Blue Heart Action is a left-of-center grantmaking organization that solicits small-dollar donations and reimburses them to local groups in the San Francisco, California, and Seattle, Washington, metropolitan areas. ¹

It is a fiscally sponsored project of Social Good Fund, a left-of-center incubator of numerous activist groups. ²

Background

Blue Heart Action is focused on changing the culture of the places in which it operates through political education efforts, art philanthropy, and community centers to “catalyze political and economic change.” ³

Blue Heart Action affirms, “Y(our) money is not y(our) own. Those with financial privilege are responsible for proactively redistributing wealth and resources that have been consistently and unjustly extracted from working class communities and communities of color.” ⁴

Activities

Blue Heart Action allows supporters to become members of its funding community and in turn provide funds to social activist organizations. ⁵

Blue Heart Action has two chapters, one in the San Francisco Bay Area and the other in Seattle’s Salish Sea region, both of which fund local organizations in their respective areas. The Bay Area location funds groups that specialize in equity and housing for low-income populations. It aims to fund groups that are overlooked by Silicon Valley philanthropists, such as anti-gentrification groups and wealth-redistribution groups. The Salish Sea chapter aims to collect contributions from Seattle-based technology companies and local activist groups. ⁶

Both chapters aim to bring attention to low-profile and underexposed activist groups that work in left-wing social policy and environmentalism. In exchange for sending donations to Blue Heart Action, the group promises its donors “a behind-the-scene[s] interview” with each group to which one contributes, deliveries of educational resources, activist participation opportunities, and an annual strategic giving guide. ⁷

Blue Heart Action claims to fund about 12 groups per year. ⁸

Funding

Blue Heart Action is sponsored by Social Good Fund, a left-of-center nonprofit organization and donor-advised fund provider that fiscal sponsors numerous activist organizations. ⁹

To become a member of Blue Heart Action community, the organization asks supporters to pledge $25, $50, $150, or an amount of their choice. It promises donors that their contributions will “fund local grassroots movement-building organizations” in one of its two chapters. ¹⁰

Leadership

Lindley Mease is a co-founder or and works as an advisor to Blue Heart Action. She states in her bio that she is dedicated to “building solidarity” and advancing “just and regenerative solutions to climate change.” Mease is also the director of the Climate Leaders In Movement Action Fund (CLIMA) Fund. She teaches at Stanford University’s Design School and is a member of LeftRoots, a national organization of left-wing activists. ¹¹

Theo Gibbs is the second co-founder of Blue Heart Action and leads the organization’s internet presence and operations. ¹²

1. “BECOME A MEMBER.” Blue Heart Action. Accessed March 23, 2024. https://www.blueheartaction.org/.
2. “Current Projects.” Social Good Fund. Accessed March 23, 2024. https://www.socialgoodfund.org/fiscal-sponsorship/current-projects/.
3.  “About Us.” Blue Heart Action. Accessed March 23, 2024. https://www.blueheartaction.org/our-story.
4. “About Us.” Blue Heart Action. Accessed March 23, 2024. https://www.blueheartaction.org/our-story.
5. “Home.” Blue Heart Action. Accessed March 23, 2024. https://www.blueheartaction.org/.
6. “BECOME A MEMBER.” Blue Heart Action. Accessed March 23, 2024. https://www.blueheartaction.org/.
7. “BECOME A MEMBER.” Blue Heart Action. Accessed March 23, 2024. https://www.blueheartaction.org/.
8. “Creators Fund.” Blue Heart Action. Accessed March 23, 2024. https://www.blueheartaction.org/creators-fund.
9. “Current Projects.” Social Good Fund. Accessed March 23, 2024. https://www.socialgoodfund.org/fiscal-sponsorship/current-projects/.
10. “BECOME A MEMBER.” Blue Heart Action. Accessed March 23, 2024. https://www.blueheartaction.org/.
11. “About Us.” Blue Heart Action. Accessed March 23, 2024. https://www.blueheartaction.org/our-story.
12. “About Us.” Blue Heart Action. Accessed March 23, 2024. https://www.blueheartaction.org/our-story.