Organizations Filed Purposes:
CELEF'S MISSION IS TO SUPPORT THE GROWTH AND EFFECTIVENESS OF CULTURE AND NARRATIVE ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE KEEPING THE PUBLIC INFORMED ABOUT HOW KEY INSTITUTIONS LIKE GOVERNMENT, CORPORATIONS, AND THE MEDIA ARE AFFECTING THEIR LIVES. CELEF SERVES AS A LABORATORY AND ACCELERATOR FOR USING CULTURE, ART, AND STORYTELLING TO SUPPORT GRASSROOTS ORGANIZING EFFORTS AND TO BUILD AN EFFECTIVE AND VIBRANT FIELD FOR CULTURAL STRATEGY, IN SERVICE TO A STRONGER DEMOCRACY.
CEL EDUCATION FUND IS PLANNING TO MERGE WITH ITS FISCALLY SPONSORED, CULTURESTRIKE TO LAUNCH AS THE CENTER FOR CULTURAL POWER. AS SUCH CEL EDUCATION FUND DBA THE CENTER FOR CULTURAL POWER IS AN ARTIST-OF-COLOR-LED ORGANIZATION BUILDING THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND CULTURAL ASSETS TO SUPPORT ARTISTS AND STORYTELLERS FOR SOCIAL CHANGE. WE ACTIVATE AUTHENTIC NARRATIVES AND AMPLIFY STORIES THAT SHIFT CULTURE AND PUSH FOR STRUCTURAL CHANGE. OUR WORK RESIDES AT THE INTERSECTIONS OF MIGRATION, CLIMATE CHAOS, AND GENDER, RACIAL AND CULTURAL JUSTICE. OUR PRIMARY STRATEGY IS TO INVEST DIRECTLY IN ARTISTS AND WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH DIRECTLY IMPACTED COMMUNITIES. WE FOCUS OUR WORK ON THE FOLLOWING AREAS:(1) INCUBATE A NETWORK OF ARTISTS: A DEEP AND SUSTAINED INVESTMENT IS REQUIRED TO SUPPORT ARTISTS AND STORYTELLERS WHO MAY NOT HAVE HAD ACCESS TO ART SCHOOL, FILM SCHOOL, WRITING PROGRAMS OR OTHER TRADITIONAL PATHWAYS INTO THE CULTURAL SECTOR. IN RETURN, THE ARTISTS WE INCUBATE INVEST THEIR CULTURAL CAPITAL AND TIME TO UPLIFT OTHER ARTISTS AND BUILD THE PROGRAMMATIC DEPTH OF THE CENTER. OUR INCUBATION STRATEGIES ARE CULTURALLY COMPETENT BECAUSE OF OUR TEAMS LIVED EXPERIENCE AS WORKING ARTISTS OF COLOR.(2) AMPLIFYING ARTISTS, ARTWORKS, AND IDEAS TO DISRUPT THE STATUS QUO: THE CENTER FOR CULTURAL POWER IS SCALING UP COMMUNICATIONS CAPACITY TO AMPLIFY ARTISTS AND WORK THAT CAN DISRUPT DOMINANT NARRATIVES AND MAKE THEM MORE COMPLEX AND REPRESENTATIVE OF VARIED VIEWPOINTS. OUR TRACK RECORD IN SOCIAL MEDIA RESIDES IN OUR ABILITY TO BRING EMERGENT ARTISTS TOGETHER WITH FRONT-LINE GROUPS(3) ORGANIZE ARTISTS TO TRANSFORM INEQUITABLE CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS: THE CENTER IS LEVERAGING OUR UNIQUE POSITION BETWEEN THE ART WORLD AND SOCIAL JUSTICE SECTOR TO HELP ARTISTS IN OUR NETWORK ORGANIZE THE INSTITUTIONS THAT MOST AFFECT THEM. WITH ORGANIZING TOOLS AND MOVEMENT PARTNERS, WE CAN DEMAND THAT CULTURAL INDUSTRIES BE MORE INCLUSIVE, EQUITABLE, AND MORE WELCOMING TO THE PLURALITY OF STORIES THAT MIRROR THE REALITIES OF OUR CURRENT AND FUTURE LANDSCAPE. FOR EXAMPLE, FOLLOWING #METOO, ACTORS IN TIMES UP ARE CALLING UPON THE CENTER TO TRAIN THEM IN ORGANIZING AND CAMPAIGNS FOR EQUITY IN THE ENTERTAINMENT SECTOR. WE TAKE A SYSTEMIC APPROACH RATHER THAN TINKERING AT THE EDGES, INCUBATING DISRUPTORS LIKE JILL SOLOWAY (5050 BY 2020) WHO AIMS TO BRING GENDER PARITY TO HOLLYWOOD DECISION MAKERS. THIS WILL HELP END ABUSE, BUT IT WILL ALSO OPEN DOORS TO A NEW GENERATION OF CREATIVES BRINGING A NEW WAVE OF STORYLINES TO MAINSTREAM CULTURE.
Executives Listed on Filing
Total Salary includes financial earnings, benefits, and all related organization earnings listed on tax filing
| Name | Title | Hours Per Week | Total Salary |
|---|
| Fenny Choo | CFO/TREASURER | 39 | $109,905 |
| Favianna Rodriguez | DIRECTOR/INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | 31 | $79,114 |
| Rae Thomas | SECRETARY | 39 | $71,250 |
| Billy Wimsatt | DIRECTOR THROUGH 1/2018 | 1 | $0 |
| Sujatha Jesudason | DIRECTOR | 1 | $0 |
| Jenifer Fernandez Ancona | BOARD CHAIR | 1 | $0 |
Data for this page was sourced from XML published by IRS (
public 990 form dataset) from:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/irs-form-990/201902669349301400_public.xml