[IMC-Process] Re: [Imc-finance] IMC West-Vlaanderen on Imc-Finance and TMF - english.

[Chuck0]

frank wrote:

> Please explain to me what non-capitalist money is.  Also, how does money
> from Ford differ from money from GM-via-a-pop-band?

It isn't this simple. It's not just a problem with where the money comes 
from, but one of values, privilege, Americanism, professionalism, and on and on.

The Ford Foundation is quite a different entity than GM. My apartment 
complex--which is one of the last places that offers "affordable housing" in 
Arlington--was rescued from developers by our tenants association, which 
worked with county officials and the Fannie Mae Foundation. We managed to get 
a local nonprofit to buy our complex and the deal was made possible by money 
from Fannie Mae. Then in December I'm invited to this ceremony in my complex, 
complete with tent, heat, catering, school choir, and a bevy of country and 
state officials. I was paid $25 under the table by Fannie Mae to attend this 
event. Several of us put two and two together later and figured out that 
Fannie Mae had set up this event to take pictures for their future outreach 
purposes.

In other words, Fannie Mae is going to use my neighborhood as publicity to 
make themselves look good. This is what the Ford Foundation would do if we 
took a big chunk of money from them.

I've heard some things lately at my local IMC meeting about how the IMC-UC is 
still pursuing more grant money for the IMC network, in this case, via an 
unofficial "emergency tactical media fund." There is nothing stopping an 
autonomous group from starting a project like this, but I'd like to suggest 
that perhaps the folks in Urbana-Champaign haven't examined the political 
implications of their actions. I'm from Kansas myself, so I understand that 
when you don't live in a diverse community, you aren't going to be aware of 
the political and privileged decisions that you are making.

I'm also wondering why the folks associated with the IMC-UC were/are pursuing 
large grants for the IMC network. Why is this money needed? For computer 
servers? Isn't their some feeling in the IMC network that local IMC should be 
self-sustaining financially? My firm belief is that local IMC should be 
locally supported and that they should stay away from grants. In fact, 
perhaps the IMC network should talk about banning the use of grants to fund 
IMCs. Why? Because an IMC should be funded by its supporters and 
participants, not some remote liberal foundation. If an IMC can't be 
supported by its local people, then it has no reason to exist. I don't think 
any of us want to see a situation develop where a local IMC is funded by the 
Pew Memorial Trust for a handful of IMCistas who have no desire to get their 
community involved.

Of course, there are good reasons to seek grant money for special projects, 
such as IMC movies, but I think that IMCs should stay away from grants to pay 
the rent.

Chuck0

------------------------------------------------------------
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"The state can't give you free speech, and the state can't take it away. 
You're born with it, like your eyes, like your ears. Freedom is something you 
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you resist is the degree to which you are free..."
---Utah Phillips