Spotlight PR brings quality public relations assistance into reach for mission-driven causes as well as socially conscious entrepreneurs, celebrities and executives.

Month: August 2023

Black Social Change Organization Raises $1,125,707 in 24 Hours to support Black-Led Organizations in Baltimore

Posted on

For Immediate Release

Aug. 14, 2023

BALTIMORE – CLLCTIVLY, a pioneering social change organization committed to supporting and amplifying, Black-led organizations, raised $1,125,707 in just 24 hours during its fifth annual day of giving, CLLCTIVGIVE. CLLCTIVGIVE, launched during Black Philanthropy Month on Aug. 4. It included a fundraising platform connecting donors and Black-led groups, a speaker series, an awards ceremony and the launch of the Solidarity Awards in conjunction with the Elbow Fund.

“This landmark achievement highlights the collective power we possess to create meaningful change,” said Jamye Wooten, founder, and CEO of CLLCTIVLY. “We extend our heartfelt appreciation to every donor, partner and supporter who made this day a resounding success.”

Designed to coincide with Black Philanthropy Month, an annual observance dedicated to elevating African American giving, CLLCTIVGIVE emerged as a testament to the power of collective action. Launched in 2019, it has garnered steady support from individual donors, businesses, foundations, and community partners. Additionally, the campaign has grown rapidly over the years, raising $5,000 in its first year to more than $1 million in its fifth year.

Through the CLLCTIVGIVE platform, donors were presented with  a diverse array of Black-led organizations, each working tirelessly to address critical issues and effect lasting change in their respective communities. They responded in kind.

“CLLCTIVGIVE eliminated the many hours of searching donors can spend when trying to determine where to invest their resources,” Wooten said. “Donors didn’t have to search far to find worthy causes to support; we brought them all together under one umbrella. Contributors were then encouraged to select initiatives aligned with their passions and interests.”

The Day of Giving achieved several goals:

  • Broke fundraising records. This year, CLLCTIVGIVE witnessed unprecedented support from donors who understood the importance of financially supporting Black-led organizations. This demonstrated that the community will indeed giving when presented with the opportunity.
  • Amplified impact. By uniting an extensive network of Black-led initiatives under a single platform, CLLCTIVGIVE showcased contributions to social justice, education, economic empowerment, STEM and more. It also served as a megaphone, amplifying a host of Black-led organizations’ work.
  • Strengthened community bonds. In each community, there are Black-led initiatives fueling social and racial change. CLLCTIVGIVE fostered greater awareness about who these groups are and what they’re doing. By creating a platform for donors to connect directly with Black-led groups, CLLCTIVLY created a sense of solidarity among donors, beneficiaries and the broader community. This effort also generated a renewed commitment among many donors to advance racial equity and social justice.
  • Empowered Black-led initiatives. The funds raised during the CLLCTIVGIVE Day of Giving will provide critical financial support to Black-led organizations, enabling them to scale their efforts, launch new programs and enhance their outreach.
  • Showcased local leaders. As part of the Day of Giving, CLLCTIVLY hosted CLLCTIVGIVE TALKS, which featured leading grassroots and philanthropic leaders in Baltimore. The day ended with the CLLCTIVGIVE PARTY + Changemaker Awards, which celebrated and honored local change-makers.

For more information about CLLCTIVLY, visit www.cllctivly.org.

###

CLLCTIVLY is a place-based social change organization using an asset-based framework to focus on racial equity, narrative change, social connectedness and resource mobilization. Since its launch in 2019, it has invested over $2 million in no-strings-attached grants.

 

 

Black Southern Women’s Collaborative Warns of Growing Threat of Voter Purges

Posted on

For Immediate Release 

Aug. 1, 2023

Black Southern Women’s Collaborative Warns of Growing Threat of Voter Purges 

ATLANTA – The Black Southern Women’s Collaborative (BSWC) today warned about the growing threat of voter purges, which deny Black and brown citizens’ right to vote. The network of Black women organizers in the South is also highlighting the ways in which their group is pushing back. The BSWC includes Kendra Cotton, executive director of the New Georgia Project; Rev. Rhonda Thomas, executive director of Faith in Florida; Nsombi Lambright, executive director of One Voice; Ashley K. Shelton, president and founder of the Power Coalition for Equity & Justice; Tameka Greer, president of Memphis Artists for Change; and BSWC founder Phyllis Hill, national organizing director for Faith in Action. They released the following statement: 

“Modern day voter suppression comes in many different forms – precinct and DMV closings, cuts to early voting, restricted absentee ballot processes, moving polling places, etc.,” Hill said. “But one of the most sinister forms of voter suppression is voter purges.”  

In Mississippi, BSWC member One Voice submitted an Open Records Request seeking information on persons who have been purged. It also is urging voters to double check their registration status.  

Voter purges have occurred across the South for decades, but the Supreme Court case in Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute fueled the practice. “Consequently, election officials are no longer accountable to the very voters they are removing from the rolls – Black and brown people,” Lambright said.  

In Georgia, 191,000 people may be purged from the voting rolls. “We know that voter purges are not about list maintenance,” Cotton said. “They are a far-right strategy to win elections.”  

The New Georgia Project is creating a list of persons who didn’t vote in the 2020 or 2022 elections and will encourage them to double check their election status.  

 Even as communities face voter purges, Black women – including the BSWC – are engaged in strategic and intentional organizing to defend the right to vote. “We are highlighting this and other heinous practices because we want our communities to maintain or regain their right to vote,” Thomas said. 

The BSWC is calling, texting and sending postcards to those who have been purged to make them aware and encourage them to register to vote.  

  In Tennessee, 100,000 Shelby County residents have been purged without notification.  

“Voter purges are an unethical use of power to remove citizens’ right to vote,” Greer said. “Not using your right to vote should not enable state officials to rescind the right to vote. It is your right, whether you use it or not. With 1 in 5 (20%) Black Tennesseans unable to vote, it is crucial that the Shelby County Board of Elections immediately stop all purges. The organization I lead, Memphis Artists for Change, launched a Swerve the Purge campaign to help protect the right to vote and to challenge purges.” 

In Louisiana, the Power Coalition for Equity & Justice is encouraging voters to double check their registration status, while it is urging election officials to publicize in local newspapers the names of persons purged. They are also asking officials to inform the organization of the places they are targeting for voter purges.  

“We plan to send postcards to voters encouraging them to double check their registration status and to register to vote if they’ve not already done so or if they’ve been removed from the rolls,” Shelton said. 

###