Ed spoke about using this moment to build a worker-owned economy that will provide stable jobs rooted in local communities as a response to the runaway capitalist concentration of wealth threatening our country’s – and the world’s – future. Dave discussed the amazing growth of grassroots direct democracy around the country that the Occupy Wall Street movement launched. This movement is directly connected to the economic democratization in which F4DC is engaged.

It was a great evening of food, catching up with old friends, welcoming some who are new, and planning for future work together!

Below are the notes from the small group discussions held at the potluck.

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SUMMARY OF NOVEMBER 13 POTLUCK DISCUSSION: BRINGING A NEW GREENSBORO TO LIFE

Imagine what a Democratic, Equitable, Compassionate and Sustainable Greensboro would look like

VALUES
• Sense of belonging, everyone participates
• People smiling at each other, less texting, more speaking to “strangers”
• Peaceful co-existence of faith communities, shared spiritual spaces
• More organizational cooperation, respect and openness to diverse points of view
• Build consensus, trust, reconciliation; reduce fragmentation
• Organize around oppression to build on common humanity
• Thinking and doing in systems

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
• 75% of people vote in local elections
• Participatory budgeting, participatory taxation
• Restorative justice models
• Marriage equality federal, state and local

MONEY
• Local currency, bartering, 60%local banking

COMMERCE
• Fair and full employment, living wage
• Jobs that directly serve the community on all levels
• Local, worker owned grocery stores, manufacturing businesses and cooperatives
• Support of local businesses and entrepreneurs
• Needs based “gift” economy

WASTE
• Sustainable waste management: recycle, repurpose and reuse “trash”
• Greywater systems

ENERGY
• Sustainable energy program
• Localized energy sources
• Homes with local heat (biofuels)
• Green architecture

TRANSPORTATION
• Bike and pedestrian friendly roads/communities, bike racks everywhere, sidewalks, bus stops, free mass transit
• At least half the people commute via public transportation and bicycle

FOOD
• Food security: access to nutritious local food for everyone
• Community and roof gardens, local agricultural infrastructure, farmer’s markets

HOUSING
• Housing safe and affordable, no foreclosures
• Shelter for everybody

HEALTH
• Affordable, adequate health care for everyone
• Available substance abuse treatment and mental health care

EDUCATION
• Education equitable and responsive, 20 students in a class, holistic curriculum
• Free higher education
• Community dialogue about education
• Re-skilling, new ways of learning

COMMUNITY
• Parks and recreation: maintained community areas for exercise, gathering, talking together, eating, celebrating, having fun
• Singing groups
• Public art and engagement, street performers
• More shared storytelling
• Cooperative child/family raising, more active neighborhoods

COMMUNICATION
• Communication network to access resources that have already proven to work

GENERAL
• No basic needs unfulfilled
• No disparate treatment
• No extremes of wealth and power
• Immigrants come out of the shadows. No “illegals”
• Absence of beggars on street corners

What are the first steps to bring our visions to life in Greensboro?

GENERAL
• Support current local, sustainable programs
• Create stronger safety net for vulnerable people

VALUES
• Focus on possibility rather than problem

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
• Foster Greensboro pride and ownership, promote local individuals
• Acknowledge the Greensboro “Massacre”
• Choose to read COMMUNITY by Peter Block for our One City One Book project
• Establish connection/dialogue with newly elected city officials to make concerns visible
• Communicate with city staff about participatory budgeting, food regulations, zoning and building codes, use of public lands for food
• Use initiative and referendum process in city charter
• Create/join in public ritual
• Support Transition Greensboro
• A congress for democratic Greensboro
• Support the YWCA and other organizations that feature social justice
• Join the participatory budgeting process

MONEY
• Support the local currency project
• Put money in local credit unions and banks

COMMERCE
• Engage in more bartering, trading, sharing resources
• Support local businesses and farming
• Support unionized businesses

ENERGY
• Use underused land for passive solar energy

TRANSPORTATION
• Promote bike lanes, pedestrian walkways, bus service and ride sharing

FOOD
• Use underused land for gardens

HOUSING
• Use underused land and buildings for housing

HEALTH
• Start neighborhood group savings clubs for particular purposes e.g. health care

