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

[Peter van Heusden]

Chuck0 wrote:
> 
> 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.

I entirely agree that local IMCs should aim to be self sustaining. Here in 
Cape Town, South Africa, that perspective is shared within the movements 
we are building.

But having said that, I have to point out that self-sustaining in a South 
African context means something different to self-sustaining in an (e.g.) UK 
context (I mention UK, because it is the other country I have lived in).

Take for instance one of our key problems: transport. South African cities 
sprawl wide, with the poorest townships often at the edges of the city, due to 
apartheid urban planning policy. In the Anti-Eviction Campaign (my main 
political activity), one of our biggest headaches is transport money, because 
moving around is simply unaffordable for the majority of our activists, who 
are unemployed and lucky if they have enough money to buy food through 
the money. So if any meeting needs to get people together from around the 
city, it means transport needs to be provided (by one of the 1 or 2 activists 
who have a car) or funded.

A general 'transport budget' for attending meetings, covering events and 
building capacity would be on the order of at least R 200 a week. That's 
R 800 a month. The typical unemployed activist lives with a family, often 
living off a disability grant or pension which is R 620 a month. The figures 
just don't add up.

So we survive by raising bits of money to cover these basic expenses. 
We've got different approaches to raising money - individual donations, 
research collaboration, even funding proposals - but up till now its never 
been enough to even cover the expenses of going to everywhere we want to 
go.

In this context, 'capital expenses' - that is computers, cameras, etc. - 
become almost unimaginable. I'd DEARLY love to have at least 1 and 
preferably more digital cameras in Cape Town, because developing film 
from a non-digital camera is too expensive (R 60 - R 80 per spool), but at
R 6000 each, we're simply not going to be able to afford one on the principle 
of 'self-sufficiency'. We're going to have to solicit funds somewhere else.

And when you ask people for money, they often want something in return.

My 'dream' has always been to somehow raise money within the 'anti-
capitalist' movement - thereby ensuring that the reciprocal relations created 
by the exchange of money are appropriate to what we believe in.

It seems, however, that at this moment that is still a dream.

In the meantime, I think we need to openly discuss the game that funders 
play, to see if there is away to play the game differently. And above all, to 
be creative, and thus reluctant to go the 'conventional non-profit funding 
route'.

Peter
imc-sa, cape town
anti-eviction campaign