My 2025 A to Z Challenge theme is activism. I’ve been a Black Lives Matter activist for over a decade. I’m not an expert. I do have experience to share and I’m hoping to learn from your experiences, too. We’re all in this together.

Take Care of Yourself and Your Family

Let’s start with a big caveat. I believe that we’re headed into hard economic times. Higher prices, at a minimum. Higher unemployment is also possible. For many people, this will not be the right moment to donate money or time.

The work of resistance includes taking care of the financial needs of ourselves and our families. If you need to keep your money for future rainy days, do so.

Maybe you can donate time instead of money. Most of my posts this month are about taking time to be an activist. Another possibility is to volunteer — many of our favorite nonprofit institutions will need volunteers as well as donations.

But if you need to use your time to make money by earning wages or tending to your business, do that. If you need to save money by using your time to cook dried beans from scratch or grow a vegetable garden, do that (and maybe share a little with your neighbors).

Support Nonprofits that do DEI

A Red Circle is an organization run by a black woman who engages creatively with communities in North St. Louis County, including Ferguson, Missouri.

If you can afford to give money, donations are needed for all the nonprofits that are partially funded by federal grants or, in many states, like Missouri, by state grants. This is especially true for organizations with a mission to promote interactions among our diverse population, to increase equitable outcomes, and to build communities where we all feel like we belong.

In St. Louis, these organizations run the gamut from lesser-known organizations that serve the needs of vulnerable communities to obvious ones like our local affiliate of PBS.

Support Cultural Institutions

The Republican administration has targeted all of our institutions that promote learning. If we want to keep our botanical gardens, our museums, our public libraries, and our public schools, we’ll want to find ways to support them — through memberships, donations to their foundations, and volunteer work.

Help Pay for the Lawsuits

One of the more effective ways that we’re currently slowing down the Republican administration’s damage is with lawsuits. National organizations like the ACLU and Democracy Forward need donations to continue that work. Most of the time, though, they aren’t the plaintiffs. They are assisting plaintiffs (individuals and organizations) who have lost their jobs or their freedom or their grants. When you hear about a local plaintiff, a donation to them can have a big impact on their ability to continue their fight.

Donate to Defeat Demagogues

My political donations mostly go to candidates that I know. As I become more active in my community, I meet more people who run for office.

I don’t know much about how and when to donate to political organizations more broadly. Fortunately, Sorchia provided resources about that in her D post: Do Your Homework, Donate, Document – Sorchia’s Universe. Check out what she learned.

How are you donating right now? I’m focusing on local organizations run by black women.