OO Finance Committee Meeting

The Occupy Oakland (OO) Finance Committee works inclusively to make our process transparent, our membership requirements clear, and to develop clear communication and financial reporting available to associated groups and to OO as a whole.

Our commitments to Occupy Oakland as a whole:

We commit to report back to the GA. We commit to regularly updating our page onoccupyoakland.org with monthly bank statements, meeting notes, summaries of check reimbursements and general OO Finance committee updates. We will not post or make public any sensitive or confidential information including the names of donors or check recipients.

Our membership structure:

Our work demands solid accountability.  We are tasked with acting as the liaison between our supporting organization and OO associated groups seeking to be reimbursed for funds spent, check disbursements, sending thank you cards to donors, printing and making available OO general fund bank statements.

Because of the sensitivity of our tasks, our committee demands a high level of commitment and responsibility from our organizers.

To serve this end we have adopted a model utilizing different levels of commitment and expectations. There are three levels of involvement:

OO Finance Committee Observer: If you are interested in understanding the functioning of the OO Finance Committee, or have questions related to OO finances you are welcome to attend a finance committee meeting to observe and ask questions at the end of the meeting.

OO Finance Committee Supporter: You are welcome to attend meetings to observe and ask questions, give suggestions or make requests during appropriate times during the meeting. You can sign up to receive email updates that let you know how you can plug in.

OO Finance Committee Member: You lend regular support, take on tasks, and are a voting member in our meetings. To become a member, you must have attended at least three meetings and fulfill regular responsibilities.

OO Finance Committee Meeting Ground Rules

The following list of common ground rules from various equity, diversity, and social justice organizations and groups. The OO Finance Committee follows in strict adherence to these guidelines and any observer, supporter or member that cannot observe the following practices will be asked to leave.

1. Listen actively: respect others when they are talking.

2. Speak from your own experience instead of generalizing (“I” instead of “they,” “we,” and “you”).

3. Do not be afraid to respectfully challenge one another by asking questions, but refrain from personal attacks — focus on ideas.

4. Participate to the fullest of your ability, but make space for others participation — community growth depends on inclusion

5. Instead of invalidating somebody else’s story with your own spin on her or his experience, share your own story and experience.

6. The goal is not to agree, it is to gain a deeper understanding and improve our work.

7.Threats of physical force, intimidation, and/or any type of harassment will not be tolerated.

8. Be conscious of body language and nonverbal responses which can be as disrespectful as words.

(all ground rules are subject to the sensitivities and needs of the people participating in each meeting)

*Recent critical analysis of common ground rules have resulted in a collective reconsideration of their role. This is because, too often, ground rules that are put in place, whether by an educator/facilitator or by participants, privilege the already-privileged groups in a dialogical experience.  When we consider who is protected by ground rules like “do not express anger,” it becomes apparent that, intentionally or not, they protect the participants representing privileged groups.

We also analyze how our ground rules that might ultimately support the status quo by providing safety and comfort for those who, for the sake of their own learning, most desperately need to be made to feel uncomfortable. We must constantly challenge ourselves to make sure that the discussions and dialogues taken place within OOFC meetings do not further oppress historically oppressed people.