The Janisha R. Gabriel Movement Protection Fund is a project of the Solidaire Network dedicated to providing financial support to left-of-center activists primarily associated with Black Lives Matter and other racial activist groups to defend against alleged targeting and violence from right-of-center organizations.
The Fund’s namesake, Janisha Gabriel, was an artist and left-of-center activist who founded Haki Creatives, worked for the Human Rights Campaign, and did work with the Solidaire Network before she died in 2018. 1 2
As of July 2024, the Fund has spent $4.5 million. 3
History
The Solidaire Network is a left-of-center donor group for advancing race and gender-based causes. The Network’s donations are given through numerous sub-funds, including the Southern Power Fund and the Black Liberation Pooled Fund. 4
The Janisha R. Gabriel Movement Protection Fund was established by the Solidaire Network in September 2020 in response to alleged abuses of activists by far-right protestors, including one Solidaire employee who experienced an “active shooter threat.” According to Solidaire, Black Lives Matter protesters were “targets of increased state repression” during the protests in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd. A posting for the Fund states that it was formed to combat “increased threats resulting from white supremacist violence.” 5 6 3 An article written by a Solidaire employee refers to protections from “white supremacists, militias and right-wing organizations.” 7
The Fund was established with $1 million to support the “immediate needs” of Solidaire’s Black Liberation Pooled Fund devoted to supporting far-left racial justice organizations. 5 The formation of the Fund was led by “Black, Indigenous, women and trans leaders.” 3
The Janisha R. Gabriel Movement Protection Fund gives to organizations that follow a set of criteria, including the use of funds to protect against “threats and acts of violence and intimidation” and the utilization of funds within one to three months. 5
In the first two weeks of operation, the Fund donated more than $900,000. 8
By December 2020, the Fund had given $2.2 million to 44 organizations, 19 of whom had never received funding from Solidaire before. The grants ranged in size from $2,000 to $150,000, with an average of $53,000. The most common issues funded were “uprising for racial justice” and “Voter suppression and get out the vote campaigns.” 5 Funds are typically received by recipients within a week. 9
The Fund closed in December 2020 but reopened the following month. 5 10
By March 2021, over 140 individuals and organizations had applied for grants from the fund, with 86 grantees receiving more than $3 million total. According to Jesenia Santana, the senior resource strategist at Solidaire: “Perhaps not surprisingly, given how white supremacy and patriarchal violence work in concert to instill racial terror, a majority of the applicants and those in need of security funding were women of color.” 10
As of July 2024, the Fund supports activists involved in the following fields: “abolition,” “antiwar,” “climate justice,” Indigenous sovereignty,” “racial justice,” and “trans liberation.” 3
The Fund’s donations are used for crisis response teams, mass bail-outs, security personnel, “mental health and healing services,” legal defense, and digital security. 3
Grantmaking
The Janisha R. Gabriel Movement Protection Fund does not provide an organized list of grant recipients, though it mentions Equality Labs, a South Asian civil rights advocacy group, as a recipient on its website. 9
Black Lives Matter Phoenix Metro received a grant from the Fund after being allegedly targeted by the Phoenix Police Department. The funding helped over 300 activists have their charges dropped. 10
Funding
The Janisha R. Gabriel Movement Protection Fund has received funding from California Consulting Inc. 11
References
- “Janisha Gabriel.” LinkedIn. Accessed July 10, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/janisha-gabriel-68351757/.
- “SOLIDAIRE MOURNS JANISHA R. GABRIEL, OUR MOVEMENT WARRIOR.” Solidaire Network. Accessed July 10, 2024. https://solidairenetwork.org/solidaire-mourns-janisha-r-gabriel-our-movement-warrior/.
- “JANISHA R. GABRIEL MOVEMENT PROTECTION FUND.” Solidaire Network. Accessed July 10, 2024. https://solidairenetwork.org/mpf/.
- “Donate Now.” Solidaire Network. Accessed July 10, 2024. https://solidairenetwork.org/donate-now/.
- “LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE JANISHA R. GABRIEL MOVEMENT PROTECTION FUND.” Solidaire Network. December 16, 2020. Accessed July 10, 2024. https://solidairenetwork.org/lessons-learned-from-the-janisha-r-gabriel-movement-protection-fund/.
- “(ROLLING DEADLINE) SOLIDAIRE – JANISHA R. GABRIEL MOVEMENT PROTECTION FUND.” Community Builders Network of Metro St. Louis. Accessed July 10, 2024. https://www.communitybuildersstl.org/funding/rolling-deadline-solidaire-janisha-r-gabriel-movement-protection-fund.
- [1] Bhansali, Rajasvini; Agbo, Nwamaka. “How Funders Can Deepen Their Support for a Black-led Movement Ecosystem.” Inside Philanthropy. October 20, 2020. Accessed July 10, 2024. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2020/10/20/how-funders-can-intensify-efforts-to-resource-a-black-led-movement-ecosystem.
- Bhansali, Rajasvini; Agbo, Nwamaka. “How Funders Can Deepen Their Support for a Black-led Movement Ecosystem.” Inside Philanthropy. October 20, 2020. Accessed July 10, 2024. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2020/10/20/how-funders-can-intensify-efforts-to-resource-a-black-led-movement-ecosystem.
- “Movement Partner Highlights.” Soliadire Reports. Accessed July 10, 2024. https://solidairereports.org/.
- Santana, Jesenia A. “Today’s racial justice movements need protection — and funders must respond.” Candid. July 28, 2021. Accessed July 10, 2024. https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/features/commentary-and-opinion/today-s-racial-justice-movements-need-protection-and-funders-must-respond.
- “California Consulting Releases Municipal Grants for May 2022.” California City News. Accessed July 10, 2024. https://www.californiacitynews.org/2022/05/california-consulting-releases-municipal-grants-may-2022.html.