Occupy Wall Street Has Raised $450,000, Spent Just Over $50,000

ALBANY, N.Y. — The first financial report of the Occupy Wall Street demonstration in New York City shows protesters have raised more than $454,000 and have spent slightly more than $50,000 in the movement's first five weeks, a person close to the movement said Friday.

The financial report, given to The Associated Press by the person, was to be released Friday evening in Manhattan's Zuccotti Park, where the protesters have an encampment. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the spreadsheet analysis hadn't been released.

The demonstrators are providing reporters daily updates showing more than $500,000 has been donated, but this is the first fiscal report of the Occupy Wall Street movement and part of its move to provide greater transparency.

The loosely assembled group's spreadsheet shows most of the spending is for food, clothing, laundry, medical supplies and treatment, Internet services, cameras and telephone and computer expenses. Park expenses including sanitation have cost more than $1,100, according to the report.

"These statements will be released regularly, and open meetings will be held by members of the general assembly to speak with finance," the report states. "We're small potatoes financially, but we're going to make public all of what we do. This effort isn't about money. We've received very little, even as we grow enormously around the world."

The report includes:

_Income is broken down by $333,199 from total public donations and $121,237 from park donations.

_Comfort expenses totaled $20,407, the largest expense. That was spent on clothing, laundry and sleeping material costs.

_Communications expenses totaled $18,985, which includes "computer, WiFi hotspots, livestream cameras, supplies, telephone, video and audio expenses, associated with Media Working Group, LiveStream, and related."

The Occupy Wall Street movement began Sept. 17 with a small group of activists and has swelled to include several thousand people at times, from many walks of life, inspiring similar demonstrations across the country. The protesters' demands are amorphous, but they are united in blaming Wall Street and corporate interests for the economic pain they say all but the wealthiest Americans have endured since the financial meltdown.

 

Comments

[montanasian]

11:46 PM on 11/04/2011

OWS- THE CORPORATION!

[Allison Everret]

12:09 PM on 11/03/2011

Security Committees were formed to police the criminal element #Occupy found inherent in mass government, but were powerless to control and were too embarrassed to turn over to real world police. Many city #Occupy groups have admitted to rapes, attempted rapes, child sexual assault, attempted child prostitution, theft, robbery, assault, assault with a deadly weapon, etc, etc. Like hundreds of Parisian neighborhoods, there's a corner on Zuccotti Park the internal security committee cannot go at night because of the threat of physical harm. After collecting $500,000, participants wanted an equal distribution of wealth, but the newly formed finance committee put the money in a bank - A BANK! - for safe keeping, bookkeeping services, and an easy way to buy needed stuff like cable entertainment and big screen TVs for movie night.

[arecibo48]

09:35 AM on 11/03/2011

We should let this crowd put together our country's budget. It appears they can do a better job than Congress.

[pollclaire]

10:51 PM on 10/31/2011

$400,000 is almost enough to buy back one of our elected representatives.

The right gets scared when people organize.

[ProgressiveRG]

08:10 PM on 10/31/2011

For those who keep saying no one is in charge at OWS, you are misinformed. They have organized a general assembly and different committees to handle various tasks, like medical, clean-up, etc. Just because there is no loud-mouth speaking for them doesn't mean they are not organized. Why must there always be a figurehead? They take votes and majority rules. Our government could learn alot from their organization.

[DannyMcDance]

01:10 PM on 11/01/2011

Majority rules is a tyrannical form of Government. It has always lead to failure in the past, which is why we don't operate that way as a country.

[BG2323]

01:24 PM on 11/01/2011

You're right that that form of government is usually inept at some point. But I don't think tyrannical would be the word to describe majority rules.

[forkuu]

05:17 PM on 10/31/2011

keep those donations coming !!!!.

[xhawk2]

02:02 PM on 10/31/2011

Well, OccupyWallStreet is now officially tax exempt.

[RightRealDeal]

01:30 PM on 10/31/2011

Taxes are due

[Sooladgaf]

01:06 PM on 10/31/2011

Good, now that OWS now is organized enough to report money...they can now start paying for permits for their protests just like the Tea Party did.

[MCCR60]

05:22 PM on 10/31/2011

Yeah because the original tea partiers were all about getting their permits to overtake and destroy other people's property. (Rolls eyes). Or does the tea bagger revisionist history now detail how the Boston tea party got their permits before dumping tea into Boston harbor? For an organization based upon illegal property destruction it sure likes to point fingers at some very minor violations.

[Sooladgaf]

10:13 PM on 10/31/2011

and yet it weren't for the orgininal tea party, the ows woudn't exist because it's the ows who want more taxes on the rich...the original tea party was about taxes.... I'm not sure I ever heard of any property damaged by tea party protest.... I read HP daily and I'm sure if it happened it would have been here...but don't recall....

[keraz]

12:33 PM on 11/01/2011

History is history. There were no permits back then. The Boston Tea Party happened in response to being taxed without having representation in Parliament.

Times have changed and OWS should have the proper permits as the modern Tea Party did during their gatherings.

As for the minor violations. there have been reports of rape and assault at the protests and, if I'm not mistaken, over 700 people have been arrested.