EDUCATION
• Teach old skills; skill sharing

COMMUNITY
• Convene people more: outreach, dialogue/conversation
• Find ways to allow entry points, promote inclusivity
• Establish a local space for ALL people to come together
• Listen to ordinary folks: know and share our stories
• Support local neighborhood organizations
• Build relationships in neighborhoods by getting together to share resources, eat, garden and have fun together

COMMUNICATION
• Create accessible communication tools for people to share information and insight
• Research granting sources to support local projects

The recent Blue-Green Alliance Conference drew nearly 2,000 people to Washington, DC February 8-10 to hear a number of panels and participate in workshops on the growing relationship between organized labor and the environmental movement. In an effort to undo the friction that had been felt between these two movements—each feeling that the other was not concerned about its core values— labor leaders, rank and file union members, environmentalists and other community members met together for two days before turning their attention on the third day to lobbying congressional lawmakers to push forward an agenda that upholds both creating good jobs and promoting a clean environment. The BlueGreen Alliance was formed five years ago when leaders of the United Steel Worker’s Union and the Sierra Club got together to find ways of furthering both their interests. Since that time, the Alliance has grown to include “more than 14 million members and supporters in pursuit of good jobs, a clean environment and a green economy.”

The conference had many more workshops than anyone could attend. I was interested in learning more about the state of development of businesses dealing with manufacturing for wind power development, where things stand with worker involvement in management, and issues concerning education and communities that are typically excluded from economic development, so I focused my time in those areas. In this and subsequent blog posts, I’ll cover each of these topics. First: Wind power.

Wind Turbines

I learned at the conference that there are 12 manufacturers in North Carolina actively engaged in manufacturing parts used in wind turbines. They specifically make some of the hundreds of parts used in the nacelle (the hub, generator and control portion) of high-powered wind power turbine installations. Large, precision-machined castings (similar to those used in the production of heavy transportation, shipbuilding or mining equipment) are used in the structures, where the relatively slow but powerful rotation of wind turbine blades is converted to the higher speed rotation needed for electricity production. Companies experienced in large-scale precision metalworking have opportunities for new markets in wind turbine production as part of the supply chain providing parts and equipment from local sources for the sometimes international companies that are the world leaders of wind turbine production.

Off Shore Wind

There are plans being developed to install a series of wind turbines just off shore along the east coast, to catch the stronger and more consistent winds that blow near the coastline. North Carolina does not otherwise have much potential for electric production from wind, since the average wind levels on land in this state would not support the use of wind power. This has not prevented a few North Carolina firms from being involved in manufacturing for other areas of the country, such as the Midwest, where there are much higher sustained winds. Given the extent of the transportation means that are available, large equipment made here can reasonably be transported by road or rail to the other states. North Carolina’s proximity to the Tidewater area of Virginia is also providential in terms of future economic development here. The shipbuilding industry in southern Virginia, not far from the North Carolina border, is well suited for some of the large-scale production that will be needed.

Wise Investments (Design by PJ Chmiel)

From a social justice “purist” standpoint, there is only one stance toward investing in stocks and bonds and other capitalist instruments: don’t do it. That approach might appeal to folks who like to claim that they haven’t sullied themselves with capitalism, though I don’t think it’s an honest claim. It’s just not possible to live in the United States and stand free of the economic system in which we all live. Have a job? Buy food? Pay rent or a mortgage? Sell stuff to make your living? These activities are not intrinsically capitalist, but the ways these activities work here and now in the United States tie them into the larger capitalist economic system. That’s one of the features of capitalism—it’s constantly growing and to feed itself, it sucks in ever more of what used to be held by individuals or families or held in the commons. So good luck standing clear of it.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m an anti-capitalist, and F4DC operates from an anti-capitalist stance. We think humans can—and must, for our very survival—do better than capitalism. That’s why we’re part of a growing movement focused on developing a new kind of economy to replace capitalism: one where people and planet come before profits. Where the rewards of productivity go to the people who do the work. Where communities are enriched, not stripped, by businesses that are rooted in place. An economy built on the principles of cooperation, sustainability and solidarity, not competition, short-term gains and exploitation. We’d like to see this new economy become real in our lifetimes, so we’re devoting a good deal of time and other resources to various economic development efforts.

