In the short time since the Move Your Money project started, we've seen the movement grow beyond anything we ever anticipated. It's been an energizing and inspiring three months.
What started out as a conversation around a holiday dinner table among friends has turned into a full-fledged grassroots effort involving thousands of people all over the country who come from all kinds of different political and economic backgrounds. We clearly tapped into a growing outrage with the big Wall Street banks and the financial crisis they created, plus the dissatisfaction with all the inaction in Washington. Ours is the best kind of populism -- beyond political labels and petty turf wars.
And, man, has it taken off. Our website has received millions of hits. Every zip code in the country has been searched on our "bank finder" tool. Hundreds of news outlets and bloggers have picked up on the cause, from ABC's Diane Sawyer to the Chronicle in Crossville, Tenn. We've heard countless stories of individuals leaving their major banks to join community banks and credit unions; we've been awestruck by national polls that show how one-tenth of American adults have started to leave the big banks; we've spoken with local and state government officials from Maryland to New Mexico to Minnesota who are leading the charge to invest state tax dollars in financial institutions that encourage local economic growth instead of shipping money off to Wall Street. We've seen members of Congress join the effort and have had celebrities endorse the idea. We've spoken with religious leaders, grassroots organizers, unions, student groups and countless others who are launching efforts in their communities.
But we've also heard from countless others who need more help, support and resources to get their efforts going. And as much as we've been struck by all that has occurred in the last three months, we've been equally struck by the enormous potential to take this effort to the next level. So, we're reaching out to you.
Up to this point the Move Your Money project has mainly been done on a volunteer basis, with people chipping in their free time when and where they can. But we can only accomplish so much with the skeleton crew we've got, and now we're looking to hire a few full-time staffers and provide them with a modest budget to both put a non-profit organization and structure underneath this effort and really expand it into a national campaign. To do so, we've teamed up with Network for Good, a fundraising site for nonprofit causes.
We know that these are financially difficult times for everyone, but we really hope you'll consider making a donation to this effort. We would love for this movement to really take off -- and take hold with more Americans -- and for that we're asking for your help. Please donate whatever you can. But, please, don't think small. If you can make a large gift, that will help us get this effort staffed and functioning faster -- so that we can encourage more people, businesses, institutions and governments to move their money to local financial institutions that work for them and benefit the community, not just Wall Street.
Thanks for whatever you can do. Your contributions are tax deductible. If you have any questions about donations, feel free to email us at jmhattem@gmail.com or call 928-814-1092.
Thanks again, and upward we go!
Follow Rob Johnson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/rjocean
Alan Cumming: Why I Moved My Money
Goldman Sachs emailed me to remind me of the amount of cash I made whilst my money was with them. This of course just reminds me of why I moved my money in the first place: it was the only way I could show that I did not approve of them.
I live in Los Angeles. The banks some people have suggested in previous posts have been shut down.
AFTRA/SAG credit union, to which I belong has many usurious practices. They charge me if i do not deposit more money every six months or so. The rate of return on my deposits is minuscule, expecially if I do not donate...I mean deposit...more money often enough.
My heart with absolutely with MOVE YOUR MONEY...but where?
I do not understand why we do not boycott the places where politicians spend the money or simply boycott politicians who collect money. Boycott any TV show or newspaper that benefits from the campaign money.
Politicians are convinced they must spend millions of dollars to get elected. There is a politician from the past named Proxmire from Wisconsin who made a farce of campaign financing by collecting none and spending none. He spent 6 years doing his job and made damn sure everyone knew it and he did it with flair. When election time came, he did not have to spend money.
I think Obama could have done that, but he was convinced otherwise. Obama the idealist was elected but Obama the realist is governing and he is now paying the price. I do not know the answer other than to say going after the briber has no effect on the bribe-taker.
Mike Scanlan
Santa Fe, New Mexico
If we make them small, do we hobble the financial sectors ability to do big things?
What i mean is this. Generaly speaking, It takes a big company to make big things. Small companies cant do it becasue they dont have the capital and infrastructure or staff to handle the big stuff.
Is this not also true with banks? Are these smaller banks also able to have the same presence and power overseas (earning power-diversaty) as the big ones?
I'm wondering...what is the downside to making these banks smaller.
CB
A smaller fish can move quicker, change direction faster, and respond better to needs in its community and customer base. Small things in nature tend to band together in herds & schools. Nothing would prevent a coalition of small banks banding together to network to expand their services.
But the larger problem is that the big banks stopped acting like banks (and started acting like drunken sailors on payday in a red-light district)--they stopped paying attention to their stable services and started taking risks not in proportion to their ability to lose, and it paid off at first...until it didn't.
I'm as liberal as they get (Dear Mrs. Palin, I AM that subaru-outback driving, latte-sucking, heart-bleedin', DFH mom with the Obama sticker on the back window, and that hopey-changey thing is workin' GREAT for me, kthxbye!), but I'll take a local bank with a conservative banking outlook, and stability over a fast'n'loose player with my money *any* day. If I want to gamble, I know how to find the riverboat (and I will wait for cheap buffet salad bar days).
Just curious.
Good luck with that.
No, you don't!
We don't pay ourselves and friends for our community and other charitable works. The churches in our community's volunteers don't ask to be paid, altho I do admit the church itself is nothing, if not a cash cow.
Let this be grass roots and live or die on it's merits. Make money the old fashion way... get a job!
I've been doing business with my credit union for over 15 years, and the shenanigans on Wall Streeet finally convinced me to do what I could to stop feeding these financial rapists. It really does feel good when you stop feeding the greed.
And I am personally recognized by the people who work at the credit union. How nice is that? Interacting well with real people at a financial institution -- that is the best reason for me to have done this.
Note that many credit unions will offer from $100 to $200 bonus if you open a checking or savings account with them; several pay 10 cents on every purchase made on your debit card if you charge and sign as a credit card; most offer checking accounts that are interest bearing; and - through state and federal credit union insurance funds - all offer greater protection on accounts than FDIC coverage.