The Inclusion Initiative is TSNE’ grant program which supports stakeholders to work collaboratively across sector to solve systemic problems that perpetuate economic inequality in our region. The II believes that people who are directly impacted must lead the change process and drive the agenda for solutions.
It is with this core value that TSNE joined the Solidarity Economy Initiative (SEI), a funders collaborative which organizes resources, technical assistance, and infrastructure for grassroots organizations to develop movement-building strategies that transforms our current economic system.
The solidarity economy is a social justice framework for not only reforming current systems which produce disparities, but creating alternatives that are more just, sustainable, and democratic. II grantee networks are among the grassroots efforts developing innovative strategies in Massachusetts, and their aspirations are among those examined in “Solidarity Rising in Massachusetts: How the Solidarity Economy is Emerging in Low-Income Communities of Color”, a new report released earlier this month.
Grassroots organizations are incubating worker-owned coops, community land trusts, and community-controlled capital. They are modeling an economy and democratic governance based on collective care and putting people and planet over profit. Communities are dreaming big, of building regional ecosystems that can scale up transformative impacts.