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In The Wake Of Worsening Achievement Gap, Officials Ponder Private Help For Public Schools

Ebong Udoma

June 07, 2021 |

WSHU Public Radio |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Connecticut

Private donors and businesses are helping some Connecticut public schools provide students and their families with access to the internet, a critical need when distance learning is imposed. Long-term hopes to close the growing achievement gap between wealthy and poorer schools through public-private partnerships need more time to ripen. But some nearer-term successes include one philanthropy's grant to provide 60,000 laptops and broadband internet to students statewide who otherwise lacked access, while a grant in Norwalk put 1,000 families online to help with homework and healthcare access.

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For Black Voters Matter, the goal is greater community power

Haleluya Hadero

June 02, 2021 |

Associated Press |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Georgia

Black Voters Matter raises money to support organizations and initiatives that are often too small for institutional funders to notice. The group has given millions to community-based groups in 15 states—mostly in the South—to register voters, canvass neighborhoods with voting-related information, run phone banks, and even rent buses to drive people to the polls. They’ve raised tens of millions of dollars, mostly in small donations from about 90,000 unique donors. The group, who seeks to strengthen organizations for the long run, also funds activities like free grocery distribution for those in need.

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In Nashville, Using Loan Guarantees to Fund Affordable Housing Preservation

Jared Brey

May 25, 2021 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Nashville, Tennessee

Urban Housing Solutions, a Nashville nonprofit housing developer, made a $19.2 million investment to preserve 165 apartments for people earning in the mid-30s. In a tight and expensive housing market where aggressive investors often outflank nonprofits seeking to provide lower-cost housing, UHS financed the purchase with a bank loan that will earn the lender state tax credits and that was secured by four philanthropic foundations' funds as collateral. The transaction was a first in Nashville for the use of community investment tools to preserve lower-cost housing.

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Meet the Activist Archivists Saving the Internet From the Digital Dustbin

Mark Hill

May 12, 2021 |

Discover Magazine |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

The Internet Archive is a digital library of around 544 billion archived web pages, most of which are found using a bot that crawls the web and saves snapshots. However, a self-described loose collective of volunteer activist archivists, known as the Archive Team,' individually monitors and preserves websites at risk of being abruptly taken down. Using donated bandwidth and hard drive space on the archiving application “Warrior,” they systematically download sites they fear will be deleted. The downloads are saved within the Internet Archive database, which is available to the public.

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As Formerly Incarcerated People Return to Their Communities in W.Va., This Network of 'Resource Brokers' Is There to Guide Them

Amanda Page

May 11, 2021 |

100 Days in Appalachia |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, West Virginia

The West Virginia Council of Churches formed a network of community reentry councils to help people leaving prison line up basic necessities, from housing to employment. The councils use their members' community connections as a bridge between prison officials, who won't release people if they lack plans for a place to live, and returning citizens, whose housing, counseling, and employment needs can determine the difference between success and another stint in prison on a technical parole violation. Grants from two foundations helped the Council of Churches expand its network during the pandemic.

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This community garden in Southeast Washington grows far more than food

Noah Robertson

May 03, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington, District of Columbia

As a way to bring the community together and promote healing in Southeast Washington, D.C., residents created a garden known as Project Eden. Their garden has grown to a plot of land that grows roots, legumes, fruits, and greens with a greenhouse and aquaponics system that has fed thousands of people. The founders view the garden as a way to strengthen food security and encourage resiliency for an area where people have witnessed violent acts.

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Laws We Can Actually Understand

Jemille Q. Duncan

April 20, 2021 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: India

Law Rewired, run by law students and an advisory board of legal scholars, translates complex laws and landmark court decisions into plain language so people can understand them. Real-world examples, easy to read bullet-points, videos, and a glossary of legal terms make the legal explanations more widely accessible. Summaries also explain why a law was enacted, when it can be applied, and any amendments that were added to it. The materials are available for free online and via social media and the organization answers 10 to 25 questions from readers every month about a variety of legal issues.

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Inside New York City's Biggest Financial Relief Effort for Undocumented Immigrants

Kevin Duggan

April 15, 2021 |

Documented |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

New York City’s Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Affairs relied on help from 34 community groups to distribute a $20 million relief fund from the Open Society Foundation. The groups verified who needed the funds, and no personal information was required of the more than 24,000 people receiving aid. Membership in the organizations was not required, but limited resources made members more likely to receive aid. The limited transparency and private nature of the OSF fund served as a work around for a Trump-era executive order making it harder for immigrants receiving public assistance to get visas or green cards.

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This Oakland Restaurant Was Developed in the Spirit of Mutual Aid

Emily Nonko

April 08, 2021 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

The 8th Street Collective, a loose organization of Oakland food industry workers, and Oakland Bloom, a group that supports refugee and immigrant chefs, opened a new restaurant, bar, and community hub space. A team of four worker-leaders rotates operational roles of Understory, the restaurant, and are working with lawyers to become cooperatively owned. The restaurant serves a pop-up-style rotating menu four days a week, including dishes by Oakland Bloom chefs and the other days are dedicated to the nonprofit’s incubator and training program called Open Test Kitchen, as well as other programming.

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Turtle conservation hits the SPOT in North Cyprus

James Fair

March 24, 2021 |

Mongabay |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Cyprus

Thanks to efforts by the Society for the Protection of Turtles and a band of international volunteers, green and loggerhead turtle numbers in North Cyprus are rebounding. Last year, there were more than 2,400 nests counted, a 10-fold increase since their first survey in 1988. There are still challenges in saving these species due to plastic waste, but more locals are recognizing the importance of turtle conservation.

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