| May
9, 2007
Dear Friends,
To show you what a difference your support makes, we decided to let a few
of the groups we fund speak for themselves.
After you read the following testimonials, we hope you’ll be inspired
to make a generous contribution to the Muste Institute. (As always, your gifts
are tax-deductible.) Please write the largest check you can and use the enclosed
envelope to send it in or click on the “JustGive” button at the
top of this page to donate now through a secure site. Thank you in advance
for your support!
 Without
the Muste Institute our small group of 9/11 rescue workers would not have had
the resources to work for a peaceful response to the World Trade Center attack.
We would not have had the financial support to travel to Afghanistan to work
alongside our Afghan coworkers. Resistance can be scary and exhausting work.
The Muste Institute’s encouragement has made all
the difference.
—Megan
Bartlett, Ground Zero for Peace,
New York (grantee, 2003; sponsored project,
2007)
We
believe building nonviolent movements is the key to creating the world we want
our children to grow up in, and the support of the Muste Institute has helped
us educate, organize and mobilize thousands of people to address the threat
of nuclear weapons and the broader culture of violence we live in. When other
funders turned their backs on grassroots work in favor of political work inside
the beltway, Muste stood with us and provided crucial support.
—Ralph
Hutchison, Oak Ridge Environmental
Peace Alliance, Tennessee (grantee, 2005)
Before
we moved into the Muste building, our tenants’ rights
organization was getting eaten alive by the real estate industry—internally
and externally. While the landlords were weakening the rent laws and eradicating
affordable housing, our own office rent was so high we couldn’t afford
to pay our staff. Thanks to the great space at 339 Lafayette and the wonderfully
supportive atmosphere created by the Muste Institute, our work is much stronger
and more effective.
—Jenny Laurie, Met Council on Housing,
New York (tenant since 2001)
Israelis
like us, who fight against the occupation and thus swim against the current
in our own country, don’t get much support other than what
friends inside and outside Israel contribute. At critical moments, we suddenly
receive a grant from an organization like yours, and we are deeply grateful.
—Uri Avnery, Gush Shalom, Israel (grantee,
2004)
Small
groups working for social change can often feel alone in an uphill struggle
for peace and justice. The Muste Institute’s enthusiastic support
of our historical memory project with youth in El Salvador has meant the world
not just to us, but to some very dedicated young people who have had an opportunity
they never would have dreamed
possible.
—Tanya Snyder, Voices on the Border,
Washington
DC (grantee, 2006)
We
are grateful to the Muste Institute for supporting our efforts to improve the
re-entry system for former prisoners in Massachusetts. Real social change only
happens when people mobilize to resolve their own problems collectively, and
the Muste Institute is one of the few foundations that provides grants for
this kind of action.
—James Cain, EPOCA (Ex-prisoners and Prisoners
Organizing
for Community Advancement),
Massachusetts (grantee, 2006)
The
A. J. Muste Memorial Institute has been a wonderful support for our small group,
Artists Against the War. Not only has A. J. Muste been our not-for-profit umbrella,
it has also given us advice about financing and fundraising. The staff are
always accessible and generous, and we value the assistance they provide to
so many progressive causes. They are a unique treasure, and we feel lucky to
have this connection!
—Joyce Kozloff, Artists Against the War,
New York (sponsored
project since 2005)
In
2005 our offices in Buenos Aires were robbed; the door was broken open, property
was damaged and destroyed and all our computers were stolen. In that moment
of anguish we received the concrete solidarity of the Muste Institute, which
we used to replace stolen materials, repair damages and install an alarm system.
It was very positive to feel your accompaniment in those difficult moments
for our institution.
— Adolfo Perez Esquivel (Nobel Peace Laureate) and Susana
Moreira, Servicio Paz y Justicia, Argentina (NOVA Fund grantee, 2005)
It
is clear that the Muste Institute trusts and believes in their grantees to
create the change we want to see in the world. With flexible funding from Muste,
we were able to offer short trainings in nonviolent action for social change
to women living in exile who had never before imagined a public role for themselves.
For small organizations working in marginalized communities, AJ Muste fills
a crucial role.
—Ginger Norwood, International Women’s
Partnership for
Peace
and Justice, Thailand (INTF grantee, 2003 & 2005)
A.J.
Muste Memorial Institute is a vital part of the movement for peace and justice.
From providing badly needed office space to ongoing financial support, they
have been an essential resource for a wide variety of movements and struggles.
Their decades of support have allowed us at the War Resisters League to continue
our work to build a world free of violence and militarism. Simply put, what
we do would not be possible without their generous support.
—Steve Theberge, War Resisters League, New York
(tenant,
grantee and sponsored project since 1974)
We received dozens more comments like these from groups around the world.
You can find the rest on our website at www.ajmuste.org/testimonials.html
Thank you again for your ongoing support of our programs. We look forward
to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
 |
 |
 |
Murray Rosenblith
Executive Director |
Jane Guskin
Program Associate |
Jeanne Strole
Administrative
Assistant |
A.J. Muste Memorial Institute
339 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10012
212-533-4335 Fax: 212-228-6193 www.ajmuste.org info@ajmuste.org
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