It was quite the year. A war in Europe, Roe overturned, the country’s gun mania on full display, and more extreme weather events. And that’s just what makes headlines.
Farther down the page, we noticed the remarkable protests, led by young women, in Iran. The fierce pushback at the ballot box against invading women’s privacy and election and climate denialism. And the faster-than-we-thought adoption of renewable energy.
So, pick your trend line. At Furthur, we focus on up-and-to-the-right. One we like is the off-on switch for Bobby’s January trip to Mexico with Dead and CO. Last year it was off; this year it was very much on.
We got together last month, wriggled our toes in the sand, and chatted about the Furthur Foundation. Our up-and-to-the-right includes reveling in our seemingly small (but not really) victories coaxed along by last year’s grant-making. The surprising turnout in Arizona helped preserve voter rights in that purple state, powered in part by a couple of GOTV groups we picked that we figured would help get everyone’s voice on the table. Very encouraging.
Back home in the Bay Area, Oakland and neighboring towns returned five wild acres called Sequoia Point to the indigenous Confederated Villages of Lisjan. The city created a cultural conservation easement that gives the Indigenous-led Sogorea Te’ Land Trust stewardship over the land in perpetuity. We helped make that happen.
And it was particularly satisfying to help our longstanding friends at Pegasus, the ship that takes young people who never get to sail out in San Francisco Bay to learn boats and wind and nautical life. They were underwater during the pandemic, so a few of us got together to keep Pegasus afloat. And now they’re back at it.
There’s lots of stories like that. A scan through the last few years of grant-making will give you a sense of where our hearts lie.
We’re not sure what this year holds. As you all know, we like to combine sustained support for proven friends with strategic grantmaking to groups that are dealing with what’s coming up. We’re pretty good at that, in part because we have the help of all of you—whether it’s through a donation, a connection, or a pointer to a project you feel is worthy of our support.
So, thanks for all you do, and stay close…
