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February 1, 2010
Overview We have started 2010 with a lot of activity and a lot of energy. This report will focus only on a few of the many things going on. On January 21-22, about 30 WISDOM staff and leaders gathered in Baraboo for our annual Leadership Retreat. It was a very well-spent 24 hours. It is always great to get a chance to meet and compare notes with others who are doing similar work and share similar values. This year, we also kept a relatively narrow focus to the agenda. The three major topics of the retreat will be the major topics of this report: Predatory Lending, Fundraising for the future of our work, and the WISDOM Leadership Assembly that is coming on April 17. At the end of this report, I’ll sneak in a report on yesterday’s NAOMI Covenanting event, as well as some new life that is springing up in Manitowoc and in Southwestern Wisconsin. Predatory Lending Last summer, the WISDOM Executive Committee agreed that we should become official members of the Wisconsin Coalition for Responsible Lending. A couple of our local organizations have been doing some work around this. Back when we first signed on, the proposal to regulate and limit predatory lenders looked like it was a near “sure thing,” with lots of co-sponsors. It even enjoyed that rare distinction: bi-partisan support! Since that time, the process has lost a lot of momentum. In part, this was because the industry has lavished lots of campaign contributions on legislators of both parties. They have also hired a small army of lobbyists. At the hearing help in the Assembly, there were apparently relatively few regular citizens lined up to testify about the damage being done to their communities, but the paid lobbyists signed up to speak on behalf of the lenders were lined up out the door. At present, it looks like (if nothing changes), we will get a compromise bill in the Assembly, and nothing at all from the State Senate… To make a long story short, many of us are pretty angry about this. In my time as an organizer, I have never experienced an issue that arouses so much anger in so many people. You do not have to look very far to find people who have been horribly exploited by these “businesses.” I have heard many examples of people who borrowed a few hundred dollars, and ended up paying thousands. People are trapped into a cycle where they pay 500% or 600% interest on a loan. And, of course, these are the people who can least afford it. Most who get trapped by predatory lenders are people who, under ordinary circumstances, barely earn enough to pay their bills each month. For those who are lucky enough to never have dealt with these places, let me give you an example of a typical scenario: --David has one small bit of bad luck leaves him a $600 short of being able to pay rent, or for a car repair, or to fix the leak in the roof, or for groceries, or school expenses, medicine… --He goes to a “PayDay Loan” center and borrows $600 for two weeks. (The idea is that he will pay it back when he gets paid from his job.) --When he get paid, he still has to pay this month’s groceries, rent, etc. So, he doesn’t have enough to pay back the whole loan (and interest). So, the lender lets David just pay the $88 of interest he owes, and lets him “roll over” the loan until his next paycheck. --Unless an unknown rich uncle appears, he will probably be in the same situation when he gets the next paycheck. He pays another $88. --At the end of 6 months, he has paid more than $1100, and he STILL owes the original $600. --Now, he is operating with even less cushion in his monthly budget. If his car breaks down again, the business would be more than happy to extend another loan. (He is, after all, a good customer…) Legislation that has been proposed would cap annual interest charged on a loan to 36%. (The example above, by the way, represents about 400% annual interest – which is not at the extreme; it is less than some people are currently paying to predatory lenders.) This would put Wisconsin in the mainstream in the United States. We are currently one of only six states without a limit on interest that can be charged. There are many more details, which I am sure you will hear about in the coming months. The main thing is this: the WISDOM Executive Committee feels it is important that we should get involved in this issue with much more vigor. The status quo is unacceptable, and we do not feel that as people of faith we can sit by quietly as the most vulnerable of us are being exploited. What will we do? There is a lot we can do. We can start by talking with our state legislators to find out why in the world they are not going to fix this problem. We can be sure that everyone who attends one of our congregations is aware of this situation. We can pray; we can protest; we can write letters to the editor; we can have rallies. We will start with a telephone conference call tomorrow (February 2) at 4:30 pm, when we will start to make plans and to strategize. Don’t worry if you missed that call; we can catch you up quickly. Just let me (414-736-2099) or Virginia (414-831-2070) or Stephanie (920-216-0891) know that you’d like to be part of the effort. I am not certain if we and the other members of the Wisconsin Coalition for Responsible Lending will be able to push through a major change in the next few months, but we certainly can make some noise about it! WISDOM Leadership Assembly – April 17 On April 17, 200-300 WISDOM leaders will gather for the day – probably in the Madison area. We will pack a lot into one day. Some of the goals for the Leadership Assembly are: § To celebrate the success we have had in all parts of our state, and that such a large and diverse