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Southern Partners Fund, tax-exempt since 1998, reported $7.4 million in revenue and $3.7 million in expenses for tax year 2023.

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Summer 2026 Newsletter

Spring 2026 Newsletter

Fernando Cuevas

Linda J. Norman

Daphne Saethang

Antoine Smith

William Nichols

Kahlil Johnson

Omari Fox

Election Day is here! SPF directed over $500K through our 2026 Regular Grant Cycle and Special Initiative funding to grassroots voter rights organizations across the rural South. These partners spent the year talking with neighbors about their right to vote and what to do if they face voter suppression. That relational work pays off at the polls. Check your registration and polling place at vote.gov. Problems voting? Call the nonpartisan Election Protection hotline: 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683). #ElectionDay #VoterRights #GrassrootsOrganizing #SocialJustice #SouthernPartnersFund

Dolores Huerta died peacefully Wednesday at 96. She co-founded the United Farm Workers, negotiated the first farmworker union contracts in U.S. history, and gave the movement “Sí, se puede.” She was jailed 22 times and severely beaten by police at a peaceful protest. Yet, she kept organizing--for Black lives, immigrant justice, LGBTQ+ equality, women’s rights, and a living wage. Across the rural Southeast, our grantee partners carry her work forward every day.

The Census Bureau has proposed changes to the 2030 Census that would leave undocumented residents and temporary visa holders out of the counts used to divide congressional seats, and drop the race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation questions. Census counts drive Medicaid and Title I funding. Comments are due November 2nd, and nonprofits can submit one without it counting as lobbying. Linktree in bio has our summary and sample letter. Please share! #2030Census #faircount #grassrootsorganizing #southernpartnersfund

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3rd, just under two weeks from today. And between our Regular Grant Cycle and Special Initiative funding for 2026, SPF has directed over $500k to grassroots organizations focused on voter rights across the rural South. These organizations have spent that time engaging their communities on how to exercise their constitutional right to vote, why it matters, and what to do if they encounter any forms of voter suppression along the way. This highly relational work pays off when people follow through at the polls. Between now and November 3rd: • Check your registration status and find your polling place at vote.gov, which links to your state’s official election office. • Many of our states have early voting underway. Look up your state’s dates and ID requirements before you go. • Pick a day and time to vote, and line up a ride if you need one. • If you have a question or feel nervous about voting for any reason, reach out to a trusted grassroots or community organization near you. • If you run into a problem at the polls, you can also call the nonpartisan Election Protection hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683). Tell a friend or family member you’re going and ask them to do the same. #ElectionDay #VoterRights #GrassrootsOrganizing #SocialJustice #SouthernPartnersFund

Hispanic Heritage Month ends tomorrow. We wanted to share two grantee partner spotlights from our Fall Newsletter, both led by members of the communities this year’s enforcement has targeted hardest. It’s Our Future @elfuturoesnuestronc is led by the H-2A farmworkers it represents, organizing across eastern North Carolina for safer fields and an end to wage theft. Migrant Equity Southeast @mese_ga pairs immigration rights work with voter turnout in coastal and rural Georgia. Both are part of this year’s Hubert E. Sapp Regular Grants Cycle, which moved over $120,000 to rural groups and coalitions organizing for immigration rights as enforcement pressure grows across the South. #HispanicHeritageMonth #ImmigrantRights #FarmworkerJustice #GrassrootsOrganizing #SouthernPartnersFund

On September 10, the Census Bureau proposed two changes to the 2030 Census: excluding undocumented residents and temporary visa holders from congressional apportionment counts, and removing race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation questions from the short form. The Constitution requires apportionment based on "the whole number of persons," a 14th Amendment standard that makes no distinction based on immigration status. An undercount would mean fewer federal dollars for rural Southern communities already undercounted for decades, and less data to enforce the already gutted Voting Rights Act. Organizations and individuals are strongly encouraged to add their comments before the October 13 deadline. #2030Census #faircount #grassrootsorganizing #southernpartnersfund

Today is National Voter Registration Day. The 2026 midterms are less than seven weeks out, with governor's races, Senate seats, state legislatures, and thousands of local offices on the ballot across the South. New voting laws in several states have tightened registration rules and triggered large-scale voter roll purges. Even if you registered in 2024, your status may have changed. There is encouraging news, too: the Supreme Court this week blocked new USPS mail ballot restrictions from taking effect for November. Most Southern states have registration deadlines in early-to-mid October. Check your status, help a neighbor register, and spread the word. #NationalVoterRegistrationDay #SocialJustice #GrassrootsOrganizing #VoterRights #SouthernPartnersFund

