Sneak peek into our Q4 beneficiaries

We are thrilled to give you a sneak peek into our fourth quarter Humanist giving beneficiaries. Remember, these beneficiaries will show up on the Now Supporting page of our website on October 1 and you can change the amount you give to each beneficiary by going to your My FBB page in the top right-hand corner of the website. 

Poverty and Health – SOIL

Over 75% of Haiti’s population lack access to safe sanitation which puts their family’s health at risk and poison the environment every time they have to use the bathroom. SOIL has developed an integrated waste disposal system that uses simple, safe, eco-friendly composting toilets.

They design and market the EcoLakay toilet, which is the first part of their collection process.  During each step in the process, there is a fee required, so the users have an active interest, rather than just receiving a handout of SOIL’s services. The solid waste, often containing diseases and contaminants are brought to a waste treatment center and processed into useable compost.  The development of compostable human waste was a project which included finding the proper, indigenous, easy to harvest plant cover to create a temperature high enough to kill off the pathogens in human waste. They then sell the tested compost to farmers. SOIL provides a trustworthy product and disposable system that is making communities and Haiti safer with proper disposal of human waste. They have transformed from a charity focused on waste disposal into a social enterprise business with a strong reputation and a dedicated Haitian workforce,

Natural World – Cool Earth

Cool Earth is dedicated to reducing rainforest destruction through community-based partnerships.  Every partnership starts with the indigenous or resident population of an area contacting Cool Earth for their assistance.  They do not do outreach so that the communities that they work with are fully invested in their process to meet their needs.  The communities are poor and face the prospects of either saving their forests or selling them to loggers or miners to bring in financial resources. According to Cool Earth, “… As these villages link up, they form a shield to make the adjacent forest inaccessible to destruction. Each partner village is helping form a shield for five million acres of pristine rainforest.” Cool Earth commits seven years to each community to achieve success.

Through knowledge sharing, villages are also learning how to replenish rainforest soils that are poor quality. They use the Inga Tree as a cover for other crops.  The Inga tree gives the village better soil and also a supply wood for burning other than from the rainforest.  Food crops are able to cultivate in the continually improving soil.  Creating food and income pathways is a regular and major part of their commitment to their partner communities.

Education – ConTextos

ConTextos has developed education-altering programs in El Salvador.  Starting with outdated curriculum, teachers rarely had read aloud skills or time for reading in their classrooms. ConTextos provides teacher training for the hands-on use and read aloud strategies for literacy development.  The schools then are provided with libraries that students, teachers, and families can access within their communities. They have created over 60 school libraries and impacted over 30,000 students.  Soy Autor has brought creative writing to students, El Salvador’s large incarcerated population. They have helped inmates in El Salvador’s prisons express themselves through writing and become a leader and expert in the region.  They are now focused on regional training of other literacy non-profit organizations   Furthermore, they are expanding their Soy Autor Prison writing program into the Cook County Illinois (Chicago Area) Prison system, bringing a program developed in the developing world to the first world.  ConTextos is a well organized, effective education non-profit making a difference now.

Human Rights – Audre Lorde Project

Audre Lorde Project is a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two-Spirit, Trans and Gender Non-conforming people of color epicenter for community organizing, focusing on the New York City area. Its programming includes three main projects and focuses on issues facing both LGBTQ communities and those of color.

The Safe OUTside the System (SOS) Collective is an anti-violence program devoted to challenging hate and violence by using community-based strategies rather than relying on the police.  TransJustice is a political group created by and for Trans and Gender Non-conforming people of color. TransJustice works to mobilize its communities and allies into action on the pressing political issues they face, including gaining access to jobs, housing, and education; the need for Trans-sensitive healthcare, HIV-related services, and job-training programs; resisting police, government, and anti-immigrant violence.  The 3rd Space Support program seeks to work with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two-Spirit, Trans and Gender Non-conforming people of color who struggle with issues around employment, education, healthcare, and immigration status. It is a place to give and receive sustainable support; where creation, invention, and innovation will be practiced.

The strength and unique design of ALP, being started by and for LGBTQ community of color, and working with the Black Lives Matter community strengthens this strong community-based, organization.

Challenge the Gap – Justice for our Neighbors – Nebraska

National Justice for Our Neighbors is a project of the United Methodist Immigration Ministry, with numerous individual chapters that function independently. The Justice for our Neighbors (JFON) chapters serve the needs of immigrants facing a broad cross-section of legal issues.

JFON-Nebraska has three offices in two in Nebraska and one in Iowa. Their work is top notch and well informed, performed by multilingual staffers, paralegals, lawyers, and volunteers. Their partner services agencies speak about how important it is to work with a specialized organization that works only on immigration issues and to be able to use them as a resource confidently.

JFON-NE has a long history of funding sources from religious non-proselytizing organizations but functions inclusively without question to religion, race, ethnicity and the host of other self-identifying categories.

If you aren't already a Humanist Giving member, you can find more information and sign up on our website.