Jumpstart Your Philanthropic Vision Today: A Look at the Freya Project

Tide Riser Laura Baker sits down with fellow Tide Riser Natalka Burian, business owner and novelist, to discuss her grassroots philanthropic initiative, The Freya Project. This program selects a cause — often in direct response to the Trump agenda — and raises money through events held at Natalka’s Brooklyn bars, Ramona and Elsa. To date, they’ve raised about $15,000 for causes ranging from women’s reproductive health to refugee support.

Can you tell me a bit about how you got the idea for The Freya Project and what inspired it?

I, like everyone else the day after the election, was totally devastated and reaching out to everyone I knew in a panic. How did this happen? Trying to reassure myself by reaching out to the best people I knew. I likened it to September 11. You call everyone you know, including those you haven’t spoken to in a long time, and try to make sense in a weird time.

I reached out to a friend — another mom and a writer — who I met in a writing class. We weren’t very close and didn’t know one another that well. We were texting about the election. We kept very marginally in touch. After the election, she said, “We need to do something else. We can’t be so passive. We have to feel like we’re in control again.” This nexus began with each of us having different resources to bring to the table. I had the space at my Brooklyn bars Ramona and Elsa, and her husband is a graphic designer and designed our website.

What has The Freya Project raised and done to date?

We’ve raised between $1,400 and $4,000 per month [since January 2017]. Usually somewhere right in the middle of that. We wanted to make sure the organizations getting those funds were really in need. We aren’t going to donate to Planned Parenthood, for instance, because they’re getting a lot of attention. The funds raised for one org went to one specific girl who could not get treatment. And that felt like, “Wow. We’re really making a difference in someone’s life.”

As awful as everything has been, this was powerful. My work has always felt very frivolous. I’m not a lawyer or a doctor. I work in hospitality. So, this was a bright spot for me.

How are you selecting the organizations that receive support from The Freya Project?

We’ve been reacting to the Trump agenda directly. Basically, we’d say, “Okay, you’re going to do this; we’re going to do this.”

Our first fundraiser, we supported La Frontera Fund, a Texas organization that pays for travel for women seeking abortions. With few abortion care provider in that state, they assist anyone traveling for that care in the state. It’s a very small, all-volunteer organization. In fact, most we support are run completely by volunteers, on a shoestring budget, so we know our dollars packing a big punch for the cause we’re focused on.

We supported the Refugee Women’s Network, based in Georgia, which provides education and healthcare services for women refugees in the state of Georgia. It serves those who have recently arrived and those who have been here for years and who need help, like registering their kids for school.

How specifically does The Freya Project raise money, and what is your goal?

We charge $20 per ticket to each [monthly] reading. 20% of the bar sales [from that evening’s reading] go to the organization being supported that month. We encourage people who can’t make it to the readings to donate anyway. Make donations through the website or to the organization directly.

By the way, how did The Freya Project get its name?

We came up with this name in about 45 minutes. We needed something to [secure our site domain] and get [our project] up there. She’s the Norse goddess of war. We’re reacting to this horrible, misogynistic president. 

What does the future hold for The Freya Project?

Recently, Nonie, who is my co-organizer, and I have established The Freya Project as a 501c3. This allows us to redefine our goals and expand our reach. We’re committed to supporting organizations where we really feel we can have a pretty substantial impact with the funds we’re contributing. Before our 501c3 designation, for tax reasons, we could only give to other organizations established as 501c3s. People couldn’t make gifts through us. They had to go directly to the organization. Now that we’re one, we can select organizations that aren’t necessarily 501c3s, which gives us awesome flexibility to get even closer to the causes.

We have a new board member in LA who is starting a chapter out there. We’re hoping for November 2017. Our goal is to have a woman-owned small business, so it has the same spirit it has here. We found a great location — this really great restaurant — so fingers crossed that all works out.

And, LA came about through a friend of a friend. It’s about networks and communities and being surprised by who you know. Being surprised by who wants to make a change. I feel that way with every reader who says yes.

What do you attribute Freya Project’s early success to?

[My partner Nonie] and I didn’t know each other well enough to slack off. It kept us accountable. We communicated more easily because we didn’t have emotional friend baggage. It made for a very easy, clean conduit of communication. And, I think that had a lot to do with why it took off.

I think the other reason behind it was that we were so stunned by what happened. We lived in a world where this was possible. No one I knew thought this was possible, but what about the women who are in places not like where we live? And, that’s how we formulated our schedule for who we wanted to support.

You’ve touched briefly on the value of having a partner. Tell me a little bit about that.

Forget the practical reasons — you can’t physically do everything alone. You can’t do everything by yourself. There’s a great emotional support there. This is not my full-time job. I have a lot going on, and so does my co-organizer. It helps so much to be able to say, “Can I give you this? Can you take this on? I need a few days.”

I think that’s very restorative and helps you do your best work. You don ‘t feel so pressed in on. You feel confident you can take that emotion space.

My partner, Nonie Bryzski, is a stay-at-home mom. She’s a writer also — a novelist — and she’s working on getting a book out. We have a mother solidarity that makes our relationship work really well. But also, she’s very complimentary of my skillset. She’s more competent as a host than I am. She also has a macro view. Looking forward to expansion and our goals for the future, she has a better long view whereas I’m scrambling through the month. What I’ve brought to the table is getting the readers on the schedule each month. She’s more focused on where we’re headed for the long term.

What have you personally gotten out of this?

There’s a lot of risk taking. For me, it was approaching random strangers via the Internet, Twitter, and so forth, and asking them to give their time for free. It was a difficult, untoward thing. This is a really presumptuous thing I’m doing. It’s not like it came up naturally. That was a really hard thing for me at first, but it’s gotten easier over time.

It’s still very in progress for me, but I’m not a very confident public speaker. A lot of these events, either Nonie or I will host the event, which means introducing the reader and speaking a bit about the organization. It has gone from extremely embarrassing to only moderately embarrassing.

How do you think this project has positively impacted your for-profit businesses, the Brooklyn bars Ramona and Elsa?

People always need a place to gather. Making your business synonymous with values is always a step in the right direction, and it builds a customer base that is excited to go to your location on another level. You’re not just coming in for a drink; you’re coming for a larger purpose. That’s always adding to your experience as a consumer, and it deepens your relationship with us and our business and the community.

What are some major initiatives you see yourself supporting for the remainder of this year?

We have a lot of reproductive health organizations in mind. We’re supporting women’s journalists. There’s an organization for women journalists, and that is a direct result of the way women are being treated in the newsroom. One of our readers was Lauren Duca, and she had this crazy interaction with General Carlson. There’s this danger in the media. We wanted to support those women too.

Going forward, we’re concerned about gun control. Our environmental concern is also very high. We’re struggling to find a small organization that will benefit for our donation, but it’s on our minds and we’re looking. Right now, we’re in the thick of finding organizations for 2018.

What is your advice to women who want to get involved with causes that matter to them but don’t know where to start?

Find someone else. I think a partner or a small group. Someone else to go on this journey with you. It can be intimidating to think about where to start. Find someone you can hash it out with. Find what you’re willing to give, how much time you’re able to spend, how much you’re able to do. Have someone to check in with who is going to ask if you signed up for that march. Also, be kind to yourself. It’s hard. Give yourself that emotional space when you need it.