One part of this work is to recognize the importance of solidarity, so even if it were possible for some of us to stand completely clear of capitalism, I wouldn’t generally want to be the first to opt out—unless, working with others, I found something that was inspiring, scalable and replicable. Some kind of economic base that was available to significant numbers of people, across all kinds of communities. This is in contrast to a more individualistic effort to personally avoid being tainted by capitalism’s ugly features. That individual approach just doesn’t have much effect on many people’s lives in a system as big and durable as this one.

The other thing that’s relevant here is our history: F4DC came into being through a loving bequest from my dad (see that story here). Our financial resources originate in a wide range of investments Hayden Thompson made in companies and ventures, all of which were thoroughly situated in capitalism. So we’re in it up to our eyeballs anyway.

F4DC wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for this history and this money. Without it, Ed and I would have figured out some other way to work on grassroots democracy, ending capitalism, and all the other projects that are inspired by our mission. But right now, we have the daily dilemma of what to do with this money. Everyday we wonder, “Is it possible to use money to build grassroots democracy that makes communities better places to live?” We think we’re figuring out some ways to do that. That means we are very serious about stewarding this money so that it makes all the difference it can make.

All this is to say that we plan to strategically invest F4DC’s financial resources into the stock market and other garden-variety capitalist investment instruments. That means investments in corporations for the most part. We’re doing it because we’re looking for some kind of return that allows us to extend our financial reach with grants and support for social and economic justice organizing.

Since we’re investing in this dicey capitalist enterprise, we have to develop some kind of relationship to it. And that’s why we have an investment policy. We’re not delusional—we don’t think that any investment policy can protect us from the embarrassments and horrors of capitalism. Let’s face it: corporate capitalism invents new embarrassments and horrors all the time, in its pursuit of profit over people and the planet. But we can stand next to our investment decisions with more integrity if we try to be honest about what our bottom line is.

This is our first crack at an investment policy; we expect it to evolve over time. But here it is as of March 14, 2011, on the eve of making our first foray into the world of investing.

• We’re not purists, but try to avoid the most embarrassing investments:
  • No to companies that are primarily identified with tobacco, defense industries, liquor.
  • Areas to be careful in: mega-banks and financial hocus pocus firms (e.g., most hedge funds).
• We’re interested in exploring the use of our resources for shareholder activism in support of progressive causes.
• We should support cool stuff whenever we can. We’re especially interested in:
  • Green energy generation and conservation;
  • More participatory forms of financial services
• We should take the time to personally review the initial list of proposed investments, to ensure that at least at the start, we aren’t investing in something that is the target of social justice action that we are actively supporting. For example, we are active supporters of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee’s efforts to get Reynolds America to negotiate with farmworkers about working conditions. Chase Manhattan Bank is also being targeted as part of that action (see supportfloc.org/default.aspx). So we wouldn’t want to invest in either Reynolds or Chase.

This program is intended to spark sustainable economic development of community groups and nonprofits by promoting fundraising efforts from the ground up instead of traditional top-down, foundation-centric efforts. By engaging the very communities a group comes from to help fund their efforts, social change groups can build stronger public involvement in their projects and programs. We believe greater public involvement translates into greater community organization, action and, ultimately, a truly democratic society.

Key program points:

• Grants may only be made to registered nonprofits or groups with a registered nonprofit acting as a fiscal sponsor;
• Funds eligible for matching grants must be raised through grassroots efforts. Funds raised through foundations or government sources are NOT eligible;
• The matching funds must be used to for projects that align with the mission of F4DC. As part of that, democratic practice must be a key part of the applicant group’s underlying structure or program goals;
• Priority is given to projects focused on increasing the community’s capacity to speak and act for itself. Service projects are NOT a funding priority;
• Smaller, less established groups and nonprofits are a funding priority for us.

For more information and to download the information packet and application form, visit http://f4dc.org/grants.

A core group of folks gathered in Black Mountain on the weekend of May 14, to sketch the general outline of this next major project of the Fund for Democratic Communities. Marnie Thompson, Suzanne Pharr, Emery Wright, and I met with the support of Bryan Cahall and Lamar Gibson at a retreat center in Black Mountain, North Carolina for two full days of discussion around how F4DC might involve itself in helping to facilitate the development of democratic economic activity that can make a significant difference in people’s lives.

