Funding the Revolution
What if we all skilled up for the economic self-determination of our movements?
Hi there, welcome to the “secret menu” part of my money coaching and training. My joy and passion is to help radical organizers get more fearless, powerful and strategic with money. For a small number of working class organizers, I offer free, short-term online training and support (and refer out for needs that fall outside of my scope). If you’re here, I’ve extended this offer to you.
I’m sure you have your own reasons for wanting to fund your work independently. Our movements need more economic self-determination. We can’t rely on philanthropy and we can’t afford to leave the power of money on the table.
At the same time, many organizers hate fundraising. They feel it's not radical, not a real part of the organizing and it's scary to ask for money. I’ve worked with many badasses who are confronting US empire but are afraid to ask for (big) money.
My beloved comrades, we can’t afford this. We need you and your members to be fearless and unleashed about getting money, in ways that are creative, bold and principled.
Thankfully fundraising is not technically difficult. It’s actually just organizing. We pool our money to pool our power. But here’s the actual hard part–agreeing on a funding strategy, moving our own bases into fundraising, our personal and intergenerational money trauma and inherited beliefs about money and worth. This is especially complex, healing and powerful work with people who’ve been systematically economically exploited for others’ profit.
My work focuses on opening up a space for leaders to address whatever is holding you and your organizing back from harnessing your own power to raise money. Maybe it’s your members' resistance, lack of clarity on the strategy or your belief that you don’t know anyone with money (yes you do, it’s just hidden). Maybe you need a bit of coaching, maybe you need the space to talk about getting your members on board, maybe you need a couple of trainings for your members on radical grassroots fundraising (and how its funded revolutionary movements for generations!)
About me: I have been fundraising for as long as I’ve been organizing (since 2000) and have trained hundreds of other organizers who have gone on to raise millions of dollars for grassroots organizing, in the US, Canada and the global south. I hated fundraising until I ran my first successful direct-ask campaign ($5K for some “Know Your Rights” zines for migrant sex workers) and got a taste of the independence and agility that doing our own fundraising offers frontline leadership. I was hooked. Imagine if we could all raise $5-20K? I know we can so I developed my "$10K in 10 days” training to share what I’ve learned.
It’s time to re-think fundraising and see it as a basic organizing skill that all radicals need to master. It’s time to stop leaving the money to “the development professionals”. It’s time to re-think even the concept of economy entirely.
If you want to talk money strategy, reach out, let’s chat and see how I might support you.
p.s. If you are in community with wealthy progressives and leftists who are redistributing their money back to the communities it was extracted from, please send them to my professional coaching business.