How to Donate to Your Local Protester Fund
If you’re wondering how to help protesters right now, consider donating to your local relief fund. It is cruel to jail someone at any time for lack of cash, but especially now, getting protesters out of jail quickly is especially important to reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19.
A number of local bail funds have been established to help get protesters out of prison. Because of the outpouring of support, some of these foundations, including the Minneapolis Freedom Foundation and the Brooklyn Bond Fund , have asked donors to redirect their funds to other nonprofits . Of course, there are a number of foundations, many of which are in your own community, that need money.
The starting point will be this thread, compiled by director Matthew A. Cherry, which lists funds for some of the country’s major cities:
As Cherry points out, this is a starting point for deciding where to send your donations, but you should make sure to check the organization’s information before sending money. Another possible first step is to check out the National Guarantor Fund Network , which offers a directory of public guarantor funds, including a list of dedicated guarantor funds for protesters organized by the state. Meanwhile, the ActBlue donation portal gives you the ability to split your donation among 38 different community support funds .
In the short term, it is very important to get the protesters out of jail quickly. In the long term, police brutality is a systemic problem that we need comprehensive reform to address. If you have money to spare, it’s also worth donating to organizations working on solutions to end police brutality, such as Campaign Zero . In addition to accepting donations, Campaign Zero is also a good resource for understanding possible solutions and learning what actions you can take right now to combat police violence.
Looking for ways to protect black lives? Check out this list of resources .