Jubilee Fund Update—Winter 2023
Progress on our project to create an economy where everyone belongs
To feel as if you belong is one of the great triumphs of human existence. - David Whyte
As some of you know, in 2021, my friend Will Fain and I created the Jubilee Fund, where we collected $100,000 from friends (“Funders”) and paid off $100,000 of credit card debt of other friends. Those people (“Donors”) agreed to repay the loan amount at 0% credit into a reparations fund of their choice. In essence, we are turning debt into donations, debtors into donors. (You can read more of the details in the link above).
Below is an update on the project after almost two years of running it. I publish it because the Jubilee Fund is one of my projects coming out of my mission “to help people participate in grace.” As my Franciscan teacher Sister Mary Jo says:
“We are surrounded by grace, in fact drenched in it. All we have to do is participate in it.”
Funders giving money to Donors, Donors giving money to reparation funds, and reparations funds distributing the money is all of us participating in grace, of saying that we really belong to each other. We’re trying to put into practice (in a small way) the belief that there is no Other. We want to help create a world where everyone belongs, and that necessarily means creating an economy where everyone belongs.
There’s a lot more I could say about this, about capitalism and how it otherizes and reinforces our sense of separateness, about spiritual poverty and the egoic economy, and about how if you remove the first person personal pronoun “my” 1 from your language, the right things happen,2 but I want to just let Will’s Quarterly Update to Funders and Donors speak for itself.
The Jubilee Fund was always meant to be a pilot; we are experimenting in eliminating debt and creating reparations works on this small scale. We’re hoping that other people would be interested in helping us expand it or know a person/organization with more resources intrigued with the idea of creating a grace-filled economy. Do you know anyone interested in creating a world that works for everyone and an economy where everyone belongs who would want to chat? If you do, please reach out.
Without further ado, here is Will’s Quarterly Update to Funders and Donors:
Ahoy-hoy, Jubilee Fund!
This update is longer than normal, but I believe you won't regret reading until the end.
Before we get to the numbers, we have some inspirational words from one of our donors. This past month, we asked Donors:
After two years, how are you feeling about participating in the Jubilee Fund? Any message for the Funders?
Here's one response:
We feel humbled, inspired, and hopeful to participate. It's a regular reminder that goodwill and generosity are alive and well in our community. It's also a reminder to us of the kind of community members we want to be.
I hope that Funders can experience the beauty and power of the vision they are helping realize. The JF qualifies as "prophetic" in the best sense of how someone like MLK Jr. would have used the word. The way it treats money, debt, generosity, and relationships reveals that there are better possibilities than those offered by the status quo, regardless of the side of debt we're on. So while we're so grateful for the practical grace that comes through JF, we're all the more grateful for the enlivening conviction and vision it represents. It's truly inspiring and encouraging. I hope every Funder experiences that too. And that everyone participating feels united in gratitude, as recipients and givers in different ways.
Many of our Donors are roughly one third of the way to completing their commitment to the Jubilee Fund! Congratulations! It's amazing to me that we're this far along already. Here is the breakdown for the latest round of quarterly donations (Nov2022-Jan 2023):
Taking Ownership PDX: $762.36
Fires Igniting the Spirit: $673.74
Black Oregon Land Trust: $1,270.75
Holla: $485.74
Mother Africa: $210.62
Immigrant Mutual Aid Coalition: $121.45
Quarterly Total: $3,524.67
Overall total: $31,771.59 (of original $100,000)
You may notice that these numbers are reduced from the last few reports. This is due to some economic pressures requiring some Donors to temporarily pause. We expect to be back to our usual numbers in the coming months.
As always, if there are any questions about these numbers, please let me know. I am happy to provide individual Donors bookkeeping details for their own Fund-related finances.
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To give you some idea of the kinds of things the Jubilee Fund has helped make happen, here are brief reports from some of organizations we've been donating to:
Just one example of a completed project: This past fall Taking Ownership teamed up with Bratton Construction, a Black women-owned construction company here in Portland, and got a lot done for Michelle and Dirk. We replaced:
- the roof
- the kitchen floor (before pics in the slides)
- an existing wall and kitchen cabinets
- 6 windows and the front screen door.
- the steps on the back deck and added a front deck
- and repaired concrete and the driveway.
HOLLA
Launched the HOLLA School and FUBU Newberg. They expanded their mentorship programs in the Rockwood neighborhood in East Portland, continuing their 1-on-1 mentorship programs at all grade levels.
Mother Africa
We've launched the Center for African Women, a cultural, educational, and resource hub for African and Middle Eastern immigrants and refugees in King County. We also hosted our annual health and wellness fair, which served over 750 community members.
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If you'd like to opt out of future updates like this, please let me know.
Thank you.
Be well,
Will
If I am not in the world simply to adapt to it, but rather transform it, and if it is not possible to change the world without a certain dream or vision for it, I must make use of every possibility there is not only to speak about my utopia, but also to engage in practices consistent with it. - Paolo Friere
As in “my money,” or “my house,”
To be clear, I’m not suggesting that I’m morally superior to anyone by doing this. But as Norman Brown says, “the basis of freedom is recognition of the unconscious.” I’m only becoming more aware of my selfishness, egocentricism, and narcissism. And trying.