Records of The FP Weekly Class’s charitable giving

Newest info from Nick is below in the comments section below, where you’re also welcome to submit charities for us to consider.

Our class charitable giving continues each month, but on 12/6/22 I cut-and-pasted our old records, from its original home on our FP Weekly Class page. It goes back to March of 2020! There’s so much that it was affecting page performance.

I didn’t want to delete it because I like this unusual record of the issues and culture of these pandemic years. The world, the US, Minnesota, and the Twin Cities have been through a lot!

– Nick Strauss-Klein

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We donate 10% of gross proceeds of all sales on this page divided between several organizations each month, including local (Twin Cities, Minnesota, USA), national, and international charities.

We do this to help make the world a better place, to maintain the local community roots of our original in-person class even as we’ve opened our doors to Zoom students worldwide, and to keep us oriented generously outward even as our Feldenkrais study is powerfully inward.

Here are our current four charities:

• Neighborhood House – a local charity providing food shelf and other vital community support during the pandemic
• IsaiahMN – a multi-racial, state-wide, nonpartisan coalition of faith communities fighting for racial and economic justice in Minnesota
• Jeremiah Program – originated in the Twin Cities, and now supports single mothers and their children in nine US cities.
• Direct Relief is a humanitarian aid organization, active in all 50 states and more than 80 countries, with a mission to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty or emergencies – without regard to politics, religion, or ability to pay. We’re directing our funds to their efforts in Ukraine.

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Here are our old records, removed from The FP Weekly Zoom Class page:

November 8, 2022 – We made our donation for 10% of October’s total sales on this page divided four ways to these organizations.

October 2 – We made our donation for 10% of September’s total sales on this page divided four ways to these organizations, again substituting directrelief.org for Braver Angels due to the Ukraine crisis.

September 7 – We made our donation for 10% of August’s total sales on this page divided four ways to these organizations, again substituting directrelief.org for Braver Angels due to the Ukraine crisis.

August 5 – We made our donation for 10% of July’s total sales on this page divided four ways to these organizations, again substituting directrelief.org for Braver Angels due to the Ukraine crisis.

July 11 – We made our donation for 10% of June’s total sales on this page divided four ways to these organizations, again substituting directrelief.org for Braver Angels due to the Ukraine crisis.

June 9 – We made our donation for 10% of May’s total sales on this page divided four ways to these organizations, again substituting directrelief.org for Braver Angels due to the Ukraine crisis.

May 3 – We made our donation for 10% of April’s total sales on this page divided four ways to these organizations, again substituting directrelief.org for Braver Angels due to the Ukraine crisis.

April 3 – We made our donation for 10% of March’s gross sales on this page divided four ways to these organizations (substituting directrelief.org for Braver Angels due to the Ukraine crisis).

March 1 – We made our donation for 10% of February’s gross sales on this page divided four ways to these organizations.

February 1 – We made our donation for 10% of January’s gross sales on this page divided four ways to these organizations.

January 3, 2022 – We made our donation for 10% of December’s gross sales on this page divided four ways to these organizations.

December 3 – We made our donation for 10% of November’s gross sales on this page divided four ways to these organizations.

November 1 – We made our donation for 10% of October’s gross sales on this page divided four ways to these organizations.

October 3 – We made our donation for 10% of September’s gross sales on this page divided four ways to these organizations.

September 2 – We made our donation for 10% of August’s gross sales on this page divided four ways to these organizations.

August 2 – We made our donation for 10% of July’s gross sales on this page divided four ways to these organizations.

July 1 – We made our donation for 10% of June’s gross sales on this page divided four ways to these organizations.

June 1 – We made our donation for 10% of May Zoom class & recording sales divided four ways to Neighborhood House, IsaiahMN, Braver Angels, and for the first time COVAX through Gavi.

May 6 – We made our donation for 10% of April Zoom class & recording sales to Neighborhood House, IsaiahMN, and Braver Angels.

April 5 – We made our donation for 10% of March class & recording sales to the same three charities we’ve been supporting lately: Neighborhood House, isaiahmn.org, and Braver Angels

March 9: We made our donation for 10% of February class & recording sales to the same three charities we’ve been supporting in recent months.

Feb. 14: Received this note back after our first donation to Braver Angels. I’m so pleased we’ve found them, and grateful that our class can help support this essential work!

Thank you for your generous contribution to Braver Angels. Your gift on 2/2/2021 will help to bring the country together when America needs it most. 

Your donation is more than just a gift to Braver Angels. It’s a step forward on our journey to reduce rancor and increase goodwill in American life. It’s helping to build community and restore trust in our neighbors and our nation. It’s your commitment to help heal America.

Thank you for believing in our vision of America. 

Thank you for supporting Braver Angels.

We invite you to follow along as we put your gift to work at www.braverangels.org.

Warm regards,

Tom Sylvester

Board Chair

Feb. 2: We’ve made our donations for January sales, divided three ways to support Neighborhood House, isaiahmn.org, and Braver Angels

Jan. 26: 10% of gross proceeds for February classes will be divided in support of the same three charities as we donate to a local community food shelf, pursue racial equality and justice in our state, and work toward political depolarization in our country.

Jan. 11: We’ve made our donations for December sales, split three ways to isaiahmn.org, Neighborhood House and ProtectDemocracy.org. See Oct. 25th, below, for info about these charities. 

Dec. 29: 10% of gross proceeds for January classes will be divided in support of isaiahmn.org, Neighborhood House, and Braver Angels.

