Give the gift of stylish, impactful pins! Options for individual pins, custom pin sets, or full pin sets available now. Comes with gift packaging, gift postcard, and an optional handwritten note with any message you want.
This year we released 10 uniquely designed pins aligned with progressive causes that speak to our core values as a collective. For each pin, we chose a nonprofit making a difference for each cause. Half of each pin sale supports the nonprofit associated with that pin.
Each pin released included a live streamed artist showcase featuring artists who identify with each cause. Pins were also produced by manufacturers who share our values, including queer-owned, women-owned, Black-owned, and environmentally conscious companies like GAYPIN', Tower Press, NOLA Pins, Ways & Means and Monterey Company.
Each January pin supported the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank, whose mission is to end hunger in San Francisco and Marin. Each pin purchase ensured their ability to purchase 20 meals! We also organized a small group to volunteer at their Illinois Warehouse in San Francisco.
They have a need for volunteers year-round. If you're in the Bay Area, consider signing up and registering for a shift at SF Marin Food Bank.
"Before the pandemic, one in five neighbors was at risk of hunger. Now that the pandemic has upended thousands of people’s lives and livelihoods, the need is even greater. As a result, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in food insecurity in our community. The Food Bank is now serving 55,000 households, nearly twice as many as pre-pandemic. We’ve met this need by standing up new programs and procedures to ensure we can continue to feed our neighbors facing hunger." - Rachel Breuer, Senior Events & Special Projects Manager, San Francisco-Marin Food Bank
Mask up with Lower Park! Lower Park is a San Francisco-based company and Synaesthesia collaborator that travels the world collecting fabrics to produce unique hats and other accessories. They are supporting COVID-19 safety by producing stylish face masks.
Each February pin supports the East Oakland Collective (EOC), a member-based community organizing group invested in serving the communities of deep East Oakland by working towards racial and economic equity.
EOC focuses on civic engagement and leadership, neighborhood and transportation planning, economic empowerment; and advocacy, organizing, policy, food and housing justice for some of Oakland’s most vulnerable populations—Black and Brown residents and our unhoused neighbors.
"Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, EOC has expanded and scaled our food justice efforts to address the widened food insecurity experienced by the unhoused, seniors, low income families and more. EOC’s office in the heart of Deep East Oakland has turned into a robust food and resource hub for the community." - Candice Elder, EOC Founder and Executive Director
Synaesthesia Collective stands in solidarity with our fellow Black creatives, activists and citizens in addressing the legacy of oppression inflicted on the Black community in this country. We are dedicated to doing our part to create a more antiracist world by interrogating our own internal biases, amplifying Black creatives, and actively participating in Black liberation. Pins for Progress is one small step we are taking right now to engage in the fight for equity, and we hope you'll join us.
We're hosting an Artist Showcase to amplify this fundraiser for EOC and celebrate Black artists in our network! The event takes place Sunday, February 28th from 4:00-9:00 PM PST on our Twitch feed. We encourage attendees to buy a pin and tip artists during the event--tips will be pooled and dispersed to artists afterwards. Tune in to the Black Lives Matter Artist Showcase & Fundraiser on our Twitch channel.
Each March pin supports Women's Foundation California, an organization that devotes time, energy, and money to resourcing the individuals, organizations, and networks building a feminist future.
"At Women's Foundation California, we know that the people closest to the problem are in the best position to solve it. But all too often, those same people are furthest away from the resources needed to make those solutions real. We work persistently to close that gap." Mazuri Colley, Development & Database Manager, she/her/hers
Women's Foundation California is building a future where women of color, queer, and gender nonconforming people can thrive and live fully and joyfully no matter their immigration status or the numbers at the end of their bank account statement. The organization invests in, trains, and connects community leaders to advance gender, racial, and economic justice. Their team's approach to gender extends beyond the reductive binary, and their community is made up of cisgender and transgender women, genderqueer, gender-variant and nonbinary individuals, and trans men. Grant partners, staff, board WPI alum and fellows reflect a broad range of gender expressions.
We're thrilled to host the Gender Equity Artist Showcase & Fundraiser on Sunday, March 28th from 5:00-8:00 PM PST to feature artists along with the March pin release. Artists, poets, performers and more are invited to apply now!.
Each April pin supports Youth vs. Apocalypse, a diverse group of young climate justice activists based in the Bay Area who are working together to lift the voices of youth, in particular, youth of color and working class youth. Their collective action aims to fight for a livable climate and an equitable, sustainable, and just world.
