Hasta La Gadget!

As a funding organization working in over ninety countries, we have seen firsthand that the most powerful change comes from the knowledge and experience of impacted communities. The best people to design and implement solutions are those facing the problems in the first place. We aim to make high impact, culturally relevant micro grants. Supporting grassroots changemakers, most of whom are commonly overlooked by other funders due to socioeconomic and geographical factors, has proven to be a successful strategy for making meaningful grants around the world.

One strategy we employ is ‘flow funding’, where we put grantmaking decisions in the hands of trusted grantees, each of whom identifies worthwhile projects to fund within their communities. Using their experience of the issues facing communities and their social networks, our team identifies and supports local leaders who are building community resilience. Because these grants are made face to face, through conversation and relationships, our ‘flow funders’ are also able to support and mentor grant recipients, helping people and projects that would may otherwise not get funded through traditional methods, and fostering new cohorts of empowered, connected, and skilled change makers who enact locally-driven solutions.

In Kenya and Uganda, our East Africa Hub Grantmaking team has identified and made a handful of extraordinary flow fund grants (with another 25-30 grants still to be made in 2016). Our team is supporting grassroots pioneers who are transforming their communities. While these projects are tackling diverse issues, together they paint a picture of a resilient and sustainable future.

Congratulations to our 7 recent East Africa Flow Fund Grantees:

Emily Auma Oloo, Pawpaw Farming for Improved Livelihood for Poor Farmers, Western State, Kenya. Recognizing the social impact of financial income for women in rural communities, Vincent Atitwa made his first flow fund to farmer Emily. Funds will be used to help strengthen her farming activities, radically improving the health and living standards of the community.

Jimmy Okello, Stove Making for Energy Conservation, Kitgum, Uganda. Fighting climate change at a community level by producing energy saving stoves that reduce the consumption of fire wood and reduce exposure to dangerous fumes, this group are changing lives and saving the planet! Jimmy Amone is supporting this project with a flow fund that will enable the production and distribution of many more stoves to community members.

Carolyne Adhiambo Oloo, Stawi Women, Bondo, Kenya. Empowering widows by training them on their rights and opening up avenues for income generating activities. Tired of seeing widowed women treated like property, Sitawa Wafula was so fired up by Carolyne’s passion and drive for working with widows that she has selected her to receive this flow fund. The grant supports efforts to ensure that widowed w‎omen are seen as humans with rights!

Jimmy Otim, Health Care Alliance, Lira, Uganda. Providing palliative and nursing care for the elderly, especially those living with disabilities. After witnessing the lack of options for care for those facing health concerns, Suzan Wilmot is thrilled to give her first flow fund to Jimmy to help create an earned income stream for elderly people and those with disabilities, rebuilding their social safety net!

Nathan Mukabire, Mayuge Tweziimbe Welding Skills for the Youth, Mayuge, Uganda. Helping youth become self reliant through welding training and empowerment activities. Observing how hard it is for young people in Uganda to be able to find work, Batale Fred saw the potential for Nathan’s work to help young people make a better future for themselves and their country, and is supporting him with a flow fund to help train young people in welding.

Franciska Walwenda Ogone, Grandmothers Project, Kisumu, Kenya. Helping widows earn a livelihood through small businesses selling maize. East Africa Hub Fellow David Omondi made a life altering investment in a community of grandmothers in Omambo, by giving his first flow fund grant to 63 year-old Francisca Ogone to help her and participants earn a livelihood without resorting to dangerous, back breaking work.

Stephen Muchoki Kimani, Sports With A Mission, Nairobi, Kenya. Using peer to peer education to empower underprivileged young women and girls through sports. Young Women in informal communities face challenging conditions which stifle their potential. Miriam Wambui is proud to support Stephen with a flow fund, helping him to provide young women and girls in informal communities ways to stay healthy and educated!

Visit our East Africa Hub Team and learn how they are re-defining the way we give grants in East Africa.

