The Elias Foundation, established in 1999, designed its mission to support progressive organizations which advocate for social, political, and economic change in Westchester County, New York. In view of the interconnected nature of the Hudson Valley, in 2004, the Foundation expanded its focus to the entire region. Central to this work was a commitment to leaders who amplify local voices and to initiatives that are grounded in and led by the communities they serve.
In 2015, the Foundation began to refine its mission by providing direct financial support to individual emerging grassroots leaders. Several of these leaders, identified over the course of Elias’ support of the social justice community, in turn joined with the Foundation in convening advisory gatherings in order to consider how to best deploy the Foundation’s resources going forward.
As a result, in 2019, the Foundation launched the Elias Activist Fellowship Program. The Program relies on the guidance of an Advisory Committee composed of multi-issue leaders with deep experience in movement building across the Hudson Valley. In the spirit of trust-based philanthropy, the Committee determined that Foundation funds could offer support to individual activists to use according to their felt needs – to enhance their capacity as leaders and improve the quality of their day-to-day lives. Fellows have used their Elias support to attend trainings, sharpen leadership skills, pay off student debt, secure sustainable housing, visit countries of origin and engage in activities that nurture their bodies and minds. Ultimately, the goal of the Fellowship is to strengthen community across siloes and build a more resilient regional social justice movement.
Over the past six years, the Activist Fellowship Program has engaged a community of 35 Fellows who receive financial support for five years and participate in regular retreats and gatherings focused on community-building, shared learning, rest and self-care.
The impact of the Fellowship is evident in the trajectories of participating leaders, periodic meetings with Advisory Committee members who serve as mentors, annual reports, and ongoing engagement at Fellowship gatherings. We hope that the broader effects of this support will continue to unfold and be felt for generations.
Through the Fellowship, the Elias Foundation continues to deepen its understanding of the challenges and successes facing community-based organizers and to identify how best to support their development. It is intended that the fellowship structure and learning might be useful to other foundations seeking to diversify their programming.
To learn more about the Elias Activist Fellowship Program and this model of funding grassroots leadership, please contact us at pwithers@eliasfoundation.org. We also plan to publish the program’s processes and tools as open-source resources for others interested in supporting individual activists through 501c3 philanthropy.
1999-2004
Established
Elias Foundation was established with its mission to support progressive organizations which advocate for social, political, and economic change in Westchester County, New York.
2004-2007
Grants
The Foundation expanded its focus, making grants that supported a variety of organizations and projects that either advanced our social justice mission within Westchester County or provided models from elsewhere for replication by local communities.
2007-2010
Granting Pool Expansion
The Foundation expanded its granting pool from 14 to 23 organizations; continued to fund existing grantees doing critical work in the county with more robust assistance; and discovered new activists who are in the vanguard of social justice activism.
2010-2012
Training Opportunities
The Foundation continued to support core community-led organizations in Westchester County that are committed to the long-term pursuit of systemic change for social justice, focusing on short-term, small seed grants, as well as organizing training opportunities and other program support for the community.
2012-2014
Funding
Elias began coordinating activist and funder meetings that are on-going, discussing strategy and next steps, with the goal of empowering those who are politically, economically and socially marginalized.
2014
Serving Westchester County
The final year that the Foundation supported Westchester-serving community organizations, spending down the Westchester endowment with sustaining tie-off grants to core community-led organizations in Westchester County that are committed to the long-term pursuit of systemic change for social justice.
2015
Focus in Lower Hudson Valley
Having spent down the major part of its endowment in 2014, the Foundation focused its support on the development of grassroots activist leaders in the Lower Hudson Valley. Some small organizational grants were given to long-term grantees who are committed to the pursuit of systemic change for social justice and whose work empowers grassroots leaders.
2016
Continued Support for Activist Leaders
The Elias Foundation continued the individual support of activist leaders known to the social justice community in Westchester. Over $26,000 was spent in support of the following leaders and their cohorts: Lamont Badru, Cornel Carelock, Tarin Gonzalez, Marcela Levine and Juanita Lewis.This support includes paying for college fees, equipment, books, coaching, travel and registration for conferences and trainings.
2017
Continued Support to New Leaders
The Elias Foundation continued to open its program to new leaders, supporting the development of grassroots activists in the Lower Hudson Valley.
Lamont Badru, Cornel Carelock, Tarin Gonzalez, Marcela Levine, Juanita Lewis, Myra Hidalgo Salazar, Luis and Jirrell Abraham. This support includes paying for college fees, equipment, books, coaching, travel and registration for conferences and trainings.
2018
Fellowship Program
While continuing to support current activists and their cohorts, Elias convened an Advisory Committee to develop a Fellowship program as an outgrowth of its past support for leadership development in the Hudson Valley.
Advisory Committee: Allison Lake, LaMont Badru, Lutonya Russell-Humes, Myra Hildalgo Salazar, and Nada Khader.
Lamont Badru, Cornel Carelock, Tarin Gonzalez, Marcela Levine, Cristina Ortiz, Myra Hidalgo Salazar, Diana Sanchez, Zeltzyn Sanchez and Ibrahim Asad Siddiq. This support includes paying for college fees, equipment, books, coaching, travel and registration for conferences and trainings.
2019
First Cohort of Fellows
The Foundation launched the Elias Activist Fellowship Program. The first Cohort of Fellows awarded this year: Callie Jayne, Ibrahim Asad Siddiq, Jabin Ahmed, Tonia Conner-Mitchel, and Zeltzyn Sanchez Gomez.
2020
The Second Cohort of Fellows Awarded
Gabino Trujillo, Juanita Lewis, Kat Cancio, Maria Dautruche, and Rae Leiner.
2021
Cohort 3 Awarded
Diana Sanchez, Jalal Sabur, Jonathan Alvarez, Mandana Vassegi-Boushee, and Ruby Olisemeka
2022
Cohort 4 Awarded
Antonia Estela Pérez, Gemma Calinda, Gonzalo Cruz Carreon, Jose Pineda, and Nubia Earth Martin
2023
Cohort 5 Awarded
Alisha Kohn, Donnay Edmund, Greg Mingo, Laura Garcia Balbuena, Maria Marasigan, and Zebi Williams
2024
Cohort 6 Awarded
Charles Curtis, Dawėdo Sanon, Janet Hernandez, Michael Capers, and Susie Ximenez
2025
The Final Cohort 7 Awarded
Berta Barrales, D Rooney, June Nemon, Lala Montoya Heredia, and Rowan Reyes
2026
Highlighting the Fellowship
The impact of the Fellowship is evident in the trajectories of participating leaders, periodic meetings with Advisory Committee members who serve as mentors, annual reports, and ongoing engagement at Fellowship gatherings. Through the Fellowship, the Elias Foundation continues to deepen its understanding of the challenges and successes facing community-based organizers and to identify how best to support their development.
