🧮 The sum of many intentions (and wallets) built a visual fellowship

When someone is so unstoppable, creative and generous with his craft as Nick was, you not only miss them; you regret that others didn’t have a chance to meet them. The idea of a fellowship wasn’t just a way for us to celebrate our friend and colleague. It was a way to make sure that others who hadn’t met Nick could feel the impact of his presence, his wisdom, his way of moving in the world.

We started from zero.

We didn’t have any funding, but we had the experience and infrastructure of Altavoz Lab. We wanted the fellowship to align with our vision of supporting journalists to thrive locally and to have sustainable careers without leaving their communities. We wanted to focus on Arizona and New Mexico. We knew a fellowship like this would be a rare opportunity for a photojournalist, especially for someone telling the stories of their communities. And having the fellowship’s funding come directly from the ground-up via a crowdfunding campaign was also unique. 

Altavoz Lab’s fiscal sponsor, Alternative Newsweekly Foundation, connected us with the platform FundRazr. Julie Jehly, a wonderful coach, helped us put it together. We were fortunate to start with $5,000 in matching funds, meaning that for each dollar people donated, it would be matched up to $5,000. Philanthropy research suggests that matching donations are the single most effective fundraising tool, and our match gave us a real boost. 

We used my birthday in April as the spark — I knew that many campaigns starting from scratch leverage people closest to the fundraiser: family, friends, friends of friends. This meant nonstop fundraising every single day, with many personal WhatsApp messages, many peer crowdfunders joining us, many letters, and even an open-mic fundraiser that was a celebration of community journalism and Nick’s legacy at a local brewery in Sunnyslope, Arizona. 

We raised upwards of $15,000 to create our first inaugural fellowship, which was just awarded to Gabriela Campos, a true, proven community photojournalist working on staff at The Santa Fe New Mexican.

I recently went back to look at the most frequent amount people donated. 

It wasn’t $1,000, $500, or even $100. 

It was actually $20. Followed by $50.

The sum of so many intentions helps us build something much greater.

We’re back at it this year. We launched a new crowdfunding campaign at the end of April, and we’ve already raised more than $1,000. This time, our goal is to go beyond those close to us and Nick, to reach others who believe in the power of photojournalism done in service of community. We think there’s something really special about a fellowship that is created with so many of you, and we can’t wait to see Gabriela’s project come to life.

We have quite a way to go. This year, we set a higher goal – $50,000. Beyond the $15,000 stipend provided to our fellow, we offer up to $5,000 in audience engagement funds that are intended to help the fellow share their project with the community. Our fundraising for the fellowship also funds a mentor and audience engagement coach, as well as the infrastructure to coordinate and administer a year-long program.

To all of you who support this campaign, THANK YOU. 

We now have one more task: Help us reach others beyond our core group. Let’s build together so more photojournalists can build lasting careers locally. 

Remember how far $20 dollars can go. 

—Valeria Fernández, Executive director and founder of Altavoz Lab

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