group of marvelous, faithful and courageous people is dedicated to justice; § To gather in one place members of our 10 organizations – new members, veterans, and potential members. § To build relationships among WISDOM members from different parts of the state; § To give people working on the same issues a chance to strategize together; § To take time for prayer and reflection together, and for sharing our stories about why we are involved in organizing; § To explore some new issues we can get involved in for the future; § To better organize ourselves for our statewide campaigns. We might start the day with an “action” – probably something further our efforts to get Predatory lenders out of our state. We also hope to create spaces for people to “caucus” – as, for example, Spanish-speaking members, Hmong members, Clergy, etc. It takes a bit of time and effort and, for most of us, travel, to attend an event like this. But, it is well worth it. It is a chance for you to learn what some of us have the privilege of seeing all the time: we have a tremendous group of remarkable people involved in this effort. So… Mark your calendar. April 17 will be a full and exciting day for us. There will be a lot more details coming soon. And, if you have some ideas about what you would like to see on April 17, please let me know. If you’d like to join the planning team, we’d be glad to have you! Fundraising Another matter we discussed at length at our retreat was the ever popular topic of money. For many years, WISDOM was blessed very generous support from some national foundations. With that, we were able to expand our organizations, and we were able to help some of our local organizations through some tough times. But… Those days are gone (at least for right now) because of the economy and because our largest benefactor had all their money invested with Bernie Madhoff. So, WISDOM is in a position where we will squeak through 2010 financially if and only if our local organizations are able to remain current with their staffing costs and affiliation fees. The good news is that most of our local organizations are on relatively stable financial footing. This is due, in part, to the generosity of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) as well as to a lot of frugality and hard work. At the retreat, we talked about ways to make ourselves more stable financially. One answer is to work to increase our number of “Individual Donors” (and/or “Sustaining Members” – we need to work to be a little more consistent with our terminology). This is a potential source of income for our organizations that will be more predictable and steady. And, it is another way to be sure that our own members really do feel that they “own” the organizations. In the coming months, several of our organizations will be planning “Sustainer Breakfasts”, where we will invite people to hear the stories of our work and the values we work to promote. And, we will ask them to consider being financial supporters of our work. We will also be making extra efforts to maximize the potential of our fundraising events, our ad books, and other sources of revenue. And, we will keep working to find grant income. Right now, we have, I believe, an excellent staff of organizers. I trust we can expand that group (soon adding an organizer in MICAH – and adding a Wausau organizer within a year or so), and that we can ensure that those who are here can make a career of it! New Life!! NAOMI had its Covenanting ceremony on January 31!! It was held at 3:00 pm, at St. Stephen ELCA Church. About 200 people were present. The opening invocation was stirringly done by Rabbi Dan Danson and Rev. Rebecca Peters. Rev. Gary Froseth served as host and MC, and he oriented everyone to what was happening. Fr. John Celichowski OFM Cap, gave a stirring keynote address about the lessons NAOMI can learn from the Biblical Naomi and her daughter-in-law, Ruth. Sandy Grass told us of the good work that has already been done in Treatment Instead of Prison. Fr. Steve Brice gave one of the most inspiring Calls to Action I have ever heard. (These things are getting done better and better, it seems to me!) And, Rev. Tony Patterson sent us on our way with the Benediction. In the meantime, we had Hmong dancers, 2 choirs, and prayers from three more religious leaders of varying traditions. At an earlier stage of development… The Sponsoring Committee in Manitowoc had about 50 people out for a breakfast at 7 am on a cold Tuesday, January 26! They heard about Drug Treatment Courts, and why Manitowoc County might want to have one, and they heard about Congregation-based organizing from me and from leaders of JOSHUA. There is a lot of enthusiasm there. And, even more embryonic efforts are underway in Madison and in Southwestern Wisconsin. We will have a gathering of religious leaders in Madison on February 24. And, last week, a group got together in Dodgeville (if you check your map, it is sort of near Platteville), and they intend to send several people to Weeklong Training in St. Louis on March 7-13. Reflection WISDOM has an incredible capacity to do the work of justice in Wisconsin. We have a huge number of very talented leaders; we are in the right places; and we have solid local organizations. I hope we can actually exercise that capacity fully in this attempt to shut down predatory lenders, and that we can do even greater things in the months and years to come. And, I trust we will all work to keep our organizations strong, growing, and solvent.
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WISDOM is a regional organization
seeking justice and
common good in Wisconsin. |
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WISDOM Executive Director Report