If tech is going to be a force for social good, Silicon Valley must take a hard look at itself and course correct. In an era of both increasing social divisions and unexpected alliances, the tech community must grapple with its ethical identity. How it takes action in support of the communities it so often leaves on the sidelines (or pays below a living wage) will shape our cities, our country, and our humanity. » Read More

There are about 1.5 million NGOs just in the United States. No wonder their calls to action, their ads with forlorn-looking children, and their mission statements can start blending together. Over the last 30 years, NGOs have increasingly taken on the role of government. As privatization has rapidly defunded the State, NGOs have rapidly expanded to take on the role of providing social services to those relegated to unliveable wages and polluted communities by the private sector.¹  Thus, the funding streams for those services are fickle, as they follow the wishes and whims of the ruling class, as they direct the lion’s share of philanthropic funding to NGOs.² » Read More

How might we most effectively channel funding towards grassroots, community-led organizations that are building the political power of communities impacted by climate change? How might we mobilize white and class-privileged people to be active allies to the liberation struggles of low income communities and communities of color around them?

These were our touchstone questions during our second pause in August. We convened a group of artists, movement builders, technologists, community organizers, climate policy experts, and one two-month old baby. Our goal in bringing together this manifold assembly of thinkers and doers was to pollinate the growth strategy for our nascent nonprofit: Blue Heart. » Read More

By 2016 ITP Grant Partners, Lindley Mease & Theo Gibbs, Co-Founders Blue Heart

Climate displacement—or the forced migration of people from their homes due to climate impacts such as sea level rise—is happening across the United States. Entire communities are being displaced from their land of origin due to rising seas, negligent federal aid, and steady degradation of social services. Homes in dozens of Native American coastal communities in Louisiana and Alaska are being washed away by rising seas, land subsidence (sped up by offshore oil and gas development), and coastal erosion due to increasingly frequent and severe storms. » Read More