Friends of Occupy Portland Friends of Occupy Portland

1131 Southeast Oak Street, Portland, Oregon 97214-1344

(971) 258-1006
occupyportlandinfo@riseup.net

May 24, 2014

Dear Friend,

In life, that which is unseen and unglamorous is oft forgotten... until it is
missing in action. Electricity, water, sewer, streets -- those are important
infrastructures we have come to count on, even though we don't pay much
attention to them until something goes wrong with them. Since October 6, 2011,
Occupy Portland became my community. It literally transformed my life and
taught me a lot about people and the world. I used to be a loner; now I look
around and see that 9 out of 10 close friends I have were people I met either at
the camp or thereafter in functions related to Occupy Portland. Now I do take my
role as a "friend of Occupy Portland" very seriously and serve on the Friends of
Occupy Portland board of directors with pride.
I am writing to you today because you are part of the chosen: what
Margaret Mead called "a small group of committed citizens." I call you a "friend
of Occupy Portland." Our records show that you have been faithful in supporting
Friends of Occupy Portland, the infrastructure that has held together this
extremely diverse and multifaceted community of people. With your help, we
have accomplished these important works that gave a supportive platform for
the movement and individuals who aspire for making a difference in our
communities:
We ushered in the New Year 2013 with 25 br ight, full-time public bus adver tisements 25 br ight, full-time public bus adver tisements lasting
three weeks through an independent, crowd-funding website Indiegogo. We raised over 60%
of the goal within the first 48 hours of our campaign.
Between May and September 2013, we have established a presence and interacted with
hundreds of Portlanders one-on-one through our str eet fair outr each booths. str eet fair outr each booths.
Although downsized, we are maintaining a full-time established location a full-time established location with a real street
address, a real phone number, and highly dedicated staff.
Since December 2013, we are home of the new Occupy Por tland Community Assembly Occupy Por tland Community Assembly, the
monthly gathering for networking and exchange of ideas to help local community organizers
and activists cross-pollinate with one another.
We have suppor ted a number of community-based initiatives suppor ted a number of community-based initiatives such as the Humanity Hubs
(formerly the Vigil Fund) and a legal defense fund, processing and safekeeping financial
contributions dedicated for those projects.
We have wor ked closely with a number of gr oups wor ked closely with a number of gr oups that are doing important work in our town,
including the Occupy Portland Elder Caucus, the Solutions Committee, and Strike Debt
Portland. Our office space and adjacent meeting rooms remain available to community
groups at no charge and on donation basis.
We initially hosted the Por tland Fr ee Stor e Por tland Fr ee Stor e, a very popular and growing community initiative
that developed out of Occupy Portland (now it has outgrown our space capacity).


Since November 2013, we host the 99 Unite Civic For um 99 Unite Civic For um, a non-partisan public policy research
and advocacy group that aims to re-engage the middle-class and moderate supporters (among
others) of Occupy Portland.
Throughout 2013, we have received many visitor s fr om out of town many visitor s fr om out of town, as far away as Ehime,
Japan, looking to study how we do community organizing. They have already expressed their
plan to return to see us this summer! We have become the destination for students both
locally and internationally.
As you can see, the work we do creates substance, continuity, and legitimacy to
the movement that may otherwise be easily dismissed by mainstream society,
which is of course an important part of the 99 Percent.
This year, we are trying to reach further: to outlying and suburban
neighborhoods where urban poverty is on the rise. Today, much of the
working-class and ethnic minority populations live in the outskirts of the
city such as Parkrose, Lents, and Rockwood. On the "home front," our expenses are
minimal but still increasing. Our Internet bill has gone up slightly. We are
also responsible for our own liability insurance coverage, which adds about
$170 a month to our overhead.
Right now, the burden of supporting us is falling on the shoulders
of three generous donors. But I hope we are more than just about three people.
This is why I'm writing you today. The more people contributed even a little bit
of money, they would all add up -- and the more we can do a greater work, far more
than "just staying afloat" but the kind of things that would be more visible:
event outreach, educational campaign, transit advertising, and more. We
project that our overhead and expenses related to outreach would add up to
about $650 a month, including rent, insurance, booth rental fees, and printed
materials. If we can find seven people to pledge $100 a month, or 14 people who
pledge $50, then we will easily exceed that goal. So I am asking you personally
to consider the value Friends of Occupy Portland provides to Portland and
beyond, and generously support its work. You may make a pledge online at
www.occupyportland.org (click on the "Donate" button) or by sending your
contribution to Friends of Occupy Portland, 1131 SE Oak St, Portland, Oregon
97214-1344. Finally, if you know of anyone else who might be willing to become
a sponsor of Friends of Occupy Portland, please do let us know, even if you
cannot make a pledge at this time.

Sincerely yours,


Sarah A. Morrigan
Member of the Board of Directors
Friends of Occupy Portland
Our Federal Tax ID is 45-3945196, and we are a registered charity with Oregon DOJ #45976. As a social
welfare/civic organization, contributions are NOT tax-deductible.