Reinvest in Our Power
Putting Capital to Work for People and Planet
What is Reinvest in Our Power?
The dominant financial system is organized to extract capital from labor and the living world only to accumulate in the hands of a few. In order to build local, living, regenerative economies, we must divest from the extractive economy and reinvest in community projects that are democratically-controlled and that ecologically meet community needs. We are able to weave power and organize a large transfer of capital from extractive industries to Just Transition projects.
Reinvest in Our Power is a collaborative effort led by CJA to address inequity and democratize wealth by moving capital and governance from the extractive to regenerative economy. By leveraging momentum and capital , RiOP, including CJA member groups, is moving money into the Our Power Loan Fund, a democratically-governed community loan fund that invests in projects owned & operated by frontline communities to build economic democracy rooted in ecological integrity.
Reinvest in Our Power Campaign
CJA recognizes that the climate and economic crises are rooted in the violent extraction of land and labor from our communities, and are inextricably linked.
Our communities face fundamental problems:
- Extraction is baked into every aspect of our economy from predatory lending, housing exploitation, industrial food production, to reliance on fossil fuels and mining instead of renewables and repair
- Green Capitalism and false techno-solutions to the climate crisis.
- The concentration of capital in the hands of a few
- Frontline communities are denied access to financial resources like business and home loans that enable them to build a stable foundation and livelihood.
The Reinvest in Our Power Campaign calls on Philanthropy to divest from the extractive economy and reinvest this capital in the regenerative economy being built and led by frontline communities. Over 92% of Philanthropy wealth– over $1.2 trillion dollars – fails to be circulated back to communities with the majority of it sitting in Wall Street and extractive investments that harm frontline people of color, Indigenous and working class communities.
We are moving capital in a way that:
- Shifts economic control to the people
- Democratizes the workplace
- Advances ecological restoration
- Drives racial justice and social equity
- Relocalizes most product & consumption
- Retains and restores culture and tradition
The RiOP Process
Highlighted Work
Natural construction worker owned cooperative
Numa’lo Refillery: Zero waste cleaning products cooperative.
Kheprw Integrated Fund: a recoverable loan fund supporting local BIPOC founders
Centro por la Justicia: a Regional Healing & Resiliency Hub
Detroit People’s Food Co-op and D-Town Farm
Tierra y Libertad: Farmworker owned cooperative.
Hierbas Ancestrales: Natural remedy worker owned cooperative.
UPROSE Community Solar Project
DIG: Green Infrastructure, worker-owned cooperative
Current Work
CJA has developed the Our Power Loan Fund, a member of Seed Commons community wealth cooperative, that (1) provides technical support and non-extractive financing to self-sustaining local Just Transition projects; (2) supports the development of democratically-run, non-extractive local loan funds; and (3) builds the field through shared learning.
Our work includes:
- The Our Power Loan Fund – We work with CJA members to provide Non-Extractive Financing and technical assistance to the Just Transition projects making the Regenerative Economy real on the ground.
- Hosting an Annual Just Transition Finance Training with the goal of educating our members and co-learning on the concepts of non-extractive finance, the regenerative economy and projects that are putting this in action.
- Resiliency hub development.
Act on Reinvest in Our Power
For more information about getting involved, contact Reinvest Co-Director, Lupe Romero at [email protected]
