Date: October 2nd 2008

Dear All,

With just a month to go before the deadline for applications for our 2009 grants -- one for $25,000 and one for $15,000 -- things are busy here at the Aftermath Project. Our exhibition at Gage Gallery at Roosevelt University in Chicago opened on 9/11 and has gotten a lot of good feedback. The October issue of Art News has a great article about photographers who have started non-profit organizations, and the Aftermath Project is one of those featured. I was also asked to write a piece for the "Intercambio" section of EnFoco, the photo magazine from Nueva Luz -- it's out now, and features photographs from Kathryn Cook, our 2008 grant winner, and also photos from some of last year's applicants who didn't make the final cut, but whose work caught the judges' attention.

I'm also really pleased to tell you that the Aftermath Project will be honored at the Lucie Awards in New York on October 20th, as the winner of the Humanitarian Award. Please be sure to say hello if you're there that night.

We're thrilled to have generous support from Open Society and the Compton Foundation for our 2009 grants. But we've got some other costs -- program costs are growing as we plan for more exhibitions; we'll be publishing our own in-house folio of winners and finalists each year; and we're establishing an Aftermath Project Speakers Series, which will partner with photojournalism and peace studies programs, as a way of continuing the Project's comittment to education and outreach. And then, there are always operational costs, which are often the hardest to raise money for, but which are critically important to keeping the organization growing.

So as a way of trying to help meet those costs, we're launching the $10 Makes a Difference Fundraiser. It really does make a difference; in fact, if everyone on this list donated $10, our operational costs for the year would be met. I know there are lots of demands on your generosity, but please do think about giving whatever you can -- no matter how small it may seem -- to help support the Aftermath Project. Your donation is fully tax-deductible, and the link below will tell you how to donate via PayPal or check. And if you're feeling capable of making a larger contribution, we are building our endowment, and offering donors of $5,000 to $10,000 a print from one of our grant winners and finalists (as long as supplies last!).

Here's how to donate:

http://theaftermathproject.org/donate.htm

Many thanks for you interest in, and support of, the Aftermath Project. If you're a photographer who's going to be applying for our 2009 grants, please remember the deadline is one month away. We're looking forward to receiving your proposals. And if you feel like not waiting until the absolute last minute to send your proposal in, that's always a good thing, so that we're not swamped on November 3rd!

Kind regards,

Sara Terry
Founder, The Aftermath Project