Gandhi Brigade Annual Report Fiscal Year 2013

7/27/2019 Gandhi Brigade Annual Report Fiscal Year 2013

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Annual ReportFiscal Year 2013



Dear Friends,

iany Spencer is one o those people that you never orget. I was at the screening o one o our early lms; sheintroduced hersel as a high school senior who was going to have a career in broadcasting. She had heard about

Gandhi Brigade and told me plainly that she needed to join. She needed to join.

We easily ound a place or iany in our summer lm about immigration. Although she was good behind the

camera, it was in ront that she really shined. Unabashed, she knew how to use her charm to get even the most

reluctant “man on the street” to agree to answer her questions. Te ollowing summer she was the visionary and

co-director o “Second Chances,” a lm about adjudicated young men and their struggles to get their lives in

order. In making this lm it was clear that iany was more than a director, she was a passionate advocate or

young men who just needed a second chance.

iany went on to college where she majored in elevision and Film: rst at Eastern Shore and later at Howard.

I saw less o iany while she was at college but she kept me posted on her progress and I attended some o her

screenings. Afer she graduated she was able to land a job as a production assistant with a local media company

through some Gandhi Brigade connections. She worked long hours and got a promotion, we were very proud o

her rapid progress.

Earlier this year iany dropped by the center to tell me that she was moving to Los Angeles. I was surprised

because she was doing well and I had thought she had ound her niche here. Did she have a job oer? No. Did

she know somebody in LA? No. She said she had learned a lot but she really wanted to nd more meaning in her

work. She wanted to work on lms that really made a dierence. She wanted to nd her purpose and she was

willing to take big risks to nd it.

It is wonderul when Gandhi Brigade alums nd careers in the media business and iany is certainly one o

our most successul so ar. But iany also emulates one o our core values -that young people can nd a

purpose more satisying than monetary gain. Gandhi Brigade’s reason or being is to help young people

understand that they can nd a purpose more satisying than personal success. Gandhi Brigade is successul

when our alums leave us with a thirst or serving others and are prepared to take big risks to make that happen.

iany is still looking or that lm job where she can make a dierence. I am betting that Gandhi would be as

condent as I that iany is going to nd a way to use her gifs to make the world just a little bit better.

Sincerely,

Richard Jaeggi, Executive Director

Director’s Message



Dear Friends,

It was synergy that ueled Gandhi Brigade’s growth in 2013. Born o the bonds created by allying ourselves withestablished and new partners, Gandhi Brigade was able to take that combined energy and produce new and

exciting opportunities or youth this year.

In April, Gandhi Brigade joined the Duke Ellington School o the Arts in an innovative collaboration to design

and present the rst-ever EDx event hosted by a high school. Conronting the old adage that children should

be seen and not heard, the EDx talk “DESA Speaks” invited our uture generation o thought leaders to have

their voices heard.

Gandhi Brigade continued its eorts to be ront and center in providing opportunities or young people to

innovate new ideas by sponsoring the 6th annual Youth Media Festival in May. Te event, an inter-generationaland interactive symposium attracted hundreds o young people and their amilies.

Gandhi Brigade partnerships did not have to be new to be creative in 2013. Tis year’s Common Ground col-

laboration with three other youth organizations built on lessons learned in 2012, the rst year o the partnership,

and orged new ground. Te collaboration titled “More than Just a Number,” used theatre, music and visual arts

to show that people really are “more than what you see…more than a color…more than just alive…more than

hopes and dreams.”

A successul year o creativity or Gandhi Brigade was capped with the Youth Media and Action Summit in

August. Bringing youth-centered advocacy organizations rom around the country together or an opportunity

to produce thoughtul and purposeul media, the 3-day social justice themed lm conerence ocused on the

ideas o identity, home, violence, hope and immigration rights. Board members were in or a treat when they

were invited to a showcase o the work produced at the Summit and had the opportunity to witness the power o

youth ingenuity and innovation.

Vicki Warren

Chair, Gandhi Brigade Board 2013

Message rom the President



Highlights✳ Gandhi Brigade partnered with Reel Works, a youth media organization in Brooklyn,

to host their rst Youth Media + Action Summit in Silver Spring and DC. Tissummit brought 100 youth media makers and activists rom San Francisco, New York, Brooklyn, DC, and Silver Spring together or three days o collaborative media,art, and social justice projects.

✳ wo Gandhi Brigade youthpresented at an all youthEDx talk organized by the Duke Ellington School

o the Arts at the GoetheInstitute in Washington,DC. Tis event, titled(W)rites o Passage,showcased perormances,readings, talks, and mediarom youth in the DCMetropolitan Area,examining the important

role writing plays ininnovation.

✳ Gandhi Brigade’s 6th annual YouthMedia Festival in May 2013culminated in the largest geographicalreach o youth submissions than any previous year. Te juried competition in video, photography, art, and

perormance attracted submissions romSan Francisco, Philadelphia, New York,Baltimore, and the DC Metropolitanarea. Tis year set a precedent or utureregional and even national partnerships.



