“This is a party to celebrate the difference we’re going to make because of the difference we have made,” Dave Beckwith, the outgoing director of the Needmor Fund, told a room full of social justice activists–organizers, funders, and nonprofit leaders–at Alliance for Justice last week.
The crowd was gathered to honor Dave’s 30 years of community organizing work, 10 of them as a funder. It was also a party to celebrate the power of community organizing. For Dave, community organizing — which he defines as “self-advocacy” – is the most effective way to achieve social change.
Moving tributes
Many of the friends and colleagues who spoke at Dave’s celebration noted not only his unwavering support for organizing – standing up for the work of ACORN when it took courage to do so. They also honored his generous guidance as a funder.
Baldemar Velazquez –a former grantee of Dave’s and founder and president of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) — spoke of the tragic and preventable deaths of at least four migrant tobacco workers in the summer of 2006 in North Carolina. He described the model mentorship that Dave provided in that difficult time, inventing a way for the other workers to grieve their colleagues by taping a photo of the deceased on a chair and allowing everyone to say goodbye, one on one.
But who inspired Dave?
Chris Doby, of the Mott Foundation, took the mike and noted that Dave had inspired many, but she always wondered who’d inspired Dave. In answer, she then gave him a first edition of one of his most beloved books, Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals.
NCRP’s Christine Reeves wrote that “hilarity engulfed the room, when one after another, friends joyfully cheered and amiably jeered Dave. They shared witty poems, old stories and moving insights. Some dedicated their time and finances to some of his causes.”
We asked attendees to pledge hours of service in honor of Dave. The guests pledged a total of 520 hours, with the following breakdown:
- 120 hours for supporting or participating in activities to support workers’ rights
- 200 hours for supporting or participating in activities to support anti-poverty efforts
- 70 hours for mentoring a young person in social justice work
- 80 hours for participating in grassroots community actions such as protests or lobby days
- 50 hours for supporting or participating in political campaigns
The gift of being a grantmaker
In thanking everyone for the party, Dave shared his thoughts on the unique privilege of being a funder:
“It’s such a gift to give someone the opportunity to make a difference.”
As a funder, one of Dave’s legacies is his commitment to proving that community organizing works. Earlier this year, he told Bolder Advocacy:
“If you are considering organizing work, your foundation will be embarrassed by how ineffective other strategies are [compared with community organizing and advocacy] and you’ll be impressed by community organizing outcomes.”