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 Grief is not only a private feeling. It is something communities carry—and too often leave people to carry alone.
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 I’m Devin Mykel DiSerio, founder of Grief Nights in Syracuse, New York. I am raising $10,000 to produce the founding public commission: one free, secular, artist-led civic ritual where adults can give grief a witnessed public form without diagnosis, required belief, forced disclosure, or registration.
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 Grief Nights is not therapy, a support group, a religious service, or a content event. It is public grief infrastructure: a carefully designed gathering organized through four movements—Arrival, Naming, Witnessing, and Release. People may speak or remain silent, participate or pass, step out, or leave. There will be no advice-giving, no pressure to disclose, and no photographing visibly grieving people without specific consent.
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 The founding commission will fund four weeks of preproduction followed by one accessible public gathering. Funding supports two-adult event coverage, paid artists and contributors, participatory art, quiet-space support, safety and referral protocols, accessibility, insurance and permits, and transparent documentation so the model can be responsibly improved and repeated.
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 THE $10,000 BUDGET
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 • Founder / creative producer / facilitator — $2,000
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 • Co-holder, artists, production, quiet-space and site support — $2,400
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 • Venue, A/V, insurance and permits — $1,550
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 • Accessibility and participant materials — $1,500
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 • Outreach, anonymous evaluation and documentation — $750
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 • Fiscal administration and contingency — $1,800
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 CURRENT STATUS
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 Grief Nights is in its founding, pre-pilot phase. The concept and griefnights.org are public. No venue, event date, partner, funder, fiscal sponsor, insurance, attendance history, or launch date is being claimed as confirmed. A specific date and location will be announced only after written venue terms, two adult holders, safety review, and an insurance path are secured.
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 Grief Nights is not currently a nonprofit, and contributions are not represented as tax-deductible. I am organizing this fundraiser as an individual to pay documented project costs.
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 Support funds the project’s construction—not the purchase of anyone’s grief. Recognition stays at the perimeter: the campaign page, printed program, arrival area, public thank-you, and final report. Donors will not receive attendee data, access to personal stories, control over the ritual, or permission to film participants.
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 WHY THIS MATTERS
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 We have clinics, churches, funerals, and private coping—but almost no shared civic structure for grief that does not require a diagnosis, membership, money, or explanation. Grief Nights begins with one question:
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 What would it look like if a city made room to witness what its people carry?
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 Your donation helps build that room. If you cannot donate, sharing this campaign with one local business, funeral home, arts supporter, or civic institution can be just as important.
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 Devin Mykel DiSerio
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 Founder, Grief Nights / Earth Favored Studios
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 <a href="https://griefnights.org" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer"><a href="https://griefnights.org" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://griefnights.org</a></a>
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Enter your donation forBuild Grief Nights: A Public Ritual for Syracuse