Give to the Family’s Future 💛
Every dollar raised at the reunion is split three ways by family vote: our land, our students, and the operating fund that keeps this family running — including this very website.
The Three Funds
🏡 Land-Back Retainer Fund
We’re partnering with Where Is My Land — an organization that helps Black families research, document, and reclaim family land — to pursue the return of our family’s land. This fund pays the retainer and research costs — and the renovation and revitalization of family land: repairs, restoration, cleanup, surveys, taxes, and improvements.
🎓 Scholarship Fund
Scholarships for descendants of our ancestors — college, trade school, and certifications. Applications open to the whole family; awards presented at the reunion banquet.
🛠️ Operating Fund
Strictly operating costs: hosting & maintaining hnfamilyreunion.com (domain, hosting, payment-processing fees), printing & supplies, permits & venue deposits — and the seed money that guarantees the next reunion happens, so no single household carries the load.
Buttons go live once the Treasurer connects the payment links. Until then:
Other ways to give right now
- Zelle (straight to the family reunion bank account): Joseph Nelson — harrisnelsonfamilyreunion@gmail.com
- Cash App: Miesha Wilson — $mieshanulife06
- In person: your family’s reunion representative, or the welcome table — the Financial Secretary (Aunt Vanessa) issues a receipt for every dollar
Please write what the payment is for (dues, shirts, land fund, scholarship) and who it’s from when you send it.
Why the Land Fund Matters
The story
Like far too many Black families, land that belonged to our people slipped out of the family’s hands. Where Is My Land specializes in exactly this: tracing the records, documenting the taking, and pursuing every available path — legal, legislative, and negotiated — to get land back or win restitution.
Our plan
- Gather deeds, tax records, and oral history from the elders (bring documents to the Family Tree table!)
- Fund the retainer through reunion fundraising
- Family volunteers support the research — fill out the volunteer questionnaire on the Committees page
- Any recovered land or proceeds will be stewarded by our family foundation (501(c)(3) in formation)
Scholarship Applications
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Insert the “Scholarship Interest” form here — field list in RUNBOOK-WORDPRESS.md