Advocacy

Since creating Smug Morenita in 2017, Gabriela has intentionally leveraged her platform—alongside a background in political campaigns and policy advocacy—to ensure that the work inspired by her community not only reflects it, but actively contributes to its growth and visibility.

Using her art as a bridge, she has supported both local and transnational efforts that uplift community organizing, while collaborating with aligned brands and partners to create opportunities that reinvest in the very people and places that shape her practice.

Highlights

  • In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, Gabriela logged on and asked the internet for help raising just $500 to provide hot meals to local seniors. What began as a simple call to action quickly grew into over $20,000—becoming the seed funding for a grassroots food mutual aid effort that would evolve into Mission Meals Coalition (MMC). Over $100,000 was redirected to local small businesses and restaurants to prepare meals, while additional support went to local produce vendors to help provide groceries and essentials to local families, seniors across the Bay Area, and Napa farmworkers.

    Drawing on her professional background in fundraising development and grant writing, Gabriela has since helped facilitate over $4 million in grassroots, private, and government funding. She now serves on Mission Meals Coalition’s advisory committee, continuing to support its mission through fundraising and strategic guidance.

  • Hurricane Eta made landfall on November 3rd, 2020, just south of Puerto Cabezas on Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast—home to many Afro-Indigenous and Afro-Latino communities. The storm caused catastrophic wind damage, flash flooding, and widespread displacement across this historically underserved region.

    In response, Gabriela organized alongside other Nicaraguan creators and Chavalos de Aquí y Allá, a trusted grassroots organization providing humanitarian aid in Central America. Together, they helped facilitate over $40,000 in direct aid, supporting local efforts to provide food, shelter, and emergency supplies to those most affected.

  • Raised over $6,000 to help Doña Ana—a Salvadoran housekeeper—reunite with her daughter and granddaughters seeking refuge in the Bay Area. Through collective care, the community came together to meet urgent needs for flights, housing, and legal support. Every donation, share, and act of solidarity made a lasting impact.

  • Learn more about the initiative & campaign here!

  • Learn more about SF Bay Ferry campaign here!

Partner

For brands or individuals seeking to align their work with meaningful impact, the social impact component of a campaign can qualify for tax-deductible contributions through local nonprofit partnerships with organizations Gabriela is locally affiliated with or actively works to uplift—such as Mission Meals Coalition, focused on food access and supporting local restaurants, and Chavalos de Aquí y Allá, a local performing arts group.

Connect