BENEFIT SHOWS

Every show we host at the Democracy Center is a partial benefit! Proceeds are split between the DC, bands, and the benefitting org. The split is a sliding scale, but we request that bookers aim to donate between $50-150+ to the org if possible.

We recognize that there are organizations that already receive funding easily; they are popular targets for grants and more mainstream fundraisers to throw money at. Therefore, we will use this page to suggest some organizations that may be more radical or lesser known to the larger Boston community. Please consider booking a benefit for one of these, and email us if you have any to add!

(Some of the descriptions are right from the organizers, some have been tailored to help make this list cohesive while still describing the org and their most recent campaigns. If you're part of one of these orgs and have your own edits, want to table at a show, or have any other questions, please don't hesitate to reach out!!!)

MA Bail Fund
An abolitionist organization which pays bail so that people can be free while fighting a case. They also advocate to end pretrial detention & supervision.

Boston Area Rape Crisis Center
BARCC strives to end sexual violence through healing and social change.

City Life / Vida Urbana
City Life/Vida Urbana is a 40-year-old bilingual, community organization whose mission is to fight for racial, social and economic justice and gender equality by building working class power through direct action, coalition building, education and advocacy.

Movimento Cosecha - MA Branch
Cosecha is a nonviolent movement working to win permanent protection, dignity and respect for the 11 million undocumented people in this country. They recently won their 20-year-long fight to pass the Drivers Licenses for All bill in Massachusetts.

SisterSong - Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective
SisterSong is a Southern based, national membership organization. Their mission is to strengthen and amplify the collective voices of indigenous women and women of color to achieve reproductive justice, eradicate reproductive oppression, and secure human rights.

Black and Pink Massachusetts
Black and Pink Massachusetts is an independent organization and open family working for abolition of the criminal punishment system, which disproportionately impacts lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex people, as well as those living with HIV. Their work includes connecting incarcerated people with penpals, raising funds for bail and re-entry expenses, court support, allocating housing, and more.

The Network/La Red
The Network/La Red is a survivor-led, social justice organization that works to end partner abuse in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, BDSM, polyamorous, and queer communities

The National Network of Abortion Funds
The National Network of Abortion Funds builds power with members to remove financial and logistical barriers to abortion access by centering people who have abortions and organizing at the intersections of racial, economic, and reproductive justice.

Eastern Massachusetts Abortion Fund
The Eastern Massachusetts Abortion (EMA) Fund works to reduce social and economic barriers to abortion care through movement building, advocacy, education, and direct aid.

Material Aid and Advocacy Program
Material Aid and Advocacy Program (MAAP) supports and empowers unhoused and underhoused community members through material aid, access to resources, organizing support and advocacy opportunities. They run a drop-in twice a week for folks to obtain survival supplies and other resources, and also assist in sweep support and other important on-the-ground advocacy. They are an abolitionist org that is committed to harm reduction and genuinely meeting people where they're at.

Deeper than Water
DeeperThanWater is a coalition of organizations dedicated to exposing the rampant human rights abuses that prisoners in the United States are subjected to, using the lens of water justice to highlight the toxicity of the carceral state.

Boston Immigration Justice Accompaniment Network (BIJAN)
The Beyond Bond & Legal Defense Fund raises money for immigration bond to free people in ICE prisons who have a connection to the state of Massachusetts.

FANG
The FANG Collective leads direct action campaigns while supporting movement capacity and growth to create a more just world. Their current campaigns include a community bail fund, direct action trainings, Shut Down ICE, and more.

Asian American Resource Workshop
AARW is a political home for pan-Asian communities in Greater Boston. They are a member-led organization committed to building grassroots power through political education, creative expression, and issue-based and neighborhood organizing.

Muslim Justice League
A Muslim-led organization that advocates for communities whose rights are threatened under the national security state in the United States. MJL's organizing centers communities heavily impacted by surveillance and policing in the US. In addition to leading the the StopCVE National network, they have also been active in the local response to the January 2023 murder by Cambridge police of Bangladeshi youth Sayed Arif Faisel.

Survived and Punished
An abolitionist organization which advocates and raises money for criminalized survivors. They connect incarcerated survivors with pen-pals, is leading a campaign for the commutation of sentences, and provides a number of resources including workshops about their important work.

Community Fridges (any)
A community fridge is a fridge located in a public space that allows members of a community to share food with one another. Unlike traditional food pantries, people are encouraged to add to the fridge or take food out according to their individual needs. Community fridges are organized by members of each community as an effort of mutual aid. There are currently over 30 community fridges across Massachusetts, including one right at the Democracy Center.

Families for Justice as Healing
An organization led by incarcerated women, formerly incarcerated women, and women with incarcerated loved ones whose mission is to end the incarceration of women and girls. Some of their recent work includes a number of clemency campaigns and leading a coalition to stop a new women's prison from being built in Massachusetts.

Building Up People Not Prisons
A coalition of volunteers led by Families for Justice as Healing working to end the incarceration of women and girls in Massachusetts. Specifically targeting a proposed new women's prison, police budgets, and making phonecalls to and from incarcerated people free throughout MA.

Sylvia Rivera Law Project
The Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP) works to guarantee that all people are free to self-determine their gender identity and expression, regardless of income or race, and without facing harassment, discrimination, or violence. SRLP is a collective organization founded on the understanding that gender self-determination is inextricably intertwined with racial, social and economic justice.

Stop Cop City
The Atlanta Solidarity Fund providing critical legal and bail support for people arrested at protests in Atlanta; currently many face arrest, jail time, and state repression as they resist the destruction of the Weelaunee Forest and construction of a large scale police training center known to many as "Cop City". There is also a GoFundMe to support the family of Tortuguita, a forest defender who was murdered by Atlanta Police.