Thank you for being in community with us throughout this year! 2025 was an exciting year for DiasporaDNA — the launch of our programs, the support of our board, a growing team, and over 15 activations across Philadelphia. Most of all we committed our purpose to archive and support the local cultural landscape via City of Festivals initiative.

 

As we ease into the holiday season, we’re thrilled to share meaningful updates, new stories, and the launch of our End-of-Year Giving Campaign: Save Philly Festivals.

 

This year, we’re raising $2,500 and welcoming 25 new Patreon subscribers to help us uplift and document the cultural festivals that shape Philadelphia’s heart and heritage. Your support now fuels the City of Festivals in 2026 and beyond.

The first episode of Patterns of Our Diasporas has officially dropped! This conversation titled 'Kinkeeping & Genealogy' explores family, lineage, memory, and the creativity shaping our search for ancestry; and the confidence we have in our lives when we know where and who we are from.

 

✨ Patreon members get early access — stream it now on our Patreon alongside behind-the-scenes content and reflections from Monica.

 

Listen on:

Spotify Podcasts: https://open.spotify.com/show/5AjFt1G3jO5ULKWNqh8lV4?si=340c3e994c344124

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/118298c8-929f-4dcc-a882-1cbf79c5f32c/patterns-of-our-diasporas

 

This is the first of many stories we’re releasing through our expanded digital storytelling platform — and Patreon helps make that possible.

This Giving Tuesday, sow a seed into the future of cultural storytelling through DiasporaDNA’s Save Philly Festivals! campaign.

 

Lately local festivals have been under attack!  

 

The celebrations that bring so much joy and character to our neighborhoods have an uncertain future and that needs to change. As the city gears up for the 250th Semiquincentennial — We are on a mission to Save Philly Festivals! 

 

We will do this in 4 ways:

→ Organizing a professional development Think Tank for fest producers teaching sustainability and sponsorship tips

→ Developing a citywide bus tour highlighting the best local culture, public parades, festivals, fairs, night markets and celebrations of all kinds: Reserve your ticket here! 

→ Creating a searchable website and accessible map, highlighting the 250 vibrant festivals we have documented happening in areas all over the city

→ Executing a Philly Festivals Media Day and community storytelling initiative to spread the good news to the press and share our favorite festival memories together.

 

Your gift empowers this work, igniting civic pride, and economic vitality for festival culture during Philly’s 250th anniversary year. We need your help to mentor, preserve and support these moments that make our city shine—from Juneteenth to Indigenous Peoples Day to Eagles Parades and beyond.

 

Every new donor subscriber receives an exclusive invitation to a private dinner + and tour of our City of Festivals archive —a heartfelt love letter to culture, community and celebration.

 

🎯 Our goal: $2,500 + 25 new Patreon subscribers by December 31.

Here’s how your support makes a difference:  

- $100 sponsors a festival tour stop in a Philly neighborhood  

- $50 helps archive oral histories and artifacts  

- $25 fuels workshops for emerging festival organizers  

 

Make your impact today:

Donate here: https://givebutter.com/UCMqx8

Join our Patreon: https://patreon.com/DiasporaDNAStoryCenter

 

Thank you for protecting the festivals, traditions, and stories that keep Philly vibrant✨

 

We’re excited to share that DiasporaDNA has officially entered a new visual chapter! Thanks to FRANK Creative Solutions’ brilliant designers, our refreshed identity beautifully reflects our mission of amplifying stories from the Global Majority and celebrating our shared humanity.

 

If you’ve visited our site recently, you’ve seen the updated branding, layout, and imagery — all grounded in our new tagline: Healing Through Heritage. Our ancestors guide us as we move through the world, and this identity honors that lineage.

 

You’ll also notice new pages designed to deepen your connection to our work:

Events: Explore upcoming and past programs.

Founder: Learn about Monica O. Montgomery’s leadership and offerings.

Partner: Discover how organizations collaborate with us.

 

More updates are coming as we continue shaping this next chapter.

Thank you for being part of this community. Whether you listen, donate, share your story, subscribe to our Patreon, or simply witness our work, you help keep the ancestral flame burning — and you help Save Philly Festivals.

 

With gratitude,

The DiasporaDNA Team