Revolving Fund

The students from the 2004 Border Studies Program, having learned about the structures of the global economy and how these structures affected some of what they witnessed on the Mexico-U.S. border, decided to take action. They set up a revolving fund, which they are going to use as a basis for further political action. The revolving fund of the BSP 2004 is an excellent example demonstrating how participating in the Border Studies Program can aid in the process of politicizing students and empowering students to act and to change the world.

Who We Are
In fall of 2004, a group of 14 of students from private liberal arts colleges converged in El Paso/Ciudad Juárez to participate in the Border Studies Program. Once strangers, we became a community of people who deeply care for each other. We studied the effects of neoliberalism on the border region, participated in internships in El Paso and in Ciudad Juárez, and lived with families in Juárez. The idea of a revolving fund came up in a classroom discussion about a way in which some maquiladora workers in Juárez save money and support each other financially. The basic model of the revolving fund—which exists all over the world—is not ours. After receiving money for campaigning for Kerry in New Mexico, we decided we wanted use the money to start a revolving fund that supports our collective values and spurs action, rather than deposit the money into our personal bank accounts. We are privileged, college-educated, white U.S. citizens (with a multiplicity of other identities) who took inspiration in the existing revolving fund model and decided to create our own unique fund to support our activism.

Mission Statement
As citizens of the world and of a country that is a driving force for corporate globalization and cultural imperialism, we share many concerns about the state of the global economy. The current economic system, of which we are all a part, is wrought with institutionalized injustice and structural violence. We do not agree with this model where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. We support wealth redistribution and redefinition. We commit ourselves to imagining and creating alternatives to this dysfunctional system and to live out these alternatives as much as possible. Our revolving fund is a tool that empowers us to take action for justice locally as well as globally. We are all active members in creating and maintaining this fund and we are all entitled to withdraw money for projects that support our mission statement and collective goals.

Revolving Fund Goals
· To maintain and support our BSP community by supporting one another financially and emotionally in our construction of another world that challenges the economic and cultural values of capitalism.
· To undermine the cultural values of capitalism by supporting alternative values such as:
*Sharing instead of greed
*Trust rather than suspicion, competition, and “everyone for her/himself”
*Solidarity, mutual respect, and mutual aid, instead of charity
*Community support instead of individualism, isolation, and competition, which lead to exclusion and inequality
*Democracy in which every voice is heard and consensus—as much as possible—is reached
*Empowerment of historically disenfranchised groups with the ultimate goal of creating equality
*Creativity, Joy, Love, Equity, Peace, Justice: motives and morals that are greater than profits

Revolving Fund Code of Conduct
Respect for one another is an integral part of our revolving fund. Our participation in the fund demonstrates a commitment not only to social activism and alternative economic practices, but also to each other. We strive for a community where each of us is energized by the involvement of others, where we engage in dialogue that both comforts and challenges us, and that reminds us to live our lives intentionally and with care. To make this a reality, we will all be active members by giving feedback, keeping in touch, sending in fund money, and withdrawing and using fund money.

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