Archives of "Carry it Forward"
Carry it Forward, the RFC's newsletter, is published twice a year in March and September. Each edition describes every grant made in the most recent granting cycle, as well as recent events and other RFC news.
To receive future issues of Carry it Forward, follow these links to Join our email list or Receive surface mail.
20th Anniversary Series Reaps Big Returns
At the RFC, we plan far ahead for major events and milestones. So it was not unusual that in 2008 we already were thinking about how we would mark our 20th anniversary, which fell in September 2010.… Read More
Reunite Families: Replenish the Attica Fund
For years beneficiaries and their families have raved about our Attica Prison Visit Program. They’ve described the importance for children of reconnecting with loved ones and the enormous joy the… Read More
Another $350,000 Awarded to the Children of Targeted Activists!
This fall we awarded 69 grants totaling $178,566, bringing the total for our 20th Anniversary year to $350,000. Four are new awards and 65 are renewals.
Great News from Our Community
A stunning legal victory. A joyful family reunion for an activist imprisoned for more than 30 years. And a young activist shares the settlement from her unlawful arrest with other RFC families...
Hundreds Come Together to Celebrate 20 Years
Last October, the RFC hosted our 20th Anniversary Gala in Northampton, MA. The event was fantastic: close to 250 people — traveling from around the region and as far as California — filled the venue… Read More
The Gathering Program is Back!
Thanks to extremely generous support from several foundations and RFC contributors, we are happy to announce that after a three year absence we are re-instituting the Gathering Program!
Executive Director's Report: An Old Nemesis Reappears
Recently I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and public speaking about the Espionage Act of 1917. I view this law as a lifelong nemesis. My parents were charged, tried and ultimately executed after… Read More
15,000 Unexpected Guests
It started when Robert Meeropol posted a blog about how the Espionage Act of 1917 links his parents to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (see Executive Director's report here for related article).
Fund Our Future
I was asked at our New York City program on June 19th how we intend to keep the RFC going. The generation of the 1930’s is passing, and the generation of the 1960’s is aging. My response was: “… Read More
Ray Returns! A Special Guest for our October 17th Gala
Twenty years ago, an unfulfilled corporate lawyer in Springfield, MA, with a remarkable personal history, sat up in bed and realized what he wanted to do with his life. That lawyer was Robert… Read More
Helping the Children of Resistance, 1990 - 2010, Part 2
“I had pledged to visit Claude [my husband] in prison with the kids every couple of months, a daunting challenge given our financial circumstances…. When [a fellow activist] first told me about the… Read More
Pass It On
This is a special guest column from Robert’s daughter, Jenn, current RFC Grantmaking Coordinator and future Executive Director.
My name is Jennifer Ethel Meeropol, and I am Robert’s older daughter… Read More
Grants Reach Over 150 Children in 26 States!
This spring we awarded 70 grants totaling $169,512. Five are new awards and 65 are renewals. In this 20th anniversary year, we celebrate the enormous growth of our program from our first grant for $… Read More
Helping the Children of Resistance: 1990-2010
These children, whose father is an anti-war and global human rights activist, have received RFC funding for a range of services over the years. Several grants were applied to tuition at an… Read More
2 for 20
Help the RFC mark its 20th anniversary by ensuring it will be there for future generations of targeted activists and their children. Pledge to get 2 friends to spend 2 minutes each to join the RFC’s… Read More
Celebrate With Us!
In September 2009, the RFC began what we’ve dubbed our “20/20/20” campaign: 20 events in 20 cities in 20 months to celebrate our 20th anniversary! After eight events so far, we couldn’t be more… Read More
Executive Director's Report: The RFC at 20
The RFC made its first awards on May 10th, 1991. Two grants, each for $402.50, enabled two children of a political prisoner to attend summer camp.
Two Decades of Granting
The RFC has rapidly expanded both the size and scope of our granting program. In 1991, we made our first two grants, which totaled less than $1,000. By 2002 we were awarding more than $200,000 a year… Read More