Do you have a project that can change the world for the better? We accept grant applications for Pollination Project seed grants, every day of the year. We love learning about changemakers across the globe and all they are doing to spread compassion, peace, environmental sustainability, generosity and justice.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

PHILADELPHIA ― In 2006, there were the May Day marches. In 2010, the Dream Act failed. In 2012, the president implemented deferred action for undocumented childhood arrivals. In 2013, the Senate passed immigration reform legislation. That legislation went nowhere ― so in 2014, the president announced deferred action for undocumented parents of Americans.

In 2016, the Supreme Court stalled the president’s executive actions on immigration.

Latinos had high hopes for the last 10 years, but have been left with no substantive policy wins for their community and are witnessing an election cycle that began with a candidate for the Republican nomination calling Mexicans “criminals” and “rapists.”

In July, Republicans formally nominated that candidate for the presidency of the United States.

“Right now these forces are knocking on our door and they’re knocking on our door saying ‘we are not afraid of you’ ― it’s kind of like a teasing,” said Maria Teresa Kumar, head of Voto Latino, a nonprofit focused on mobilizing Latinos.

Donald Trump is the one knocking, and with him comes the promise of a border wall, a reversal of all of President Barack Obama’s executive actions, mass deportations and a leader who incites racist vitriol toward Latinos ― those born in the U.S., those immigrating and those who are undocumented.

For Latinos at the Democratic National Convention, one thing was clear: This is a moment unlike any before in American politics. A moment to prove to those running for the presidency ― and other levels of office ― that they won’t win unless they prioritize the Latino voter. They have the power: 27.3 million Latinos are estimated to be eligible to vote on election day. But it remains to be seen whether they’ll use it. 

Out of those eligible voters, nearly half will be millennials, a notoriously difficult group to get to the polls. But if primaries like Nevada’s are any indication, where a record number registered to vote this year, Latinos are priming themselves for this moment.

“Most people don’t realize that Latinos from now on will make the difference in who the president is,” Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) said at a Poder PAC event during the DNC honoring Latinas in politics. “We will choose. Most people don’t know that in a lot of these statewide races, we will choose.”

That’s what Amanda Renteria, national political director for Hillary Clinton’s campaign, is betting on. Speaking at the same fundraiser event in downtown Philadelphia, Renteria, a daughter of farm workers in California’s Central Valley, told the influential Latinos in attendance that the stakes couldn’t be higher.

“The world has actually seen Donald Trump disrespect and devalue us,” she said to cheers from the small crowd. “We need to show everyone in this country that once and for all, this is not how we’re going to be treated. So I need everyone in this room, we need to do everything we can to not just defeat Donald Trump in November but to absolutely overwhelmingly reject him.”

Later, in an interview with The Huffington Post, Renteria recalled past battles like the mass marches calling for immigrant rights, and the failed attempts by Congress to pass immigration reform, admitting that Latinos have learned some hard lessons along the way.

But there’s no doubt in her mind that this time is different.

“We’ve never had someone that has disrespected the community as much as Donald Trump has,” she said. “Not just immigrants but first, second, third, fourth generations. That really has united the Latino community in a way, that even if you are born here, you know he looks at your kids a little differently.” 

Latinos had high hopes for the last 10 years, but have been left with no substantive policy wins for their community and are witnessing an election cycle that began with a candidate for the Republican nomination calling Mexicans “criminals” and “rapists.”

In July, Republicans formally nominated that candidate for the presidency of the United States.

“Right now these forces are knocking on our door and they’re knocking on our door saying ‘we are not afraid of you’ ― it’s kind of like a teasing,” said Maria Teresa Kumar, head of Voto Latino, a nonprofit focused on mobilizing Latinos.

Donald Trump is the one knocking, and with him comes the promise of a border wall, a reversal of all of President Barack Obama’s executive actions, mass deportations and a leader who incites racist vitriol toward Latinos ― those born in the U.S., those immigrating and those who are undocumented.

