Activating Together
After we've built a practice of trust, love, and common values that can sustain itself, we can act together when moments of need arise. But will, on its own, can't quite bridge the gap to action.
As an underfunded team, we're asking where and how action can meet our purpose and context. We approach solidarity from two perspectives based on our studio model. (Click here for what we mean by studios.)
Our Venture Studios
Learning from community organizers and other movement builders, we’re reflecting on the role we take in building bridges to activation that meet each individual where they are.
Strategies: How and where do we dedicate energy in a world filled with injustice?
Capacity and care: Sustained solidarity lasts a lifetime when we can ease and out of activity to balance against our health, families, and what our personal passions are. And how do we prevent burnout?
Creativity and joy: BIPOC communities need more time to rest, feel joy, relax, and spend time with their families. Where and how can activation be woven into the fabric of our lives, healing spaces, and creative spaces?
Our system studio
If solidarity is to become a norm of our systems, we’re asking how we can enable forms of activation to emerge naturally based on how we set up infrastructure.
Budgeting: Where and how can we always support ourselves alongside others? As an underfunded organization, we're not yet sure. But to structurally protect this question for participatory budgeting processes, our philosophies build a required value pool into budgets. In order to set aside this reserve, project workers have chosen to take a lower hourly rate.
Collective fundraising: MJN is asking where and how we can integrate the needs of others into our fundraising processes. As we learn ourselves how to fundraise, we’ll expand our commitments and design those commitments into our philosophies.
