When I launched “Finding Our Voice” in mid-2017, I had no idea where it would lead. On the surface, I was “in search of sing-alongs and protest songs,” but on a deeper level I was searching for purpose in this post-Trump era. The stakes seemed higher than ever and I felt a renewed urgency to find a calling that would be in highest service to the greater good. I had a curiosity about the power of song, music and more broadly, art, to help fuel this age of movements for social, environmental and economic justice. And I decided that a podcast could be my entry point into this inquiry. I was right about that - and yet things turned out quite differently than expected.The 20+ interviews I conducted on the road (many of which I livestreamed on Facebook) unearthed a world of inspiration and aspiration whose unfolding I’ve been following ever since. I thought each interview would turn into a podcast episode. Instead, each interview turned into motivation to begin song leading myself. When I returned to Austin, instead of focusing my time, energy and attention on editing these conversations about community song leading, I focused my time, attention and energy on becoming a community song leader myself! The rest, as they say, is history.Since October of 2017, I’ve lead dozens of community sings & workshops, organized a pair of overnight song gatherings, lead song at countless marches/rallies/protests, been the subject of an award-winning documentary and generally worked to bring more singing into the everyday spaces of life. It was the seed of curiosity about a podcast that blossomed into a whole field of inspiration, whose beauty and nourishment I continue to harvest to this day.I leveraged Patreon to fund my journey because I wanted to support a platform that promotes artists and creators - but I wasn’t ready to call myself one at the time. Despite the fact that the platform is explicitly designed to provide ongoing support for creatives, I limited my campaign to just two months because I didn’t know what awaited me on the other side of my journey. I wasn’t ready to ask for ongoing support for whatever that might be. I had the courage to take the first step but not enough to embrace the full unfolding.I'm grateful to say, this is no longer the case. I feel ready to step into my creative birthright and lean into my title as community song leader. I feel ready to “trust in the magic of the mystery” (Karly Loveling). With the wisdom of the songs and of the mentors and peers who’ve created them, I’ve found the clarity of purpose and the creative confidence to receive the support I need and want to do this work - this work of connecting to ourselves and one another more deeply through the experience of singing together. I feel that I’ve found a calling and I’m asking you to support me in my pursuit of it.Here's a more detailed accounting of what I'm up to these days in regards to song leading:I currently lead two regular community sings per month in the Texas Capitol Rotunda, an epic acoustical space for raising our voices with songs of healing and resistance: healing the traumas and wounds of disconnection and fear, and resisting the forces that seek to divide us and keep us isolated and afraid. Additionally, I host song catching workshops (co-creative songwriting!), song leading workshops (to support and foster more song leaders) and community sings in other spaces around town.It’s been an incredible unfolding as these community sings have grown to be so much more than singing. We gather to witness and support one another on our respective journeys, honoring birthdays, deaths, illnesses, transitions, and the nitty gritty joys and despairs of everyday life. I’m continually humbled by the power of sharing a few hours of wholehearted singing with others. Science tells us there are myriad health benefits; experience tells us that community singing is deeply nourishing in ways that transcend description.I used to write songs with a pen and guitar, but these days I tend to catch them with nothing but my heart and voice. I like Elizabeth Gilbert’s take on creativity in her chat with Krista Tippet of " On Being ." The songs I’m catching these days are largely in the community singing tradition, which is to say they are generally in the oral tradition (a cappella), somewhat simple/short, and often multi-parts that are layered or folded onto one another. Here’s are a couple of examples of such songs on my SoundCloud page. I know I have a lot more songs to catch, and would love your support to do so!I’ve been able to engage more consistently and deeply with causes and organizations in the last year, largely as a song leader. I’ve become a part of the #JewishResistance movement called IfNotNow, young Jews committed to ending American Jewish support for the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Song and ritual are a huge piece of the movement’s culture and have played a central role in calling me back into my Jewish heritage. I've also lead song for the Poor People's Campaign, local organizations in Austin working on immigration and criminal justice reform, and many individual or one-off events, rallies, marches and more.This whole journey began with this seed. I engaged my initial Patreon supporters around this vision of creating a podcast about “sing-alongs and protest songs.” Since hitting the road in August 2017 to conduct interviews with musicians and song leaders, I’ve sat down with over 20 inspiring people about singing as a form of community building and resistance. The work of editing is tedious and time consuming and I’ve ended up prioritizing actual song leading over podcasting. But given more support, I’d love to revive this project and amplify the thoughts and songs of some of the most inspiring, brilliant and strong people I know.FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONSUnlike most Patreon campaigns, I’m not offering enticing rewards or polished creative pieces for you to consume as a patron. While I do plan to create content - podcast episodes, written pieces about my experiences, songs that I’m catching! - I see all of these as byproducts of the essential work, which is in the organizing itself. When you support me, you support the continued work - in Austin and elsewhere as my resources and capacity grow - of creating and facilitating meaningful group experiences with song. I’d leverage your support to work each and every day for a more just and loving world, one that is more connected and rooted in interdependence with the Earth and with one another.The EthosAt its core, Patreon is a crowdfunding platform. Like Indiegogo or Kickstarter, it’s an alternative form of soliciting financial support from our networks. It’s a tool for decentralizing the systems of power and resource allocation. It’s a mode of community finance. Unlike many other crowdfunding platforms, however, Patreon is designed to provide ongoing financial streams with the artist primarily in mind (hence the play on the word “patron”). The underlying principle is that Patreon can help artists feel supported in pursuing their work while engaging their communities around what they’re doing.The Nuts and BoltsDonations are monthly so choose a level of support that’s doable for you on a consistent basis. Contributions are made the first of every month. You can cancel or pause your donation at any time.One-Time DonationsMaybe you dig what I’m up to and want to support me but for whatever reason you’re not feeling the monthly contribution. No worries - you can send me an ol’ fashioned one-time amount via PayPal or Venmo Some Patreon (or crowdfunding campaigns in general) promise different prizes/rewards/products when you give certain amounts, often giving you more as you give more money. While I plan to write, record and broadcast content just for my patrons, I'm only offering one tier: give at least $3 per month and you're a supporter of my work with full access to the content I share here. The $9 and $18 levels are suggestions for higher donation amounts but you can give whatever amount you'd like (i.e. you can customize your donation amount). I welcome all contributions - both small and large - to help me do this work.Any support I receive here on Patreon will go towards my general well-being as an artist and activist (food, bills, transportation etc.). I also pledge to pay forward 10% of whatever earnings I bring in, a "tithing" practice that I've been doing with all of my song leading work for the last 18 months or so. Sometimes I pay it forward to other song leaders, to organizations or movements I believe in, or to strangers on the street.