Solidarity Pledge: Sustainable Mutual Aid
An update from QTIPOC Survival Fund organizers:
In 2020, following best practices by movement lawyers and mutual aid groups springing into action across the country, our beloved co-founder Dr. Sharon P. Holland moved mountains to create a legal way to re-distribute wealth to queer + trans community members made most vulnerable by systemic racism through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since then, we have re-distributed almost $200,000 in survival funds. And Dr. Holland has been shouldering the tax burdens associated with running a low-barrier mutual aid fund, on her own, for almost 3 years. Sadly, there are no structures that currently exist that allow her to individually steward a mutual aid fund long-term, though she has been trying to work miracles to find a solution.
As such, Dr. Holland can no longer be solely tax liable for the money we redistribute to our recipient-organizers. She has had to make the difficult decision to step back as our account holder.
We honor these truths here: Dr. Holland has gone ABOVE + BEYOND for our communities since the start of the pandemic. She has modeled what truly “showing up” looks like to us in uncountable ways, we are forever grateful to her for her work, and for her presence in our lives. We are so excited to support Dr. Holland as she transitions her energies into the housing justice work of the not-for-profit she as founded, QTIPOC Forever Home, and it’s umbrella’d food justice initiative, The Cauldron: Ancestral Food For The People.
We are sure long-time supporters are wondering “But what does all this mean for QTIPOC Fund recipients?”
Well, thanks to our Solidarity Pledgers and our friends over at Resource Generation -Triangle Chapter, we have enough in 2022 reserves to do distributions to our recipient-organizers for the next three months.
But:
1. the Paypal is currently inactive (we cannot take in more money)
and
2. we are not sure of our ability to continue the Fund into 2023
We are hoping to collaboratively find solutions in the coming months, and invite stakeholders to reach out with ideas, insight, and wisdom into how we can keep the Fund running while *honoring Dr. Holland’s legacy*…which means keeping the Fund low-barrier, as well as Black + queer led.
We are asking you to bear with us. But we don’t know what the future holds. The cycle of life, death, and rebirth applies to movement work, especially initiatives that sprout to address a crisis, as so many mutual aid funds do.
We do know that what ya’ll have done through this pandemic to keep our people safe is a beautiful and holy thing.
In hope, DEEP gratitude, and solidarity,
QTIPOC Fund Organizers
In 2020, following best practices by movement lawyers and mutual aid groups springing into action across the country, our beloved co-founder Dr. Sharon P. Holland moved mountains to create a legal way to re-distribute wealth to queer + trans community members made most vulnerable by systemic racism through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since then, we have re-distributed almost $200,000 in survival funds. And Dr. Holland has been shouldering the tax burdens associated with running a low-barrier mutual aid fund, on her own, for almost 3 years. Sadly, there are no structures that currently exist that allow her to individually steward a mutual aid fund long-term, though she has been trying to work miracles to find a solution.
As such, Dr. Holland can no longer be solely tax liable for the money we redistribute to our recipient-organizers. She has had to make the difficult decision to step back as our account holder.
We honor these truths here: Dr. Holland has gone ABOVE + BEYOND for our communities since the start of the pandemic. She has modeled what truly “showing up” looks like to us in uncountable ways, we are forever grateful to her for her work, and for her presence in our lives. We are so excited to support Dr. Holland as she transitions her energies into the housing justice work of the not-for-profit she as founded, QTIPOC Forever Home, and it’s umbrella’d food justice initiative, The Cauldron: Ancestral Food For The People.
We are sure long-time supporters are wondering “But what does all this mean for QTIPOC Fund recipients?”
Well, thanks to our Solidarity Pledgers and our friends over at Resource Generation -Triangle Chapter, we have enough in 2022 reserves to do distributions to our recipient-organizers for the next three months.
But:
1. the Paypal is currently inactive (we cannot take in more money)
and
2. we are not sure of our ability to continue the Fund into 2023
We are hoping to collaboratively find solutions in the coming months, and invite stakeholders to reach out with ideas, insight, and wisdom into how we can keep the Fund running while *honoring Dr. Holland’s legacy*…which means keeping the Fund low-barrier, as well as Black + queer led.
We are asking you to bear with us. But we don’t know what the future holds. The cycle of life, death, and rebirth applies to movement work, especially initiatives that sprout to address a crisis, as so many mutual aid funds do.
We do know that what ya’ll have done through this pandemic to keep our people safe is a beautiful and holy thing.
In hope, DEEP gratitude, and solidarity,
QTIPOC Fund Organizers
This content is neither created nor endorsed by Google. Report Abuse - Terms of Service - Privacy Policy
