A nonproofit newsroom is launching a fall membership campaign to attract 5,000 monthly donors. To mark the drive, the organization is hosting a Día de los Muertos event featuring artist Consuelo G. Flores.
The 5,000-supporter target for the nonprofit newsroom
The current fundraising initiative seeks to secure a base of 5,000 supporters who commit to monthly gifts to ensure the newsroom's financial stability. According to the report, this drive is paired with a cultural event that includes a guided tour of altars and a curated menu of pastries and beverages in a park setting.
This shift toward membership-based funding reflects a broadder trend in the American media landscape, where nonprofit newsrooms are increasingly moving away from reliance on large grants toward a diversified, community-supported model. By offering an experiential reward—such as the Día de los Muertos workshop—the organization is attempting to transform a financial transaction into a community-building exercise.
Consuelo G. Flores and the art of the altarista
The event is led by Consuelo G.. Flores, an East Los Angeles-born multidisciplinary artist and master altarista. As reported, Flores has spent more than three decades contributing to the public celebrations of Día de los Muertos throughout Southern California, utilizing her background from Self Help Graphics & Arts to bridge ancestral traditions with modern social justice.
Flores, who holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Antioch University, does not treat the ofrenda (altar) as a static relic. Instead, she uses her work across poetry, theater, and visual art to present the altar as a living practice that can acknowledge grief and preserve cultural identity in the face of colonization and migration.
From the Pulse Nightclub shooting to the 2021 Roots of Our Resistance
The work of Consuelo G. Flores often intersects with systemic inequities and community tragedy. The source notes that she has created large-scale public altars honoring victims of the Pulse Nightclub shooting, the 2014 Ayotzinapa student massacre, and the Uvalde school shooting, as well as those lost during the AIDS crisis .
One of her most significant recent works, the 2021 installation titled Roots of Our Resistance,used intertwined tree roots and paper flowers to specifically honor Black and Latino communities that were disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. This history of activism suggests that the newsroom's event is intended to be more than a craft class;it is a lesson in how art can be used as a tool for community resilience and political resistance.
Crafting cempasúchil flowers in a park setting
Participants in the event will engage in a hands-on workshop to create the cempasúchil, or marigold, flower. These flowers are a staple of Day of the Dead altars, and the workshop aims to connect both newcomers and seasoned observers of the holiday to the tradition through creative expression.
The event encourages attendees to contribute personal remembrances to a community altar, though the organization warns that these items will not be returned.. To ensure inclusivity, the organizers have stated they will provide accessibility accommodations for attendees with disabilities upon request.
Which nonprofit newsroom is hosting the drive?
Despite the detailed description of the event and the artist, the source material does not explicitly name the nonprofit newsroom organizing the drive. It remains unclear which city or region this newsroom serves, other than the implication of a Southern California connection via the presence of Consuelo G. Flores.
Furthermore, the report does not specify the exact date or the specific park where the installations will be displayed, leaving potential supporters to seek out the organization's primary channels for registration details.
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