Haymarket's Mission Vision &
Statement of Principles

Through grantmaking, fundraising and capacity building, we support grassroots organizations that address the root causes of injustice.

Haymarket also organizes to increase sustainable community philanthropy throughout our region.

OUR VISION

Haymarket envisions a world free of racism and other oppressions:

Where peace and cooperation flourish

Where people are valued and respected for their gifts and able to bring their whole selves to humanity

Where vibrant communities thrive and different cultures are celebrated

Where abundant resources and opportunities are equally shared and distributed while honoring the earth and all within it.

OUR STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES

In order to realize our vision of a just, anti-racist society, we recognize the need to change culture, systems, and structures of power. Haymarket seeks to embody that change in the way our organization works. The following principles were approved as part of a long range planning process and reflect our values and guide our work together:   

Be Inclusive

If we hope to achieve just societies that include all people in decision-making and assure that all people have an equitable share of the wealth and the work of this world, then we must work to build that kind of inclusiveness into our own organization. This requires more than tokenism.

It includes diversity at the planning table, in staffing, and in coordination. It may delay achievement of other important goals. It will require discussion, hard work, patience and planning. It may involve conflict, but through this conflict we can learn better ways of working together.

Let People Speak for Themselves

We must be sure to hear the voices of people directly affected by our policies and practices. Haymarket must provide ways for spokespersons to represent and be responsible to the

affected constituencies. Organizations and individuals participating in Haymarket must be clear about their roles and about who they represent in order to assure accountability within our structures.

Work Together in Solidarity and Mutuality  

Haymarket funds a variety of social change issues.   People in Haymarket represent a wide range of communities, goals, and strategies. Individuals and groups working on similar issues with compatible visions should consciously act in solidarity and mutuality and support each other's work.

Honesty  

We need to treat each other with justice and respect, both on an individual and an organizational level, in this country and across borders.   This includes a commitment to honesty, integrity, and to face-to-face confrontation, and a rejection of dishonesty, manipulation, and polarization.   Defining and developing "just relationships" will be a process that won't happen overnight.   It must include clarity about decision-making, sharing strategies, power, and resource distribution.

Commitment to Self Transformation  

As we change societies, we must change from operating in the mode of individualism to community-centeredness. We must embody the values that we say we're struggling for.   As Haymarket members, we are committed to political and personal growth, and open to being challenged.

Sharing Culture  

Culture is the life support system of a community. If a community's culture is respected and nurtured, the community's power will grow. Sharing culture is central to our work together. We know that different cultures express themselves in different ways and we will work to respect different modes of expression.

Internal Dynamics of Leadership Development  

Grassroots leadership needs to be developed intentionally and systematically within all Haymarket's structures.

Networking  

The growth of an effective broad-based movement for social change requires networking or "building a net that works." As the movement develops a strong net, people are less likely to fall through.

Openness and Commitment to the Process  

We encourage an atmosphere of open dialogue about issues. We trust Haymarket members to participate in dialogue, disagreement and struggle with the intention of building the organization and making it stronger. We understand dissent to be integral to the process and commit to engaging with dissent honestly, creatively and productively.   In the spirit of consensus process, we understand that "blocking" consensus entails the responsibility for staying in the process and hammering out a new solution. Disagreement and dissent also entail that responsibility.

Taking Responsibility  

We expect each person to take responsibility for his/her needs, feelings and actions. We call on each person to discern the difference between their personal issues and issues that are of interest to the organization as a whole, and to be mindful of what is useful to bring to the group.

Sharing Information  

In order to work effectively, Haymarket members need to be fully informed of ideas, changes and developments that impact our work.   We will work to communicate as effectively as possible and to disseminate information in a timely manner.

Support  

We are engaged in powerful, difficult work where conflict and tension is inevitable. In order to move forward we need to take the time to support each other.

Humor  

Anything that we would try to write about humor would be hopelessly over-earnest. Just plan to laugh a lot.

Statement of Accountability

Accountability to the community is key to organizing effectively and with integrity. It is critical for maintaining adherence to these principles and for moving forward as an anti-racist organization involved in undoing racism. As a principle, it connotes inter-relationship, interdependence, and community.  

* These principles are based on material eveloped by the People's Institute for Survival and Beyond. (www.pisab.org/temp )

Haymarket People's Fund gives money to grassroots groups of local people who believe that change is possible. Who believe that communities that come together with a vision of justice can get the job done, provided they have the resources. That's where Haymarket comes in. We've been behind the scenes, providing money to almost every major social justice movement in New England since 1974.

We are a public 501(c)3 foundation based in Boston, named not after Haymarket Square in downtown Boston but after the Haymarket affair, the 1886 working people's event in Chicago which paved the way for the 8-hour workday.

Each year, Haymarket awards grants to local organizations in hundreds of New England's neighborhood and communities. This money is strategically allocated by our volunteer grantmaking panel made up of community organizers from across the region. They are actively involved in working for change on a daily basis in their own communities and know where resources are needed most.

Over the course of thirty four years, Haymarket has granted over 22 million dollars. One hundred percent of those funds have gone to changing the status quo. The contributions of many hundreds of people like yourself keep this organization vibrant, strong and true to our mission.

In addition to providing grants, Haymarket supports social change movements through training and capacity building. Recognizing how significantly racism has affected the impact of social justice movements in the US, we especially focus on making available training on Undoing Racism by the People's Institute for Survival and Beyond (www.pisab.org), an organization we have partnered with in our own ongoing journey to embody our undoing racism principles.

Click HERE for our initial learnings about transferring into an anti-racist organization.

Haymarket also organizes around sustainable community philanthropy. We see social change philanthropy as a form of community organizing. For years, we have organized to help leverage more money to go to change, not charity through workshops for people with wealth. Currently we work with givers of all levels to encourage giving to those communities most affected by injustice through conferences, workshops, giving circles, and other programs.