Dec. 13: We’ve made our donations for November sales, split three ways to isaiahmn.org, Neighborhood House and ProtectDemocracy.org. See Oct. 25th, below, for info about these charities. 

Nov 23: For December’s classes we’ll be supporting the same three charities we committed to on Oct. 25.

Nov 2: We’ve made our donation for 10% of the proceeds of October Zoom classes as planned: split four ways, to mninjustice.org, isaiahmn.org, welovestpaul.com, and Neighborhood House, in response to systemic racism and economic disparity, looting damage in our community, and needs for food and essential services for vulnerable populations in our community during COVID-19. Thank you for making this possible with your interest in these classes!

Oct 25: My family and I have decided that our donation for November sales will support three charities:

• isaiahmn.org is a multi-racial, state-wide, nonpartisan coalition of faith communities fighting for racial and economic justice in Minnesota
• Neighborhood House is a local food shelf doing excellent work during the pandemic. They also help people with other basic needs, education, youth programming, and health and well-being.
• And for the first time we’ve chosen a non-local charity. We feel that its work is critical for our own community and all American communities right now: ProtectDemocracy.org is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting attacks, from at home and abroad, on our right to free, fair, and fully informed self-government.

October 6: I’ve just made our September donations as planned to the same charities we gave to for August, below. October’s giving will go to the same organizations. My family and I are discussing if we’ll make a change in recipient organizations for 10% of November’s proceeds.

September 4, 2020: We’ve made our donation for 10% of the proceeds of August PWYC Zoom classes, split four ways, to mninjustice.org, isaiahmn.org, welovestpaul.com, and Neighborhood House, in response to systemic racism and economic disparity, looting damage in our community, and needs for food and essential services for vulnerable populations in our community during COVID-19. Thank you for making this possible with your interest in these classes!

We’ll continue with these four charities for our September giving.

August 5, 2020: We’ve just made our donation for 10% of the proceeds of July PWYC Zoom classes, split three ways, to mninjustice.org, isaiahmn.org, and welovestpaul.com. 

We’ve decided to add Neighborhood House back in to our charitable donations. They’re doing essential work during the pandemic, so for August classes we’ll be splitting our contribution four ways between Neighborhood House and the other three charities we’ve been supporting since June.

July 7, 2020: As always we donate 10% of gross proceeds for these live PWYC video classes to local Twin Cities (Minnesota) charities. My family and I have now committed to dividing our June and July donations among three organizations in response to systemic racism and economic disparity, and the looting damage to our community: mninjustice.org, isaiahmn.org, welovestpaul.com.

I received this note back from Isaiah after I made our June donation:

Dear Twin Cities Feldenkrais,

I want to extend to you my personal thanks for your generous gift to support the creation of both a democracy that honors every person’s dignity and an economy where everyone can thrive.

The urgency to create an equitable society is apparent. No matter the color of our skin, our religion, or where we come from, we deserve to live in communities where we are safe and our lives are valued.

By joining with ISAIAH and resisting hopelessness and messages of fear during this difficult time, our work of inviting people into public life to fix what’s broken in our world is strengthened.

When you made this gift to ISAIAH through GiveMN.org, you were glowing like a sunrise – or so we imagine. Shining your light and leading the way for all of us.

Our path toward a better world remains undiminished and hopeful because of people like you!

Warm regards,

Ginny Gleason, Member and Donor Relations

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June 1, 2020: A note from the Twin Cities about recent events

How George Floyd’s death is changing our class’s charitable commitment

As you may know, back in mid-March when the world changed and we opened up these long-running Twin Cities Feldenkrais weekly classes to everyone online, it was important to me and my in-person students to ground the new virtual version our classes in our local community.

This is one of the many reasons my family and I committed to donating 10% of gross proceeds for my pay-what-you-can classes to local charities. We’ve honored our commitment and made donations for March, April, and May to Neighborhood House, as planned.

In the last week our community and the broader world has changed again. George Floyd was killed 15 miles from our home. Along with so many, my family and I are grieving this senseless police killing, and heartbroken by the violence and destruction that has followed in our Twin Cities community, and across our country.

We stand in full support of peaceful protests and we hope and pray for change in the endemic and institutional racism that led to this tragedy. America is desperately, painfully overdue for cultural change. My parents met while volunteering in the civil rights movement in New York City in the 1960’s, and I’m ashamed to think that over 50 years later our country is still so broken. We have to do better.

My wife, children, and I are currently researching and discussing local social justice charitable organizations which work to directly address the systemic racial injustice that led to George Floyd’s killing, as well as organizations dedicated to rebuilding our community. I am committed to donating 10% of June’s gross proceeds for my live online Twin Cities Feldenkrais classes, and I will announce the recipient organization(s) here as soon as we decide.

We are grateful to all who attend my live weekly Twin Cities Feldenkrais classes online for making this giving possible, and for your support of our community.

National and even global change originate in personal change. May our care for ourselves always enable and inspire us to care for others, even those we don’t know personally, as we strive to make the world a safer place for all.

Nick Strauss-Klein

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We’ve made our donations for March, April and May to Neighborhood House, and I received this note back from them:

Neighborhood House has been helping families gain social and economic well-being for more than 120 years. We are grateful to Twin Cities Feldenkrais for contributing 10% of revenue from their live online classes to Neighborhood House. These contributions allow us to help families with basic needs when they are in crisis and to provide educational opportunities for the entire family. Learn more at neighb.org. Thank you!