Cultivating a truly cooperative and democratic society requires us to challenge everything about the ownership and distribution of wealth, including traditional ideas of philanthropy and resource re-distribution: that there is a binary of funders and fundraisers, saviors and those who need saving.

Moving away from this binary thinking, how do we instead center our interdependence as humans, and build cooperation that brings us out of these traditional camps? What does it mean to cooperatively, creatively, and lovingly resource our shared human needs? Can those of us who currently identify as funders let go of the need to control the outcome of our resources? Can those of us who are fundraisers renounce competition with our peers, and open our hearts to sharing efforts and resources? Are we bold enough to imagine a world in which we can resource all of the community aspirations and visions into reality?

If we are to cultivate justice, fight climate change, and build a truly diverse and resilient food system, we must bravely steward the flow of wealth straight into cooperative movement- and community-building. This session invites funders, policymakers, government staff, community fund managers, fundraisers, and those who imagine an alternative to traditional funding models and competitive fundraising to lean into a safe and brave space where we can work together to bring about our shared vision for a sustainable and just society for all.