For Latinos at the Democratic National Convention, one thing was clear: This is a moment unlike any before in American politics. A moment to prove to those running for the presidency ― and other levels of office ― that they won’t win unless they prioritize the Latino voter. They have the power: 27.3 million Latinos are estimated to be eligible to vote on election day. But it remains to be seen whether they’ll use it. 

Out of those eligible voters, nearly half will be millennials, a notoriously difficult group to get to the polls. But if primaries like Nevada’s are any indication, where a record number registered to vote this year, Latinos are priming themselves for this moment.

“Most people don’t realize that Latinos from now on will make the difference in who the president is,” Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) said at a Poder PAC event during the DNC honoring Latinas in politics. “We will choose. Most people don’t know that in a lot of these statewide races, we will choose.”

That’s what Amanda Renteria, national political director for Hillary Clinton’s campaign, is betting on. Speaking at the same fundraiser in downtown Philadelphia, Renteria, a daughter of farm workers in California’s Central Valley, told the influential Latinos in attendance that the stakes couldn’t be higher.

“The world has actually seen Donald Trump disrespect and devalue us,” she said to cheers from the small crowd. “We need to show everyone in this country that once and for all, this is not how we’re going to be treated. So I need everyone in this room, we need to do everything we can to not just defeat Donald Trump in November but to absolutely overwhelmingly reject him.”

Later, in an interview with The Huffington Post, Renteria recalled past battles like the mass marches calling for immigrant rights, and the failed attempts by Congress to pass immigration reform, admitting that Latinos have learned some hard lessons along the way.

But there’s no doubt in her mind that this time is different.

“We’ve never had someone that has disrespected the community as much as Donald Trump has,” she said. “Not just immigrants but first, second, third, fourth generations. That really has united the Latino community in a way, that even if you are born here, you know he looks at your kids a little differently.” 

We’ve never had someone that has disrespected the [Latino] community as much as Donald Trump has … even if you are born here, you know he looks at your kids a little differently.
Amanda Renteria, national political director, Hillary Clinton campaign

It’s not enough to be anti-Trump, however ― people have to actively be pro-Clinton. Some immigrant rights activists are holding out for deeper commitments and remain wary of the former secretary of state.

Renteria acknowledged this. Clinton will move on immigration reform in her “first 100 days,” Renteria said, repeating the Democratic nominee’s frequent pledge. “This is real.” 

And her campaign won’t rely on Trump’s failures alone. It’s also about proving to Latino voters that the Democratic nominee is on their side. She has vowed to alleviate naturalization costs, close immigration detention centers run by private prisons and add to Obama’s DACA and DAPA actions. 

Having run an unsuccessful bid for Congress herself, Renteria knows that getting communities of color involved is “much harder than a good commercial” highlighting the opponent’s awful rhetoric. Voters need to make a deep connection with the candidate.

“I don’t want to underestimate the importance of proving to Republicans that if you have a candidate like Trump we will turn out against you,” Renteria said. “That pushes Republicans to say, ‘If I am not a part of what Latinos need ― whether it’s comprehensive immigration reform, or education or the economy ― if we ignore this community, we lose time and time again.’”

That will trickle down the ballot, she added. Not only this year, but for years to come on the local, state and national election map.

“This is literally he does not want you if you have any Mexican heritage whatever generation you are,” continued Renteria, who is of Mexican descent herself. “And she wants to give you a voice in the White House.” 

“My parents and so many parents came here for a better life, and to think that [Trump] will get elected and that notion no longer exists, it’s a big deal,” Renteria added.

The disparity between what Republicans and Democrats are offering for Latinos was on full display during the conventions. Hector E. Sanchez saw it.

Sanchez attended both conventions in his capacity as chair of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, a coalition representing the nation’s leading Hispanic organizations. It’s a nonpartisan network focused on policy and doesn’t endorse anyone for the presidency. (Sanchez is also the executive director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, an affiliate of the AFL-CIO.)

At the RNC, he recalled, “It’s unbelievable, they had the most anti-immigrant voices in the nation… some people from the KKK, and the general messaging was anti-immigrant, anti-welcome, anti-integration, anti-everything of values we should have as a nation.”

