Future Economy Collective 501c3

(edited on Oct 11, 2021 to reflect updated needs and information!)

Donate to help support Indigenous organizers who are working on mutual aid and resistance efforts across Turtle Island! 

The world has watched Native People take a stand to defend the waters of ancient Anishanabe territory wetlands. Enbrige Oil is barreling ahead with the construction of a pipeline, unparalleled even by other monster projects such as the ETP’s Dakota Access Pipeline. These industrial endeavors are marketed to Americans as a viable pathway for economic growth and efficiency.  In reality, they are just another battle that indigenous people face in a long chronicle of genocide, abuse, and the commodification of natural resources on their lands.

Dedicated Native organizers have pledged their bodies, minds, and hearts to be safe keepers and caretakers of the Earth.  As many of their elders and relatives before them, they stand as the voices of the water and all of Turtle Island.  

In the past two years, we’ve been given an opportunity to imagine a better existence and reconsider our priorities.  We hope that you will donate to support the following eight indigenous organizers who value the Earth like we all ought to, uphold entire communities, and bravely protect our planet. Last year, collectively we were able to raise over $10,000 to enhance the reach of these organizers. They were very grateful to receive the help and we hope that we can assist them even more this year. Please share this fundraiser widely.

The Support Indigenous Organizers During COVID-19 & Beyond Fundraiser will support the following people**: 

Cherri Foytlin
Cherri helps run a food forest that provides food and indigenous medicinal plants to families across South Louisiana.  She also helps provide a residential and safe space for water protectors and social justice leaders across the country.  Over the past year, Cherri has focused on mutual aid efforts in the areas around her most hard hit by climate and covid disaster.
 
Jen Deerinwater
Jen is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, Bisexual, Two Spirit, multiply-Disabled journalist, speaker, and organizer.  She is the Founding  Executive Director of Crushing Colonialism, an Indigenous media project.  Her journalism addresses the wide range of issues her communities face, amplifying the experiences of Native, disabled, and 2LGBTQIA+ people. More of these perspectives in media have always been needed, but are now especially crucial to center the communities most impacted by the public health, economic, and political crises of our time.  
 
Mama Julz
Mama Julz is the founder of the Mothers Against Meth Alliance (M.A.M.A.), which confronts the devastating impacts of drugs, violence, and sex trafficking brought by TransCanada to her territory. M.A.M.A.’s work is focused on advocacy, community action, drug education, and the distribution of rehabilitation resources that reflect the traditions and customs of the Lakota, Nakota, and Dakota people. 

Mercury Bitsuie 
Mercury, a member of Diné Land and Water, has been supporting Navajo elders in Black Mesa and so-called Sanders, AZ for many years.  The focus of his work has been to haul clean water to people in an area where the Church Rock Uranium Spill (1979) has permanently contaminated the watershed, and to haul wood to elders who live with no electricity, and rely on wood stoves for heat.  
 
Victor Puertas
Victor is a member of the Yagua nation, one of the many Indigenous Nations of the Amazon area of so-called Peru. Colonization, land theft, civil war and environmental destruction brought him and his family to the U.S. Victor provides support and solidarity in any way possible; much of his work focuses on the intersections of land and water defense, indigenous self-determination/autonomy, and migrant justice.  He is currently working with Diné Land and Water, an indigenous, grassroots organization that is delivering basic supplies, and hauling water and wood for elders living in the Navajo Nation. 

Kira Young
Kira is an indigenous, eco-feminist insurgent working on resistance efforts through grassroots, rights-based, political organizing. Kira has also been working with her husband, Mizhikia, on food sovereignty and energy sovereignty projects in rural Frederick county VA and in the Eastern Panhandle of WV. Mizhikia, a member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, is a former, hot-shot, search and rescue paramedic, suffering from pulmonary fibrosis as a result of his first responder duties. Their son Connor became a Standing Rock veteran at 11 years old, caring for younger children in camp. The Young family needs a tractor to continue their food sovereignty efforts as well as their community garden and community garden food bank.

Flare 
Flare will be sending their portion of what’s raised to Dine Land & Water.

Timothy Cominghay
Timothy is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux. After the NoDAPL occupation he worked for nearly 2 years helping guide the over 800 falsely arrested individuals through the legal system. Since then he has been working with various individuals and organizations to empower indigenous peoples. Currently he is splitting time between resisting the Line 3 tar sands pipeline at the headwaters of the Mississippi River, and organizing mutual aid for the indigenous and new american communities in Grand Forks, ND. 

*These 8 Indigenous organizers participated in Appalachians Against Pipelines’ “Appalachian Climate Action Camp” in March 2020, which was the inspiration for this fundraiser. 

**There are 2 other Indigenous organizers who may receive support from this fundraiser. We will add their info here as it becomes available.

UPDATE PART 3:

After many months of hard work, including not only preparing the physical space but also distributing meal and essential supply boxes to over 2300 individuals across the New River Valley, we are nearing the opening of the cafe portion of our community space. As of mid-November, we are only weeks out from a soft open. Due to COVID-19, we will only be open for take-out and are still unable to open fully as a venue or full-fledged community center, but that has not dampened our enthusiasm! However, this does mean the expected revenue is less than what we were hoping for at this point, making your donations all the more meaningful to us.

