For Immediate Release: 3/8/22
Contact:
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Restore the Delta, 209-479-2053, barbara@restorethedelta.org
STOCKTON, Calif. – Restore the Delta and local coalition partners Little Manila Rising, Greenlining the Hood, Third City Coalition, and With Our Words have been awarded a 2022 Mosaic grant.
The funds will help this coalition of Stockton-based organizations develop The People’s Water Plan. Combining communications, leadership development, advocacy, training, data gathering, the plan will empower environmental justice communities in Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta, the largest estuary on the West Coast. The People’s Water Plan will develop curriculum materials including manuals, videos, and training programming with the aim to train 50+ BIPOC leaders in the region.
Stockton’s environmental justice community has deep and historic ties to the Bay-Delta estuary. This coalition is perfectly situated to tell the stories that will help protect this public trust resource that for more than a century has been operated largely for the benefit of water districts and large-scale agribusiness.
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director, Restore the Delta (lead organization):
“We’re thrilled a coalition of Stockton-based grassroots organizations will receive a 2022 Mosaic grant. These funds will help develop young leaders and movement infrastructure needed to create a People’s Water Plan. The plan will help protect California’s Bay-Delta ecosystem and the people who live here.”
Matt Holmes, environmental justice director, Little Manila Rising:
“Partnering with Restore the Delta and Mosaic on the People’s Water Plan will provide our environmental justice programs with an opportunity to learn about current conditions in our Delta and what can be done about it. This tangible high impact project will help our community address its historically marginalized relationship with local water resources by putting the science in our hands and the solutions within reach.”
Jasmine Leek, managing director, Third City Coalition:
“This support from Mosaic will enable Third City Coalition to develop a greater understanding of the policy complexities surrounding our beautiful Delta. The tools and resources generated from this grant will bring much needed support for our communities to advocate for improvements at every level of government.”
Tama Brisbane, executive director, With Our Words:
“The Mosaic Grant will be a huge boost as we develop the We Flow Radio Fellowship Program, the only community youth-centered and youth-led digital journalism initiative in the news desert that is Stockton and the Central Valley. We will be able to expand our reach and leverage our successful inaugural year!”
About Mosaic:
Mosaic is a national grantmaking initiative strengthening the movement infrastructure that supports people working to ensure clean air and water, a safe climate, healthy and just communities for all, and thriving natural systems. We invest in the missing field-wide connections and shared tools—like communications, data analytics, training, and large-scale collaborations—that are instrumental to the success of social movements. We are oriented around community and collaboration, not silos or single issues. And we seek to support activists and organizations reflecting the full breadth of the environmental movement, because it will take all to win. Through our participatory funding model, we harness the shared insights of a diverse group of field leaders who select the most impactful projects to build the power to meet the pace and scale of change today. Learn more at mosaicmomentum.org.