On survival crowdfunding
a rant and q&a
Q: Under a capitalistic attention economy, how plausible is it for a large fraction of people to support themselves on a crowdfunding model?
A: The answer to this question largely depends on the quality of our anarchist infrastructure. Because it’s less about the capitalism of the attention economy and more about how being a survival crowdfunder is a giant pain.
Okay, that’s a way of putting it mildly. But seriously—most survival crowdfunders are people who can’t do traditional jobs due to disability, being a full-time student or caretaker, or other challenges. While many of us put out the occasional financial ask in the Signal chat or apply for a mutual aid program such as Virginia Sole-Smith’s microgrants, needing to crowdfund for most of one’s needs is a very specific position—especially because many people like this aren’t able to make use of other, resource-specific mutual aid. Some live rurally and can’t make it to a food distro or clothing swap, some lack reliable transportation, some are housebound—and all are expected to do the equivalent of a full-time job.
I’m serious. Think about it. To be a survival crowdfunder, someone usually has to…
Do graphic design for their asks on social media, including having quality photos of themself, writing copy, and learning to use design software
Maintain at least a couple of social media platforms, post regularly, and interact with non-mutual-aid content for engagement and social connection
Deal with accusations of being a spam bot and constantly verify their asks
Be in group chats with a mutual aid focus, know how to vett group chats, and engage with countless people over DMs who are having problems paying to support
Write text and image descriptions for socials and chats
Maintain payment and banking platforms, and handle related tech concerns
Apply for mutual aid grants (and sometimes open calls, fellowships, residencies, and/or jobs, depending on ability level)
Learn social norms around mutual aid asks, which vary wildly in certain spaces
Do the internal and emotional work of asking for money, and get past potential embarrassment or fear about having a financial need
…all while dealing with financial stress. And, sometimes housing and food insecurity. So no, it isn’t plausible for a lot of people to support themselves if they are survival crowdfunding on their own.
What’s the solution here? Often the statist crowd says it’s institutional—that people should get on disability (a thing that requires one to have papers and be over 18), should avail themselves of their city’s resources (often an age requirement and proof of income requirement), or should find accessible job opportunities (only workable for some people). And of course, anyone who is able to use these resources is probably doing so already. Most survival crowdfunders I know get offered the same two resources on a daily basis, and it’s a constant annoyance for them to explain the roadblocks and access barriers they face.
Another option is to create more microgrants for people with financial needs—and of course, this is a piece of the puzzle, but not the whole picture. Nobody wants to be applying to five different grants each month to pay rent—and many people get easily burnt-out by paperwork and can’t manage tons of grant applications. Grants can be a piece of the puzzle, but don’t solve the problem of survival crowdfunding at all.
Everyone has different views on this one, and I invite discussion in the comments, but I personally think that mutual aid networks should be trying to allocate labor, not just money, toward survival crowdfunders. This means that we help create flyers, write copy, make social media posts, share in chat groups, verify asks, fill out paperwork, troubleshoot with tech, and provide emotional support. While it can feel quick and easy to donate, and anyone who can do so should, everyone can take the time to provide logistical support to the survival crowdfunders in their life. If we do this, then survival crowdfunding becomes more viable…as a stop-gap measure, until the day comes when nobody needs to crowdfund at all. <3
What do you think? Or, how does your org support survival crowdfunders? Let me know in the comments..