About FSC
WHO
We are a family foundation whose members have worked in the human rights, social justice, and humanitarian arena for over thirty years on five continents.
WHAT
We provide flexible grant funding to support engagement projects (documentaries, podcasts, articles, essays, theater, books, music etc.) that highlight ongoing economic, political, social, racial, ethnic and environmental inequities, and, as an integral part of their proposals, include a systemic approach as part of the strategy for addressing those deep-seated challenges.
Our goal is to help engage a wider range of audiences to better understand some of the world’s most pressing challenges and empower all of us to collaboratively create change that is both systemic and sustainable.
WHY
FSC co-founder John Heffernan, observes that, “after more than thirty years working in the humanitarian/human rights/social justice space, I am convinced that sustainable impact can only be achieved through an approach that demands systemic change.
“For decades I have seen robust responses to ongoing human rights and social justice ills that, while well-intended and carried out by committed and caring individuals, rarely address the root causes that will definitively produce structural, long-term, sustained, systemic change. Indeed, I can’t open a newspaper without seeing issues I worked on for most of my life resurfacing in a way that makes me ask, what were we doing in the first place? It seems if you stick around long enough, the pendulum swings back and hits you in the face. I can't help but think that part of the problem is that all the work focused on a quick fix. With that in mind, Margie and I have created the Foundation of Systemic Change as a vehicle aimed at supporting initiatives that honor this type of change.”
How does FSC define Systemic Change?
As longtime advocates for justice and equality, we have witnessed responses to ongoing injustice and inequality, that while well-intended and purposeful, rarely tackle the problem through structural, long-term, sustained interventions that seek to change the very systems that perpetuate the ongoing problem.
We recognize the value of documentaries, podcasts, articles, essays, theater, music, and other creative outlets as advocacy tools. We award seed funding (from $5,000 to $20,000) and offer foundation assistance to grantees who integrate a systemic change message into their projects.
Systemic Change in Action
Food Chain, the 2014 documentary by Sanjay Rawal, integrates the type of systemic change messaging into the film that we are looking to support.
The story about the plight of tomato workers in Immokalee, Florida could have been told by focusing on slavery and the egregious conditions of the workers -- that in itself would have been a compelling film, tugging at heartstrings. But, by including in the story how the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) are creating positive change through systemic interventions— interventions that improve the lives of tomato workers, we see an entirely different film.
“I only found a few partners that trusted the power in this specific solution to actually radically change a sector – far more drastically than any legislation ever could” — Sanjay Rawal, Director of Food Chain