NE Chi Mutual Aid Tri-Neighborhood Fundraiser

This fundraiser is a joint effort between Lakeview Mutual Aid Network, Andersonville Mutual Aid Network, and Lincoln Square Ravenswood Solidarity Network. We are part of a COVID-19 mutual aid response network comprised of different grassroots movements across the city.

As individuals struggle to respond to the public health crisis of COVID-19, we need to come together to build support and strength collectively. While many are physically isolated, we can care for one another. Federal, state, and city governments will continue to fail to provide comprehensive safety nets for all persons in the absence of real structural change. We believe that organizing mutual aid channels to directly help one another is a method of liberation and empowerment.

We are committing a portion of these funds to support aid to Northeast community members who are in need. Given that 70% of COVID deaths in Chicago have been in black communities, we are also committed to using our relative privilege to redistribute resources to more vulnerable communities. We have an incredible opportunity to crack open our culture of silence and offer communities love, support, and aid across barriers created by a long history of segregation, redlining, and systemic oppression that render some lives more precarious than others.

Where will this money go?

25% of funds raised will go to groceries and supplies for those in need within our neighborhoods, including houseless communities, as well as sanitation supplies for safe distribution.

75% of funds raised will go to mutual aid efforts being organized in areas impacted by food deserts and systemic oppression whose needs far outweigh the availability of resources at this time. Those funds go to a group called the Chicago Food Sovereignty Coalition (which you can donate to directly here) and are distributed equitably based on consensus of 12+ mutual aid efforts across the city and Cook County.

We set a modest goal, but every dime provided will go to these efforts. We will provide specific updates on how these funds are being used as they are distributed. We cannot provide financial assistance to individuals, but are happy to support community members in our neighborhoods with mutual aid. (See contact below if you need assistance.)

This fundraiser will be handled by a fiscal sponsor, the Lucy Parsons Labs non-profit organization.
Your donation is tax-deductible. The EIN is 81-3046769.

Who are we?
We are a coalition of three mutual aid groups that are part of the NE Mutual Aid Network. We have decided to combine our fundraising efforts to pledge our support to pooling resources and building a coalition of mutual aid networks across geographic boundaries and demographics.

The NE Mutual Aid Network is a new collective seeking to build capacity for mutual aid across Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Boystown, Wrigleyville, Buena Park, Uptown, Edgewater, Rogers Park, Lincoln Square, and Ravenswood.

Lucy Parsons Labs , the fiscal sponsor, is a collaboration between data scientists, transparency activists, artists, and technologists that operates in Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area. They work at the intersection of digital rights and on-the-streets issues. Their main lines of work include providing digital security trainings, pursuing police accountability, researching the use of civil asset forfeiture, and filing public records requests.

How can you get involved and what’s happening in your area?
We are currently taking requests for delivery and other assistance and organizing working groups around initiatives such as: food distribution; sewing masks; care-taking; advocacy for abolition and rights for incarcerated persons in unsafe conditions; and referrals to Chicago resources for  mental health care, financial assistance, and other kinds of support. Please reach out if you would like to request aid or organize with us.

Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Boystown, & Wrigleyville Mutual Aid Network 
[email redacted]

Lincoln Square and Ravenswood Solidarity Network 
[email redacted]

Andersonville/Bowmanville Mutual Aid Network
[email redacted]

If you would like to be connected with efforts in other neighborhoods, please message any one of us for a referral. 


Image description for banner image at top of page: A block print with beige background and two navy blue hands encircling a red heart.

Image description for banner image at bottom of page: White background with bright blue and navy blue hands reaching toward each other as if they are about to high five or hold hands. The word "TOGETHER" is printed in the space between the hands. There are orange, blue, and pink plants that resemble palm fronds surrounding the hands.

(Credit to LA GoFundMe, Uptown Solidarity Network, Covid on Edge, and Rogers Park Solidarity Network and Rogers Park West Ridge Mutual Aid Network for language of solidarity)