Jamie Schweser
In 1998, 50 people a week committed civil disobedience in my apartment by broadcasting on Iowa City Free Radio. Besides helping coordinate a massive, illegal community radio station, I managed apartments and drove a cab for money, and wrote the novel Tales of a Punk Rock Nothing with Abram Shalom Himelstein. We published the book ourselves and drove around the country selling it outside of Ani DiFranco concerts.
The next year, when I returned from the WTO protests in Seattle, I was given a million dollars through the sale of my parents’ business. Suddenly I wasn’t just a kid with radical politics and rich parents — now I was a millionaire. It was a complicated moment – I felt like anything was possible, but I wasn’t sure how to start.
I moved to New Orleans to run New Mouth from the Dirty South with Abram, and taught kids how to read while living in the 9th Ward. I tried to figure out what it meant to me to be rich, and what I wanted to do about it. I went to the Making Money Make Change retreat and met other “cool rich kids.” I started local and national giving circles to fund social justice work and experiment with philanthropy.
Since leaving New Orleans in 2003, I’ve worked as the Global Outreach Director at YES!, as Donor Education Coordinator at Resource Generation, and as a trainer leading retreats and workshops for young people with wealth and professionals working with family foundations at events like the Council on Foundation’s Family Foundation Conference and the Making Money Make Change retreat.
I decided to give 75% of the money from my family to groups working for social, economic and environmental justice, mostly to groups working to abolish the prison-industrial complex and create community-based alternatives to prisons and policing. I had a blast giving away most of the money I inherited, and these days I live in Minneapolis, write fiction, garden, and occasionally work as a consultant for philanthropic non-profits.
The Beyond Prisons Fund I had $600,000 I wanted to go to groups building safer communities and creating alternatives to prisons and policing as instruments of punishment and social control. I asked a lot of people doing the work on the ground what they thought was needed to make the abolitionist movement successful. With the help of a team of experienced activists and the Funding Exchange, I started the Beyond Prisons Fund, which supports the following groups:
Transgender/Gender Variant and Intersex Justice Project
Gulf South Allied Funders With a group of other donors from the Resource Generation, Women Donors Network and Threshold Foundation communities, I have helped raise over 3 million dollars to be given by the Twenty-First Century Foundation to groups working for equitable rebuilding and government accountability. As a group of mostly white donors, we felt that it was important, not just to support the equitable rebuilding of of the Gulf Coast, but also to support a black-led organization and black voices in responding to the US government’s failures after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
-->To see a list of groups that received support in 2006, click here (PDF).
-->To see a list of groups that received support in 2007, click here (PDF).
-->To donate, click here and select “Gulf South Allied Funders” in the “Gift Designation” box.
Resources for Young People With Wealth Resource Generation is a national organization that for young people with financial wealth who support and challenge each other to effect progressive social change through the creative, responsible and strategic use of financial and other resources.
Classified: How to Stop Hiding Your Privilege and Use It for Social Change is a fantastic book by Karen Pittelman, with Illustrations by Molly Hein. It’s fun and funny and has great stories, information and tools for young people with money and class privilege.
The Leveraging Privilege for Social Change Jam is a weeklong leadership development retreat organized by YES! For 25 –30 Young people with wealth, fame, and powerful networks who want to make a positive impact with their resources, privilege and access.
Creating Change Through Family Philanthropy by Alison Goldberg and Karen Pittelman is a great book for young people whose families have charitable foundations or are considering starting one.
Catalyzing Our Resources for Equity is a program for young people of color with wealth and class privilege.
BolderGiving.org has great resources and stories for anyone looking to increase their giving or find support.
OTHER PROJECTS
Tales of A Punk Rock Nothing – a novel about DC punk rockers coming of age that I wrote with Abram Himelstein.
New Mouth from the Dirty South - a book Publishing company that I ran with Abram from 1999 - 2003.
Iowa City Free Radio – A community radio station I helped start and run in Iowa City 1997-1999. It was shut down by the FCC, but kept broadcasting from various locations around town for years.
Jamie Schweser in the News
NPR’s Morning Edtiion
The New York Times
The Village Voice
Business Week
Whad’ya Know with Michael Feldman
LINKS GIVING and PHILANTHROPY: Changemakers, promoting equity and accountability in the field of philanthropy • The Funding Exchange, a national network of activist-led community foundations and a national office to provide services for philanthropists seeking to give in ways that empower community members and activists, not just donors • Global Fund for Women, advocating for, and defending women’s human rights around the world • Global Greengrants Fund, supporting grassroots groups across the world working for environmental justice • Third Wave Foundation, a feminist, activist foundation supporting women and transgender youth • Twenty First Century Foundation, Strategic Philanthropy to Support Black Social Change.
ORGANIZING: Families and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children, shutting down youth prisons and fighting for the human rights of children and their families in Louisiana • Free the Angola 3, justice for three innocent men locked down in Louisiana’s Angola Penitentiary for over 30 years • League of Young Voters, engaging young people in multi-racial, multi-issue alliances to lobby and organize voters and hold elected officials accountable • Prison Activist Resource Center • Prometheus Project, providing technical assistance political lobbying for small, community broadcasters and independent radioheads everywhere • New Orleans Network, keeping New Orleans in touch with each other and organizing together since Katrina.
ARTS and CULTURE: Art of This, I rent office space in this awesome gallery for installation and conceptual art • Garrett County Press, kick-ass publishers of the George Bush Coloring Book, Leaning with Intent to Fall and many other fine titles • Justseeds Visual Resistance Artists’ Cooperative, political printmaking, street art, shirts, zines, culture • Ixnay, my favorite band • Neighborhood Story Project, publishing books and providing technical assistance for New Orleanians to tell their own stories, for their communities • Jews for Jesus Pieces, all about the bling. • Unlay • Kristen Baumlier • Niceitup.us • Handmade Pretties • Karen Pittelman
Contact Jamie Schweser: Jamie.Schweser [at] gmail . com
