This spring, Mishkan welcomed a $25,000 COVID-19 Response Grant which allowed us to distribute funds to those in and beyond our community. In an effort to diversify our impact, we offered support to individuals, hospitals, healthcare workers, and vulnerable communities around Chicago — which you can read about here!
But, you may remember that we also received a generous, anonymous donation to activate a community-led Mishkan COVID Response Giving Circle. The idea was establish a cohort of individuals who would grow the initial donation of $5,000, and then collectively decide how best to distribute the funds.
We are so pleased to announce that within a month, this dedicated group of Mishkanites raised $5,800! Here’s what they did with the total $10,800 —
$3,600 — IMAN (Inner-City Muslim Action Network)
The Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN) is a community organization that fosters health, wellness and healing in the inner-city by organizing for social change during this time of coronavirus, cultivating the arts and operating a holistic health center.
$3,600 — Brave Space Alliance
BSA is the first Black-led, trans-led LGBTQ Center located on the South Side of Chicago, dedicated to creating and providing affirming, culturally competent, for-us by-us resources, programming, and services for LGBTQ individuals on the South and West sides of the city. In response to Covid-19, Brave Space Alliance is organizing emergency food pantries, an emergency cash assistance fund, and other critical responses to protect non-binary, transgender, and intersex individuals on the South and West sides of Chicago.
$3,600 — Be Alright
Be Alright is a resource for survivors of domestic violence that also helps to convert Chicago-area domestic violence shelters into havens of healing. While sheltering at home is the best way to contain COVID-19, the sad and stark outcome of the sheltering in-place orders is that many communities are experiencing a rise in DV cases of up to 30%. These funds will be used to offset operating costs as Be Alright works to address sadly rising DV rates in Chicago.
We are so grateful for the anonymous gift that inspired this community-led effort, and the work of those in the Mishkan COVID Response Giving Circle!