My name is Peggy Shinner, I was a member of the 2017 Giving Project at Crossroads Fund, a cross-race, cross-class cohort of 20 people who committed to a 6-month transformational process with the goal to support grassroots groups on the frontlines of systems change. I want to build on a previous email you received from Teresa Garcia on why we support Crossroads Fund.I donate to Crossroads Fund because I’m invested in Chicago. It’s a complicated place with a lot of tremendous people, but some serious problems as well. We’re a city that mirrors the problems in many cities. To be a donor is to demonstrate my stake in what is going on and to say I want to put resources toward the things that matter to me. Giving to Crossroads Fund is a way for my dollars to be focused by folks who are already doing a lot of the baseline work. I’m committed to immigrant justice, an issue that has mobilized me and so many others in a fundamental way. When I see all the groups that the Crossroads Fund supports doing this work I feel so proud to be involved with an organization that works unceasingly for justice, on this and so many other fronts. The range is amazing and crucial.Will you join me in supporting building movements for justice by making an end-of-fiscal-year gift to Crossroads Fund today? Please consider a one-time gift of any amount, so that Crossroads Fund can continue to support necessary organizing work that fights for all of us.Donate Now Thank you for your attention.In Solidarity,Peggy Shinner Crossroads Fund grantees are fighting on the frontlines for racial justice. Here is one recent example.When the city announced it was going to invest $95 million in a Police and Fire Training Academy in Garfield Park, community residents and activists demanded answers. Forty percent of the city budget is presently going to the Chicago Police Department, an organization that is plagued by issues of accountability and a lack of oversight. Following the murder of Laquan McDonald by a Chicago police officer, and in light of the rampant problems within the department, a coalition led by Assata’s Daughters formed the #NoCopAcademy campaign to delay and halt construction of the academy. They have been organizing to increase public awareness about police violence and community disinvestment. Crossroads Fund supported Assata’s Daughters with a Youth Fund for Social Change grant to boldly lift their capacity to mobilize, and also supported the coalition with a Critical Response Fund grant.As a public foundation, we raise every dollar we give out. A donation right now ensures that we end the fiscal year strong to continue to fund grantees making transformational change in our city all year round.Make a gift today. //
