friends of occupy portland 2014 annual report
TRANSCRIPT
EMPOWERCONNECTINFORM
Friends of Occupy Portland2014 Annual Report
CELEBRATING TWO YEARS SINCE APRIL 19, 2012!Friends of Occupy Portland, an
Oregon public benefit (non-profit) corporation, was established by the Occupy Portland Spokes Council on
April 19, 2012 as a legal custodian of Occupy Portland's community
assets and funds. We are categorized as a social welfare
organization for the purpose of federal tax code, and is a registered
Oregon charity (#45976).
FROM OCCUPY PROTESTS TO SUSTAINED, ROBUST COMMUNITY ORGANIZING IN YEAR FOUR AND BEYOND
• empower individuals to become activists and community organizers with true, lasting impact in our world
• connect individual initiatives and grassroots community groups together for a synergistic mutual support and cross-pollination of ideas and people power
• inform the public about issues that matter so they can become engaged citizens and concerned community members
DR. ANGELA DAVIS SAYS. . .On April 18, 2014, famous prisoners' rights activist Dr. Angela Davis visited Forest Grove, Oregon, and gave a lecture at the Pacific University to a packed crowd...
A member of the audience asked her what she thought of the Occupy movement and other direct actions as ways of changing the world. Angela Davis said,
"Direct action is only successful if it is backed by a strong community organizing, though community organizing is often invisible, unglamorous and underappreciated."*
* This is a concise rephrase of what she said in longer sentences.
FOOP’S WORKS IN A NUTSHELL
• The NEXUS: We provide a central point-of-contact for referrals and distribution of information about a wide variety of grassroots actions and initiatives on broad range of interests, subjects, and opinions, at one convenient location, phone number, and email address.
• The NETWORK: We create and facilitate events for cross-pollination of various activists and community organizations for networking and joint outreach.
• The INFRASTRUCTURE: We help community-based initiatives succeed through our well-established contacts, mailing lists, web and social media presence, and by providing for practical needs such as meeting space and special-project banking account for processing financial contributions.
OUR HISTORYThe 39-day occupation of Portland's Chapman, Lownsdale, and Terry Schrunk parks -- the largest Occupation in the world at the time -- was a sort of Big Bang. There was lots of energy, and there was lots of creative chaos. As time went by, some mourned the loss of the Occupation and some yet dreamed of a Re-Occupation. Some redirected their focus on various community-oriented projects that were born in the Occupation. Some kept their 600-day vigil in front of the City Hall, telling the decision-makers that we were not going away.
Clearly, it was time for a sustained, long-term strategy, to keep the momentum and to help the community stay connected...
FORMATION OF FOOPSuccessful long-term strategy requires a certain degree of organizational stability. To this end, Occupy Portland identified the need for a central, semi-permanent assembly space and an office. In December 2011, Occupy Portland leased a room at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, also historically home to a number of community organizations. At the time, all financial activities were done in the name of individual volunteers, as Occupy Portland was an unincorporated association. Soon it became desirable to establish an official bank account to securely process and hold contributed funds in the name of the community. Following months of oft-heated discussions, the Spokes Council of Occupy Portland officially established Friends of Occupy Portland as a legal corporation on April 19, 2012.
2013 FRIENDS OF OCCUPY PORTLANDYEAR IN REVIEW
JANUARYWe ushered in the New Year 2013 with 25 bright, full-time public bus advertisements lasting three weeks through an independent, crowd-funding website Indiegogo. We raised over 60 percent of the goal within the first 48 hours of our campaign.
FEBRUARY
We were the original home of the Portland Free Store, a very popular and growing community initiative that developed out of Occupy Portland (now it has outgrown our space capacity). A successful community endeavor, it even attracted an attention of The New York Times (see https://joindiaspora.com/posts/3405209)
Vısıt Portland Free Store: https://www.facebook.com/groups/365603686842843
MARCH
Although downsized, we are maintaining a full-time established location with a real street address, a real phone number, and highly dedicated staff.
New: Fremont RoomO
ld: C
he R
oom
MAY-SEPTEMBER
Between May and September 2013, we established a presence and interacted with hundreds of Portlanders one-on-one through our street fair outreach booths.
• Portland Sunday Parkways• Division-Clinton Street Fair• Mississippi Street Fair• Hawthorne Street Fair• Belmont Street Fair
AUGUST
We hosted the 2013 Occupy Portland Summer Capacity-Building Conference, a two-day event which led to the formation of the 99 Unite Civic Forum.
NOVEMBERSince November 2013, we host the 99 Unite Civic Forum, a non-partisan public policy research and advocacy group that aims to re-engage the middle-class and moderate supporters (among others) of Occupy Portland (99unitecivicforum.prophpbb.com).
DECEMBERSince December 2013, we are home of the new Occupy Portland Community Assembly, the monthly (First Wednesday) gathering for networking and exchange of ideas to help local community organizers and activists cross-pollinate with one another.
FROM WHEREVER YOU ARE...