We remain in deep gratitude for those who have helped us get to this point. Truly, y'all have been our angels!!!!

~UPDATE PART 2: PANDEMIC EDITION~

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Future Economy Collective has re-structured the functioning of SouthPaw, our space in downtown Blacksburg. Presently, our focus has shifted to serving as a distribution hub for essential goods towards those most affected by the global pandemic.  In line with our original intention, SouthPaw has adapted to meet the needs of the community.  

However, the threat of COVID-19 has made opening as a café and gathering space impossible at this time, forcing us to seek out alternative forms of revenue (e.g., grants, merchandise, etc.) to be able to maintain our previous goals. On top of this, here, we are reaching out to donors to ask for support in this dire time.

Our hope is to come out the other end of this tunnel having helped those most at risk in the community, and still having the capacity to open as a community space and volunteer-run café, while continuing to engage in mutual aid.  We would like to extend our gratitude to everyone who has helped us get to this point – SouthPaw is serving as an invaluable resource for providing community support and it is thanks to your contributions that this is even possible.

~UPDATE~

The Future Economy Collective is so thrilled to announce that we are 80% of the way to our fundraising goal!! Thanks to grassroots donations and some generous donors and grants, we are so close to making this community-led and community-accountable space a reality. 
We have created this new fundraiser to reflect our current remaining goal of $2,500 and to invite people to check out our new donation appreciation gifts! 

ABOUT US

“Do you understand that your quality of life and your survival are tied to how authentic and generous the connections are between you and the people and place you live with and in?” – adrienne marie brown

The Future Economy Collective is a 501c3 nonprofit composed of community members and organizers that are passionate about creating a collaborative community space in the New River Valley region. We are all folks that have seen needs in this area and are now taking action to meet those needs – needs for food security, clothing security, for an accessible and sober venue space, for more free educational opportunities, and for a space in which you don’t have to spend money to spend time with others. We want to build a place in which we value our community over economic gain by literally investing in the people of its community in a way that so few organizations or companies are willing to do -- we strongly believe that building community means building a thriving resistance -- knowing that our love for each other is what can help us survive. 

This space will take the form of a sliding scale volunteer-run café featuring a sober and accessible venue space, a collectively curated library, a food share, a gallery, and more – if you have something you are passionate about adding to the space, you have the power to do so! The proceeds made at the cafe and from donations will be invested directly back into the area, funding free public workshops (anywhere from learning how to administer Narcan to learning how to screen print), talks, and community projects. The Future Economy Collective will be able to use its proceeds and donations to cover costs of workshop and materials, ensuring accessible, free information and skill sharing for the public. In addition, we are working with several different groups to be able to provide services such as free hot food monthly, Narcan, and interest-based volunteer opportunities for folks fulfilling service requirements through the drug courts in the area. 

Our goals for this next year include officially opening our physical location, opening a Food Not Bombs chapter within our organization (where edible food that was going to be disposed of is instead intercepted and redistributed to folks in need), holding a free closet pop-up event with at least 25 people in attendance (where we provide free clothing and free toiletries), and holding a minimum of one Narcan training session. These goals will help us accomplish our mission of opening a community space in the New River Valley area, providing support to folks in recovery programs, helping to bring food, clothing, and haircuts to those in need, and providing educational opportunities that are specific to our area’s needs.

DONATION APPRECIATION GIFTS <3

We would like to say thank you for your support for the Future Economy Collective!  Our donation tiers are made up of numerous community members, offering their art and talents to say thank you for supporting this project -- after you donate, we will send you a form as soon as possible that will give us the information needed to send you a gift.

At these tiers we will send you;

$5 - A handmade thank you card, created by one of our volunteers!

$15 - A patch and a handmade thank you card!

$25 - A shirt (you can choose between short sleeve and long sleeve), a patch, and a handmade thank you card! The shirt features our current design as seen on our instagram as supplies last (you can even help us decide on our next design!) 

$35 - A sweatshirt, a patch, and a handmade thank you card! The sweatshirt features drawings made by various community members!

$100 - A custom handmade 12" x 12" mini rug -- you choose the colors! Also included: patch, thank you card, and choice of shirt or sweatshirt!

$200 - A woven tapestry (in colors of your choosing) made by local artist Lauren Malhotra! Also included: patch, thank you card, and choice of shirt or sweatshirt!

$500 - A custom handmade 36" x 36" rug -- you choose the design and colors! Also included: patch, thank you card, and choice of shirt or sweatshirt!

$1000 - A custom handmade 76" x 76" rug -- you choose the design and colors! Also included: patch, thank you card, and choice of shirt or sweatshirt!

WHAT WILL YOUR DONATIONS BE USED FOR?

Your donations will be used towards start-up funds for this space – the deposit, rent, inspections, equipment needed, and more. We have a total goal of $20,000, but we will also be sourcing money from grants and fundraising events. After we have acquired our start-up funds, we are hoping to be self-sustaining on the profits made in our café.

Your donations are also tax-deductible!


WHERE CAN I SEE UPDATES?

You can follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/futureeconomycollective, or on Instagram @future_economy_collective ! We post regularly about projects we are working on, alongside meetings and new information. If you have any thoughts or ideas, feel free to email us at [email redacted].

 

We appreciate your help in creating this space, and we hope to see you soon!