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NOVEMBER 2010
Civil Society Responses
to the Global Financial and Economic Crisis
FNTG White Paper
Download Full Printable Version Here
III. Needs of Civil Society Groups Working on the Crisis
This paper did not attempt an exhaustive or representative survey of the needs of civil society groups responding to the crisis, but the subject inevitably came up in interviews. Three major themes jumped out that seemed worth noting.
More Support for Grassroots Organizing Sector
Several people interviewed for this paper pointed out that in response to the crisis, there has been funding made available for new coalitions, particularly their Washington operations, while other groups are suffering the double blow of funding scarcity and increased workloads.
Here are a few representative quotes:
“There’s a lot of money going into coalition infrastructure, but not enough going into the grassroots groups that are members of those coalitions.”
“When there is funding for field organizing, it goes to support coordinators who parachute in, rather than supporting the groups already on the ground.”
“Rather than more national meetings, we need regional meetings to help support key states and Congressional districts.”
Education on Financial Markets
Nearly every person interviewed for this report pointed to the need for training on the workings of financial markets – not just for the general public, but also for the NGOs and activist leaders.
Here are a few representative quotes:
“The biggest need is for training. We are completely dependent on a few technical experts to tell us what to ask for. It reminds me of back in the 1980s when people were afraid to work on Third World debt because they thought it was too complicated and then in the 1990s when people were afraid to work on trade for the same reason. Now, with anybody on the left, it’s assumed that you’re at least a mini-expert on trade and debt. We need to make that happen on finance.”
“Knowledge is power. We don’t need more big conferences. We need classroom-style education on how financial markets work.”
“Commodity speculation affects food stamps, hunger rates. But we need to make it easier for people to connect these dots. I’ve worked on trade and finance for 10 years and even for me, it’s hard.”
“There’s a real need for simpler materials, especially on commodity speculation. I myself can just barely follow the discussion.”
Some people did caution, however, against investing time and resources into educational activities at the expense of grassroots mobilization. “Look at the Tea Party – they haven’t done any education, but they’ve shifted the debate. I think people know enough to be angry about it, they just need a vehicle.”
More Support for Communications
Several people expressed frustration that while there’s a lot of work being done by grassroots and other civil society groups, it’s not adding up to more than the sum of its parts in the same way that the Tea Party has been able to do.
“Grassroots groups particularly need more strategic communications strategy. We need to develop stronger narratives.”
“We need more noise in the streets. There’s a need for funding for just the most basic things, like money for buses. But even when we are putting people into the streets, it’s not projected well. We need an overall media strategy for the progressive movement. We’re doing a lot of stuff, but we need somebody who’s connecting the dots and weaving it all into a narrative. We need to change the conversation.”
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