The Foundation is excited to announce that five deaf-centric organizations are receiving a total of $100,000 in funds from our Capacity Building Grant program this year!
Deaf-centric nonprofits work tirelessly to provide accessible services to deaf communities, often with minimal resources, including funding. Each of our 2023 grantees operates on less than $500K annually. With their respective grants, these organizations will be resourced with the actual dollars needed to support long-term, sustainable operations.
Asian Signers “A5”, an entirely volunteer-led organization in its infancy stages, was established to reframe assumptions about Asians and Asian Americans in the Deaf community. The organization seeks to increase and promote the diverse Asian representation with a commitment to culture, literature, and education in American Sign Language (ASL). The Foundation’s award will bolster their ability to manage their various projects, including project management platforms, software and necessary film equipment. The organization also seeks professional development opportunities, including anti-racism and diversity training, as they grow and evolve.
DeafHope’s mission is to end domestic and sexual violence in Deaf communities through empowerment, education, and services. DeafHope, a past grantee, has continually evolved its work in dismantling racial injustice, language inequity, deaf/DeafBlind/disability oppression, and other forms of structural violence. A step in that direction means establishing a healthy endowment that will create financial stability and resources to sustain their work without relying on external and restrictive funding that does not align with their mission. To support the development of their endowment, DeafHope will use the grant award to bring on appropriate financial consultation and develop a donor development plan which includes endowment campaign activities.
Deaf Refugee Advocacy (DRA) was established in May 2017 due to insufficient support available for deaf community members who are refugees, immigrants, and asylum seekers living in Rochester, NY. DRA, a former grantee, is actively transitioning to having paid staffing for the first time with a physical space for their office. Due to this exciting milestone, DRA will use the Foundation’s grant award to establish a robust Information Technology infrastructure to better support their operations and case management.
National Black Deaf Advocates (NBDA) is a national entity with over 30 chapters that are committed to improving the quality of life and well-being of Black Deaf, Black Deafblind, and Black Hard of Hearing community members all over the U.S. The capacity building award from the Foundation will enable some of NBDA’s local chapters to become independently established public charities which will then pave the way for these chapters to receive their own funds. In addition, NBDA leaders will receive training on how to facilitate local and state advocacy to improve the lives of their constituents. This effort includes building a communication pipeline and infrastructure to disseminate information and advocacy efforts across chapters and organizational partners.
Since 1999, Our Deaf Survivors Center, Inc. (ODSC) has been providing domestic violence and sexual assault services to Deaf survivors throughout the state of Massachusetts. ODSC is at a critical moment in the organization’s journey – they are actively growing due to increased access to funding — yet they need to shore up infrastructure to support this growth. The grant award will support their strategic planning efforts, leadership, and staff development and bring on additional resources to support their financial sustainability. Improving the organization’s capacity ultimately affects its ability to serve Deaf survivors better.