We're thrilled to host the Earth Month Artist Showcase & Fundraiser on Sunday, April 25th from 5:00-8:00 PM PST. Artists, poets, performers and more are invited to apply now through this link!
Each May pin supports the Mental Health Association of San Francisco, a peer-run organization that has challenged the stigma and discrimination clouding mental health across diverse communities while changing policy, perception, and people for over 70 years.
"As the need for accessible mental health care continues to grow exponentially, MHASF aims to raise $75,000 for our upcoming 75th anniversary in 2022... With your gift, MHASF will continue to thrive and offer peer support and resources to all those in need—regardless of their socioeconomic status, race, gender, sexuality, age, or religion." Mary Jo De Silva, Fundraising & Events Coordinator
The Mental Health Artist Showcase will take place on Sunday, May 23rd from 5:00-8:00 PM PST. Join the show at our Twitch channel!
Each June pin supports the SF LGBT Center, a central safe space for the LGBTQ+ community to gather, organize, celebrate, and access services.
Providing direct services to 12,000 people each year, the Center prioritizes programs for those who are most vulnerable and face compounding challenges. "Throughout the COVID pandemic, the Center has operated the majority of services remotely, including assisting job seekers in finding supportive employers, supporting small business owners, connecting unhoused young adults to stable housing, offering information and referrals to community members in need of support, and much more. Together, we are building a stronger and healthier community." Lara Hueter, Development Manager
The June Pride artist showcase takes place Sunday, June 27th at 5:00 PM PST! Join the Facebook event here. Artists and performers aligned with LGBTQ+ Pride in any way are encouraged to apply through Friday, June 11th. Tune in to the show at the Synaesthesia Collective Twitch channel.
Each July pin supports Asian Health Services (AHS), a community health center whose mission is to serve and advocate for the medically underserved, including the immigrant and refugee Asian community, and to ensure equal access to health care services regardless of income, insurance status, language, or culture.
AHS provides medical, dental and behavioral health services to more than 50,000 patients annually in 14 different languages. As a nationally recognized community health center model, AHS stands at the forefront of quality and innovation. Per Alice Lee-Osborne, Director of Development: "We address the unique cultural beliefs, language needs, attitudes and values of our patients. We provide healthcare for all and advocacy for the underserved. Our reach, however, goes beyond the bounds of our clinic, and into the community and broader nation; civic engagement and advocacy are the heart of our work as a community clinic."
July's Artist Showcase takes place on Sunday, July 25th from 5:00-8:00 PM PST! Join the Facebook event and tune in to the show at the Synaesthesia Collective Twitch channel.
The Great Give Back (GGB) challenges the entire Burning Man ecosystem to give back to the Indigenous people of the Great Basin, where Black Rock City is built. A project of Burners Without Borders, GGB formed recently out of a coalition of theme camps and individuals to coordinate resources, money and time to address a variety of community needs at Pyramid Lake and other Nevada reservations. GGB collaborates directly with the Indigenous community on a variety of projects from school supply drives to house repair projects.
In order to align with the Burning Man principle of decommodification, all sales for the Burning Man 2021 pin are donated in full to The Great Give Back Challenge with exception for shipping and handling costs.
Each October pin supports Tech Exchange, a community nonprofit working to advance digital equity through its mission to ensure that all families have a computer, internet access, and the technology skills necessary to improve and enhance their lives. Tech Exchange envisions a digitally connected Bay Area where everyone has the technology resources they need to thrive.
Tech Exchange transforms donations of used computer equipment into essential tools for individuals who had previously been stranded by the digital divide. Equipment is refurbished locally with assistance from paid interns in a structured workforce development program. Robust partnerships with school districts, public authorities, and other nonprofits allow Tech Exchange to connect with community members in need of digital access support. Families who qualify as low-income can receive free devices, digital literacy training, and ongoing tech support in person at the Tech Hub in Oakland, through the Tech Exchange call center, or online at techexchange.org.
October's Artist Showcase takes place Wednesday, October 27 from 5:00-8:00 PM PST! Join the Facebook event and tune into the show at our Twitch channel.
The Disability Awareness pin supports The Bridge School, a nonprofit whose mission is to ensure that individuals with severe speech and physical impairments achieve full participation in their communities through the use of augmentative & alternative means of communication and assistive technology application and through the development, implementation and dissemination of innovative life-long educational strategies.
