GiveMN reflects on this week's heartbreaking events
May 28, 2020
Dear colleagues,
Today, we had planned to email our community regarding an event announcement—but, we are going to send that email at another time. Instead, we want to acknowledge the heartbreaking events which have taken place in Minneapolis this week. As you read this, we hope you are taking care of yourself in whatever ways you can.
GiveMN joins our community in mourning the death of Mr. George Floyd, who died while in Minneapolis police custody. We think of Mr. Floyd’s family and friends, and of Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) in our community and around the country who are again suffering trauma because of systemic injustices.
Communities of color have also been the most impacted by COVID-19, with more critical hospitalizations, more impactful loss of income, and more economic instability caused by the pandemic. The death of Mr. Floyd amplifies this pain and reminds us that even when a virus brings our community to its knees, social injustice can knock us down even further. We feel the pain today of not just Mr. Floyd’s family and friends, but of BIPOC people everywhere.
Our board and staff recognize that the nonprofit sector also has significant inequities and bias within it. Systems are never easy to change, but we are committed to making change where we can. Our mission of igniting generosity and growing giving isn’t fully addressed until we center and act upon anti-racism and equity in our own sphere of influence around fundraising and philanthropy. Our team is committed to consistently engaging in that work, sometimes imperfectly, as we map our course forward in partnership with our community. We stand together in unity and demand a better tomorrow.
Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the devastating loss of a member of our community, and the injustice it represents. We are deeply grateful to organizations and leaders who are in the work of changing our broken systems on a daily basis. COVID-19, and the tragedy of this week, is testing our community resilience, amplifying every critical issue our most vulnerable neighbors face. As nonprofit and school leaders, you are on the front lines, holding our communities together, and we hope you are able to find ways to care for yourselves as you do all of your critical work for our community.
As we look ahead, we encourage everyone to consider your own personal and organizational responsibilities in the work of building racial equity, just as GiveMN is considering how we can better pursue our mission, knowing we too are a part of an unjust system. If you have suggestions on how we should proceed at GiveMN, you can email me at JakeB@givemn.org
Together we will prevail though all of this, and reimagine Minnesota as a more prosperous, just, and equitable place.
Take good care,
Jake Blumberg
Executive Director, GiveMN
GiveMN reflects on this week's heartbreaking events
May 28, 2020
Dear colleagues,
Today, we had planned to email our community regarding an event announcement—but, we are going to send that email at another time. Instead, we want to acknowledge the heartbreaking events which have taken place in Minneapolis this week. As you read this, we hope you are taking care of yourself in whatever ways you can.
GiveMN joins our community in mourning the death of Mr. George Floyd, who died while in Minneapolis police custody. We think of Mr. Floyd’s family and friends, and of Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) in our community and around the country who are again suffering trauma because of systemic injustices.
Communities of color have also been the most impacted by COVID-19, with more critical hospitalizations, more impactful loss of income, and more economic instability caused by the pandemic. The death of Mr. Floyd amplifies this pain and reminds us that even when a virus brings our community to its knees, social injustice can knock us down even further. We feel the pain today of not just Mr. Floyd’s family and friends, but of BIPOC people everywhere.
Our board and staff recognize that the nonprofit sector also has significant inequities and bias within it. Systems are never easy to change, but we are committed to making change where we can. Our mission of igniting generosity and growing giving isn’t fully addressed until we center and act upon anti-racism and equity in our own sphere of influence around fundraising and philanthropy. Our team is committed to consistently engaging in that work, sometimes imperfectly, as we map our course forward in partnership with our community. We stand together in unity and demand a better tomorrow.
Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the devastating loss of a member of our community, and the injustice it represents. We are deeply grateful to organizations and leaders who are in the work of changing our broken systems on a daily basis. COVID-19, and the tragedy of this week, is testing our community resilience, amplifying every critical issue our most vulnerable neighbors face. As nonprofit and school leaders, you are on the front lines, holding our communities together, and we hope you are able to find ways to care for yourselves as you do all of your critical work for our community.
As we look ahead, we encourage everyone to consider your own personal and organizational responsibilities in the work of building racial equity, just as GiveMN is considering how we can better pursue our mission, knowing we too are a part of an unjust system. If you have suggestions on how we should proceed at GiveMN, you can email me at JakeB@givemn.org
Together we will prevail though all of this, and reimagine Minnesota as a more prosperous, just, and equitable place.
Take good care,
Jake Blumberg
Executive Director, GiveMN