Remaking the Economy: Advocacy and Community, the Delicate Balance

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Building viable economic alternatives requires both project-based community economic development work and advocacy to access public resources and make changes to laws and regulations that get in the way. In this Remaking the Economy webinar, panelists discuss how their organizations and the economic justice movements that they support strike a balance these two imperatives.

In a wide-ranging webinar conversation, panelists Rudy Espinoza of Inclusive Action in the City (Los Angeles), Nia Evans of Boston Ujima Project and Julia Ho of Solidarity Economy St. Louis offer their thoughtful assessments on a wide range of matters, including the critical role of relationship building in community organizing work. They also address the below questions:

How does a nonprofit advocate for policy change at the City Hall, while remaining responsive to its membership?

What kind of ecosystem of support is needed to advance economic justice goals? If you don’t have that support, how do you build it?
What stages are involved in developing a mutual aid network? How do you sustain the work over the long haul?
What was required to legalize the status of street vendors in Los Angeles? What resistance did the campaign encounter? How was it overcome?
How was a $5-million, community-controlled loan fund developed in Boston? What were the key steps that made this dream a reality?
How do you balance project-based work and advocacy with larger visions of community building and economic transformation?

Resources

Rudy Espinoza, “How Street Vendors Can Build a Just Economy: Lessons from Los Angeles,” NPQ, July 14, 2021.

Julia Ho, “How to set up a mutual aid fund,” Shareable, September 24, 2020.

Erin Kuschner, “How the Boston Ujima Project is fostering change in Boston,” Boston Globe, February 17, 2021.

Aaron Tanaka, “Reimagining the Economy: The Social Justice Enterprise,” Nonprofit Quarterly, spring 2019 [posted online April 15, 2019].

About the authors

Steve Dubb

Steve Dubb is senior editor of economic justice at NPQ, where he writes articles (including NPQ’s Economy Remix column), moderates Remaking the Economy webinars, and works to cultivate voices from the field and help them reach a broader audience. Prior to coming to NPQ in 2017, Steve worked with cooperatives and nonprofits for over two decades, including twelve years at The Democracy Collaborative and three years as executive director of NASCO (North American Students of Cooperation). In his work, Steve has authored, co-authored, and edited numerous reports; participated in and facilitated learning cohorts; designed community building strategies; and helped build the field of community wealth building. Steve is the lead author of Building Wealth: The Asset-Based Approach to Solving Social and Economic Problems (Aspen 2005) and coauthor (with Rita Hodges) of The Road Half Traveled: University Engagement at a Crossroads, published by MSU Press in 2012. In 2016, Steve curated and authored Conversations on Community Wealth Building, a collection of interviews of community builders that Steve had conducted over the previous decade.

Rudy Espinoza

Rudy Espinoza is the executive director of Inclusive Action for the City, a community development financial institution that works toward economic justice for low-income communities through advocacy and transformative economic development. Under his leadership, Inclusive Action helped legalize street vending in LA, passed statewide legislation to support street food vendors in California, deployed over $4,000,000 in microloans and grants to underserved entrepreneurs, and cocreated a commercial real estate initiative that preserves small businesses in gentrifying neighborhoods. Espinoza serves on the board of UNIDOS US, the United Way of Greater LA, the Center for Nonprofit Management, and Abode Community Housing.

Julia Ho

Julia Ho is the Founder of Solidarity Economy St. Louis; co-founder of STL Mutual Aid, a network of over 2,500 neighbors; and a board member of the New Economy Coalition.

Nia Evans

Nia Evans is Executive Director of Boston Ujima Project, a nonprofit committed to building a community-controlled economy through building an ecosystem of grassroots community engaged investment and participatory governance.

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