We got involved in this work following a discussion that Marnie and I had with Suzanne Pharr some months before in Knoxville. At that time, the idea of looking for ways to help people realize their potential to be the productive in the midst of the current economic crisis became central to a discussion we were having about charting a way forward for F4DC.  Based on suggestions from Suzanne, we contacted Emery Wright of Project South and Monica Hernandez of Highlander to talk about the potential of planning for a gathering of people involved in community based democratic economic activity to take place in late 2010.

In the course of our follow-up Black Mountain discussion in May (which Monica could not attend due to a prior commitment), Suzanne, Marnie, Emery and I came to see how our projected work meshed with the work of a number of other people from across the country who are involved with what is called “Solidarity Economics”.

We are looking into ways to focus efforts in the US South, centered in African American, immigrant and poor white communities, and also particularly among women, to help create new opportunities and enhance existing efforts to allow people to be productive.  Rather than simply being content with redistributing existing wealth, we want to look at expanding opportunities to create additional goods and service to meet human needs

Among the things that inspire this effort are the very successful large industrial worker-owned cooperatives in the city of Mondagon in the Basque region of Spain, as well as growing activities around worker ownership of productive enterprises from South America to the dying factory towns of the US industrial heartland. The movement of community gardens on the one hand and worker-owned factories on the other has the potential of linking with community-based financing from credit unions and collective, cooperatively-based distribution through consumer coops of various forms to form the basis of a new kind of economic activity. We envision this not just be counter-culture activity, as many of the consumer coops are now, but the basis of a new economy that grows stronger as the old economy collapses of its own contradictions, which can be seen in the absurd concentrations of wealth creating increasing disparities in the distribution of the product of working people.

During last few weeks of May I drove 2,200 miles across the South and talked to people in Knoxville, Tennessee; Little Rock, Arkansas; Epes, Alabama; and Morganton, North Carolina.  In each city, those to whom I spoke saw the promise of linking the efforts that they are involved in via our Southern Grassroots Economies Project.

In the next few posts, I will detail some of the conversations I have recently had with Elandria Williams of the Solidarity Economics Network (SEN), Tamidra Marable of Heifer International, Osagie Idehen and Pamela Madzima of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives and Molly Hemstreet of the Center for Participatory Change, an Asheville-based organization that supports the work of Opportunity Threads, a worker-owned cut-and-sew shop in Morganton, North Carolina.

Inaugural viewing at The HIVE

Despite the light snowfall outside, on January 20, The Fund for Democratic Communities sponsored a viewing of the historic inauguration of the 44th president of the United States, Barack H. Obama in the large community room of the HIVE.  A number of people who are involved with the Winter Emergency (WE) program along with community residents and HIVE volunteers sat and watched the pageantry and the huge crowds who had converged on Washington DC.F4DC set up projection equipment using streaming video from the internet. There was one technical glitch when the video froze up during Obama’s inaugural address, but fortunately there was a television available so that the viewing was not interrupted.

Some snacks were supplied by F4DC  and Dave Reed brought home made turkey chili for the event. About 25 people gathered for the viewing and informal discussions took place that ranged from issues of American history to identity in the 21st century. It was a good day.

In an effort to practice what we preach, this webpage is the place where we talk turkey about money. Here’s the latest scoop on F4DC’s money – how much we have, where it came from, and where it’s being spent.

You can see on our Balance Sheet and our Statement of Financial Income and Expense that as of October 31st. we had received only a small portion of the money that will ultimately come from the estate of W.H. Thompson (my Dad). This year, we received $354,000 from Dad’s estate, out of a total that we expect will amount to roughly $5 million (though this figure is hard to pin down, given the state of the economy these days!).

“Why is it taking so long?” you might ask. It’s because of the kinds of investments that my Dad made, which were mostly not in the stock market or other publicly traded instruments. He mostly invested in privately arranged loans to commercial real estate developers, start-ups of companies making medical devices, that kind of thing. We can’t get the money in these kinds of investments “on command.” We have to wait till the loan agreements become “liquid,” or pay off in the form of cash. And then we have to wait a little while longer while the estate settles this aspect of its business and pays off its various beneficiaries, of which F4DC is one.

It’s going to take a number of years for the estate to be made liquid and settle, and it’s going to happen in stages. With the economy in the condition it is in, it’s hard to know how long this will take, but we estimate about 5-7 years, with a good portion of it coming in the next 1-3 years.

