| Folks, there’s no easy way to put this but we are still $5,000 short of meeting our end of the year fundraising goal of $10,000. MPV is administered by myself as the only full-time staff and Kelsey, a part-timer who carries the weight of producing our educational resources, social media content, and fundraising campaigns. The next few years will be brutal. Advocating for human rights was challenging under Trump 1.0; the amount of community organizing and fighting we had to do was just exhausting. Trump 2.0 will be a full-on assault on our rights. Considering how brutal the next few years are going to be for small progressive nonprofits, especially those of us who have been steadfast in our policy positions and advocacy efforts. It is more important than ever that we meet our fundraising goal but as of right now, none of the domestic work we have planned for next year is fully funded. Here’s the ongoing fight that lays ahead of us:
Stopping legislation stripping non-profits who “support terrorism”, a blatant dog whistle for supporting the Palestinian cause. Combating the assault on inclusive public school curriculums in the name of “religion”. Advancing the Equal Rights Amendment where ALL Americans, regardless of sex will finally be protected in the Constitution. As of right now, only men are. Protecting and advancing reproductive justice. Eliminating the practice of child and forced marriages in the US. Supporting LGBTQIA+ rights cases, which have continued since Trump 1.0. MPV’s involvement in all these causes occurs in coalition with larger organizations, who always come to us for partnership, as one of the few progressive Muslim voices in America and usually the only ones in these coalitions. But folks, it takes time and resources to have our voice heard. And all this is just on the domestic front. Internationally, we continue to work with religious leaders to advance women’s and girls' rights through our #ImamsForShe Program in Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burkina Faso and as of this month, Afghanistan. At the U.N., MPV remains on the Multi-Faith Advisory Council and I still co-chair the monthly Gender Working Group meetings, making sure conservative organizations don't take over that space as they advance their misogynistic and homophobic agendas. And don’t forget, we do all this work with a team of just 1.5 people. Please share some love in these last days of 2024 and support our work to advance everyone's rights. |