✳ Te Youth Voices onthe Plaza event seriesbrought in 1,748attendees. Tis year-longprogram eaturedintergenerational

community events thatpartnered with many local organizations.Events included a YouthJobs Fair, an outdoordrum circle, open micnights, a youth-adultpartnerships workshop,and the Youth Media +

Action Summit.Additionally, throughthis program, ve teenswere hired or a paidsummer internship, where they learned about event planning, project management,graphic design, and community outreach as they planned and executed ve events.

✳Trough a grant rom Comcast Internet Essentials, Gandhi Brigade trained 16 youth

workers rom sevenpartner community organizations aboutdigital literacy in theyouth developmentramework. Youthworkers learned theart o story tellingwhile putting this to

practice on a variety o inexpensive platorms,such as open sourcesoware and mobileapps.



Alumni ProflesSandrine Emambu

How did you get started at GB?

I was involved in the Arican Club in HS, which was run by AIRF. Tey needed someone to geta video certication in order to lm a conerence, but no one wanted to do it, so I decided “eh,

why not?” I went in to get trained, and I don’t know why, but I went back. I stayed involved orthe rest o my time in high school and college. Te atmosphere was very welcoming, and I wasnew to the country, and looking or things to do that were productive rather than sitting at homeand watching V.

What programs or projects were you involved in at GB?

I worked on the teen pregnancy prevention campaign, was a Promoter, and also worked withEvan Glass on a media team that reported on events such as an investigative story about how the

Sandrine presenting at the Free Minds Free People Conerence in Providence, RI



CEO o Whole Foods didn’t support health care laws. I also presented at the United States SocialForum in Detroit MI, and at the Free Minds Free People conerence in Providence, RI. I also wasa part o Social Justice Summer, where we produced the documentary, Rights o Butteries.

Tell a story about an experience at GB that made a lasting impact on you

Mixed Unity was

a collaborationthat was youth-led and organizedwith the help o Gandhi Brigade.Te movementwas sparked aerthe shooting o aiLam, a teenager

in Silver Spring.We met regularly to plan a Stop theViolence concertor the community.On the day o theconcert we wereonly expecting acouple o hundred in the audience, but 7000 people came! Te concert went very well up until

the very end when a ght broke out. Police got involved and it turned into a huge chaotic riot.

In the midst o all this, everyone with Mixed Unity shirts held hands to reclaim the purpose o the concert. We walked up and down Fenton Street until everything died down. It was aer thisthat I realized the power o working collectively, and that we can actually have an impact.

Tat bad incident couldn’t erase or us the power and positivity that the rest o the evening hadbeen devoted to.

What are you currently up to, and what are your uture goals/aspirations?

I am a senior at owson University majoring in business administration, and am currently interning at Better Business Bureau. I am also a Presidential Ambassador or owson University,and the President o the owson Chapter o Enactus, a national group devoted to enablingprogress and true entrepreneurship. Te work o Enactus is exactly the type o work I hopeto do when I graduate: approaching social justice work with a business and entrepreneurialstrategy.

Shooting in the rain, or Rights o Butteries



Laura Moya

How did you get started at GB?

I ound GB in 2009 at their Youth Media Festival, where I submitted photography and ended up winning in thecollege category. I ended up sticking around because they were doing social justice with media, which were boththings I wanted to do.

What programs or projects were you involved in at GB?

I taught Basic Final Cut Pro and Basic Filmmaking in the summer. Aer that, I worked with Swadeshi Studios,their youth media enterprise program. We made videos or a labor organization and learned basics o how to runa small business. I pitched a documentary idea or Social Justice Summer, and it ended up being the project orthe summer, and that is how Rights o Butteries came into being.

Tell a story about an experience at GB that made a lasting impact on you

It all seems like a blur, but a good blur. I’m used to being someone who works alone, and I still do sometimes,but I came to really enjoy the community building activities. We would stand in circles and everyone had to say where they came rom and how dierent events shaped their lives. I became more open in talking about my ex-periences with other people, and I really enjoyed the times I could listen to others, and learn rom them.

I really learned how to rely on other people through Gandhi Brigade. Te biggest example is my experience onthe Rights o Butteries team. Sandrine developed the prime story arc, Alan was our in-house expert, Binyamand Zaid were our camera experts, and Laurel was the trainer and acilitator. I remember eeling very protected

Laura with documentary flmmaker, Albert Maysles



and trusting everybody. When I think back to that time, I have a strong sense o amily that resonates throughme, because it’s really the people that make an experience worthwhile. Everyone was able to pull in their ownexpertise to really contribute to the project.

What are you currently up to, and what are your uture goals/aspirations?

I transerred to isch Film School at NYU last year, and am now nishing my senior year. I am currently makingan experimental documentary on a shing pier in Brooklyn through the narration o an undocumented Mex-

ican actory worker. I’ve been working on this project or a year and will be nishing it in May. I’m continuingto work on portraits o the undocumented experience, enjoying New York, and working with the NYU Dreameam, which ocuses on providing a sae space or undocumented students. We are campaigning to get morestudents to enroll in school and or there to be more administrative and scholarship resources or them.

I hope to continue making documentary lms.