July is National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, and we didn't want to miss the opportunity to uplift the work of the Black Leadership Action Coalition of Kentucky (BLACK), whose Care Campaign is building community-led alternatives to crisis response in a state where more than 3 million people live in communities without enough mental health professionals. BLACK is organizing to change that—training neighbors, canvassing communities, and advocating for systems of care rooted in compassion rather than criminalization. Their work is a powerful example of what investing in community leadership and building Southern power looks like. #grassrootsorganizing #southernpartnersfund #mentalhealth #socialjustice

This Supreme Court term reshaped the balance of power in this country. The Court upheld birthright citizenship—the bare minimum. But it also stripped judicial review from TPS terminations affecting 1.3 million people, overturned 91 years of independent agency protections, and struck down 50-year-old limits on political spending before the midterms. One unexpected break: the Court rejected longstanding attacks on mail-in voting. The response was immediate—the House committed to passing the SAVE America Act for the fourth time, a bill that could block millions of eligible citizens from voting. Our partners across the rural South are not slowing down. #VotingRights #ProtectTPS #birthrightcitizenship #GrassrootsOrganizing #SocialJustice #RuralSouth #SouthernPartnersFund

This June marked 57 years since the Stonewall Uprising, and Pride Month arrived under circumstances hard to fathom a few years ago. Tampa, Spartanburg, and Arlington cancelled celebrations as corporate sponsors retreated and public funding evaporated. Florida's new anti-diversity law lets the governor remove officials who fund Pride. NSPM-7, signed in September 2025, directs federal law enforcement to investigate organizations tied to "extremism on migration, race, and gender"—language broad enough to sweep up LGBTQIA+ advocacy and racial justice groups. Yet over 50 Pride events went ahead this June. We Are Family and one of our Capacity Building Fellows, from Tranzmission (pictured), are two of the organizers meeting this moment.

Pride is rooted in celebration, resistance, and solidarity. This year, it's also a reckoning. The recent passing of Barney Frank is a reminder that liberation movements don't always protect everyone equally. Real coalition building means being honest about that, especially as LGBTQ+ people—and trans people in particular—face an escalating legislative assault. More than 616 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were introduced in 2025. The ACLU has already counted 529 more in 2026. In the rural South, where affirming resources are already scarce, communities bear a disproportionate share of this burden. But our grantee partners are meeting this moment with clarity and resolve. From We Are Family's Trans Love Fund microgrants in South Carolina, to RISE: Healthy for Life's affirming health education in Appalachia, to the Kentucky Civic Engagement Table building queer-inclusive power statewide, their work is essential. #Pride #LGBTQRights #GrassrootsOrganizing #SocialJustice #RuralSouth #SouthernPartnersFund

The Voting Rights Act is being dismantled piece by piece. On April 29th, the Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais struck down a congressional map that gave Black Louisianans—one-third of the state's population—a second seat for the first time in the state's history, gutting Section 2, the last meaningful enforcement tool the VRA had left. Days later, the Court made it effective immediately. Then on May 11th, it vacated its own 2023 Alabama ruling in Allen v. Milligan. States moved fast: Florida, Louisiana, and Tennessee have already redrawn or begun redrawing maps to eliminate majority-Black districts. Up to 19 House seats held by Black members of Congress are now at risk. Our grantee partners across the rural South are doing the work no court ruling can undo—registering voters, training redistricting cohorts, and building civic power where it matters most. Will you join us? #VRA #VotingRights #Redistricting #GrassrootsOrganizing #SocialJustice #RuralSouth #SouthernPartnersFund

This Earth Day, federal rollbacks to air quality standards, environmental review, and EPA funding will fall hardest on communities that already carry the heaviest burden. We're proud to stand alongside the organizations holding the line across the rural South—including the Alliance for Appalachia, Blackbelt Women Rising, Glynn Environmental Coalition, Coal River Mountain Watch, Inclusive Louisiana, and Georgia WAND, (spotlighted in the full post). When federal protections weaken, their work becomes more urgent. #EarthDay #GrassrootsOrganizing #EnvironmentalJustice #RuralSouth #SouthernPartnersFund

Women are the backbone of the movement. The majority of the workforce. The ones who stay when the funding runs out. And yet, the credit goes elsewhere. As we wrap up this Women's History Month, SPF is celebrating the women building power in the rural South with a clarity about what's at stake that rarely makes it into the national conversation. Their work is Women's History Month. #WomensHistoryMonth #SocialJustice #WomensRights #RuralSouth #GrassrootsOrganizing #SouthernPartnersFund

In January, we shared reflections on Dr. King’s legacy and promised to follow up with a grantee partner spotlight on the Newtown Florist Club (NFC) for Black History Month. Their commitment to youth leadership, community voice, and collective responsibility closely aligns with SPF’s belief that grassroots leadership is the foundation for lasting change across the South. So, as we continue honoring Black History Month, we also recognize that many of the stories shaping this legacy are the stories of Black women who organized, nurtured, and led. Incorporated in 1950, but founded in 1936, by Black women committed to justice in Gainesville–Hall County, NFC reflects that truth. And as we prepare to enter Women’s History Month, we do so with the understanding that the crossover is not incidental, but deeply interconnected. The leadership of Black women has long anchored Southern grassroots movements, and NFC’s enduring impact is a powerful testament to that tradition. #BlackHistoryMonth #RuralSouth #EducationJustice #GrassrootsOrganizing #SouthernPartnersFund

