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Calling All Crows mobilizes music fans to fuel feminist movements.
CAC channels the power of music into sustained, community-driven action by building an on-ramp to activism. Music fans learn about pressing social issues, give time and money to grassroots organizations, advocate for structural change, and build the skills and community to continue this work throughout their lives. With more than 15 years of education, service, advocacy, and fundraising, we've become a recognized partner and pipeline for social movement building.
We work toward a future where all people’s full humanity is realized, and local and global communities are equitable, just, and thriving.
Since our inception, we've mobilized tens of thousands of music fans to volunteer 35,000+ hours, donate nearly $1M, and take 50,000+ actions in support of feminist community organizations.
Current Work
Here for the Music
#HereForTheMusic is working to end sexual violence in the music industry. This campaign works with all parties who create shows and festivals: artists, promoters, fans, venue staff, touring professionals, media professionals, and more. We’ve built anti-harassment trainings, policy guides, educational materials, codes of conduct, violence response protocols, and so much more to build the music industry’s capacity to prevent and respond to sexual violence effectively.
Past Campaigns
Unlocked Voices
Unlocked Voices showed a more authentic, human story of mass criminalization in America. Through our partnership with the Mulfaith Initiative to End Mass Incarceration we educated music fans and faith groups about the impact of mass incarceration through narrative coaching workshops with musicians and faith leaders, along with a virtual concert series, where musicians, grassroots leaders, and women shared their stories of these unjust systems. This campaign raised over $225,000 for 15 community organizations.
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Support Native Youth
This campaign supporting the 2018 DISPATCH tour focused on fundraising for youth organizers on Pine Ridge Reservation through Native Americans in Philanthropy’s #GenIndigenous fund and raised awareness about issues affecting Native communities. Several tour stops included food drives and hands-on soup making, which included over 225 volunteers, to support the Pine Ridge Reservation.
Cease Fire
This year-long campaign educated fans on the effects of gun violence, in particular its impact on women, and proposed policy solutions that can curb this violence. Nearly 12,000 Americans are murdered with guns every year -- a rate more than 20 times higher than that of other developed countries. By taking the lead of expert organizations and advocates in the field, like Everytown for Gun Safety and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Calling All Crows used its voice and this campaign to raise awareness about gun violence in the United States and improve the safety of all Americans.
Forced To Flee
The Forced to Flee campaign focused on the plight of Syrian refugees and their resettlement in the United States. During the 2014-15 tour seasons, 521 music fan volunteers were activated around educational activities to understand the issues related to Syria and refugee resettlement, as well as hands-on activities like clothing drives and assistance with other necessary supplies for refugees resettling in the US. The band Ark Life joined Chadwick Stokes & The Pintos for many of these activities.
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Bringing Change To Women
Sponsored by Calling All Crows for 6 years, the Bringing Change to Women Initiative was an opportunity for musicians and fans to stay involved with our mission to create change for women throughout the year with Calling All Crows and on their own. We provided specific examples of actions fans could take to support local, national or international organizations. These activities included direct service volunteering, advocacy surrounding larger issues, as well as fundraising or donation drives. The campaign encouraged collection of change for monetary donation and drives for coats and toiletries for women’s organizations.
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DISPATCH Hunger
In summer of 2015 DISPATCH played two shows at Madison Square Garden to raise awareness about the problem of hunger in the United States. Through these concerts and events leading up to the weekend Calling All Crows and DISPATCH transformed the way people think about fighting hunger through service, action challenges, community engagement and outreach. A Hunger Action Leader Team was formed that powered Dispatch Hunger by organizing and attending local events, contributing stories and engaging fans on social media, and coordinating on the ground efforts in New York City during the weekend of the shows.
1138: Marriage Equality
Calling All Crows and State Radio joined the fight for all loving couples in the U.S. to be able to marry under the protection of federal marriage laws and enjoy the 1138 benefits that were afforded only to heterosexual married couples. Volunteers spent 1242 hours raising over $20,500 and generating 455 letters of support and additional 986 signatures in support of this campaign! Federal marriage equality was eventually granted in 2015.
Calling for Maternal Health
$50,000 was raised to support impact partners Women for Afghan Women and The Priscilla Project, who both had missions to improve maternal health, with support from artist partners State Radio and Maleana Cadiz. This campaign also supported advocacy efforts to support the Maternal Health Accountability Act.
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Amplifying Education
Calling All Crows partnered with DISPATCH to explore how small actions can make a big difference in the lives of children across the country. This campaign raised awareness and empowered music fans to take action to create change in the US education system, and it engaged music fans in projects like mural-painting to improve local schools and experience the power that hands-on service can have. Over 800 volunteers joined in to raise $300,000+ and gather over 12,000 book donations at DISPATCH tour stops as well as the Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival, Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, and Mountain Jam Festival.
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Green Summers of Service
Climate change disproportionately impacts women, primarily due to deepening existing inequities. For four summers, our Green Summers of Service served as a way for bands, fans, and festival goers to connect with their local environment and environmental organizations, while learning about climate change and its global impacts. The campaign included a pledge campaign for individual actions people could take to reduce their negative impact on the environment, from reducing waste to buying local to advocacy work to legislative advocacy. We were joined by artists State Radio and John Butler Trio for this effort.
Abolish the Death Penalty
Inspired by Troy Davis, this campaign joined with Amnesty International, Headcount, and State Radio to abolish the death penalty in the US and to seek justice for Troy Davis, a black man on death row in Georgia who, despite strong evidence suggesting that he was innocent, never received a fair trial. Sadly, the state of Georgia executed Troy Davis on September 21, 2011. While this campaign was not successful in saving Mr. Davis' life, Calling All Crows logged over 350 volunteer hours that highlighted the injustices of the criminal justice system that are still being fought today.
Darfur Camps Project
Calling All Crows and Oxfam joined forces again to support this project that served internally displaced women of Darfur through livelihood training and income generation in 2 camps, Abu Shouk and El Salaam. Artist partners State Radio, Matt Embree (Rx Bandits and DISPATCH), Bonnie Paine (Elephant Revival), and Lauren Coleman joined with 155 music fan volunteers to generate over $100,000 for this project.
Stoves for Sudan
Calling All Crows teamed up with Oxfam America and State Radio to build and distribute 5,000 stoves in Sudanese refugee camps. These simple, efficient stoves cost only $20 each and reduced the need for women to seek firewood outside the camps where they are most susceptible to severe violence – many are raped and often killed. This inaugural campaign in 2009 raised over $100,000 through outreach efforts in 47 cities.
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