Project Management | Community Activism
Ayanna Miller
In June of 2022, Roe v. Wade was overturned in the United States. I was outraged, along with millions of others across the country. But as someone living along the coast of California, I knew that I was in a huge position of privilege; my personal reproductive rights were almost certainly safe.
The same could not be said for countless individuals across the U.S. This decision would, and has, disproportionally impacted marginalized communities such as low-income individuals, people of color, LGBTQ+ members, and many others.
A fellow community member and I teamed up to organize our first community event: a 15-hour sit-in to raise funds for The Brigid Alliance.
The Brigid Alliance is a nonprofit that removes barriers to abortion access by providing individuals with access to transportation, housing, meals, childcare, and a full support system.
Process 📣
The two of us co-organized the sit-in all by ourselves, with the help of some wonderful friends and family who wanted to help us see our vision through. There was a ton of work to be done, and usually, an event of this size takes multiple months to plan, but we pulled everything together within a month.
Here is an overview of everything that went into planning this event:
Content, content, content: I wrote all the content for this event. This includes:
The description for our gofundme
Email and phone scripts for people to send to their representatives
Social media copy and design (Bio, captions, image copy, etc.)
Sit-in sponsor request text and email templates
Script for introducing speakers at the event
Outreach
Door-to-door canvassing to garner support for our event, providing posters for businesses and asking for help with financial donations, supplies donations, or spreading the word to customers.
Made phone calls to local businesses to secure donations (food, water, coffee, sound systems, etc.)
I spoke at a local DSA rally to promote our fundraiser
Event planning: 15 hours is a long time for an event. We planned a multitude of activities for participants, including:
Six speakers from various community organizations (Planned Parenthood, Democratic Socialists of America, GALA Pride and Diversity Center, SLOHS Young Democrats, City Council Members, etc.)
Sign-making supplies
Scripts to contact representatives
Lunch, coffee, and snacks provided to participants
"Speed dating" to connect community members
Two yoga sessions, provided for free by the local yoga studio
Here is the Instagram account that documented the whole journey!
Outcome 💚
We secured $5,000 in total donations for The Brigid Alliance!
My co-organizer and I garnered enough support for an incredibly successful community event. It was a huge challenge to organize this big event in such a short amount of time, but we learned a lot and it was so fulfilling to bring our community together for such an important cause.
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Posted Nov 30, 2024
Co-organized a fundraiser event in 30 days to raise money for The Brigid Alliance, an abortion access nonprofit.
