Muffintop: from Ruff to Enuff

Muffintop Mountain  has been churning churning, and we’re seeking some financial assistance while we move towards big changes.

We’ve decided to shift from a residential-based structural model to one that’s more like the land project we have been trying to figure out how to be.
That means pushing new social, physical and financial structures into place in order to make room for new folks to get involved in ways that are different from what was previously possible.

One of the biggest obstacles to growing this project has been the lack of nearby safe employment for trans people. We have decided to shift the way we think about monthly finances so that residents are not required to contribute a monthly chunk of cash. 

Rather than questing to find residents (who may or may not be invested in the intentions of the land project) to help cover the rent, we’re establishing a dependency on community support. That doesn’t mean no residents will be contributing financially, but rather that residents will be contributing what they can afford—which may mean no money at all.
This change allows us to call in more highly impacted^ trans folks to come live here and help build this project up into something bigger. We are planning to launch a big fundraiser at the end of the summer which is intended to cover Muffintop’s expenses for one year. We will also be hosting a month-long work party in September, details forthcoming. Developing the plans for the upcoming year and thus the budget for that fundraiser is going to take some time, particularly since new folks are joining the project over the next few months.

 So, we’re seeking $8,500 to pay the bills for this interim period of June through August, and to expand the land’s capacity for more highly impacted residents. Current residents have already committed $3,500 to this fundraiser, leaving only $5,000 to source from the wider community.

Rent: $3,000
Internet: $330
Propane & Gas: $220
Tools: $850
Supplies: $300
Indigenous Land Reparations: $300
*This is calculated as 10% of the rent and will be paid to the Confederated Tribes of the Lower Rogue, and to Agnes Baker Pilgrim (hereditary chief of the Takelma).
Nourishment: $1,000
*Includes food, medicine, kitchen and garden expenses.
Land Vehicle: $1,600
*A small 4x4 that will mostly be used by visitors and residents who do not have their own vehicle.
Travel Stipend: $600
*Available for Trans Women of Color and Black and Indigenous Trans and Two-Spirit People
Host Stipend: $300*
*For a resident who will be going the extra mile to help host guests and to assist with the needs of disabled residents

 Any amount raised over $8,500 will go into the nourishment fund.

We welcome and appreciate every single donation that we receive.
We are also especially excited about recurring monthly support  from folks who can squeeze a little room in their monthly budget. Follow the link here to set that up.  If that’s not you but you know someone, please tell them about us! Our hope is to generate enough financial support that we can spread more along to other projects, especially those by and for highly-impacted trans people, and by and for folks native to these lands.

 

 

^what do we mean by highly impacted? we mean trans people living on multiple margins/through many intersections. Often highly impacted people are also the least invested in the continuance of the oppressive structures of our dominant culture. Our lived experience tells us that those structures don’t serve us; we are invested in building our lives outside of those structures.