an infrastructure of grassroots community leaders and organizers who are able to increase voter participation and win tangible results.
Click here to learn more about this organization and why KABF
chose them as a 2018 Grant Recipient!
Indivisible Civics
The arc of the moral universe is long. But in order for justice to prevail, it is up to us to bend it.We do that by telling our stories. By amplifying the stories of the voiceless. By voting. And by making sure we never go back to the old days. --Tyrone Beason

The nonprofit Indivisible Civics began as a 23-page google document written by former progressive congressional staffers after the November 2016 presidential election. Entitled "Indivisible: A Practical Guide for Resisting the Trump Agenda," their document found ideas and inspiration in—of all places—the Tea Party. These angry right wing Republicans were successful in defeating many of Obama’s policies. Indivisible Civics was determined to use a similar strategy, this time to work for good. Where the Tea Party members’ ideas were “wrong, cruel, and tinged with racism,” Indivisible Civics is building a resistance “built on the values of inclusion, tolerance, and fairness.”
The guide went viral. It has been downloaded millions of times. Indivisible Civics is now a booming nonprofit with forty full-time staffers and thousands of volunteers in states throughout the U.S.They intend to bring back grassroots power to all levels of government by educating and mobilizing underserved populations. When they sent a rallying cry last April for donations for their get-out-the-vote-campaigns, KABF was more than happy to help. Thanks to Indivisible Civics, tens of thousands of new voters have been registered.
Click here for more info about this vital organization.
The guide went viral. It has been downloaded millions of times. Indivisible Civics is now a booming nonprofit with forty full-time staffers and thousands of volunteers in states throughout the U.S.They intend to bring back grassroots power to all levels of government by educating and mobilizing underserved populations. When they sent a rallying cry last April for donations for their get-out-the-vote-campaigns, KABF was more than happy to help. Thanks to Indivisible Civics, tens of thousands of new voters have been registered.
Click here for more info about this vital organization.
New Florida Majority

"It always seems impossible until it is done.” -- Nelson Mandela
The KABF board focused on helping several key states in 2018 with the hopes of bolstering their Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) efforts. Florida was one of them.
The New Florida Majority-Education Fund is the 501(c)(3) branch of The New Florida Majority, a fierce nonprofit with a mission statement that pulls no punches: "NewFM is building political power of marginalized constituencies in Florida,for an inclusive, equitable, and just democracy for all. NewFM trains grassroots citizens to be leaders, mobilize communities to vote, educate the public to share our values, and inspire Floridians to take action toward their dreams. We organize people, ideas, and resources to build a powerful new vision for Florida’s new majority."
2018 was a banner year for NewFM. Their outreach brought in much-needed awareness to the work they had been doing, and their vision and future goals for Florida. Their hard work paid off in November’s election with the passing of Amendment 4, which restored the vote to over a million Florida residents that had previously been denied that right as convicted felons.
Read more about New Florida Majority.
The KABF board focused on helping several key states in 2018 with the hopes of bolstering their Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) efforts. Florida was one of them.
The New Florida Majority-Education Fund is the 501(c)(3) branch of The New Florida Majority, a fierce nonprofit with a mission statement that pulls no punches: "NewFM is building political power of marginalized constituencies in Florida,for an inclusive, equitable, and just democracy for all. NewFM trains grassroots citizens to be leaders, mobilize communities to vote, educate the public to share our values, and inspire Floridians to take action toward their dreams. We organize people, ideas, and resources to build a powerful new vision for Florida’s new majority."
2018 was a banner year for NewFM. Their outreach brought in much-needed awareness to the work they had been doing, and their vision and future goals for Florida. Their hard work paid off in November’s election with the passing of Amendment 4, which restored the vote to over a million Florida residents that had previously been denied that right as convicted felons.
Read more about New Florida Majority.
The New Georgia Project
“The ballot is stronger than the bullet.” --Abraham Lincoln
A major focal point in 2018 for the Kelly Ann Brown Foundation centered on efforts to Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) through the gift of four grants. One grant went to Indivisible Civics—a nonprofit that works nationally on the issue of enfranchisement. Three others focused on assisting specific states: Florida, Texas and Georgia.
We were thrilled to learn of a vibrant nonprofit in Georgia, The New Georgia Project (NGP), a nonprofit 501(c)(3), located in Atlanta, Georgia. The NGP is committed to civic and political engagement for young people, people of color, and underrepresented communities through focused and effective voter education and voter registration drives. Click here to read the full write-up. |
The Louisiana-Mississippi Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (LMHPCO)
“One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth the doing is what we do for others.” -- Lewis Carroll

KABF Director David Brown Steward (April 10, 1969–June 8, 2018) introduced the KABF board to the heartfelt work of prison hospice in 2014. David was always looking to help those that society often overlooks or even shuns. When David heard about prison hospice he contacted executive director Jamey Boudreaux of the Louisiana-Mississippi Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (LMHPCO).
David and his wife Maria Porter Steward soon visited the program at Angola prison. Both were impressed with the loving kindness and compassionate care the dying inmates received from their fellow hospice-trained inmates.
Read more about LMHPCO here.
Vashon Wilderness Program
“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” -- Albert Einstein
KABF gave a 2018 grant to VWP in memory of our beloved board member Steven Eugene Paschall. Executive Director Stacey Hinden told us that VWP plans to use our grant to support two exciting new programs: the Adoptive Families Nature Program and the After School Nature Program. Read more about Vashon Wilderness Program and why the Kelly Ann Brown Foundation continues to support their wonderful work. |
The Nuns, The Priests, and The Bombs
“A film of fundamental courage—a jolt to one’s conscience and a call to practical civic action, for both the planet and posterity.” --Ralph Nader’s response to the movie The Nuns, The Priests, and The Bombs
Helen Young’s film, The Nuns, The Priests, and The Bombs, highlights the work of KABF’s beloved friend, the late Father William “Bix” Bichsel, and confirms the need to eliminate nuclear weapons. Helen told KABF: “Since the film was premiered at the United Nations last year, it has screened at high schools, universities, churches and community centers from Maine to California. Former U.S. Presidential candidate Ralph Nader invited us to show the film twice—first at the Carnegie Institution in D.C. and then at the Rowe Center in Massachusetts. Ralph Nader invited me onto his radio show to discuss the film.” Read more about this moving film. |
UMO Ensemble: Unidentified Moving Objects
“All that is important is this one moment in movement. Make the moment important, vital, and worth living.” -- Martha Graham
UMO Ensemble is a performance art company based on Vashon Island in the Pacific Northwest. Kelly was an art history major. Supporting the arts is a beautiful way for us to fulfill the mission of KABF and continue our vision of believing in “all the things that truly matter,” including beauty, creativity and joy. Read more about UMO here. UMO photos by Andy Dunnicliff. |