Laura speaking at a screening o her documentary, Rights o Butteries



The Faces o GB



“Be the

Changeyou

Wish to

see”

Location

8661 Colesville Rd,4th Floor

Silver Spring, MD

20910

Mailing address

P.O. Box 7381

Silver Spring,

MD

20907

Online Presence

HELP US GROW

by making a donation

Website:www.gandhibrigade.org

Blog:www.gandhibrigade.org/

program/brigadeblog/

Twitter:@GandhibrigadeAlso, ind us on Facebook and Youtube



FinancialsFinancially, FY13 was a year o both signicant progress but also new challenges or Gandhi Brigade. Aer threeyears o static income growth, our revenues reached $289,605 last year—a very healthy 24% increase over FY12

(but still shy o our goal o $300,000.)

More remarkable than the growth in revenue, FY13 saw substantial progress in diversiying our incomesources beyond oundation grants. In FY12 income rom sources other than oundations made up only 18% o our budget. In FY13 these constituted 55% o our budget. Tis increase came rom local government, earnedincome, and business donations. ogether these three income sectors grew our old rom their FY12 levels.

However, despite our income growth, we continue to struggle with a shortage o cash. In act, because contractwork is the largest part o our non-oundation income and because contracts require cash up ront, cash ow isgoing to become a growing challenge or us. Te solution is a sufcient cash reserve. Te board is keenly aware othis and is committed to working with the sta to grow our reserves at the rate o one month’s operating expenseevery year.

Statement o Activities or the years ending June 30 o 2012 and 2013



GB By the Numbers

Unique Youth Served

In-house Media Projects

Youth & Adults Instructed

Total Event Audience

YMF Youth Submitters

319

48

131

2026

170


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Thank you to our donors!Executive Producers Vicki Warren & Gus Avrakotos

Silver Spring Merchant FundDolores McDonagh & Jamie Karn

Mark Brantly & Judy Lew

Christ Congregational Church

Dynamic Animation Systems

Silver ScreenersMary & Clarence Stone

Dwight W Jaeggi

Laurence Platt & Clare Herington

Paola Moya

William SmithLisa Wilson & Alexander Malison

Traci G. Jefferson

Tim & Frances Hester

Holly Brooks

Jonathan & Julie Williams

Elaine & Marvin Wunderlich

Erin Essenmacher

S. Lynn Hughes

Judy Lapping

Elizabeth Ann Daly Isiah Leggett

Kevin & Mary Murphy

Reemberto Rodriguez

Yvette Schock & Robert Francis

Allen Jaeggi

Ellen Daniels & Adam Frank

Peter & Ann Corran

Busy Graham

Hilmi Ulas

Andy Hallowell

Ann & Robert Bullock

Anne A. Weissenborn

Azeb O Yonis

Burke Stansbury

Dave & Toko Ackerman

James G. Ross

Jerri Lea Shaw

Jim & Lois Todhunter

John Gipson

Jose Burgos

Pat Conover & Patricia Nemore

Renneta Boyd

Tip Fallon

Wesley Webb

Rob Wolcott & June Taylor

Red Carpet GuestsErica Ginsberg

Lynn Bock

Marley Moynahan

Cynthia Rubenstein

Jim & Jackie Henkleman-Bahn

David H MoonElissa M. Leif

Herman & Margaret Bailey

Jacqueline Samuda

Gordon & Janet Forbes

Janisa LaSalle

Jean Cavanaugh

Jennifer & Robin Watt

Ligia & Nicholas Williams

Lisa Jaeggi

Malaika & Andre Pettigrew

Paula Matallana

Phillip Myers

Sue Rhodes

Sue Dollins

Susan Levine

Valerie Whiting

Wendy S. Lesko

Joan Christopher

Vickie Adamson

Lauren Wetherell

Baiyina Abadey

Bonnie Fogel

Chris Moore-Backman

Christopher R. Wilhelm

Glenn Kreger

Luisa Dantas

Mary E. McCurty

Ken & Peg Stapleton

Rachel Steinhardt

Sue Bratten

Tammy Popielarcheck

Kathleen Muriff Whiting

Marian Fryer

Neferta En Aunghk

Katherine Rekkas

Saba Latif

B. McWhirter

Lei Zang

Ora Wiseman

Private FoundationsEugene & Agnes E. Meyer Foundation

Jim & Carol Trawick Foundation

Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz FoundationComcast Foundation

AT&T Foundation

Chino Cienega Foundation

Howard & Geraldine Polinger Family

Foundation

The Community Foundation for

Montgomery County

Best Buy Foundation

Executive Ball Fund

Takoma Foundation

Government & LocalDowntown Silver Spring

Montgomery County Government

Arts & Humanities Council of MontgomeryCounty

Silver Spring Regional Service Center

In-Kind DonorsSilver Spring Retail LLC

Project Change

Speedy Signs

Video Labs

James Hinshelwood

Eggspectations

Quality Printers LLC

Noodles & Company

Whole Foods

Kefa Café

Montgomery Royal Theater

Forest Glen Commissary

Gandhi Brigade Annual Report Fiscal Year 2013

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