Of the $354,000 we have received so far from the estate, we spent about $135,000 this year, making grants and just running our basic operations. You can see where we spent it on the Statement of Financial Income and Expense. The biggest expenses are for paying our four staff members, the next is grants, and the next is operating expenses (supplies, printing, etc.).

What isn’t on these statements (but will appear on the one we put up at the end of the year) is $30,000 more in grants made in November the list of new grantees!

You can also see on the Balance Sheet that we have purchased almost $25,000 in computer equipment, software, furniture, and other equipment. This stuff constitutes our so-called “fixed assets,” and we’ll be using it to get our work done for many years.

The money we haven’t spent yet (about $240,000 as of October 31st) is currently sitting in a money market account, earning a little bit of interest. We need to have relatively easy access to this money to cover our expenses and grants in the coming months, which is why it is not being given away or invested in longer-term kinds of things.

As F4DC gains access to more of the money in my Dad’s estate, we – F4DC’s Finance Committee and Board – will be struggling with whether and what kinds of investments to make. Here’s a key question:

Is it possible to earn a little income on the money, while also feeling like the money is being used to improve the quality of life on this planet?

We’ll keep you posted about the thinking of the Finance Committee and Board as we struggle through this hard question.

In the meantime, what do you think about the way we are spending and investing our money so far? Let us know at info@f4dc.org!

Marnie Thompson
November 13, 2008

100 Leaders was awarded a grant to support the work of identifying, developing, and networking community leaders for more effective and sustainable community involvement and advocacy.

Caregiver Village’s grant will support a strategic plan to guide a partnership between the Piedmont Heights community and the Center for Women’s Health and Wellness at UNCG.  Their collaboration will combine scholarship, education, and community action to promote the health, wellness, and quality of life of the community’s residents.

The Spirit House Choosing Sides violence prevention program amplifies the voices of young people impacted by violence, provides academic and cultural enrichment, develops young leaders, and offers life-skill lessons to help participants avoid destructive behavior.

The Crack Intervention Research Project will use their grant to improve and build on crack interventions developed through the Yale School of Public Health and the Harm Reduction Crack Institute.  Tailoring crack intervention to the needs of local crack users will decrease the incidence of HIV, hepatitis C, and other infectious diseases.

The F4DC grant to Future Leaders will provide living wage stipends for young interns from different countries to learn community organizing.  Through translating, they will help immigrants communicate with landlords and mortgage companies and help empower their immigrant communities to assert their rights as tenants and as home buyers.

Healing the Hurt plans to provide a program of professionally-guided support groups, counseling services, and community outreach social programs for families experiencing physical, emotional, and psychological abuses, including death, by law enforcement.

The Greensboro Health Disparities Collaborative will plan and hold public forums to increase community knowledge and facilitate discussions about racial disparities in breast cancer care.

The HIVE Youth Committee was awarded a grant to begin organizing a HIVE Youth Committee and to support initial programs and outreach.

Homekeeping Mortgage Default Counseling will use its grant to train and certify additional housing counselors and to help expand and develop its Board of Directors.

Los Artistas Greensboro art program promotes self-confidence, motivation, and self-expression for Latino/a youth and helps transform diversity into a platform for understanding and learning through art.  The funds will support staff compensation, mileage reimbursement, and needed resources.  Visit The Center for Visual Artists-Greensboro for more information on the Los Artistas program.

The Peace and Justice Network connects and mobilizes local progressive organizations and individuals to impact policy and social outcomes in Greensboro.  PJN will use its grant to take its programs and processes to the next level:   creating stronger alliances, leveraging expertise, and enhancing skill sets to create a dynamic community that functions more cohesively.

SURGE will provide skills training to young progressive activists around the state, focusing on campus and community organizing, media engagement, direct action, and other skills.  Go here to learn more about the SURGE Network.

The American Friends Service Committee’s Truth in Recruiting project aims to increase youth awareness in North and South Carolina about alternatives to military service and opt-out options, and to build the capacity of local community groups to work for peace and create alternatives to war and militarism.  Their grant will be used for travel costs and printed materials.

The workshop was held Saturday, August 23, 2008 from 9:00 AM until 3:00 PM at The Greensboro HIVE, 1214 Grove Street. Attendance at the Grant-Writing Workshop was optional; however, we encouraged grant-seekers to attend if they had questions about the application process or needed assistance with grant proposals. Go here to view the workshop agenda. View photos of some of the participants in the Grant-Writing Workshop.