Report from Executive Director Jennifer Meeropol: June 19, 2026

Just over two months ago I stood on a stage in front of hundreds of local supporters to mark the Rosenberg Fund for Children’s 35th anniversary. As I reflected on that milestone achievement, I shared that the RFC is surviving, and, despite headwinds and with our community’s support, deeply committed to the long fight.

The past three years, I told the audience, were extraordinary ones for everyone at the RFC. We marked the 70th anniversary of my grandparents' executions, finally saw the release of what my father and uncle refer to as the “smoking gun” in the case against their mother, and as a result relaunched the campaign to exonerate my grandmother, Ethel Rosenberg. We welcomed almost 50 new beneficiary families into the RFC community. Thankfully, we also saw the support of RFC donors continue to grow. And with our recently completed spring granting cycle, we surpassed $10 million granted to targeted activist families in the RFC’s lifetime!

At the same time, we saw the re-election of what I can only hope is the worst president of my lifetime; and the ways in which the racist, homophobic, misogynistic policies he espouses are pushing us ever closer to fascism. That reality is reflected in the new applications we received this spring from children whose academic parents were doxxed and fired for their politics and others who were left to be raised by friends or family members as their parents face lengthy prison sentences due to politically motivated prosecution for exercising their free speech rights.

My father created the RFC out of both the pain he experienced as a child when his parents were targeted and the enormous positive impact of the community that stood with him and his family. While I continue to be impressed by the impact of the RFC, I recognize that our longevity is a double edged sword. I wish we were no longer needed; I wish that families did not continue to face targeting for their progressive organizing. I wish that we were so much less relevant than we are in 2026.

Instead, our work feels more vital than ever before. This spring the RFC awarded over $220,000 in grants to provide critical assistance for hundreds of children of targeted activists. Here are a couple examples of recent grants and the children our funds support:

• At age 13, Sara has had her world upended by the arrest of her single mom and primary provider. At the same time, 18 year-old Andrea and her older siblings Genevieve and Skyler are living the nightmare of having both their parents taken away at the same time. All of these parents are activists who protested outside a major ICE detention facility. For attempting to show solidarity with immigrant detainees, these parents were subjected to politically motivated aggressive prosecution, including charges of domestic terrorism. After being convicted, they face lengthy prison sentences. As these caregivers fight to return to their families, the RFC will support these four children with grants for school supplies and therapy, as well as Attica Prison Visit grants to help the families stay connected.

• Charlie and Rina’s dad has been a professor, a socialist and a labor movement activist for decades. While giving a talk about organizing at a socialism conference, he was doxxed by a self-proclaimed fascist Youtuber, who secretly recorded him, cut and edited the footage and then publicized it claiming he was “calling to overthrow the U.S. government.” As a result of his doxxing and the online smear campaign that followed, Charlie and Rina’s father was illegally fired from his tenured position without due process. As the family navigates the aftermath of his targeting and the resulting financial uncertainty, RFC grants will help ensure that 12 year-old Charlie and 15 year-old Rina can continue the sports and music lessons that bring them stability and joy.

With your help, the RFC is making a significant difference in the lives of these young people and hundreds of others like them. Since 1990 our grants have funded therapy, sports, arts programs, summer camp, prison visits, and other educational and therapeutic opportunities vital to helping these kids not just survive, but thrive. Your donations support the children of those fighting for a more just immigration system, brutalized antiracism activists, fired teachers, harassed journalists, targeted union organizers, reproductive justice advocates, environmentalists behind bars and so many more.

Rosenberg Fund for Children grants help alleviate the nightmarish experiences of political repression by connecting kids to a nurturing community. 90% of every dollar you contribute in response to this letter will be awarded to children like those described above. This is your opportunity to embrace all of these children and assure them that we are with them for the long haul.

As a beneficiary mom who shared her story at the 35th anniversary celebration explained, “These grants are not just gifts for children. They are also acts of care for parents. Yes, computers and camps matter. But being seen matters too…. These grants are more than things and experiences. They are the living practice of hope. They help heal moral injury. They restore dignity. They remind those of us engaged in the work of justice that we are not unseen, that we are valued, needed and supported through our most precious part of ourselves, our children.”

In the midst of these dark times, please consider being part of that “living practice of hope” by making a special donation to support the RFC’s vital work. Do so in honor of all of our beneficiaries’ families’ commitment to a better world; in the hopes that we can collectively push back against the fear and isolation so many of us are experiencing; and to help ensure that no child stands alone when their parents fight for justice. I know you will be most generous.

Jennifer Meeropol, Executive Director