Money Power

This is another hit from the Fall 2023 issue of Dissent; following the previous one about the Supreme Court and union striking power. Money and the Left in the United States is such a sticky topic. This article does a better job than I can on explaining the situation specifically from the non-profit angle. It references a book I'm eager to dive in on the topic raised by women and femmes of color on the role that non-profits have in stifling grassroot movements. It goes on to mention that this process is a bit of a double-edged sword: without guidance, these organizations can't spend well. It seems like more often than not, "the disparity was especially apparent in coalitions, where funder darlings (often national organizations that claimed to be "connective tissue" between local affiliates)^[1] contributed just the occassional meeting attendance, while low-paid organizers at base-building organizations worked more than seventy hours hours a week". This isn't sustainable and I can see why this kind of work turns a lot of people away by default.

Thankfully, this article does highlight some solutions that I agree with: bringing these people (funders) into spaces to have them understand the struggle at hand^[2]. That way, the funders don't feel like they're doing charity but are direct partners in alleviating, if not eliminating, the problems at hand. I have some contention that's developed from something that reminds me of a post I've written on my approach to reaching folks on how the need to humanize funders is a missing component and it has me wondering, again, if I'm reaching the wrong people as "goals". This also runs into slight conflict with something I've been reading Kaba's book; the need to focus on the big picture of issues instead of working to organize for individual release in the case of prison abolition when we can. I think both are necessary and that we have the people to do it; it's all about mobilizing folks so we can plant both of these trees at the same time and bear the fruit for everyone.

All in all, a great read with some strong takeaways!