I'm pretty sure that didn't happen during a modern day Tea Party rally.

[ronp121]

11:12 AM on 10/31/2011

Now we will see what the OWS is all about? With that kind of money my hopes are that they stand for honesty and fairness as they say. If the money creates greed for the money handlers than there is absolutely no hope for the future. You may as well cast your vote for a republican and get it over with. This is were we are at now and are trying to change. Just asking for the rich and corporations to pay their fair share and stop buying our Politicians.

[hey- einstein]

06:56 PM on 10/30/2011

Just who is handling this cash ? ok the right front pocket of my bib overall is receivables the left front expenditures, the right rear is my brick of Richard's Wild Irish Rose under entertainment....

[urnumbersix]

07:18 PM on 10/30/2011

OWS will open their books to the public.

Will Dick Armey?
Will Karl Rove?
Will Koch Brothers?
Will Ginni Thomas?!?

Nuf' said....
There - lies "the difference."

Sorry.
Game over....

[Theatrixnyc]

08:02 PM on 10/30/2011

Karl will have to open his. Eventually.

[hey- einstein]

10:07 AM on 10/31/2011

I am all for the Occupy movement, all I brought up is who is in charge if there is no proclaimed organization or leaders.I'll hold it for you.

[lro7644]

09:15 PM on 10/30/2011

Dick Armey makes $500,000 a year for about 20 hrs of work each week for the .Tea Party Patriots, an organization with more than 1,000 affiliated groups across the nation funded by Freedomworks and Americans for Prosperity, an organization founded by David H. Koch in 2003, Most of the money is funneled in thru Super PAC'S so who , what will never be known. The Koch brothers have funneled at least 15 million into the group but the Tea Party created it's own Super PAC .Coincidentally TP members have paid or donated around $500,000 the same amount Dick Armey makes a year from his work with the group. since it's inception. I wonder how much of that money was spent on....????? the fine moral upstanding members of congresses habits.?

OWS is or will file as a 501(c)(4) Non-Profit Organization. But unlike the TP there were no wages or salaries have been paid to anyone.

[chloepiene]

06:11 AM on 10/31/2011

A ha ha spending 15 mil on the Tea Party, what a bad investment.

[ForGodandcountry]

05:18 PM on 10/30/2011

I have read way too many posts that lump republicans in some kind of top 1% only bracket--greedy, selfish, etc...Way out of line with the truth. (I am sure there are many Dem's in the top 1% bracket that are keeping their mouths shut and enjoying the ride.) The fact is I for one am a republican who is glad that we have a group that is standing up against this spend and tax leadership. You are riding on one issue of the thought that we are against taxing the top 1% and making it the all or non thing. It is a matter of not agreeing with any increase tax on anyone, and cut spending on the fluff. The government has continued to give and give and give to anyone who thinks they are "entitled", and once you give you can't take it away--and are also inviting more to join the crowd.

[Theatrixnyc]

08:06 PM on 10/30/2011

Somehow I think Ann Richards might agree with you, if she could. Thanks for speaking up, for Reality, Democrat, Republican and Independent, let's keep it Real, we're not all Millionaires, hardly, but we do live in The United States Of America, and we can stand up for each other, against a freakin' Corporation, or as the case may be, a Multi National one. Gue$$ where the loyalty goe$ to in one of tho$e?

[Jon Dorian]

08:40 PM on 10/30/2011

More blue states have millionaires than red...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/04/where-the-millionaires-ma_n_749378.html#s149613&title=15_Illinois

[Robert M Olson]

04:51 PM on 10/30/2011

It isn't OUR banking system... its THEIRS... the Zionist Their bills are called NOTES... Notes are debt instruments... so are your car and house NOTES! Our real banking system used to use US Dollars and please use your Constitution to look up the definition of a dollar. It does not mean a Fereral Reserve Note backed by nothing and able to print as many as they need to manipulate the economy.

[Cold in Michigan]

06:07 PM on 10/30/2011

You are about 40 years late. This was a popular tax dodge used back in the 70's...maybe even longer. The courts shot it down...a federal reserve note is a dollar by todays diffenition. That, or pay your taxes with federal reserve notes.

[The ORF in Largo]

04:41 PM on 10/30/2011

Some people just refuse to understand that the OWS movement is about a system and a government that is corrupt and that both parties have been and are part of the problem
while refusing to become part of the solution. Greed and corruption effects ALL citizens
regardless of party affiliation. People must learn to put their nation above their party or
we will cease being a free nation and become serfs in a corrupt corporate state

[Jon Dorian]

08:43 PM on 10/30/2011

I agree that we should put our nation above party; but, why isn't OWS protesting at the Capitol? That's where the problem lies.

[interlude]

09:51 PM on 10/30/2011

That's just a symptom. The real problem is at the money centers.

[The ORF in Largo]

10:46 PM on 10/30/2011

Its the capital that controls the Capitol; cut off the head and the body dies just as
cutting off the capital kills the problem.

[Adam Matteuzzi]

04:08 PM on 10/30/2011

Sen. Phil Gramm (R, Texas), Rep. Jim Leach (R, Iowa), and Rep. Thomas J. Bliley, Jr. (R, Virginia), the co-sponsors of the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act.