Directed by David Curtis, the Broken Brick Initiative provides useful support services to government, businesses, and non-profit organizations. It specializes in written reports, marketing materials, success stories, newsletters, proposals, web content, and social media. It remains committed to social justice, accountability, and access to information for all communities.

Latest News

As an on-call copy editor for the Solidaridad Network, David has helped to maintain the NGO’s public presence through posted profiles, project updates and maintenance on the Solidaridad website. David works with a global staff to revise and publish submitted articles documenting the organization’s work to improve supply chains and support effective climate change action.

In addition reviewing the 2023 Annual Report and editing material for newsletters, David has used the Shorthand storytelling app to edit and design articles including the resilience of a Brazilian orange grower, a woman farming coffee in Tanzania, and water and agriculture in Bangaldesh.

The Broken Brick Initiative has started a A Small Dune in Arabia. This social media channel on YouTube and Facebook explores news, travel and life on the Arabian Peninsula.

Climate of Denial is a crowd-sourced knowledge base which tracks climate change denial across the country. Since the start of the website in 2022, Climate of Denial established intern partnerships with universities and colleges, and connected with over 80 student interns interested in contributing to the wiki or developing educational climate change media.

Our Community Libraries and Information Centers initiative responded to the COVID-19 crisis with a Public Health in Public Spaces project. Working with college interns, our COVID-19 information presentation was designed to display the latest COVID information at businesses, colleges, and organizations throughout the city of Burlington, Vermont. See a fast moving example here.

Past Work

As a United Nations volunteer, the Broken Brick Initiative worked with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) China to proofread publications, reports, and newsletters. Through the same program, the Brick finished a project to create a flyer and associated publicity material for the Swedish Organization for Global Health.

Additionally, the Broken Brick Initiative worked with Merlin USA, a leading medical relief organization, to develop effective newsletters that highlighted Merlin’s efforts to provide desperately needed healthcare around the world. Review the issues from Summer 2013, Winter 2013Spring 2012, and Fall 2011.

The United Nations recognized the Broken Brick Initiative’s efforts with a UN Online Volunteer Certificate. As part of the network of United Nations Volunteers, the BBI completed the 2011 Annual Report for Volunteer Partnerships for West Africa. VPWA has a number of exciting projects in Ghana, and the Broken Brick Initiative was happy to help VPWA spread the news about its work to expand environmental programs, while supporting business development, healthcare outreach and education programming.

Who We Are

As the director of the Broken Brick Initiative, David Curtis is a copywriter and editor who specializes in web content, newsletters, marketing materials, proposals, success stories and social media. His experience as a freelance writer includes press releases, catalogue copy and annual reports.

David is also the founder and manager of Climate of Denial, and during the COVID-19 lockdown he worked as the co-director of a Community Libraries and Information Centers project. With a master’s degree in public administration, he has studied the growth of democracy movements and the development of accountability standards. He has served on the board of the Greater Burlington Multicultural Resource Center, in municipal government, and as a union steward and labor organizer.