DOnor ASk from founding board member Kayin Talton DAvis

Hi there!

As an artist, community advocate, educator, and business owner, my lenses are multiple, but the baseline is the same: Equitable Giving Circle's work in supporting Portland's Black community is indispensable. 

Growing up in Portland, many of my summer days were spent in the backyards of my grandparents - folks who grew up farming in rural Texas in the 1920s and 30s, and feeding community. When they moved to Portland in the 1940s, they grew gardens, and fed community. It is this rooting that makes community tending compulsory for me. As a Founding Board Member, I have seen Equitable Giving Circle grow from an idea into one of the largest culturally specific food access programs in the country: an organization that consistently builds food stability, has offered housing resources and education, and creates spaces/programming around wellness - as well as push for change in how food systems operate and offering dignity and trustworthiness for those who might otherwise go without.

EGC’s programs and events throughout the year are offered not only free, but no-strings-attached to our Black + Brown community members. This means when folks need to access resources, the only barrier is capacity. And the best way to increase that capacity? Monthly donors. 

Monthly donors support the work of Equitable Giving Circle in a stable, steady way that grants and other funding sources don’t - putting more resources directly into the hands of those who need them, and creating more focus on the direct work at hand. 

You've probably heard the saying “many hands make light work.” It goes without explanation that the same holds true for wallets and fundraising. EGC currently has approximately 750 recurring monthly donors. While this is a good start, we need to more than triple that number to 3,000 at an average of just $40 to cover our monthly expenses. Like with the families we support, having our basic needs consistently met allows us to grow in health, wellbeing, and opportunity.

And so, I offer this to you: don't just be a fan, be a supporter. Become a monthly donor today - and tell your friends to do so too. We need you. 

Best, 

Kayin Talton Davis

Cultivator of Joy