Organize the Rich — Key Questions
I want to be talking, thinking and writing about how to organize the global owning class to join with working class led movements to end classism and capitalism, and work towards the collective health and well-being of all.
I’ve been involved in some version of this work, in a concerted way, since I got involved with Resource Generation (RG) when I was 21. I’m now 41, and have been a part of these efforts with RG and many other organizations, as a volunteer, member, member leader, donor, family philanthropy organizer, interim development director, co-director, fundraising consultant, donor advisor, donor organizing consultant, big mistake maker, inspiring storyteller, mentor, mentee, and more.
When I say, “this work”, I mean the work of organizing wealthy people in the US to lead ourselves and our people in giving back what we’ve stolen, repairing the harms that we’ve helped perpetrate, and becoming meaningful participants in and contributors to cross-class, multi-racial movements for justice.
You know, owning class liberation. Liberating the wealthy from the horrible oppressor role we play, as part of collective efforts to build a more healthy, kind, and joyful world.
The experiments I’ve been a part of have mostly been in the world of US nonprofits and foundations/philanthropy, with some recent moves into electoral organizing as well.
For a long time now, there have been significant efforts made to meaningful engage the rich and powerful to oppose classism and side with movements for justice. In these efforts, there have been many successes and much to be proud of.
I will be writing about these successes, so that others who are trying new experiments, can more easily build off what has been tried before.
I’d like to look at questions such as…
What is the lineage of this work?
What have we figured out so far?
What successes, experiments and challenges are important for others to know about?
What’s needed to move this work forward and reach a new level of scale and success?
These are some of the key questions I have and want to reflect on. My goal is to have fun and enjoy sharing some of my reflections on these thoughts that I care so much about.