Black Dollar Days Task Force


The way to end poverty is to end the exploitation of the poor. ... We must recognize that the problems of neither racial nor economic justice can be solved without a radical redistribution of political and economic power. . . . Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1967

Mission

The Black Dollar Task Force is a 501(c)(3) organization founded in Seattle, Washington in November of 1988 with the intent of promoting the principles of self-help and self-determination through economic justice. The members and supporters of the Task Force are confident in our movement to decrease social service dependency through the revitalization of our community.

We firmly believe that national and local policy regarding America's inner-cities will be forced to change as people refuse to continue to accept handouts and displacements as an acceptable way of conducting business in the inner-city. To this end all Task Force programs are designed with community empowerment and dignity in mind.

All approaches to development are rooted in the organized community and safeguards are put in place to prohibit developers from using community-based development organizations to achieve their own self-interests.

Understanding the critical need for cooperative efforts, the Task Force brings together low-income African Americans who suffer from societal neglect; members of the Jewish faith who suffer from hate crimes and desire to bridge the gap between our races; those of European and Asian decent who have recently moved into the geographical boundaries of the inner city; and all those who have long proclaimed that as long as one societal group remains disproportionately locked out of this country's opportunities, we are all locked out.

The Task Force brings the community together and asks each participant what they can contribute to their own empowerment. We know that African Americans have extraordinary gifts, resources and intelligence, and that African Americans must be at the front of combating their community problems.

Approach to Organizing and Development.
In designing the Black Dollar Days Task Force as an organization that embodies both traditional community organizing and development, our founders courageously set forth on the road to redefining legitimate community-based development. We have been successful in our community.
As community developers we establish people-based institutions that house development professionals who achieve the goals set forth. As community organizers we mobilize structures that protect the people from the institutions we create. Restated: Most often, qualified developers generally do not have the capacity to create grassroots institutions from which to operate.
The sins of the past have shown us that a large percentage of community development efforts have been created in a manner which feathers the nest of the developer and outside speculators, as opposed to providing wholistic economic development to serve the needs of the people.
The Black Dollar Days Task Force approaches development through a four-step process: 1. Going to the people 2. Creating the institution 3. Hiring expertise to run the institution 4. Subjecting the institution to monitoring systems of the people Thus, authentic, people-based institutions are born with people-based coalitions in place to safeguard the interests of the community.

Programs

1. Campaign 5000
Campaign 5000 is a call for African American people to pool all available resources and create their own economic self-sufficiency. The Black Dollar Task Force defines community as people who are held together by common self-interest and by how they spend their money. The end effect of all community must be group self-sufficiency. Thus, even though geographic boundaries generally are a primary indicator of community, we believe that common self-interest and economic inter-dependence are the primary factors that define authentic community.

Campaign 5000 is a comprehensive strategic plan to create financial institutions available to those who have been historically locked out of this country's economic opportunities.

Campaign 5000, a development program of the Black Dollar Task Force, complements the primary goals of the organization, which are: * To create a cooperative relationship between business development and community organizing. * To regain the dignity of the African American community through corporate community economics. * To create a structured opportunity for full and sustainable employment for African American people. * To create structures that guarantee equal benefit from corporate and government reinvestment in inner cities. * To create an economic base that enhances the solidarity of deprived communities. It is under the first principal, creating cooperative relationships, that the Black Dollar Task Force sought technical assistance from other organizations including the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, the Washington Association of Churches, A Territory Resource, and private corporate executives. This process has led to permanent relationships with these groups and their involvement in the Endowment Fund.
The Campaign 5000 program consists of: Fundraising from individuals, corporations, small businesses, and foundations; Investment of an African American Community Endowment Fund; and Operation of the Campaign 5000 Loan Fund.
The "Stakeholders" in Campaign 5000 are primarily low-income African Americans who have contributed a minimum of $200 to the African American Community Endowment Fund. Stakeholders are the owners of all Campaign 5000SM activities; boards; loan repayment records; and the design of the future growth of the community financial institutions.
The Campaign 5000 African American Community Endowment Fund is the entity that generates income through socially responsible investments. The income generated from the Endowment Fund is transferred quarterly to the Loan Fund. One hundred percent of the principal funds deposited into the Endowment Fund remain in the fund.
The Campaign 5000 Loan Fund specializes in lending to small, inner-city businesses that are considered high risk by traditional lending sources. The Loan Fund is a development tool that transitions business owners from alternative borrowing to traditional bank loans. Loans made through the Campaign 5000SM Loan Fund are reviewed and approved by a qualified board of Stakeholders, ranging from loan officers to community business owners.

2. Buy Local Coalition BUY LOCAL - MAKE COMMUNITY MATTER!
Each dollar we spend is a vote for the future direction of our communities. Spending at locally owned businesses keeps our dollars local to better serve community's needs.
Black Dollar Days Task Force has launched a Buy Local Coalition, which has jointly organized a "Buy Local" week the first week of February, the Buy Local Rally, and the Buy Local Business Reception in Seattle, WA.
What it Means to Buy Local
In your neighborhood
Buy from stores that are independent, locally owned, and give back to your community. Get to know the owners and other folks who work there.
In the Seattle area When in other neighborhoods, buy from community-based stores in those neighborhoods. Try products and meet people from cultures other than your own.
In the Puget Sound Seek out products that originate in our area. Help create a regional economy.
In the Pacific Northwest "Cascadia" Buy from Northwest companies whenever possible. Insist that stores carry such products.