Our fiscally sponsored projects
Rainbow Collective for Change
Rainbow Collective for Change is a collective of LGBTQIA+ families and community members working together to build affirming spaces for LGBTQIA+ families and children ages 0-12.
RCC provides LGBTQIA+ families and children with meaningful opportunities to connect with each other and build positive self-identity and pride. RCC also supports LGBTQIA+ families in advocacy efforts in schools, school districts, and their communities. We have two chapters - our North Carolina chapter formed in early 2022 and our Minnesota chapter formed in late 2024!
RCC also provides workshops, resources, and consulting for schools, families, and organizations to be LGBTQIA+ and Gender Inclusive. These offerings are available across the United States.
Community Food Strategies
Community Food Strategies works to inspire connections and amplify collective action so that community voices are heard and food policy shifts toward more equitable outcomes.
Our ultimate purpose is to help build an equitable, community driven food system that improves the quality of life for all people.
We are a multi-organizational team of food system experts working to support and develop North Carolina’s food coalitions through trainings, tools, and structured network building.
We believe people are experts in their communities. They understand their needs better than any outside organization ever could. By engaging community voices with policy makers, we work to strengthen local, grass roots efforts that help address the root causes of many societal issues.
The goal of Community Food Strategies is to build and facilitate relationships between the people we serve so they can share resources and strategies with each other to effect lasting change in their communities, from the ground up.
MAAME, Inc.
MAAME, Inc. empowers our community to navigate systems during pregnancy and postpartum, mobilize to offer resources, education, services, and support for holistic maternal health, wellness, sustainable communities, and economic advancement.
We focus on filling the gap of services that exist for marginalized communities who are in between poverty and financial stability.
We bridge the gap for people who are not eligible to receive public services and support, and not able to afford these resources privately.
MAAME, Inc. is a formerly sponsored project of Upstream Works that is now a 501(c)3 organization in its own right.
Circular Triangle
Circular Triangle aims to raise awareness about the waste hierarchy and promote circular alternatives, particularly in textiles. We foster education and advocacy on the intersection of municipal systems and circular economy principles, while providing a connection hub to support organizations dedicated to these sustainable solutions.
All Neurotypes
All Neurotypes believes that all neurotypes and experiences are valid. All Neurotypes creates spaces where neurodivergent communication is appreciated and celebrated. We believe in the inherent value of every neurotype, every way of thinking, and every mode of communication. Based on this belief, All Neurotypes is dedicated to building inclusive, sensory friendly, communities while offering positive supports for neurodivergent individuals.
All Neurotypes currently has three projects in operation. Click the links to learn more about each of them!
Project Reflect Lab
The Project Reflect Lab is a collective of designers with diverse expertise who are focused on developing concepts that support a meaningful, just and joyful food system. The Lab provides space for creativity, research, and learning.
Over the years, we have seen organizations and individuals who are doing good work be constrained by the stressors of short term, day-to-day operations. These stressors can inhibit organizations and individuals from developing new programs and ideas that leverage their expertise to prompt systems level shifts.
At the Lab, we provide practitioners the time and space for new ideas to be incubated. We support with brainstorming, workshops, creative resources and strategic planning in order to facilitate the development of new concepts that turn into sustainable, long term programs and projects.
The Nurse Policy Exchange
[New project coming soon!]
Grown in durham
Grown in Durham/Durham’s Early Childhood Action Plan serves as a blueprint for strengthening early childhood systems in Durham. It was a collective labor of love and created with leadership from almost 150 parents, caregivers, early childhood providers, community leaders, and institutional leaders and the input of more than 1,000 parents across Durham who all had a little one in mind.
Durham continues to build on the plan and the activities that sprung out of the plan, making Durham the best place for young children and their families to grow and thrive.
Durham Mutual Aid - Gas Explosion Response
After a deadly gas explosion in 2019 in downtown Durham that killed two people and left many restaurant and retail workers without jobs for months, the Durham One Fund raised almost $250,000 to support the individuals, families, and businesses affected by the tragedy. Upstream Works ultimately served as the fiscal sponsor to distribute and manage the collected funds. Local news coverage about the effort can be found here.
City of Durham Equitable Engagement: Fayetteville St. Corridor
In October 2019, Iveywood Consulting and Upstream Works Collaborative were jointly awarded a contract to conduct engagement services for the City of Durham. The team focused on the Fayetteville Street Corridor in a historically Black neighborhood in Durham. They piloted innovative ways to improve community engagement in the neighborhood and across the City of Durham. The project established an organizing fellowship for a leadership team that will become familiar with the priorities and practices of the City, allowing them to identify problems and create new ways of addressing them. Project completed in August 2020.
Point4health
Upstream Works Collaborators Julia Katz and Mary Elbech received two grants to implement Point4Health, a tactical urbanism project with residents of Durham, NC’s West End neighborhood. Wayfinding signs, legacy gardens, and a painted crosswalk and pathway connected older adults from DHIC’s Maplewood Square community to resources and cost savings at the Durham Co-op Market, located just 0.4 miles away.
50 MealS A Day
When COPA and thousands of other restaurants were forced to close our dining rooms due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us got to work finding new ways to feed people. Innovative programs like Feed the Frontline and Durham's Feed the Fight sprang up all over the country. Restaurants were being paid to feed frontline workers. At the same time, we had to begin using our PPP funds. But we had very little work in our restaurant for the team. So we supplemented with work on our farm, Terra Sacra. The COPA team jumped in enthusiastically and began working together to build up the infrastructure on our nascent farm. Not long after the shutdown, our nation's food supply chain began to break and people experienced shortages. But we never did. We had already developed strong relationships with local farmers. They were able to step up and fill in the gap for us. Soon, Chef Roberto began to see how all these pieces could come together to strengthen our entire local food chain while also reducing hunger in our community. That's when 50 Meals a Day was born. Chef Roberto realized that if he could support local farms by both buying from them and investing in their infrastructure, our local food supply chain would be stronger and better. And if he could raise enough money to feed 50 people at a time 6 days a week, he could make a significant impact on hunger in our community while keeping his team employed. After all, a chef has 2 main jobs: 1) to feed people and 2) to take care of the team.
Durham Bowls
Durham Bowls was originally a project by Food Insight Group. Durham-based chefs and School Nutrition Managers teamed up to develop 10 unique and delicious recipes that meet the strict requirements of school nutrition programs. That means a tight budget, limited kitchen tools, and strict nutritional requirements. Each recipe featured local ingredients and has been taste tested and approved by Durham students and families.
EAT NC
EAT NC, formerly Durham FEAST, had a mission to connect people to good food, especially during times of crisis. EAT NC covered the last miles between the farmer, producer, distributor, cook, and eater. EAT NC was funded by Durham County government, in partnership with many community organizations and individual donors. EAT NC was intentional in directing project funds to women and minority owned business from farmers to chefs to delivery drivers. And EAT NC was committed to providing quality, value, and love to the eaters we serve.