Interested in joining our community?
BGR is looking for community members to join our sisterhood of Fierce Love as Collective Members or Aunties*, our highest level of support. Our Collective is made up of motivated parents, caregivers, and volunteers who are actively contributing to the organization’s day-to-day work - literally breathing life into it in order to sustain it.
Brown Girl Rise was conceived and brought to life by a small group of parents and community members who identified a crucial need to cultivate a vibrant community in the Portland area. The growth of our community has been organic, with individuals joining us from diverse networks of friends, organizers, and comrades. Our decision-making model strives for consensus and horizontal decision-making, a commitment that sets us apart in our community. While we have adapted and added some structure over time, our values remain at the forefront. The inclusion of staff members and defined roles within the Leadership Team is a deliberate effort to embody our values, share the workload, and prevent burnout among our Aunties and staff. Every member of our team plays a vital role in realizing and living out our mission. Together, we strive to create a space that is both intentional and inclusive.
Who Should Apply?
If you see yourself as a part of a community dedicated to dismantling white supremacy culture, operating within an anti-racist, anti-misogynist, anti-capitalist, abolitionist, horizontal organization, and breathing life into our mission on a daily basis, then we invite you to apply to join us as a Collective Member or Auntie*.
We are committed to hands-on community building while serving girls and nonbinary femmes of the global majority to support the BGR mission. We are actively working towards building a new reality for ourselves and each other within a community organizing space that aligns with Fierce Love** and anti-racist, anti-misogyny, anti-capitalist, abolitionist, horizontal decision-making structures. We are committed to breaking down white supremacy culture within ourselves and the organization, while navigating oppressive social and institutional systems around us to the best of our ability and capacity.
*We embrace Auntie as a term that expresses a cultural role of wisdom and care, rather than a gender-identifier. All genders are welcome to take on an Auntie role and can use a different term if preferred.
**What is Fierce Love?
As you consider joining Brown Girl Rise as a Collective Member or Auntie, we want to highlight the significance of our guiding principle. Fierce Love, is rooted in the profound and unwavering commitment to nurturing, empowering, and uplifting every individual within our community. It embodies a love that fearlessly confronts societal injustices, dismantles oppressive structures, and actively engages in the relentless pursuit of equity and justice. Fierce Love is a transformative force that fuels our collective efforts to break down white supremacy culture, challenge misogyny, reject capitalist norms, advocate for abolition, and embrace horizontal decision-making structures. It is a love that compels us to stand together, build meaningful connections, and work tirelessly towards creating a world that reflects our shared values of justice, equality, and community building for all. We understand sisterhood to mean a feminist expression of deeply committed relationships in which reciprocal care and mutuality are seen as the primary forms of resistance and generation.
Desired characteristics or lived experiences
Member of the global majority or have a caregiver connection to a youth who is
Have a meaningful connection to the Portland Metro region (live, work, play, family is raised here)
Parenting/caregiving for teenagers
Leading non-profit, grassroots, or fiscally sponsored organizations - especially within a non-dominant culture
environment.
Community organizing for justice (immigrant rights, Climate justice, racial justice) – Minorities involved with
DHS or CPS/Adoption/ Transracial adoption
Education, educator, program development
Volunteer management
Financial oversight, fundraising, grant writing, tracking, and administration
Developing policies and procedures for an organization or group
Leadership development within BIPOC spaces.
Collaborating within a multi-generational, multi-ethnic, and multi-racial team
Communication and storytelling skills
Popular education or other inclusive facilitation skills
Expectations and Commitments for all Auntie Board Members
Uphold Responsibilities (Adhere to the organization's legal, ethical, and fiscal responsibilities)
Collaborative Engagement (Actively participate in a hands-on, collaborative working team)
Mission Alignment (Live in a way that aligns with BGR's mission and values)
Transparent Communication (Communicate clearly and honestly about capacity)
Culture Transformation (Work actively to break down white supremacy culture within the self and the
organization)
Build Connections (Foster meaningful connections with the BGR team and families)
Support Fundraising Efforts (Actively support fundraising efforts)
Minimum time commitments for all Auntie Board Members
Serve a two-year term (renewable)
Read and respond to emails (promptly)
Attend monthly leadership team meetings (up to 3 hours)
Participation in other meetings and activities:
Subcommittee meetings, if part of a committee (monthly/quarterly)
“Emergency” decision-making sessions (occasionally, as needed)
Trainings (occasionally, as needed)
Attend the Annual Leadership Team Weekend Retreats
Join, suggest, or create social gatherings to connect and build community (at least once per year)
We proudly serve our portland community
Contact us directly if you have any questions or general inquiries.