We maintain several online services to keep you informed and stay connected.• Occupy Portland Calendar
www.occupyportlandcalendar.org• OccupyPortland.org and email newsletter• Social media
• Diaspora* [email protected]• Facebook (several)• Twitter @opdxinfo @opdxcalendar• Google+ gplus.to/opdxinfo
Also you can call our information center old-fashioned way at (971) 258-1006, or use text-message 503-5-OPINFO, or email us at [email protected], or use XMPP chat [email protected]/. You'll get a personal attention by a live human being usually within a business day.
THROUGHOUT 2013...• We have supported a number of community-based initiatives such as the Humanity Hubs
(formerly the Vigil Fund) and a legal defense fund, processing and safekeeping financial contributions dedicated for those projects.
• We have worked closely with a number of groups that are doing important work in our town, including the Occupy Portland Elder Caucus, the Solutions Committee, and Strike Debt Portland. Our office space and adjacent meeting rooms remain available to community groups at no charge and on donation basis.
• Throughout 2013, we have received many visitors from out of town, as far away as Ehime, Japan, looking to study how we do community organizing. They have already expressed their plan to return to see us this summer! We have become the destination for students both locally and internationally.
FRIENDS OF OCCUPY PORTLAND 2013 FINANCES AT A GLANCEFY 2013: 01/01/2013-12/31/2013Carried over from FY 2012 (as of 12/31/2012): $51.31
Total FY 2013 revenue: $7,255.46
Total FY 2013 expenditures: $6,209.86Rent (utilities included): $4,500.00Telecommunications: $459.86Outreach activities: $465.00Other (compliance, fees, etc.): $85.00Special: $700.00
Balance forward: $1,096.91
For the up-to-date financials visit:https://sites.google.com/site/friendsofoccupyportland
2014 ACTIVITY PLANS
• Building on the success of 2013, we plan this spring and summer on targeted, strategic public outreach activities through placement of booths and informational tables at several community festivals, including street fairs and the Portland Sunday Parkways.
• We hope to strengthen our information, networking and referral capacities through a more robust information portals (office, telephone "switchboard," web, and social media) and through hosted meetings such as the Community Assembly and the 99 Unite Civic Forum.
FRIENDS OF OCCUPY PORTLAND FY 2014 ANNUAL BUDGET
EXPENSESRent & utilities (incl.): $3,600.00Telecommunications: $719.88Postages: $25.00Insurance premiums: $1,400.00Office misc. supplies (petty cash): $50.00Compliance (government fees): $145.00Event promotions: $120.00Booth/exhibit/vendor fees: $330.00Advertising: $50.00Media production/printing: $100.00
Total: $6,999.88 ($583.33/mo)
As proposed to the Board of Directors; not final.
REVENUES
Pledges and one-time online/mail-in contributions: $5,000.00Fundraising events (net): $2,000.00Loose cash contributions: $100.00 External event contributions: $0.00Income from investments, dividends and bequests: $0.00
Total: $7,100.00 ($591.67/mo)
HOW TO SUPPORT THE FRIENDS OF OCCUPY PORTLAND
Both financial and other forms of support are always much appreciated, and we highly welcome monthly pledges. The reality is that in order to become an effective organization we have to have more than just enough to pay our basic bills. Conversely, when we have less money, we are sort of in a suspense. We exist but we would be prevented from doing important work that creates more visibility, more connections, and public educational opportunities. As an "infrastructure" organization we often remain in the behind-the-scenes; however, we provide an important service to keep the connections that were born out of Occupy Portland alive into future years.
ONLINE PLEDGES: SIMPLE AND EASY!Setting up an online monthly pledge is simple and easy at www.occupyportland.org.
Simply find the "Donate" button and follow the steps. You will be billed monthly.
We accept major credit/debit cards and ACH (automatic transfer from bank/credit union accounts).
SUGGESTED MONTHLY PLEDGE LEVELSBy making a monthly pledge, you are making a commitment as part of a community. You are the cornerstones of the Friends of Occupy Portland, empowering us to continue and expand our works in the greater Portland region.
• Willow Circle: $35/month
• Maple Circle: $50/month
• Birch Circle: $75/month
• Alder Circle: $100/month
• Cedar Circle (Sponsor-of-the-Month): $300 or more/month
We are currently looking into ways to recognize and reward our pledge circles throughout the year. Stay tuned for more.
FRIENDS OF OCCUPY PORTLAND1131 SE OAK STREETPORTLAND, OREGON 97214-1344
+1 971 258 [email protected]
Contact information
Friends of Occupy Portland, incorporated in April 2012, is an Oregon public-benefit (non-profit) corporation based in Portland. We are organized as a social welfare/civic organization for the purpose of tax laws, and as such, contributions are NOT tax-deductible. Under federal law, we are not permitted to engage in electoral campaign or in endorsing any candidate.
We are registered with the Oregon Department of Justice, Charitable Activities Division under #45976. Registration does not imply endorsement or support by the State of Oregon. Our federal tax ID number is 45-3945196.
Thıs ıs the 2014 annual report of the Frıends of Occupy Portland, produced by Sarah-Andrea A. Morrıgan, a member of the Board of Dırectors, on behalf of the Board. Whıle ınformatıon ıs consıdered accurate to the best of her knowledge, ıt may contaın ınadvertent errors. For detaıled and up-to-date fınancıal data ıncludıng FY 2014 records please refer to https://sıtes.google.com/sıte/frıendsofoccupyportland
Edition April 30, 2014 a