WHAT? OH. YES!
Since The New Press published Organized Money on October 8, 2019, we have introduced our ideas to more than 20 audiences and organization, to the media, to friends, and to curious strangers. We have spoken at book stores, at events we sponsored, at gatherings and strategic discussions for allied organizations, at universities, to financial advisers and CDFIs.
We came away confident that people understand our message and want to do something. We rate the book’s launch a success that positions us well for what comes next:
Connecting with more people,
Introducing new tools to build a progressive financial network,
Sharing policy recommendations with policy makers, and
Extending the Organized Money analysis through this public appearances, private meetings, media, blogging, and more.
The People We Met
We traveled to Washington, DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Philadelphia, New York, and more locations. We recorded for C-SPAN and podcasts. We talked with financial professionals and people with financial phobias. We heard from—and debated—people to the left and right of us. We were challenged and supported by people younger than us, our ages, and older than us.
We learned that we are right that most people have not thought much about how the financial systems affects them and the things they believe in. We watched as a satisfying number of people “got it”—followed the case we are making to a level of understanding and awareness. And we enjoyed the number of people with a range of backgrounds and perspectives who told us they are ready to join the Organized Money Campaign.
When Keith (co-author Keith Mestrich) and I debriefed after a busy few months, I summed up my experiences in three words: “What? Oh! Yes!”
What We Learned
The most common response I heard as we introduced the fact that the financial system is much more powerful and influential than most people know was, “What?” As in, what even is the financial system? You mean it’s not just a public utility?
As we explained, many people’s surprise flowed quickly to comprehension: “Oh.” From the front of many rooms, we could see the changes in faces as they put our ideas together with their experiences. This is about me! It’s not just an issue for big players on Wall Street.
Examples helped. The fact that obscure, invisible credit card fees are supporting fossil fuels even when you are using your credit to buy green products and organic foods got pretty much everyone’s attention.
It followed for lots of people that progressive change requires them and millions more people to learn how the financial system works. And to do something about it.
Explaining ourstrategy—the Organized Money Campaign—got them to “Yes!” Yes! We need to do something! What? Most often that led to questions about what they could do as individuals? I was surprised to learn how many people knew very little about socially responsible investing (SRI), the most common form of organizing money for progressive causes.
We have invitations for many more appearances and conversations, which we look forward to. The book is our calling card for the 10 year organizing campaign we outline in the book. We are just getting started and motivated to get going.
The Plan for 2020
The interest we received in Organized Money encourages us. We have ambitious plans for 2020 and beyond (in fact, we have a strategy through 2030). The book launch is the first stage of our efforts.
In 2020, we plan to:
Extend our public appearances, increase our one-on-one conversations with leaders in progressive finance, build relationships with progressive advocates ranging from climate change to social inclusion to equity.
Introduce new tools for our allies and readers, including a consumer’s guide to Organized Money.
Make sure our ideas on policy change are part of public conversations and accessible to policy makers in 2020 and 2021 and beyond, and
Provide ongoing analysis and ideas about market fundamentalism, Organized Money, progressive finance, and the urgent potential of restorative capitalism.
We invite you to stay with us in 2020 and beyond. We get the most from readers and participants in our events. We want to hear from you!