At the DNC, by contrast, he was relieved to see immigrants and Latinos given a platform on the convention stage. He noted the importance of the symbolism behind speeches like one given by Karla Ortiz, a U.S. citizen who fears that her undocumented parents will be deported.

“We are under such horrible attack that it is affecting the quality of life of families,” Sanchez said. “Hate crimes against Latinos are increasing; racial profiling against Latinos is increasing.”

That’s why, he added, if Clinton is elected, his organization will push for solid representation of Latinos in her cabinet ― he wants four ― and for her to demonstrate a serious commitment to immigration reform.

And if Clinton doesn’t deliver? That’s not possible, said Catherine Pino, co-founder of the Poder PAC.

“She can’t do that, you know why?” Pino asked. “If she wants to run again and be elected in four years, it won’t work. She knows.”

Pino has supported Clinton since 2008. When she lost, Pino was depressed. Drinking a margarita with close friends as they watched Clinton concede to Obama, Pino realized something needed to change. That’s when the Poder PAC was formed. Up until 2015, its mission was to fund Latinas running for all levels of elected office. Now, they’ve tailored their approach to focus on Latinas running for Congress.

If Latinos want their voices heard and their expectations met, Pino knows it’s not enough for Clinton to win the presidency. And since the Democratic establishment had a history of ignoring Latino candidates, Pino wanted to fill that gap.

“It’s been one of our frustrations,” Pino said. “We’re in D.C., we have a government relations firm and do a lot of work with [the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee], and we’ve taken them to task about supporting our candidates.”

Sayu Bhojwani is trying to fill the void as well. Bhojwani, the former New York City commissioner of immigrant affairs, kicked off an effort during the DNC to have what she calls new American caucuses established in legislatures nationwide.

Bhojwani, who heads the New American Leader Project along with a team of immigrant and first-generation elected officials, immigrated to the U.S about 30 years ago from Belize and is of Indian descent. One in five Americans are immigrants or children of immigrants. So the key to passing immigration reform, Bhojwani said, lies in getting first-generation Americans and newly naturalized citizens into office.

“There’s a big gap between us being asked to tell our stories and us being told, ‘This is what we commit to doing in order to make immigration reform happen,’” Bhojwani said.

While she knows the immigrant community’s animosity toward Trump runs deep, she doesn’t think it’s enough to create a true movement. Down-ballot races need to be a part of the strategy, she said.

“It can only be a political moment if we can show that we can flex our political muscles beyond the top of the ticket,” she said. “Otherwise we become heavily reliant on one person, who, because of the way American democracy works, is only one arm of our government. The fact that we keep making that mistake every election cycle, it just blows my mind.”

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

This might have been the political analysis fail of the week.

CNN political contributor John Phillips stood out in a grid of talking heads when he made an awkward comment comparing Donald Trump’s campaign to the death of comedian Chris Farley.

“Over the last few days, I’m not surprised to see people running for the hills,” Phillips, a Trump supporter and radio host, said on Tuesday. “The last 72 hours for Donald Trump have been the political equivalent of Chris Farley’s final 72 hours on planet Earth.”

Kevin Farley, the brother of the late “SNL” star who died of a drug overdose after a reported dayslong binge in December 1997, wasn’t laughing. “Tasteless and rude,” he told the Hollywood Reporter.

Phillips has more to say on Trump’s recent controversy. Watch above.

Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims ― 1.6 billion members of an entire religion ― from entering the U.S.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Even if Kim K ends up ditching BlackBerry, she could still replicate part of the BB experience with an Android phone. The Canadian phonemaker has released its Hub+ suite of applications on Google Play for devices running Android Marshmallow. BB’s Hub…

The galaxy-faring sci-fi fest No Man’s Sky isn’t out until next week but one enterprising fan has already made parts of the game perhaps a little less daunting. Reddit user Aleator83’s NMS Ally is a companion app that will, among other things, genera…