What Is 8th House?
In July 2024, I donated a grantwriting master class to the fundraising auction for Romancing the Vote, a writer-led activist coalition which has raised over $1 million for organizations like Fair Fight. I would have been thrilled to have a few dozen people sign up and give me the chance to geek out about spreadsheets; instead, there were 120 buyers, and the class raised $12,000 for voting rights.
Partly, I suspect, by nature of the auction itself - that is, specifically appealing to people with strong progressive values who care about civil rights and wanted to do something - I was really struck by the questions that class participants began sending in, and I realized how many grassroots organizations out there are in need of accessible, hands-on professional support, who might struggle to easily find fundraising professional development tools aligned with both their budget and their values. I also believe there are a lot of smart, dedicated people out there who are passionate about causes and looking for a more direct way to support the organizations whose work matters to them, who could become absolutely kickass grantwriters if someone held their hand a little bit.
Thus, 8th House was born.
Who Is This For?
--Current working grantwriters who want to refine their skills
--Aspiring grantwriters who are just starting out and feel intimidated by the process
--Nonprofit staff or managers looking for career development tools, networking, a broader understanding of how funding works, and guidance on how to build a healthy organization where their staff can thrive
--Volunteers, board members, or community advocates with a nonprofit or cause they love which they want to support more directly, by learning how to help them raise funds
--Writers of all stripes who are looking to build a new set of skills that might help them find flexible paid work
--Nonprofits that are newly grants-eligible or are just dipping a toe in the water but don't know where to start and can't afford to hire an expensive consultant
--Anyone curious about the inner workings of nonprofit management
If that sounds like you, 8th House might be a great fit!
What You Can Expect
Here are some of the benefits you'll receive by getting in on the ground floor as this program is growing, including the opportunity to share your feedback to help me refine and expand from year to year and make sure you're getting what you need.
Affordable Professional Development
Members get early access (and discounted rates at some levels!) to upcoming offerings before they open to the public, including quarterly workshops with guest presenters on topics like:
--Ethical fundraising practices for progressive values, including how to decide who you'll take money from (November 2024)
--Nonprofit burnout, including how individuals can identify it and how organizations can prevent it (February 2025)
--Everything you've ever wanted to know about finance and accounting but were too embarrassed to ask (May 2025)
--How to build a business as a freelance grantwriter (August 2025)
Can't make it on the scheduled date? Not to worry! Members can access discounted registration to receive a recorded version of the workshop afterward.
Practical Skills
Monthly video downloads will get down to the nitty-gritty on topics like how to build a grants calendar, organizing your files, studying sample grant applications, building budgets, funder relations, and more.
Community-Building
Members at the South Sister and Mount Hood levels will get monthly live call gatherings with a cohort of other folks just like you. We'll vent, share resources, talk shit, learn together, offer communal support, and build partnerships, with discussions guided by your specific needs and designed to help you strengthen your own organizations and careers. Think of it like a networking happy hour for those of us who are allergic to LinkedIn.
Land Acknowledgement & Collective Action
8th House is based in the central metropolitan area of Portland, Oregon, which rests on traditional village sites of the Multnomah, Wasco, Cowlitz, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Bands of Chinook, Tualatin, Kalapuya, Molalla, and many other tribes who made their homes along the Columbia River.
Click here to read a recent OPB article about the Chinook Indian Nation's two-century fight for land rights and federal recognition, which was granted in 2001 by outgoing President Clinton and then immediately rescinded by incoming President Bush. Last December they received acknowledgment of their land rights from the federal government and a financial settlement, but still don't have formal tribal recognition yet. This meant that during COVID, they weren't able to access the testing supplies, vaccines or health clinics that other tribes had and were reliant on their neighbors for care and support. (Read more on this here.)
For ways to get involved by donating, signing their petition, or contacting your federal representatives, visit https://chinookjustice.org/.