When I closed the Inn during the pandemic for a year, I had LOTS of time to think about what I wanted reopening to look like. One of the changes I decided to make was to start donating half of our bar profits to social and climate justice groups.
Not an unspecified “portion”. Not a vague “fraction”. An entire half because honestly that felt like almost too much and damn if that wasn’t the point. I was making enough to be comfortable. I could—maybe even should?—give away more to others.
Of course donating money is not the most radical or effective way to enact change. BUT IT’S SOMETHING! And something is certainly better than nothing, especially in times when the sh*tty things can feel so insurmountable that you find yourself feeling paralyzed, doing nothing.
During the pandemic, Artist Resident (and all around brilliant, unflagging social justice brainiac) Ariel Aberg-Riger sent out this New Year’s card, and I think about it whenever I start to feel the “oh surely I can’t make a difference” blues:
It wasn’t the first time I’d heard this part of The Talmud. But it hit differently then, and it’s stayed with me ever since.
So! For me, like I said, one part of continuing the work is donating half of the money I make every time I pour you a beer. (For transparency sake: in calculating the profit of a drink, I’m not including any overhead or labor in the cost, just the wholesale purchase cost of the drink.)
Another part is talking with you (as you sip that beer) about the groups I’m donating to. I love where those conservations go—especially the part where I learn about the issues you care about deeply and what you do to make your difference in the world. You teach me about organizations I haven’t heard of before (like the Trans Resistance Network listed below). You expand my understanding of activism. You inspire me. Seriously.
All this said, we don’t always get to talking about all of this between the hiking tips and the books recs and the catching up, so I figured I’d put it down on paper for you here too.
In their own words, these are the missions of the groups I/you gave to this year:
Our mission: to use rigorous, independent science to solve our planet's most pressing problems. Joining with people across the country, we combine technical analysis and effective advocacy to create innovative, practical solutions for a healthy, safe, and sustainable future.
We represent LGBTQ+ people and everyone living with HIV in the court of law and in the court of public opinion.
Our Mission: The Native American Rights Fund holds governments accountable. We fight to protect Native American rights, resources, and life ways through litigation, legal advocacy, and legal expertise.
We fight for a world beyond fossil fuels. We believe in a safe climate and a better future— a prosperous and equitable world built with the power of ordinary people, driven by renewable energy and rooted in justice.
Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) envisions a world in which unaccompanied and separated children’s rights and well-being are protected as they seek safety.
We at KIND have intentionally developed a comprehensive approach within our work to address the multi-faceted needs of unaccompanied migrant children once they are in the U.S. Not only do children come to us in need of legal services, but also often with deep traumas caused by the violence and fear experienced during their forced migration. Here’s how we address them: policy and advocacy, psychosocial support, family separation response, and international research.
The Trans Resistance Network (TRN) was formed to ensure the survival of gender diverse people and families through strategic coordination of resources for relocation, alternative systems of gender affirming care, mutual aid, and community defense. We emphasize support for gender diverse children and families who are facing imminent danger, and gender diverse people who are Indigenous, Black and Brown. Trans rights are human rights!
Our mission is to create awareness and support for Native environmental issues and to develop needed financial and political resources for the survival of sustainable Native communities. Honor the Earth develops these resources by using music, the arts, the media, and Indigenous wisdom to ask people to recognize our joint dependency on the Earth and be a voice for those not heard.
So thank you for sipping on something with us and thereby helping all the folks above help others. Thank you for tipping a little extra to go into this pot. And thank you for all the ways you are making this world a better place for the rest of us.
I’m looking forward to pouring you more next year! In the meantime, any nonprofits out there you think I should have on my radar for 2024…?