In the wake of his passing, we honor the life and legacy of Jesse Jackson—a movement builder who helped reshape our democracy. Rooted in the Southern freedom struggle, Rev. Jackson carried forward the unfinished work of justice with courage and conviction. He reminded poor and working people, Black communities, immigrants, farmers, and everyday Southerners that they were somebody—deserving not just of representation, but power. His life reminds us that hope is not abstract—it is organized. And it lives on in the grassroots leaders across the rural South who continue building collective power for a more just and inclusive future.

Black History Month is not only a time to honor the past—it’s a moment to recognize the living history being written every day across the rural South. From classrooms and school boards to student-led spaces of resistance and imagination, Black history is—and has always been—a story of collective action. Families, educators, and young people organizing together to meet community needs, defend access to education, and build power, even in the face of violent racism and structural exclusion. And amidst today’s chaos and suffering, Black joy remains central. Music, storytelling, celebration, shared rituals—these have never been separate from learning or organizing. They are how communities sustain themselves, pass down ancestral knowledge, and continue to dream through struggle. At SPF, we believe education reform must honor the full humanity of students and educators alike—rooted in community, sustained by joy, and bound by care. That legacy continues through youth-led, community-rooted organizing, including partners like Virginia Student Power Network, whose work reminds us that education, democracy, and justice are inseparable—and always have been. #BlackHistoryMonth #RuralSouth #EducationJustice #GrassrootsOrganizing #SouthernPartnersFund

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day—a moment not only for remembrance, but for recommitment. At SPF, we honor the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. by remembering that his vision was never about symbolic gestures or passive reflection. It was about action—collective, courageous, and rooted in a deep love for humanity. Today offers a chance to take stock of how far we’ve come, and what this moment is asking of us now. This past Saturday, the Newtown Florist Club, a GA-based, Black-led grassroots organization born out of the Civil Rights Movement (and recently celebrated its 75th anniversary), convened an MLK Day rally, bringing the community together to march for peace, unity, and justice. Sitting at the intersection of civic engagement, education, and environmental justice, their work also focuses on criminal justice reform and youth development in rural Georgia. In a few weeks, we'll be sharing a dedicated spotlight focusing on their new documentary, We've Come This Far by Faith, a powerful story about school segregation in Gainesville, GA, that is premiering for MLK Day at a local Gainesville movie theater.

As noted in our End of Year Giving Appeal, we are incredibly proud of the $1.6m we were able to direct to our grassroots partners--partners who are responsible for advancing social justice in the Southern rural communities SPF was created to support. One of our partners, Arkansas United, has grown tremendously over the past decade and we are thrilled to share a case study on the critical support they are providing to immigrant communities throughout the state. If you'd like to learn more or to support this work, click below!

Across the rural South, basic rights — to learn, vote, migrate, and live safely — are under renewed attack. Yet rural grassroots leaders continue to rise, build power, and defend their communities. This Giving Tuesday, we’re lifting up a new Community in Focus episode featuring: • Nollie Jenkins Family Center (MS) • Casa Azul Wilson (NC) • Farmworkers Self-Help (FL) These organizers are advancing education justice, immigrant rights, and environmental health in the face of growing policy threats. Your gift fuels frontline leaders across 12 Southeastern states—from voter engagement to climate justice to youth leadership. Stand with the South. Build power from the ground up. Watch the CIF episode and donate today via links in bio! #grassrootsorganizing #givingtuesday #southernpartnersfund #communityinfocus

Across the South, our communities are facing real threats — book bans in classrooms, attacks on immigrant families, voter suppression, and climate disasters hitting hardest in rural places. These aren’t headlines from far away. This is daily life in the rural South. SPF stands with the grassroots leaders pushing back — defending education, voting rights, immigrant justice, and community-led climate solutions. Meet one of our outstanding partners on these frontlines — the Louisiana Organization for Refugees and Immigrants, which is working to protect refugee rights and shape humane policies. Giving Tuesday is only a few days away. This year, give to fuel grassroots power.

This Thanksgiving, we’re grateful for the grassroots leaders across the rural South who keep showing up for justice, democracy, and community. We also honor the Indigenous peoples whose lands we occupy. Their resilience and stewardship continue to guide what it means to protect and love the South collectively. This season, we give thanks by giving back — fueling the organizers, like the Georgia Muslim Voter Project, who are building a more just, rooted South for generations ahead. Support Grassroots Power This Giving Tuesday. Donate link in bio. #grassrootsorganizing #givingtuesday #southernpartnersfund

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