Seeding New Visions 👁️ 👁️
Nothing new can birthed under the commodity regime!
Cultivating New Futures
In our last newsletter, we shared an exciting new project, Emerald Earth Sanctuary. Emerald Earth Sanctuary is in the process of transferring 189 acres of historic, Mendocino forest land to Black stewards of the Black to the Land Collective. Our Executive Director, Noni Session, recently visited Emerald Earth at their request to understand how EB PREC could be of service to this project.
The visit was more fruitful than we ever could have imagined. Noni is now organizing alongside Zappa, Adélàjà, Kanchan, Abeja, and Tom to understand the needs of this massive project. Black to the Land plans to come before EB PREC by Q3 of 2024 with a proposal to join EB PREC as an Owner Group. Emerald Earth Sanctuary will serve as a case study for repairing, restoring, and co-stewarding radical Black natural space in Northern California.
This historic land transfer (and the cooperative labor going into it) exemplifies our mission pillars of #HealPeoplePower and #RestorativeEconomics. It is through the relationships we cultivate, paired with the technical support EB PREC has worked the last five years to develop, that we will able to continue advancing our vision of #LandWithoutLandlords.
Catch Esther's on the Silver Screen
Esther's Orbit Room found its way onto the big screen as a setting in Bottled Spirits; a film starring Margo Hall, written by Cat Brooks, and directed by Elizabeth Carter. Bottled Spirits is part of Black Lives, Black Words' Films for the People series and supported by the Black Seed Fund. Our Executive Director, Noni Session, served as one of the producers of this film. Learn more about the project or click the button below to rent the movie.
EB PREC was proud to be a venue partner for this film, offering Esther's Orbit Room for free to the five-day production. For us, this is a demonstration of our principles and how we can leverage community-controlled assets to seed economic, cultural, and spiritual revitalization in areas that have been historically disinvested in (such as the 7th St. Corridor). We're excited to partner and experiment with more local, creative projects on activating our collective spaces!
How does a foundation divest from Wall St?
Is it possible for a foundation to truly divest from Wall Street? How do foundations decide what is "enough" in terms of assets? Can we create an investment strategy in philanthropy that is aligned with racial justice, instead of just focused on the bottom line?
These are some of the thorny questions that Lynne Hoey, Chief Investment Officer of the Kataly Foundation, tackles in their new series: What is Enough? Designing an Investment Strategy Aligned with Our Values. In this six-part blog series, in which EB PREC is featured among many radical & transformative projects, Lynne describes the complicated, non-linear, and energizing process of crafting Kataly's investment strategy.
There are increasing attempts to be more transparent about grantmaking, but that transparency does not extend to how funders invest their reserves and endowments. These decisions are fraught, complex, and incredibly significant—foundations and donor advised funds invest trillions of dollars. The first piece in this series shares what the Kataly Foundation discovered when digging into the funds they were invested in, and how those discoveries led them to get out of the stock market.
EB PREC's Esther's Orbit Room Cultural Revival Project is honored to be a recipient of a non-extractive investment from Kataly Foundation's Restorative Economies Fund.
Our Movement Needs YOU!
We're HIRING for TWO new staff members to join our collective. Check out the job descriptions below and share this within your network if you know someone who might be a good fit! Both roles will be open until filled.
The Development & Grant Writing Associate’s main purpose is to support the ongoing writing, communications, reporting and administrative work of the Money and Communications Circles (departments). This support position plays a vital role in assisting with the high functioning and fast-paced workloads of the Money & Comms Circles. You’ll support our work to communicate our transformative vision to the Funder & Investor communities and the general public, as well as support our fundraising and investment campaigns with your excellent writing & editing skills. You’ll also support the efficient & smooth inner workings of our internal processes & infrastructure for Money and Comms, like our Funder relationship management, donor tracking, note-taking process, and email systems. View the full job description here.
The Real Estate & Finance Analyst will support our staff and membership by providing the financial & technical tools and know-how to analyze, finance, and acquire real estate assets within the EB PREC model. They will work closely with our Real Estate and Finance teams, as well as groups of EB PREC members working toward property acquisitions. In collaboration with other staff, they will help analyze and troubleshoot projects for financial feasibility, work through scenarios with stakeholders, develop project concepts and prepare projects for acquisition, conduct site visits and assess physical conditions, identify and acquire financing, engage with sellers and realtors in the acquisition process, and manage assets in our portfolio. They will also support the Executive team with organization-wide financial planning and fund management.
View the full job description here.
Attend an Upcoming Orientation!
No matter where you're from, housing is an issue that affects us all. Join over 300 cooperative members who are challenging the traditional, extractive real estate model. We collectively organize to purchase and co-steward land and property in order to keep tenants of color rooted in our community, remove housing from the speculative market, and reverse the root causes of displacement.
We host monthly orientations to connect with our community. Orientations are the perfect place to ask questions about EB PREC's work and learn how to get more involved in the land sovereignty movement! RSVP for our online Orientation below. Invite your network and neighbors too!
Housing Opportunities
The following properties are potential or in progress EB PREC acquisitions looking for new residents! Check out the openings below if you or someone you know is searching for housing and intentional community!
Orchard House: Downstairs unit with 3 rooms.
Click here to learn more about this listing.
Co-op 789: Temporary room available.
Click here to learn more about this listing.
