Dear Cowbirders,

Cowbird has always been a home for people from many different backgrounds, countries, ages, professions and perspectives. You can find stories and photos here that you wouldn’t find anywhere else—we think it’s a big part of what makes Cowbird such a special place.

But there are so many voices still not being heard. Using Cowbird (and just about any website) requires privileges—a computer, internet access, technical skills—that many people don’t have.

That’s why we’re launching a new initiative, Unheard Voices, to significantly deepen our commitment to helping people tell their stories and give them a supportive, welcoming home.

We’ll be awarding grants to two multimedia storytellers, journalists, or photographers, to enable them to work with communities whose voices aren’t normally heard, and help share their stories through Cowbird.

Our hope is to help create many more community story collections along the lines of this Pine Ridge collection and this collection on the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

You can learn more about Unheard Voices and the fellowship opportunity here, and read more about the groundbreaking Pine Ridge Storytelling Project that helped inspire this fellowship.

Sincerely,

Jonathan, Isaac, Nathan, Schuyler and Dave