(guest blog by RFC Communications Director, Amber Black)

For people who have been gone for almost 65 years, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg turn up in the news and pop culture a lot…and in some surprising ways.

Guest blog  by Robert Meeropol, Rosenberg Fund for Children Founder & son of Ethel & Julius Rosenberg

It is no secret that Trump’s election spurred more people to donate to progressive organizations like the RFC during the first nine months of this year. And, as expected, we needed every extra penny because requests for our aid have surged. But it isn’t as well known that the RFC and other groups have seen a reduction of support in the last couple of months. I think this reflects a combination of donor fatigue and a focus on giving to local progressive candidates even in this off-year election.

We’re in the midst of awarding our fall 2017 grants. To date, six new grantees have joined the RFC community and additional new applications are pending. So far, the new grantees include:

The RFC is a proud sponsor of the first-ever Abel Meeropol Social Justice Writing Award, which will be presented by Straw Dog Writers Guild to poet Patricia Smith on Sunday, November 12 at Gateway City Arts in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Guild co-founder and Board President Ellen Meeropol (also a member of the RFC’s Advisory Board) shares the story behind the award.

This summer marks my 10th year as a staff member at the Rosenberg Fund for Children. While I no longer feel like a new employee, it’s hard to believe I’ve worked here for a decade. I joined the RFC as the Granting Coordinator in 2007. I stayed in that role until the fall of 2011, when I became the Associate Director. I spent the next 18 months working closely with my father, Robert Meeropol, as he prepared to retire as Executive Director (a position he’d held since he started the organization in the fall of 1990). In September of 2013, I became the second Executive Director of the RFC.