Sex Workers Outreach Project End of Year Drive

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A nonprofit fundraiser supporting

Sex Workers Outreach Project - USA
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Our annual fundraising drive to fund grassroots sex worker organizing!

$2,163

raised by 42 people

$15,000 goal

Thanks so much to everyone who has contributed so far!

Update posted 4 years ago

Here's a conversation between Christa Daring (SWOP ED) and Alex Andrews (SWOP BOD and Cofounder of SWOP Behind Bars) talking about the transformation of the organization over the past several years. 

Sex Workers Outreach Project-USA is a national grassroots social justice network dedicated to the fundamental human rights of sex workers and their communities, focusing on ending violence and stigma through education, community building, and advocacy. SWOP-USA is a national network of sex worker activists and their allies with nearly 30 Chapters and over 300 members across the United States. 


We:

-Provide fiscal sponsorship to grassroots sex worker organizers

-Operate a 24/7 hotline for sex workers seeking support and resources

-Provide mini-grants to our Chapters and other sex worker-led organizations for December 17th, Advocacy, and Syringe Access

-Provide mentorship and capacity building to our members and community

-Maintain and collect names the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers memorial list and website

-Develop educational materials for the general public on sex worker issues

-Participate in national advocacy to further the fight for decriminalization of sex work (check out our 2020-2022 Advocacy Agenda)

-Serve as an incubator to sex worker projects in the development and scaling phases


This fundraising drive goals:

SWOP Behind Bars $2,000 - is a Project of SWOP-USA that focuses on supporting incarcerated sex workers and assisting returning citizens in finding stability and safety. They run a newsletter and penpal program that connects thousands of incarcerated sex workers with allies and sex workers on the outside to help support them in their time away. 


Pride Mini-Grants to Chapters $5,000 - We unfortunately did not receive grant funding this year to resource our Pride mini-grant program. These mini-grants allow our Chapters and Projects to recognize LGBTQIA Pride in their local areas. LGBTQIA people are highly represented among the sex working population and making sure that those sex workers are front and center at Pride both in presence and in advocating for our specific rights is vital.


Board Stipends $5,000 -  We are in the process of shifting the leadership of our organization from one that historically been dominated by cis white women to one that develops and prioritizes the leadership of sex workers of color, in particular queer and trans individuals. This outcome has long been strived for, however small monthly stipends and intentional investment in new leaders are essential for this to succeed. The culture of volunteerism in social justice movements makes it so that those that cannot afford to freely give their time are left out of crucial leadership and decision-making positions. We firmly believe in reversing that and moving forward with a better equipped leadership that is reflective of the larger sex workers rights movement. At the beginning of 2019 we implemented a new program of providing a pilot of board members with a $200 a month stipend to support new leaders in our organization, and we have funded some of our stipends but are still short for some in 2020.

Get to know our current board here

Development of Educational Materials $3,000 - A huge part of our work is the creation and distribution of educational materials about how to create a more humane and just world for sex workers. These materials are used across the country in large cities and in small townships and rural areas, they communicate important ideas around harm reduction, anti-stigma, and bodily autonomy. 

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